Estabrook Buzz
April 1, 2019
Don't Forget: Wednesday Early Release for Conferences April 3 - 12:15 Dismissal
This Week
Monday, April 1
- MCAS Testing: Gr. 5 ELA Session 1
Tuesday, April 2
- MCAS Testing: Gr. 5 ELA Session 2
Wednesday, April 3 - 12:15 Dismissal
Thursday, April 4
- 10:45 Gr. 5 ACT Assembly: “Right to Liberty” Valerie Tutson (African-American Storyteller) . http://yamass.org/our-programs/valerie-tutson/
Friday, April 5
- MCAS Testing - Gr. 4 ELA Session 1
Coming Up
Monday, April 8
- MCAS Testing: Gr. 4 ELA Session 2
Tuesday, April 9
- MCAS Testing Gr. 3 ELA Session 1
- 6:00 pm Supporting Young Readers at Home (K & 1 Parent Workshop)
Wednesday, April 10
- MCAS Testing Gr. 3 ELA Session 2
- Safe Routes to School Day
Thursday, April 11
Fifth Grade Play
- 7:45 am Open Rehearsal for Families
- 9:00 am Performance for Gr. 4
- 11:00 am Performance for Gr. 5
Friday, April 12
- 8:45-9:45 Principal's Parent Forum
School Vacation Week - April 15-19
Principal's Corner
Over the next two weeks, MCAS testing gets underway with English Language Arts in grades 3-5. Following April break, the same grades will be tested in Mathematics and fifth graders will be tested in Science. This will be the first year that all three grades participate in computer-based testing. Since third grade did paper-based testing last year, computer-baed testing will be new for students in third and fourth grade.
In approaching MCAS with students, we seek to strike a balance. We want students to take the test seriously and do their best, but we don't want them to be anxious about it. There is a certain formality that comes with standardized tests (scripted directions) and test security protocols. That said, students take the test with familiar teachers, who can smile and make eye contact while reading scripted directions.
Similarly, we strive for a balance in preparation. We want students to be familiar with the format and language of the test questions, as well as how to navigate the computer-based tools. But we don't allow MCAS prep to take over our curriculum. Teachers prepare students for the testing by reviewing test-taking strategies and working with a few sample questions. A particular emphasis is placed on learning how to answer written essay questions and provide evidence from the text to support. For example, I observed a fifth grade class last week engaged in working with a practice question in which they had to read three non-fiction passages that provided three different accounts of the rescue of penguins following an oil spill. Students had to answer questions related to main idea and point of view of each piece and then write an essay explaining the similarities and differences among the three pieces. Pretty sophisticated work that most students seemed comfortable handling.
A few years ago, Tim Shanahan, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, wrote a noteworthy piece called “How and How Not to Prepare Students for the New Tests,” in which he reminds us that the goal is not to prepare students for tests, but to make them “sophisticated and powerful readers.” He suggests five steps to help students get there:
1. “Have students read extensively within instruction.
2. Have students read increasing amounts of text without guidance or support.
3. Make sure the texts are rich in context and sufficiently challenging.
4. Have students explain their answers and provide text evidence supporting their claims.
5. Engage students in writing about text.”
In other words, the best test preparation is high quality teaching and learning every day. In a nutshell, that is our belief and approach.
Assessment is important to teaching and learning. In addition to MCAS, we use a variety of formative and benchmark assessments to measure progress. MCAS is one test, one measure over the course of a few days, and it by no means defines our students or our school. The information we glean from MCAS becomes part of a much larger picture when we factor in all the other things we know about students. The data is also helpful at the district level in identifying areas of strength and weakness, and helps us to identify and be responsive to trends over time.
At home, we suggest you keep MCAS low key. Remind your children that MCAS is only one indicator of what they are learning in school. Check in with your child as you normally do to see how their day went.
For parents interested in learning more about MCAS, please go to the Parents' Guide to MCAS at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/odl/e-learning/mcas-parentguide/content/index.html#/?_k=6nngl2
Rick Rogers
P.S. A huge shout out to Assistant Principal Christina Gavin who has worked tirelessly to prepare all things MCAS - a huge job done well!