Science Tidbits
March 2018
Assessment Dates
K-8 ASSESSMENT DATES
· Special Populations (LAA 1 and EL): Now-March 16
LEAP Connect: Grades 3-8 (ELA and Math)
LAA 1: Grades 4, 8 (Science)
ELPT: K-8
· LEAP 360 Interim Assessments Grades 3-8 ELA and Math
March 5-16: mandatory administration window
ELA: Form 2B
Math: Form 2
March 23: scoring deadline
· LEAP 2025 Grades 3-8 (some exceptions by school may apply)
Week 1 (April 9th – April 13th): 8th Grade Computer-Based
Monday: ELA - Session 1
Tuesday: ELA - Sessions 2 and 3; Day 1 Make-Ups
Wednesday: Math - Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1 & 2 Make-Ups
Thursday: Social Studies - Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1, 2, & 3 Make-Ups
Friday: Remaining make-ups and Science Field Testing*
Week 2 (April 16th – April 20th): 7th Grade and 5th Grade Computer-Based
Monday: ELA Session 1
Tuesday: ELA Sessions 2 and 3; Day 1 Make-Ups
Wednesday: Math Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1 & 2 Make-Ups
Thursday: Social Studies Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1, 2, & 3 Make-Ups
Friday: Remaining make-ups and Science Field Testing*
Week 3 (April 23rd – April 27th): 6th Grade and 5th Grade (overflow only) Computer-Based
Monday: ELA - Session 1
Tuesday: ELA - Sessions 2 and 3; Day 1 Make-Ups
Wednesday: Math - Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1 & 2 Make-Ups
Thursday: Social Studies - Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1, 2, & 3 Make-Ups
Friday: Remaining make-ups and Science Field Testing*
LEAP 2025 - Algebra I will also be administered during this week to middle school students enrolled in Algebra I
Week 4 (April 30th – May 4th): 3rd and 4th Paper-Based (the schedule for PBT is set by the LDOE and cannot be adjusted)
Monday: ELA - Session 1; Math - Session 1
Tuesday: ELA - Session 2; Math - Session 2; Day 1 Make-Ups
Wednesday: ELA - Session 3; Math - Session 3; Days 1 & 2 Make-Ups
Thursday: Social Studies - Sessions 1, 2 and 3; Days 1, 2 & 3 Make-Ups
Friday: Remaining make-ups and Science Field Testing*
LEAP 2025 - Geometry will also be administered during this week to middle school students enrolled in Geometry.
HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENT DATES
· Special Populations (LAA 1 and EL): Now-March 16
LEAP Connect: Grades 3-8 (ELA and Math)
LAA 1: Grades 4, 8, 11 (Science)
ELPT: K-12
· LEAP 360 Interim Assessments (Algebra I, Geometry, English I and English II):
Form 3: March 5-16 (mandatory administration)
March 23rd (all scoring must be completed)
· ACT (all 11th grade students and selected 12th graders)
Initial Test Date: March 20
Accommodated Testing Window: March 20 – April 3
Makeup Test Date: April 24
· WorkKeys
March 21-April 4: Paper-Based
Now-April 13: Computer-Based
· EOC and LEAP 2025
April 23-27: Graduating Seniors, re-testers not currently enrolled, 3rd year cohort without scores in ELA and/or Math
April 23-27: English III, Biology, Algebra I
April 30-May 4: Geometry and English I
May 7-11: English II and U.S. History; All makeups must be completed by May 11.
· CLEP: All must be completed by May 11
· Advanced Placement (AP): May 7-11
Online Tools Training (OTT)
Remembering Stephen Hawking
Click on his image to watch a short clip about Stephen Hawking.
Click HERE to read the article, A Life in Science: Stephen Hawking
How can science help you find a 4-leaf clover? Click on the image to the left to learn how.
Goldfish named George gets life-saving tumor surgery
Have you ever seen a goldfish surgery? Click on the article HERE to read about George and his miraculous surgery.
