State and District Assessments

Nottingham West Participates in several state and District Assessments throughout the year. This includes the NECAP, NWEA, and NAEP.

New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP)

The New Hampshire Department of Education, Rhode Island Department of Education, and Vermont Department of Education have developed a common set of Grade-Level Expectations, known as the New England Common Assessment Program Grade-Level Expectations (NECAP GLEs), and test specifications in Mathematics, Reading, and Writing.  Building on the success of the NECAP collaboration in Mathematics, Reading, and Writing, the states have developed common assessment targets and test specifications for Science.  Grade-Span Expectations (GSEs) for high school students in Mathematics, Reading and Writing have been developed for grades 9-10 and 11-12. The GSEs include expectations that are assessed on the State assessment and others that will be a local curriculum and assessment option.

NECAP is administered in October in grades 3-8  and 11 in Mathematics and Reading. Writing is assessed in grades 5, 8, and 11 at the same time. Science is administered in May 2008 in grades 4, 8, and 11.

For further information go to http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/curriculum/NECAP/NECAP.htm

Click here to read a letter from the Commissioner of Education on the status of student performance in NH.

NWEA

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are state-aligned computerized adaptive tests that accurately reflect the instructional level of each student and measure growth over time.

NWEA believes in an assessment that:

• Gives a child the chance for success.
• Students find engaging.
• Respects classroom time.
• Provides useful information.

MAP tests provide highly accurate results that can be used to:

• Identify the skills and concepts individual students have learned.
• Diagnose instructional needs.
• Monitor academic growth over time.
• Make data-driven decisions at the classroom, school, and district levels.
• Place new students into appropriate instructional programs.

For further information go to: http://www.nwea.org/assessments/

NAEP

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history. Assessments in world history and in foreign language are anticipated in 2012.

Since NAEP assessments are administered uniformly using the same sets of test booklets across the nation, NAEP results serve as a common metric for all states and selected urban districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year, with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a clear picture of student academic progress over time

The NAEP is administered each February at Nottingham West at the fourth grade level.

The Commissioner of Education Statistics, who heads the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education, is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project. The National Assessment Governing Board, appointed by the Secretary of Education but independent of the Department, sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for developing the framework and test specifications that serve as the blueprint for the assessments

For further information, go to http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard