Dear Parents/Guardians,
With spring comes the annual Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System, (NSCAS), testing window. The NSCAS Assessments are given to all students in grades 3 through 6th.
Students in grades 3 through 6 will be taking the NSCAS online assessment which is untimed and designed to provide students with as much time as needed to complete each content area. The English Language Arts (ELA) & Mathematics tests (Math) will be adaptive tests, which means students will see different items based on whether they answered the previous questions correctly or incorrectly. This will be very similar to the NWEA MAP tests that they take in the fall and winter. Each test will have approximately 35 test questions.
Students in grade 5 will also take an online Science Test that will have between 17 and 20 questions. This test is not adaptive.
The testing schedule for Shelton Elementary is as follows:
Tuesday, April 23 - NSCAS English Language Arts Test - 5th & 6th Grades
Wednesday, April 24 - NSCAS Math Test - 5th & 6th Grades
Tuesday, April 30 - NSCAS English Language Arts Test - 3rd & 4th Grades
Wednesday, May 1 - NSCAS Math - 3rd & 4th Grades
Thursday, May 2 - NSCAS Science - 5th Grade
May 3, through May 10 - NSCAS Make-Up Test Days if needed
Please encourage your student(s) to do their best and show what they know. The NSCAS Assessments are important in providing educators, administrators, and decision-makers at all levels with the insights we need to support student learning. State assessments provide valuable data and a current picture of student learning in every school and district across the state.
Here are a few strategies we can all utilize to help prepare our students for these tests:
See that your child is rested and eats breakfast
See that your child arrives at school on time and is relaxed
Encourage your child to do their best work possible
Please try to schedule appointments on non-testing days
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns via email at jkenton@sheltonbulldogs.org or by phone 308-647-6558.
Sincerely,
Jeff Kenton