Click on the image to watch a video about George
Joint LATM LSTA Conference
Don't Forget Your Complimentary LSTA Membership
Good News!
In an effort to support teachers of science this year during the implementation of the revised LSSS, LSTA is extending a complimentary membership to ALL Louisiana teachers of science, administrators, and informal educators until October 24, 2018.
All you need to do is complete and send in a membership form!! Contact your regional representative or download a form from our LSTA web site!
And more good news for current members. While the LSTA Board is celebrating with the 1000 + Louisiana science teachers who attended the NSTA Area Conference in New Orleans, the board acknowledges the high cost of a national event. As a result, the Board has approved extending membership expiration dates from November of 2017 to November 2018.
LOUISIANA CONNECTORS FOR SCIENCE FOR STUDENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES
LA Connectors for Science:
- To review the DRAFT Science Connectors: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/docs/default-source/students-with-disabilities/draft-louisiana-connectors-for-science-3-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=4
- To provide feedback on the DRAFT Science Connectors: https://goo.gl/forms/FzmbLSNs9iSy02dB2 (Due: March 30)
Are you interested in participating on an educator review committee for science?
Interest Surveys for 2018 Committees
Rangefinding Committees:
Meeting Date: May 21 - 25
Survey Closes: April 13
Meeting Date: June 18 - 22
Survey Closes: April 20
Meeting Date: June 25 - 29
Survey Closes: April 20
Data Review Committee:
Meeting Date: Sept. 13-14
Survey Closes: June 29
Meeting Date: Sept. 17-18
Survey Closes: June 29
Meeting Date: Sept. 19-20
Survey Closes: June 29
Meeting Date: July 31 - Aug. 2
Survey Closes: May 4
Item Content and Bias Review Committee
Meeting Date: June 12
Survey Closes: April 13
Meeting Date: June 13
Survey Closes: April 13
Meeting Date: June 14
Survey Closes: April 13
Meeting Date: June 15
Survey Closes: April 13
Upcoming Applications and Events
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is currently accepting nominations in honor of outstanding math and science (including computer science) teachers of K–6. The award recognizes those teachers who develop and implement a high-quality instructional program that is informed by content knowledge and enhances student learning. Awardees join a network of more than 4,700 past recipients and receive a certificate from the President of the United States, a trip to Washington, DC, and $10,000. Educators are invited to nominate a teacher or begin an application on the PAEMST website.
Nominations close on April 1, 2018; applications must be completed by May 1, 2018.
Link: https://www.paemst.org
Upcoming Workshops
Literacy in Science
When: March 20, 2018
4:30-6:00
Where: Room 1
Presented by:
Merrill Davis, Fair Park High School
Malisha Means, CMCTC
Betsy Willis, Ridgewood Middle School
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Exploring Louisiana Student Standards for Science Using BreakOut EDU boxes
When: March 22, 2018
4:00-6:00
Where: PD Auditorium
Presented by:
Lynda Delo, MST Coordinator
Eunhee Chol, CMM
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Using HHMI Resources
When: April 5, 2018
4:30-6:00
Where: Captain Shreve High School
Room 315
Presented by:
Katie Strong, C.E. Byrd High School
Amy Douglas, Captain Shreve High School
Lisa Nance, 6-12 Science CIS
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Grants and Scholarship Opportunities
Louisiana Grant Watch
What's New with Symbaloo?
Click below to visit some of Caddo Science Symbaloo's newest awesome links.
All About STEM
Code.org - Code.org® is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities. Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology, chemistry or algebra. Code.org organizes the annual Hour of Code campaign which has engaged 10% of all students in the world and provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science in the largest school districts in the United States. Code.org is supported by generous donors including Amazon, Facebook, Google, the Infosys Foundation, Microsoft, and many more.
STEM Teaching Tools - The STEM Teaching Tools site has tools that can help you teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). We are currently focused on supporting the teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each tool is focused on a specific issue and leverages the best knowledge from research and practice. Under the News section, you can learn a bit more about how you might use them.
