Teachers, students, parents and communities have important roles to play throughout the school year to ensure that students get the most from their education. Each year, schools assess student achievement to gauge the progress being made in their classrooms.
This year, Mississippi is using new assessments from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) in grades 3-8 (MCT3) and for Subject Area Tests (SATP3) in Algebra I and English II. Existing assessments used in Mississippi in previous years will be given for science in grades 5 and 8, and for Subject Area Tests (SATP2) in Biology I and U.S. History. See links to practice tests for each of the assessments below. Note that the new MCT3 and SATP3 tests will be administered in two parts – performance-based assessments and end-of-year assessments – that will be combined for one score.
Mississippi Curriculum Test 3 (MCT3 – PARCC)
Grades 3-8
Link to practice tests here.
Testing window for performance-based assessments: March 2 – April 3, 2015
Testing window for end-of-year assessments: April 27 – May 22, 2015
Mississippi Science Tests 2 (MST2)
Grades 5 and 8
Link to practice tests here.
Testing window: May 4-15, 2015
Subject Area Tests 3 (SATP3 – PARCC)
Algebra I and English II
Link to practice tests here for Algebra I and here for English II.
Testing window for performance-based assessments: March 2 – April 3, 2015
Testing window for end-of-year assessments: April 27 – May 22, 2015
Subject Area Tests 2 (SATP2)
Biology I and U.S. History
Link to practice tests for Biology I here and U.S. History here.
Testing window: May 11-15, 2015
At Test Time:
Parents have an important role to play to ensure that their children’s progress is accurately reflected in test results. There are also steps parents and others can take to help all children in the district perform their best.
Students perform best when they are well-rested, well-nourished, and anxiety free (to the extent possible!). Citrus, protein and peppermint have been shown to help students remain alert and focused during testing.
To help their own children, parents should…
· make sure your student gets adequate sleep the night before a test
· serve your student a good breakfast on test day
· send your student off to school with encouraging words
· do whatever possible to ensure a stress-free environment for your student during test week
· ensure that your child understands the importance of doing his/her best on the assessment
To help many students, parents and others often…
· volunteer to send orange juice, cheese cubes and/or peppermint to school for snacks on test day (always check with the teacher first!).
To help a school district, parents and others can…
· contact school principals to see if volunteers are needed to proctor the tests. It only takes a few hours, and your school will appreciate your offer of assistance.
