DISTRICT 3
PARENT WORKSHOP
STATE TESTING INFORMATION
P R E S E N T E D B Y I L E N E A LT S C H U L
COMMUNITY SUPERINTENDENT DISTRICT 3
F E B R UA RY 2 5 , 2 0 1 4
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
AGENDA
 Introduction
 Changes to State Testing
 Testing Session Times
 Question Formats
 Sample Questions
 How to Help your Child at Home
 Questions/Comments/Concerns
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Introduction
 Elementary and middle school students in New York State take yearly State tests
in core academic subjects to assess their mastery of the Common Core Learning
Standards.
 State English Language Arts Test will be administered on:
Tuesday, April 1st
 Wednesday, April 2nd
 Thursday, April 3rd

 State Mathematics Test will be administered on:
Wednesday, April 30th
 Thursday, May 1st
 Friday, May 2nd

District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Changes to State ELA Test
Some of the important changes in the 2014 English Language Arts
Test include:
 Tests will include authentic passages: authentic texts are
published works that are typically encountered by students in
daily life, such as in magazines, books or newspapers
 The 2014 ELA tests will be split into 3 books administered across
3 days
 Day 2 will consist of one book with both multiple-choice and
constructed response questions
 For Grades 5–8, Day 2 will have fewer passages and questions
than Day 2 of the 2013 tests
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Changes to State Mathematics Test
Some of the important changes in the 2014 CCLS Mathematics
Test include:
 Fewer questions on the 2014 Grades 3–8 Mathematics Tests
than the 2013 tests
 Shorter administration times for the 2014 Grade 3–8
Mathematics Tests than in 2013
 A change in content emphasis in Grade 8
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Testing Session times & Questions
English Language Arts Test
Day 1
Grade # Ques
Day 2
Est. Time # Ques
3-4
5 passages 50-70
30
min
Multiple
Choice
(MC) ques
5-8
6 passages 70-90
42 MC
min
ques
1 passage
7 MC ques
1 Extended
response
3 Short
response
1 passage
7 MC ques
1 Extended
response
3 Short
response
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Day 3
Est. Time # Ques
Est. Time
50-70
min
3 passages
5 Short
response
1 Extended
response
50-70 min
60-90
min
3 passages
5 Short
response
1 Extended
response
50-90 min
Testing Session times & Questions
Mathematics
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Grade
# Ques
Est. Time
# Ques
Est. Time
# Ques
Est. Time
3
24 MC
24 MC
40-60 min
24 MC
25 MC
40-60 min
5
24 MC
25 MC
40-80 min
6-8
28 MC
27 MC
40-80 min
5 Short response
3 Extended response
6 Short response
4 Extended response
6 Short response
4 Extended response
6 Short response
4 Extended response
50-70 min
4
40-60
min
40-60
min
40-80
min
40-80
min
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
70-90 min
70-90 min
70-90 min
Question Formats - ELA
Multiple-Choice Questions
 Multiple-choice questions are designed to assess Common Core Reading and Language Standards. They will ask students to
analyze different aspects of a given text, including central idea, style elements, character and plot development, and vocabulary.
Almost all questions, including vocabulary questions, will only be answered correctly if the student comprehends and makes use
of the whole passage. For multiple-choice questions, students will select the correct response from four answer choices.
Multiple-choice questions will assess Reading Standards in a range of ways. Some will ask students to analyze aspects of text or
vocabulary. Many questions will require students to combine skills. For example, questions may ask students to identify a
segment of text that best supports the central idea. To answer correctly, a student must first comprehend the central idea and
then show understanding of how that idea is supported. Questions will require more than rote recall or identification. Students
will also be required to negotiate plausible, text-based distractors. Each distractor will require students to comprehend the
whole passage.
(A distractor is an incorrect response that may appear to be a plausible correct response to a student who has not mastered the
skill or concept being tested.)
Short-Response Questions
 Short-response questions are designed to assess Common Core Reading and Language Standards. These are single questions in
which students use textual evidence to support their own answers to an inferential question. These questions ask the student
to make an inference (a claim, position, or conclusion) based on his or her analysis of the passage, and then provide two pieces
of text-based evidence to support his or her answer. The purpose of the short-response questions is to assess a student’s ability
to comprehend and analyze text. In responding to these questions, students will be expected to write in complete sentences.
Responses should require no more than three complete sentences. A rubric is used to evaluate these types of responses.
Extended-Response Questions
 Extended-response questions are designed to assess Writing from Sources. They will focus primarily on Common Core Writing
Standards. Extended-response questions will require comprehension and analysis of an individual text. Many extendedresponse questions will ask students to express a position and support it with text-based details. Extended-response questions
allow students to demonstrate their ability to write a coherent essay using textual evidence to support their ideas. Student
responses will be evaluated based on Common Core Writing Standards and a student’s command of evidence to defend his or
her point.
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Question Formats- Mathematics

