6-8 NYS Assessments - Parent Information Session

- What are the recent changes in 6-8 NYS Assessments format?
- What do these assessment mean for parents and students?
- What if my child fails these tests?

UTICA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE INVITES YOU TO 6-8 NYS ASSESSMENTS PARENT INFORMATION SESSION

Where: UASCS HS Library, 160 School Lane, Frankfort, 13340
When: Thursday, March 31, 5:00pm – 5:45pm
Who: UASCS Parents and Guardians

Dear Parents,

Each year in April students in grade 3-8 take New York State Assessment in English and Mathematics. This year’s assessment dates for our 6th through 8th grade scholars are listed below.

Assessment | Dates | Grade level
NYS ELA | April 5-7 | 6th, 7th, 8th
NYS Math | April 13-15 | 6th, 7th, 8th

I am pleased to inform you that NYSED has announced very important changes this year about the format and the duration of Math and ELA Assessments. The new student-friendly format allows our scholars to get unlimited time and less number of questions to answer. The assessment results will provide a detailed report regarding your child’s progress toward being college and career ready by the time they graduate from high school.

We hope you find the following information helpful about the format and the purpose of these assessments:

Format

• The assessment has unlimited time and less number of questions in this year’s tests.
• The assessment questions are directly aligned with the Common Core curriculum and written for New York State students.
• The questions have been reviewed extensively by NYS educators and revised based on their feedback.
• The new Commissioner Mary Ellen Ella has been working closely with teachers and parents to improve the New York State’s assessment program including online assessment for instant feedback for instructional improvement.

Purpose

• The main purpose for the assessment is to provide college and career readiness progress feedback for each student
• Each student is unique. State assessment results provide important insight about a student’s progress, and will be used to provide necessary intervention or enrichment for each student.
• The school will not make promotion or placement decisions solely based on student performance in state assessment results.

Our scholars have been working very hard all year to master their grade level content and skills under the guidance of their teachers. We highly encourage all of our scholars to participate and demonstrate their best effort in all of their assessments. We believe a balanced and purposeful state assessment brings so many benefits to our stakeholders. Furthermore, it is a great opportunity for Utica Academy of Science CS to demonstrate its competency to serve our community in Utica.

We look forward to your support to continue serving our scholars. Please do not hesitate to contact me at 315 574-3000 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions.

Warm Regards,

Mustafa Ersoy
Director at Utica Academy of Science