Dear Parents and Guardians,

To begin, I want to use this opportunity to thank each of you for sending your child(ren) to Altona Middle School.  Each day I am truly impressed with their character and work ethic, and how they represent our community exceptionally well.  

I would also like to remind everyone that we will be conducting our state required assessments after we return from spring break. Much has changed the last few years regarding standardized testing in Colorado.  Last year, the name for testing changed to CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success).  You may also have heard the tests referred as PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) which is based on the Colorado Academic Standards.

The testing schedule for Altona for this year is much different, improved and shortened from what it was last year.  In all grades, our students will only take 3 ELA and 3 Math tests, and our 8th graders will also take 3 Science tests. The testing window will be from April 12 – April 29th.  Altona’s specific assessment schedule can be found at the end of this letter.

These assessments help provide useful information for our school to help make informed decisions with instruction and measure how students are meeting the Colorado Academic Standards.  They are one of many measures that we monitor related to student achievement and success; we use many data sources to identify ways to improve student achievement.  The PARCC assessments are a useful tool to help predict college readiness, to ensure each student is on track, and to help students prepare for future higher stake tests such as the ACT and SAT.  

It is important for our students and school to continue to do their best on these assessments to help provide an important measure for our school to make adjustments to improve learning, and to keep our reputation as one of the best middle schools in the state of Colorado.

We appreciate your continued support of our school. You can help your child by making sure they are at school for testing and by doing a few important things at home:

• Please be sure your child is to school on time.
• Please do not schedule appointments or vacations during the testing time.
• Encourage your child to do his or her best, but not to stress over the tests. Confident students do better on tests.  These tests are only one snapshot and not the whole story.
• Remind your child to carefully follow directions, take time to select the most correct answer, and check over work before submitting it. Good work habits will enhance student performance.  
• Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep on the days before testing. Kids do better if they are rested.
• Be sure your child has a good, nourishing breakfast and has plans for a healthy lunch. Test taking is hard work and requires lots of energy.
• Ask your child about the testing at the end of each day.  Your interest and support are very important!

Thank you again for your continued support.  

Best regards,

Jeremy LaCrosse, Principal

Assessment Schedule:

	4/12 (Tues)	4/14 (Thurs)	4/15 (Fri)	4/18 (Mon)	4/19 (Tues)	4/20 (Wed)
Period 1 8:25-10:25	Math 6	Math 6	Math 6	ELA 7	ELA 7	ELA 7
Period 2 10:30-12:00	Math 7	Math 7	Math 7	Math 8	Math 8	Math 8
Period 3 1:40-3:40	ELA 8	ELA 8	ELA 8	ELA 6	ELA 6	ELA 6

*ELA = English Language Arts

8th graders will take the science tests on April 13, 21, and 22.  

• April 13 is a late start day and students will test from 11:40 – 12:55
• On April 21 and 22 students will test during their normal scheduled social studies and science time

Students will make up any missed assessments during the testing window.