Individual student reports will be sent to schools and then distributed to parents and guardians. Provincial, school board, and school assessment results will be posted as they become available on the Minister’s Report to Parents and Guardians website: mrpg.ednet.ns.ca
Under the direction of the Department of Education, a team of Nova Scotia teachers representing all school boards will score constructed response items at regional scoring sessions. Selected response items will be scored electronically at the Department of Education.
No. In order to maintain assessment validity and to ensure an accurate picture of students’ independent reading and writing skills, it is important that students are given only the time allotted each day and do not return to a previous day’s work.
Yes. Each day teachers may give students an additional 15 minutes—but no more. (This 15 minutes of extra time is not considered an adaptation, and it does not need to be documented.) To maintain reliability of results, it is important that all students across the province are given approximately the same amount of time to complete the assessment.
In order to ensure an accurate picture of students’ independent reading and writing skills, it is important that teachers do not help students other than by directing them to the appropriate pages on which to work. Teachers can, and should, encourage their students to try their best, to read the instructions carefully, to take their time, and to check all of their work. Teachers may encourage a student to move on to other questions if they notice that a student is spending too much time on a question or task. Teachers could also let a student know if the student has two answers penciled in for the same question.
It would be beneficial to let students know ahead of time that they will participate in reading and writing during the assessment. Students will feel happier and more relaxed once they know what to anticipate. You may let the students know that the assessment activities will be much like what they do in their everyday work (e.g., reading a story, information texts, poetry, and writing a letter and a story). Teachers’ positive comments about the assessment will encourage students to do their best.
The substitute teacher should be given the 2012–2013 Nova Scotia Assessment Administration Guide for the assessment to become fully acquainted with the administration procedures. If needed, the substitute should direct questions to the School Assessment Coordinator.
If a student is absent for the entire week of the assessment, the student is expected to write the assessment during the make-up period that is noted in the 2012–2013 Elementary Assessment Week: Information Guide. It is recommended that teachers consult with the school’s administration in order to find a convenient time and place for the student to write the assessment. The school's assessment booklets must be returned to the Department of Education by the deadline at the end of the make-up period.
Upon return, the student will write the same part of the assessment as the rest of the class. Previous day(s) missed can be made up during the make-up period. Students may write only one day’s tasks on any single day. All days of the assessment are to be completed.
No. Students should write the assessment in the classroom where they would normally take English language arts. Gymnasiums, auditoriums, cafeterias, etc. are not appropriate venues for the administration of the assessment. The assessment should be seen as just another part of the students' day, and students should participate in the assessment in a familiar environment where they can be comfortable and relaxed.