Connecticut's statewide testing program consists of two tests: The Connecticut Mastery Test, which students take in Grades 6, and 8, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, which is administered in the 10th grade. These exams gauge how students and schools are performing in relation to Connecticut's Common Core of Learning, academic standards mandated by the state.
Connecticut Student Assessment Program
Connecticut's statewide testing program consists of two tests: The Connecticut Mastery Test, which students take in Grades 4, 6, and 8, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, which is administered in the 10th grade. These exams gauge how students and schools are performing in relation to Connecticut's Common Core of Learning, academic standards mandated by the state.
There are three major academic subjects covered in the Mastery Tests: Reading, Writing and Mathematics. There are five sub-tests in all, including Degrees of Reading Power (DRP), Direct Assessment of Writing, Editing & Revising, Reading Comprehension and Mathematics. The 6th and 8th grade level exams tests skills that students are supposed to have mastered by the completion of the 5th and 7th grades, respectively.
Each section of the test features several question formats. In the Mathematics portion, there are traditional multiple-choice items, grid-in problems and open-ended questions. Students must fill in the blanks for the grid-in problems by completing a computation or equation. Open-ended items require students to display their mathematical reasoning skills with formulas and diagrams. As a whole, the subtest covers such topics as probability and statistics, operations, number sense, estimation and approximation, measurement, algebra and functions, number sense, spatial relationships and geometry, discrete mathematics and patterns.
Both reading sub-tests feature multiple-choice questions, such as filling-in-the-blanks, as well as open-ended responses. Students are graded on general comprehension, interpretation and critical thinking. Each sub-test equates to 50% of the overall reading score.
The Direct Assessment of Writing section consists of a single prompt. Students must compose an expository or persuasive response to the prompt within a 45- minute time frame. There is less of an emphasis on spelling and punctuation than on organization for this section of the test; scorers assess a grade of 1 to 6 based primarily on fluency and logic. Most of the grammatical and conventional questions are reserved for the Editing and Revising section. This portion consists of more multiple-choice questions. The Editing and Revising section accounts for 40% of the overall Writing score, the Direct Assessment 60%.
Multiple-choice items are scored electronically, while graders trained in Connecticut-specific standards score the open-ended and grid-in problems.
Parents get detailed feedback of their students' performance via the Individual Student Report. This assessment lists scores in each of the Mathematics, Writing and Reading sub-tests. Each student receives a customized message describing his or her overall performance in regards to state standards. A statistical comparison of school and district average scores is also included in the report.
While the Mastery Tests are used primarily as diagnostic exams rather than for accreditation purposes, certain scores may qualify students for special programs. Talk to your school counselor for exact test dates and further information, or visit the Department of Education's website at
http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/s-t/index.htm.
