Dear 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Families,
As we head into the spring season, schools all over Michigan will once again begin the process of completing our state assessments for students in grades 3-8 and 11. Last year, we transitioned our state assessment to the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP).
Given the online nature of this assessment, your child will need to become familiar with the digital tools that the assessment system offers. To prepare your child, we are working with classroom teachers and our media specialist to offer exposure to these practice items that model the use of the digital tools. If you would like see the practice items or help your child practice with the online tools, you may do so through the Michigan Department of Education site: https://wbte.drcedirect.com/MI/portals/mi/ott1. Please note that this site must be viewed using Google Chrome as your browser.
A schedule of the state assessment windows is included below so that you can plan for any absences due to appointments or other things that may not be able to be done outside of the school day. A more formal schedule of the dates of testing at Loon Lake will be shared at a later date. Please note that there is a window of assessment for each grade; students will not be testing everyday within this window.
5th Grade: 4/11-4/25
4th Grade: 5/9-5/27
3rd Grade: 4/25-5/9
All students will take Math and English Language Arts (ELA). Our 4th graders will also be assessed in science and our 5th graders will also be assessed in social studies.
Please share with your child the importance of these assessments as they are an indicator of your child’s progress within the Michigan Common Core and State Standards and assist us in knowing the progress of our student body at Loon Lake. If you would like to know more about the M-STEP, please visit the Michigan Department of Education M-STEP website: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-22709_70117---,00.html.
Thank you for your support and cooperation!
Anita R. Qonja