Dear St. Peter Parents/Guardians,
I wanted to remind everyone that the 2020 Iowa Assessments will be held the week of March 2-6, with makeups scheduled for the following week. I wanted to offer a few reminders about these assessments.
- The assessments will be given to grades 2-8
- All students should have at least 2 #2 pencils.
- Students should also have a book handy to read when tests are finished.
- The assessments are NOT part of your child's grades for the quarter or the year
- The assessments are a measure of their progress from year to year in core subject areas
- The assessments may be used to determine students in need of compensatory educational support in the areas of math and reading (please note, this is NOT special education).
- In the case of Middle School, the assessments are often used as an additional tool to discern student placement in high school
- They are an important tool for school administrators to analyze areas of academic strength and weaknesses and the progress of teachers.
Here are a few suggestions to get the most out of these yearly assessments, as some children might be nervous:
- Ensure that your child is well rested each night
- Ensure that your child has a healthy breakfast before coming to school
- Stress to your child that while it is normal to be nervous, these scores have NO EFFECT on their grades at St. Peter.
- Assure them that there will likely be some questions they don't know the answer to so they are simply to do the best they can!
- Encourage them to have a positive attitude even if they are nervous or don't feel like they did well.
We usually receive the reports for the Iowa Assessments sometime in early April. After we have had a chance to review them, we will distribute the individual student narratives to the parents (likely in early May).
Last, if anyone has any questions about the Iowa Assessments, their purpose, or the nature of these exams, feel free to contact me at the school!
Sincerely,
Mr. Joseph Saffioti