Science fair winners 2018

Learn about Computer Based Testing for Grades 3-8 in English Language Arts & Math

Including:

• Skills for Computer Based Testing
• Online Practice Tests
• CBT Testing Dates

December 2017
Dear Families of Students in Grades 3 through 8,
Every spring, our students are administered the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Grades 3-8
English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Tests (Math) assessments. In 2015, NYSED announced that
all Grades 3-8 testing will be Computers Based Testing (CBT) by 2020. During the past 2 years, Yonkers
Public Schools has administered the NYSED CBT Field Tests without incident.
The District’s Research, Evaluation & Reporting staff in consultation with school administrators and teachers
have extensively assessed the benefits and the challenges of participating in CBT. Based on their review, the
District has elected to administer the NYS ELA and Math tests by computer beginning this spring 2018.
There are advantages to CBT testing. Both ELA and Math tests will be shorter. Constructed response
questions have been reduced on both tests that will result in a reduction from 3 days to 2 days per test. The
tests will continue to be untimed for all students. By removing time limits, students will be able to work at their
own pace and not have to worry about the clock while taking the 2018 tests. The tests are designed to measure
what students know and are able to do, not how quickly they can finish.
The State Education Department has outlined the 2018 CBT testing schedule as follows:
Test Administration Dates Make-up Dates
English Language Arts
Tuesday, April 10
Tuesday, April 17
Friday, April 13
Friday, April 20
Mathematics
Tuesday, May 1
Tuesday, May 8
Friday, May 4
Friday, May 11
The District is preparing for CBT in several ways:
 The State Education Department has released a Question Sampler to familiarize the community with
CBT. The Question Sampler lets educators, students, and parents see what the Grades 3-8 ELA and
math test questions will look like on a computer. The CBT Test Question Sampler is available at
https://ny.nextera.questarai.com/tds/#practice; and
 Your child’s school is providing programs and resources to better familiarize students with
keyboarding/typing skills during instruction; and
 In February 2018, the District will conduct a pretest to measure CBT preparedness and assess our
technical readiness ahead of the actual test administration; and
 You can find more information about the State tests by visiting
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/ei/eigen.html.
Our work is totally focused on your child’s success. With your support every student will achieve excellence.
Sincerely,
Dr. Edwin M. Quezada
One Larkin Center
Yonkers, New York 10701
Tel. 914 376-8100
Fax 914 376-8584
equezada@yonkerspublicschools.org
Dr. Edwin M. Quezada
Superintendent of Schools
DIVISION OF RESEARCH EVALUATION AND REPORTING
Skills for Computer-Based Testing
Keyboarding
 Can the student keyboard/type at a rate sufficient for testing? (Recommendation is 25+ words per minute (WPM) in order to complete responses on timed tests, the NYS 3-8 ELA and Math assessments are untimed.)
 Can the student use basic key functions: space bar, return/enter, shift, arrows, delete, backspace, tab?
 Can the student use numbers and punctuation keys?
 Can the student compose a response while simultaneously typing?
Mouse and Trackpad Maneuverability
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to point to an area or word on screen?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad clicking options: left click, right click, and double click?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to highlight and select text?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to manipulate selected text: cut, copy,
paste?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to select an object or window by clicking
on it?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to move a selected object or window by
clicking and dragging to new location?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to open/close a pop-up window?
 Can the student use the mouse or trackpad to scroll vertically using the scroll button?
Navigation skills
 Can the student use the screen navigation commands (previous/next)?
 Can the student navigate screen tabs?
 Is the student familiar with all the available tools in Nextera?
o ELA: zoom, bookmark, note, highlighter, answer eliminator, line reader
o Math: zoom, bookmark, note, reference, highlighter, answer eliminator, scientific calculator (grades 6-8), ruler, protractor
 Can the student use the undo and redo operations (ex. highlighter, answer eliminator)?
 Is the student familiar with how to “Review and Submit” the test?