Bust This Test

It's that time of year, testing time. Testing is a stressful time for both students and teachers. It used to be called the STAR test and some still use that name. STAR stands for Standardize Test for Achievement in Reading. However, now students are tested for Reading, Math and Science. Officially it's called the CST, California Standardized Test. Teachers have been getting their students test ready with a variety of strategies. At Alvarado the phrase BUST THIS TEST is used to motivate students to focus and try their best. Students use practice tests and strategies for choosing multiple choice questions.

BUST THIS TEST
Go to bed early
Be on time to school
Focus on the test
Read the title first
Read the questions first then read the passage
When you are done, go back and check your answers

Teachers Keith Guernsey, Jeff Pickering, and David Trier produce a video to reduce student test stress and use it in an assembly to motivate students. Go to the Alvarado Elementary School website to view by clicking on view the movie on the left.

California uses five performance levels to report student achievement on the CSTs:

• Advanced: This category represents a superior performance. Students demonstrate a comprehensive and complex understanding of the knowledge and skills measured by this assessment, at this grade, in this content area.
• Proficient: This category represents a solid performance. Students demonstrate a competent and adequate understanding of the knowledge and skills measured by this assessment, at this grade, in this content area.
• Basic: This category represents a limited performance. Students demonstrate a partial and rudimentary understanding of the knowledge and skills measured by this assessment, at this grade, in this content area.
• Far Below / Below Basic: This category represents a serious lack of performance. Students demonstrate little or a flawed understanding of the knowledge and skills measured by this assessment, at this grade, in this content area.