April 14, 2015

Dear Parent,

The Michigan Department of Education has changed the annual assessment that all students in grades 3-8th must take. The test used to be called the MEAP Test, but is now referred to as the M-STEP Assessment. The M-Step format is much different than what our students have seen in the past. The MEAP was previously administered in the fall, whereas the M-Step is administered in the spring to better capture a full academic year of student growth in specific core content.

The M-Step utilizes a combination of classroom activities, performance tasks, and simple question and answer. There is a significant amount of effort and timerequired of students in order to score well. In addition, at the middle school ONLY, students will be taking the web-based test, which means all answers will be recorded via computers and the internet. Use the following link to see how students will have to use technology to complete the M-Steps test.

The new testing windows will be as follows:

8th Grade- week of April 27th– English language arts, mathematics, social studies

7th Grade-week of May 4th - English language arts, mathematics, science

6Th Grade-Week of May 18th - English language arts, mathematics

Student attendance will be crucial during their week of testing. Students that are absent during a test period may have to make up a test after school. Please make sure your kids are at school during his/her test week. If this requires the changing of doctor, orthodontist, or dentist appointments we urge you to make these changes.

Students will be given an adequate amount of time to complete the testing. However, if during the test a student requires more time than allotted they will need to finish the testing on THAT day. This may require students to stay after school in order to comply with Michigan Department of Education testing mandates. We will make every effort to complete the testing within the school day. The need to arrange transportation for completion of the testing may be necessary.

Additionally, research has shown that students that get an adequate night’s sleep and eat a nutritious breakfast the morning of the test tend to score higher than those that do not. We encourage you to give your student every opportunity to succeed.

Respectfully,

Chris Adams

Principal

Napoleon Middle School