Helping Your Child Prepare for MCAS

1. Helping Your Child Prepare for MCAS • M-C-A-S. These four letters can spell anxiety for some parents and students. • This PowerPoint provides some helpful tips and strategies to better prepare your children for these upcoming tests. • Please be assured that your children are learning all that they can during their school day at FVMMS.

2. What is the MCAS? • The MCAS stands for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. It is a series of standardized tests designed to measure what students have learned in a given year and subject area. • The tests consist of multiple choice, open response, and short answer questions (Math), plus a writing prompt for the ELA composition.

3. Tips to Help Your Child Prepare for MCAS: • 1. Encourage your child to read, read, read. No activity is linked to academic success as much as reading. • 2. Make sure your child gets enough sleep, eats properly, and gets to school on time. During test time, make this a special effort. • 3. Review the Massachusetts Department of Education guide at: • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/parents/.

4. The Day of the Test: • Make sure that your child is well rested and eats breakfast. • See that your child arrives to school on time and is relaxed. • Make sure that your child is in comfortable clothing. • Encourage your child to do the best work possible and have a positive attitude.

5. The Day of the Test: (continued): • Encourage your child to listen/read carefully to all test-taking directions and to ask questions if any directions are unclear. • Remind your child not to get stuck on any one item. • Encourage your child to check their answers for accuracy.

6. To Reduce Test Anxiety: • Talk about the test in a positive way. • Encourage best efforts, but have realistic expectations. • Encourage your child to focus on his or her strengths, such as a good memory or strong analytical skills. • Assure your child that the test is only one measure of academic performance.

7. ELA MCAS Resources: These links will take you to MCAS Open Response practice. Read the selections with your child and review the responses that scored a 4. Pay attention to how the open responses use details and quotes from the selection to help answer the question • Grade 6: • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2013/question.aspx?GradeID=6&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=26786 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2009/question.aspx?GradeID=6&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionTypeName=Open Response&QuestionID=6442 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2012/question.aspx?GradeID=6&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=21465

8. ELA MCAS Resources: • Grade 7: • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2013/question.aspx?GradeID=7&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=26812 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2012/question.aspx?GradeID=7&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=21483 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2011/question.aspx?GradeID=7&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=15394 • Grade 8: • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2013/question.aspx?GradeID=8&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=26826 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2012/question.aspx?GradeID=8&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=21513 • http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/student/2010/question.aspx?GradeID=8&SubjectCode=ela&QuestionID=10784