The Connecticut Academic The Connecticut Academic Performance TestPerformance Test

Third Generation Overview Third Generation Overview

ReadingReading

Visit Visit CTREPORTS.COMCTREPORTS.COM

Visit this site to find local, district and state data disaggregated and for the entire population and make comparisons within a generation and to other towns and high schools within Connecticut.

CAPT OverviewCAPT Overview

Connecticut General StatutesConnecticut General Statutes

• sec. 10-14n– Mandates Statewide Assessment

– Includes Grade 10 Public School Students

– Not Sole Criterion for Graduation, Promotion

– Certification of Mastery

– On Permanent School Record, Transcript

• sec. 10-223a– Include Results in Graduation Requirements

Skills ChecklistSkills Checklist

• For Significantly Cognitively Impaired

• Requires Intensive Individualized Instruction in Multiple Settings to Acquire, Maintain, or Generalize Skills Students Without Disabilities Typically Develop Outside of a School Setting

• Instructional Program May Include Functional / Life Skills Component

Components of the Components of the AssessmentAssessment

CAPT

MathReadingAcross theDisciplines

WritingAcross the Disciplines

Science

Response to

Literature

Readingfor

Information

InterdisciplinaryWriting

Editing and

Revising

Content Area StrategiesContent Area Strategies

MathematicsMathematics

ScienceScience

ReadingReading

WritingWriting

Success is achieved Success is achieved throughthrough

Year-Long Year-Long Quality Instructional Quality Instructional

Practices*Practices*

See your content area CAPT handbook for more information.

Make Connections Across Make Connections Across Subject Areas Subject Areas

• Reading• Writing• Using Evidence• Analyzing Information

• Making Inferences

• Using Data• Graphing• Real World

Problems

CAPT Tasks for all disciplines include:

CAPT shown to be a Predictor CAPT shown to be a Predictor of Future Successof Future Success

Success is defined by:1. Interest in College

2. Time Elapsed Before Starting College

3. Reduced Number of College Remediation Courses

4. Increased # of Credits Taken Per Semester

5. Number of College Courses Taken & Passed

6. College GPA

7. Attainment of Post-Secondary Degree

Click for the study, First Steps: An Evaluation of the Success of Connecticut Students Beyond High School.

33rdrd Generation Handbooks Generation Handbooks Are Available OnlineAre Available Online

They are subject specific and include:

Changes CAPT Standards Test Blueprint 10 Practical Teaching

Strategies Released Items

Reading Across the DisciplinesReading Across the Disciplines

Number of Items and PointsNumber of Items and Points10 OE10 OE

(holistically (holistically scored)scored)

12 MC12 MC(1 point (1 point

each)each)

Total Total PointsPoints

Response to Response to LiteratureLiterature

4(6 points in all)

0 12

Reading for Reading for InformationInformation

6(2 points each)

12 24

RtL = independently scored by two readers

Reading Across the DisciplinesReading Across the Disciplines

Changes

Reading for Information– Every Other Paragraph Numbered

in Articles

• U UNDERSTANDING: – Plot, Conflict, Events, Actions, Characters, Setting.

(Ask questions and make predictions; comment on the plot and characters.)– What are your thoughts and questions about the story?

• I INTERPRETATION: – Theme, Message, Meaning, Moral.

(Reflecting, thinking, reacting to the message of the story, author’s purpose.)

– How does the main character change? Why is this specific quote important to the story? Conflict? Character? Theme?

• C CONNECTION:– Associations, Comparisons, Connections.

(Compare the themes and conflicts of the story to To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men or any novel or short story student may have read: life experience, movies, stories, etc...)

– What does the story say about people in general?• S STANCE:

– Judgments of Style, Literary Devices, Quality. (Make judgments about why the story is good using evidence from the text.)- How successful was the author in creating a good piece of literature?

Focused Holistic ScoringFocused Holistic Scoring

MathematicsMathematics

The Mathematics test assesses how well students can compute and estimate, solve problems, and communicate their understanding. The test focuses on applying important mathematics concepts to solve problems that are relevant in everyday life.

Four Content StrandsFour Content Strands

• Algebraic Reasoning: Patterns & Functions

• Numerical and Proportional Reasoning

• Geometry and Measurement

• Working with Data: Probability & Statistics

Test FormatTest Format

• The test is administered in two 75-minute testing sessions.

• There are 24 grid-in questions that require students to compute an answer or solve a problem and then bubble the solution into a grid.

• There are 8 open-ended questions that typically require students to solve mathematical problems by showing their work or explaining their reasoning and/or the procedures they used.

Materials & ResourcesMaterials & Resources

• Students are provided with a ruler, formula sheet, and a calculator during the test.

• Released items and example solutions from previous years may be found at: http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/cedar/assessment/capt/released-items.htm

Writing Across the Disciplines Writing Across the Disciplines

The Writing Across the Disciplines section is comprised The Writing Across the Disciplines section is comprised of two tests that assess students’writing skills: of two tests that assess students’writing skills:

InterdisciplinaryInterdisciplinary

Writing and Editing & Revising.Writing and Editing & Revising.

Connecticut Academic Performance TestConnecticut Academic Performance Test

Connecticut Academic Performance TestConnecticut Academic Performance TestWriting Across the DisciplinesWriting Across the Disciplines

The Interdisciplinary Writing section

of the test requires students to apply

critical thinking skills they have gained

through their social studies, science,

mathematics, language arts, the arts,

and other disciplines to an important

contemporary issue.

Should 9/11 be a national holiday?

Should cell phone use be banned in

schools? Should the voting age be raised from 18

to 21?

HOW IS STUDENT WRITING HOW IS STUDENT WRITING EVALUATED?EVALUATED?

• POSITION- Did the writer take a clear position on the issue?

• SUPPORT- Did the writer support her/his position with accurate

and relevant information from the source material?

• SOURCES- Did the writer use information from the two sources provided?

• Organization- Did the writer organize his/her ideas in a logical & effective manner?

• Clarity & Fluency- Did the writer express his/her ideas clearly and fluently using

his/her own words?

Test Strategies for All Test Strategies for All DisciplinesDisciplines

• Be sure that your children get plenty of sleep at all times, but most importantly, the nights before CAPT testing.

• Ensure that they have a good breakfast the morning of CAPT.

StrategiesStrategies• Encourage your child to read each

problem/question carefully.

• Encourage your child to pace themselves.

• If they do not understand a problem, move onto the next question and return later to the missed problem/question. In reading, answer the open-ended questions completely, and read the multiple choice carefully.

• If students take notes during reading, they will understand the text better and then have notes to refer to when answering questions.

StrategiesStrategies

• Your child should review/reread their answers and make sure they have completely answered each question.

• Encourage your child to answer every question. Even if they don’t know how to get the final answer, they should show their work or explain parts of the solution they do know.

• In reading, encourage the use of textual evidence from the story to connect to real life or other stories. This will get more points because they can fully explain their opinion about the story.

Parents/guardians should:Parents/guardians should:

Stress the lifelong importance of the skills

and knowledge that CAPT testing measures.

Stress the relationship between academic achievement and future opportunities.

Ask your child about their scores on the practice CAPT assessments given in their classes throughout the school year.