The 2014 Common Core Mathematics Test contains multiple-choice, short-response (2-point), and extendedresponse (3-point) questions. For multiple-choice questions, students select the correct response from four
answer choices. For short- and extended-response questions, students write an answer to an open-ended
question and may be required to show their work. In some cases, they may be required to explain, in words, how
they arrived at their answers.
Multiple-Choice Questions
 Multiple-choice questions are designed to assess CCLS for Mathematics. Mathematics multiple-choice questions
will mainly be used to assess standard algorithms and conceptual standards. Multiple-choice questions
incorporate both Standards and Standards for Mathematical Practices, some in real-world applications. Many
multiple-choice questions require students to complete multiple steps. Likewise, many of these questions are
linked to more than one standard, drawing on the simultaneous application of multiple skills and concepts.
Within answer choices, distractors will all be based on plausible missteps.
Short-Response Questions
 Short-response questions are similar to past 2-point questions, requiring students to complete a task and show
their work. Like multiple-choice questions, short-response questions will often require multiple steps, the
application of multiple mathematics skills, and real-world applications. Many of the short-response questions
will cover conceptual and application standards.
Extended-Response Questions
 Extended-response questions are similar to past 3-point questions, asking students to show their work in
completing two or more tasks or a more extensive problem. Extended-response questions allow students to
show their understanding of mathematical procedures, conceptual understanding, and application. Extendedresponse questions may also assess student reasoning and the ability to critique the arguments of others.
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Sample Questions
 Try to arrange yourselves by grade(s) of your
child/children
 You will receive a packet of grade–specific
sample ELA and Mathematics questions
 Take some time to review and discuss with the
people around you
 We will reconvene in approximately 15 minutes
and discuss
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
How to Help Your Child Prepare
 As a parent, you can help and learn more by talking
with your child about what they are learning
 Ask open-ended questions about what they learned
in school each day
 Read their homework
 Attend school events to learn about what their
teachers expect
 Follow-up with the parent coordinator or applicable
school staff when you need more guidance
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
The shift in ELA
What you can do to help
Read as much fiction as
non-fiction
Supply non-fiction texts
Read non-fiction books aloud or with your child
Model reading non-fiction including newspaper articles, and magazines
Learn about the world by
reading
Supply series of texts on topics that interest your child
Find books that explain how things work and why
Discuss non-fiction texts and their ideas
Read more challenging
material
Know what is grade-level appropriate
Read challenging books with your child
Talk about reading using
evidence
Talk about texts
Demand evidence in everyday discussions and disagreements
Ask questions such as: How do you know? Why do you think that?
Discuss predictions
Write about text using
evidence
Encourage writing at home (letters, for variety of purposes)
Write “books” together using evidence and detail
Know more vocabulary
words
Read often and constantly with young children.
Read multiple books on same topic to understand the meanings of new
content specific words
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
The shift in Math
What you can do to help
Build skills across grade
levels
Be aware of what your child struggled with last year and how that will
effect ongoing learning
Reach out to school for additional support to ensure that support is
given for “gap” skills such as negative numbers, fractions, etc.
Learn more about less
Know what the priority work is for your child at their grade level
Use math facts easily
Develop fluency with math facts
Play math games
Follow-up with your child’s teacher for progress reports
Think fast AND solve
problems
Children should spend time practicing by doing lots of problems on
same idea (homework)
Push children to know, understand and memorize basic math facts by
building fluency
Prioritize the facts your child finds most difficult
Really know it, really do it
Ask questions and review homework to see whether your child
understands why as well as what the answer it
Provide time for your child to work on math skills at home
Use math in the real world
Ask your child to do the math that comes up in daily life.
(I.e. paying credit card bills, cooking, measuring, etc.)
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014
Questions, Comments or
Concerns
Thank you for coming this evening!
I hope it was informative!
District 3 Parent Workshop February 25, 2014