Try Engineering - Tryengineering.org is a resource for students, their parents, their teachers and their school counselors. This is a portal about engineering and engineering careers, and we hope it will help young people understand better what engineering means, and how an engineering career can be made part of their future.
Teach Engineering - TeachEngineering is a searchable, web-based digital library collection comprised of standards-based engineering curricula for use by K-12 educators to make applied science and math come alive through engineering design in K-12 settings. The TeachEngineering collection provides educators with *free* access to a growing curricular resource of activities, lessons, units, maker challenges, and sprinkles for use in informal education settings.
When Ordering Chemicals for High Schools
Caddo Parish Schools recently completed a monumental chemical cleanup. 100's of bottles of out-dated, corroded, and not used chemicals were removed from high schools to ensure the safety of our students and teachers.
In order to safely remove chemicals from classrooms we must work through the Department of Environmental Equality (DEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to bring in qualified technicians to log chemicals, properly package chemicals, and safely dispose of chemicals stored in lab closets. This process is exceptionally expensive and time consuming. To limit the amount of unnecessary chemicals Caddo Parish has on hand, I asked your principals to include me in the ordering process for purchasing chemicals for your classroom using classroom fees. Please sent the purchase request to Lisa Nance at lmnance@caddoschools.org or fax to 318-603-6368 to request my signature for chemical purchases. I will send your school a copy of the SDS for each chemical ordered along with a signed copy of the purchase request.
Microscope Repairs?
Quick Link to Useful Science Documents
- In 2017-2018, the higher of the 2016 or 2017 science scores will be counted in SPS.
- In 2018-2019, the higher of the 2017 or 2019 science scores will be counted in SPS*.
*Please see the John White's 10/24/17 newsletter for more info.
6th Grade
LEAP 2025 Field Test Guide for 6th Grade
6th Grade Task Phase Changes PDF
6th Grade Task Gravitational Waves
6th Grade Task Gravitational Waves PDF
6th Grade Task Chemical Reactions
6th Grade Task Chemical Reactions PDF
7th Grade
LEAP 2025 Field Test Guide for 7th Grade
7th Grade Task Cell Transport PDF
7th Grade Task The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
7th Grade Task The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone PDF
7th Grade Task Genetic Probability
7th Grade Task Genetic Probability PDF
7th Grade Task Genetic Variation and Survival
7th Grade Task Genetic Variation and Survival PDF
8th Grade
LEAP 2025 Field Test Guide for 8th Grade
8th Grade Task Climate and Weather
8th Grade Task Climate and Weather PDF
8th Grade Task Coastal Erosion, Preservation, and Restoration
8th Grade Task Coastal Erosion, Preservation, and Restoration PDF
8th Grade Task Water is Life PDF
8th Grade Task The Development of Scientific Theories
8th Grade Task The Development of Scientific Theories PDF
High School Biology
LEAP 2025 Field Test Guide for Biology
Biology EOC Released Test Questions 2013
Biology EOC Released Test Questions 2012
Biology EOC Released Test Questions 2011
Biology Task Comparing Organs PDF
Biology Task DNA-RNA-Protein PDF
Biology Task Animal Behavior PDF
Science and Biology Field Test Item Types
The field tests include the following stimulus-based item types:
• selected-response (multiple choice and multiple select)
• technology-enhanced (dropdown menus, drag and drop, hotspots, etc.)
• fill-in-the-blank
• two-part items made of a combination of item types
o--- two-part dependent, where the score in part B is dependent on the response in part A
o--- two-part independent, where the responses in each part are related in content but not in scoring
• constructed-response
• extended-response
More information on the upcoming Science Field Test found HERE.
Science Funnies!
#caddoscience
Caddo Science
Email: lmnance@caddoschools.org
Website: www.caddoschools.org
Location: 1961 Midway Ave, Shreveport, LA, United States
Phone: 318-603-6372
Twitter: @caddoscience