Parent guide to provincial achievement testing. Grade 3

8 Pages·1997·3.1 MB·English

by  Alberta. Alberta Education

JUN 19
CANADIAN*
Parent
Grade
Guide
To Provincial
Achievement
Testing
Achievement tests?
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EDUCATION
Information About the
Provincial Achievement
Testing Program
in May-June, your son or daughter in Grade 3 w ill write
provincial achievement tests in mathematics, and language arts.
Students in grades 6 a nd 9 w ill also write achievement tests.
Answers to questions that parents often ask are given below.
What are the achievement tests ?
Grade 3 s tudents write tests in mathematics and did well and where learning could be im-
language arts. Grades 6 a nd 9 s tudents write proved. The p rincipal, teachers, parents, and
tests in language arts, mathematics, science, the community look at these results in
Alberta Education cataloguing and social studies. These are provincial tests. relation to past results, along with school and
in Publication Data They are based on what students are expected district assessments and other information
ISSN 1203-9926 to know and be able to do, and how well. about students and programs. They use this
Copyright © 1 997, the Crown in These are the provincial standards. information to improve learning opportunities
Right of Alberta, as represented for their students.
by the Minister of Education Who writes the tests?
Alberta Education
11160 Jasper Avenue Similarly, the school board and the superin-
tendent look at the district report to see how
Edmonton, Alberta All Alberta students in grades 3, 6, and 9 a re
T5K 0L2 expected to write the provincial tests for their dsitsutdreinctts-.w i dAel b eprrtoag r aEmdusc a tcaino n b el o iomkps r oavt e tdh e for
Permission is hereby given by grade levels. Students in French programs write
the copyright owner for any English and French language arts tests and the provincial results to see if changes are needed
person to reproduce this French forms of the other tests. A s mall in provincial programs or policies.
guide or any part thereof for
number of students in special circumstances, who
educational purposes and on In this way, everyone works together to help
would be unable to respond at all to the tests
a n on-profit basis. all students learn to their potential.
or who would be harmed by the testing, may
be excused by a s uperintendent. Special Do the provincial achievement
provisions are made for students with physical tests test everything?
disabilities and learning disabilities who need
assistance to write the tests.
No single test can assess everything. Such
What is the purpose of the things as laboratory skills, oral language
achievement tests? expression and many other learnings are best
evaluated by the classroom teacher. The
The tests are designed to indicate how well clearest picture of students' growth and
development is g ained when a wide variety
Alberta students are meeting provincial of assessment information is considered.
standards. They are intended to support teachers
in planning instruction and to inform How are achievement tests
Albertans about student achievement in the
developed?
province.
What are achievement tests Alberta Education and classroom teachers, in
used for? cooperation with school districts, work
together to develop the provincial achievement
tests. All questions are field tested with grade
Each school and jurisdiction receives a d etailed
3, 6, or 9 s tudents before being used on
rceopnosrutl t aotni o int s wsittuhde n tthse'i r r esscuhlotosl. cSocuhnocoill , s tlaofofk, iant provincial tests. Questions have to be clear to
the school report to see where their students students, or we don't include the questions.
2
How long do these tests take
to write?
The Grade 3 l anguage arts test has two parts: Detailed reports are provided for each school
reading and writing. Each takes one hour. The and jurisdiction. These reports include the
multiple-choice test for mathematics also provincial results.
takes about one hour.
What can I d o to help my child?
In grades 6 a nd 9, the written section of the
language arts test takes about two hours, and Frequent reading both in and out of school is
the reading section one and one-half hours.
critical to children's success in all subject
Multiple-choice tests in each of the other areas. When children read broadly and often,
three subject areas also take about one and they develop a b ase that is necessary for
one-half hours. future learning because they experience new
vocabulary and sentence structures, search out
Suitable breaks are provided for students.
answers to questions, solve problems and gain
Also, tests are scheduled over several days so
information; and they develop valuable
that only one test is written in a d ay.
thinking skills as they work to get meaning
When are the tests written? from their reading. All of these are essential
for success in school.
