Team Louis (Cava's Christie Louis' Class): State Testing Information

Dear CAVA Families,

Our 2012-2013 Testing Season has officially begun. Our High School students are already prepping for the upcoming CAHSEE and our K-HS teachers are busy getting our CST sites and dates confirmed. We have put together some general testing information, as well as, some specific grade level resources for you and your student(s) to help you prepare for this year’s tests.

California State Testing Acronym Key
PFT= Physical Fitness Test
CST= California Standards Test
CMA=California Modified Assessment (alternate version of the CST for students with disabilities who meet specific testing requirements)

California Standards Test (CST) General Information

The California Standards Tests (CSTs) are given to students in grades two through eleven as a part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. Developed exclusively for California’s public schools, the CSTs provide information that can be used to determine how well students are achieving state content standards. These standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should learn in each grade. California’s content standards for all subjects and grades tested are available on the California Department of Education (CDE) Content Standards Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/.

The CSTs measure students' progress toward achieving California's state-adopted academic content standards in English-Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and History–Social Science, which describe what students should know and be able to do in each grade and subject tested.

Specific Grade Level Tests
Tests each grade level will take:
6th Grade students will take the CST or CMA in Math and Language Arts.

7th Grade students will take the Writing Test, the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and CST or CMA in Math and Language Arts.

8th Grade students will take the CST or CMA in Math, Language Arts, History and Science.

Testing Calendar

Writing Test: March 5th

CST testing window for all grade levels: Apr. 9 – May 20

(*Please note your student will be testing during one week within the CST testing window)

PFT: February - May (Your test date will be determined by the site you are assigned to. Stay tuned for more information)

Student Expectations for Testing

While students are preparing for testing all year, it’s extremely important for them to be prepared for the actual day of testing. Here are some best practices to keep in mind so that students are able to do their best work during testing.

v Before Testing:
1.     Get a good night’s sleep.
2.     Eat a nutritious breakfast.
3.     Arrive on time.
4.     Come prepared- bring a snack, a bottle of water and a book to read when you finish testing.

v During Testing:
1.     Stay Calm and Focused.
2.     Take your time.
3.     Read all answers before selecting an answer.
4.     Use process of elimination to help choose the correct answer.
5.      If you get stuck on a question, read it a second time. If you still can’t answer it, circle it and move on. You can come back to it later.
6.     Be sure you answer ALL questions. Don’t leave anything blank.
7.     Do your very best!

Parent Expectations During Testing

Parents play a large role in their student’s success both before and during our State Testing.

v Prior to testing, please make sure to:
1.     Keep an eye out for important testing emails from your child’s teacher.
2.     Confirm your child’s test site assignment.
3.     Confirm the test dates for your student, so that you are able to attend all days of testing.
4.     Review and practice the Released Test Questions the State Provides.
5.     Motivate and Encourage your student to help relieve their testing anxiety.

v On testing days, please make sure your child:
1.     Gets a good night’s rest.
2.     Has a healthy breakfast.
3.     Arrives at their assigned test site on time.
4.     Has a bottle of water, a snack and reading book with them.
5.     Has your cell phone number so you can be contacted when they are done.
6.     Has a Permission to Drive release form completed and turned in to their teacher if they will be driving to or from the test site or will be arriving at the test site with someone other than you (their parent).
7.     Is picked up from their test site on time.

Test Preparation

Questions for all of the CSTs, except the writing tasks in grades four and seven, are in a multiple-choice format. Students are presented with a question and asked to select the correct answer from four possible choices. Released test questions from the CSTs are posted for public viewing on the CDE Program Resources Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/resources.asp.

It is always a great idea to prepare for State Testing by practicing on some of the sample released test questions. Please check out the two links below, along with the attachments that outline helpful information regarding your standardized test.

California Standards Test (CST) Released Questions <http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/css05rtq.asp>
Released test questions for English-language arts, mathematics, history-social science, and science.

Guidelines on Academic Preparation for State Assessments <http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/academicprepdec09.pdf> - Appropriate academic preparation for all state assessments.

Once you’ve reviewed the above resources please contact me, your teacher, if you need any assistance or clarification.