The written part of the language arts test is It is important to remember that much
scheduled for late May and the rest of the learning happens quite naturally within the
tests in the last half of J une. home environment. Families talk about
things, go places and do things together,
How are the tests marked?
play games, make plans and deal with home
situations. Listening to your child,
Teachers are provided with scoring guides and showing enthusiasm and providing
samples of student work that illustrate the encouragement goes a l ong way to
standards. This enables teachers to mark
building self-confidence.
their students' tests and use the results as part
of students' final grades. It is most important to be in communi-
cation with your child's teacher. By
Provincial marking is done centrally. Multiple- talking with the teacher, you can gain an
choice questions are machine-scored. Teachers understanding of what is expected of
meet in July to mark the written part of the your child. You can also get more %
language arts test. Alberta Education staff specific tips about ways
provide training to the teachers and carry out
learning.
regular reliability checks during central marking. to support your child's
Do the achievement tests affect More questions?
report card marks?
If y ou have additional
The teacher is in charge of classroom assess- questions or comments
ment. Each individual teacher decides whether about achievement testing
to mark the tests and use the results in please speak with your
arriving at final grades for the child. child's teacher or school
principal, or contact
The teacher may use the mark for a w hole
test or part of the test along with other The Achievement
assessment information. If teachers use the Testing Team
mark from an entire test, the results will reflect Student Evaluation
the provincial standard best. Branch Alberta Education
How can l g et the achievement [phone]
test results? To be connected toll-free
in Alberta, dial 310-0000.
We prepare a c hart, or profile, showing each
child's performance in relation to provincial
standards on each test. We send two copies to
the school that the child will be attending in
September. One copy is for the student's
record and the other is for sharing with parents.
If we do not know which school a student will
be attending, we send the profiles to the school
where the child wrote the achievement test.
Provincial Standards and
Sample Questions
The following is a s hort list of what students should know in mathematics by the end of Grade 3. You can get
a m ore complete description through discussion of your child's educational program with his/her teacher.
Below are some sample questions. The questions give you a f irst-hand look at what provincial achievement tests are
about, we have reduced the actual print size and changed the format to fit the limited space available in the Parent
Guide. The tests are much friendlier for students. The answers to the questions are on page 8.
Grade 3 M athematics Standards Use this picture to answer question 1 .
Students are expected to be able to:
• use numbers up to 1000
• use fractions (fifths, tenths)
• represent numbers using objects, pictures, and
symbols
• recall addition and subtraction facts (to 18), and
multiplication facts (to 49)
• estimate, measure, and compare quantities of time, E- 0°C r 3 0°C
length, capacity, mass, and money b 2 0°C
• classify, name, and construct three-dimensional E- --2300°°CC
objects and two-dimensional shapes b 1 0°c
• interpret data using charts and graphs and be familiar
with hand calculators and computers as appropriate b - io°c
Grade 3 M athematics Sample Questions
1 . What temperature is shown on
Read this and then answer the questions
the thermometer?
below.
O -22°C
A T rip to Mama Mia’s Pizza
O 18°C
Hi. My name is Sarah.
O 22°C
One Saturday my dad said,
O 24°C
“Let’s go to Mama Mia’s Pizza for
lunch. We got ready and climbed
into the car. “Fasten your seatbelts,”
said Dad. “Away we go!”
4
2. I s aw this chart on the wall of the Use this pictograph to answer
restaurant.
questions 3 a nd 4.
Pizzas ordered this week
Some people talked about their
432
Mama Mia’s Special
702 Cheese favourite pizza. I d rew a p ictograph
of their choices.
Ham and Pineapple
234-
403 Pepperoni
Ham and Pineapple
© (^ ) ( ^) ( ^) ( ^) ( ^)
©©©©©
Starting at the top of my notebook,
Pepperoni
I w rote these numbers from ©©©©©©
Deluxe
SMALLEST to LARGEST.
Mushroom
Which notebook shows the numbers
from smallest to largest?
© M eans one person
1 i—
liiliil
702 234
3. Which kind of pizza did the
432 403
FEWEST people choose as their
403 432 favourite?
234 702 O Ham and Pineapple
O Pepperoni
0 0
O Deluxe
r i
432 234 O Mushroom
702 432
403 403
4. How many people chose the
234 702 Deluxe pizza as their favourite?
O 7
o o
O 6
O 5
O 4
5
5.1 filled two 250 mL glasses with juice.
Part B: Reading
I. Read the following story and
How much juice is this?
answer questions 1 and 2.
O More than 1000 mL The Bald Knight
O Less than 500 mL
There once was a K night who,
O Equal to 1000 mL as he grew old, lost all his hair.
His head became as bald as a d uck’s
O Equal to 500 mL
egg. He didn’t want everyone to see
how bald he was, so he had a w ig
made — a f ine white wig with long
Grade 3 L anguage Arts Standards
curling tresses.
Students are expected to be able to:
The very first day he put it o n, he went
• read and understand Grade 3 l evel reading material
hunting with a company of lords and
• describe and respond to the events and characters in
literature
ladies. Away they went over the green
• look for information and answer questions using fields and through the forest, with the
different sources
hounds racing on ahead, and a g ay
• communicate information, ideas, and opinions to
familiar audiences for a specific purpose blowing of horns. The Knight was
• use complete sentences and correct spelling for proud of his new wig, as he cantered
commonly used words
along on his black horse.
“How handsome they must think I a m!”
Grade 3 L anguage Arts sample Questions he said to himself.
Part A: writing
Presently the hounds lost the scent,
Students are provided with a p icture and a b rief and most of the company gathered
explanation as a p rompt for their writing.
Students choose the format (story, letter, or diary/ together under a g rove of oak trees till
journal entries) that will allow them to do their best
they could pick it u p once more. The
writing. Students have 60 minutes to complete
their writing. Knight rode up to join them. Then a
dreadful thing happened. He passed
Students' writing is evaluated on what they say and
how well they say it. The scoring categories are under a t ree, and as he did so, his wig
content, organization, sentence structure, vocabulary,
was caught on a b ranch and pulled off
and conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation).
Content and organization are weighted to be worth his head in full view of everyone. How
twice as much as each of the other categories in arriving
at an overall score for a student's writing.
6
they laughed, and how foolish the poor II. R ead the following experiment
Knight looked, after thinking himself so and answer questions 3 t o 5.
handsome! There he sat on his black
horse, while the fine curly wig hung
Dr. Zed’s Crystal Mountain
above his head on the oak branch.
This experiment shows how crystals
The Knight could not help seeing the can be made.
fun, so he laughed as merrily as any-
one else.
What You Will Need:
“Why,” he said, almost rolling off his several pieces of charcoal
horse with amusement, “how could I (broken lumps are best)
expect a w ig to stay on my head, when
glass bowl
my own hair wouldn’t!” measuring cup
J. Reeves
spoon ®
food colouring
salt
250 mL hot tap water
O p eople of the village
60 mL vinegar
O his own family
O lords and ladies
How to Make Your Crystal Mountain
O a k ing and a q ueen
1
1. Place the charcoal lumps in a b owl.
.
2. What is the message of this 2. Slowly add salt to 250 mL of hot tap
story? water until no more salt will dissolve.
Remember to stir.
T O It i s dangerous to ride under
low branches.
3. Add the vinegar to the salt solution.
h
O People who wear wigs should not 4. Pour the salt solution over the
eKnight h unted w ith O oWriuedr es e nhleoveredss e. s t.o be able to laugh at 5. dcPrhoaauirrnc o taohlfef. s fIoofom t deh e c oscolhloauurtrciioonnag.l ofnl o attosp, of
the charcoal.
O Be careful when you are hunting.
6. Put the bowl in a w arm corner.
After a f ew weeks, you’ll have a
multicolour crystal mountain.
Gordon Penrose
7
National Library of Canada
3. Before you start the experiment, Food colouring is used in this
the charcoal should be 5. experiment so that the crystals
O dissolved O dissolve easily
O heated O are different colours
O shaken O float higher
O broken O are larger
4. If the charcoal floats in the salt
solution,
O break the charcoal lumps
O add vinegar to the solution
O drain off some solution
O pour food colouring on top of
the charcoal
Mathematics Answers
Language Arts Answers
1. lords and ladies
1. 22°C
2. We need to be able to laugh
2. r4^03~ at ourselves.
432 3. broken
702 4. drain off some solution
5. are different colours
3. Mushroom
4. 6
5. Equal to 500 mL
Student Evaluation
8