Eighth Grade Assessment - Show What You Know!

     Once students enter eighth grade, it is an exciting time for them to show what they know!  The state of Florida has identified the eighth grade year as a significant year that demonstrates an academic growth to be assessed.  As stated in Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test report for grade eight assessments:

    “Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best

     decisions, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data,

     and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning.”

      Murray Middle School takes pride in how well prepared our students are to meet future goals as a result of all they accomplish across the grade levels within our school setting. Our professional staff embraces the developmental maturity of eighth grade students and look forward to enticing the students with new challenges. As we prepare students for approaching assessments in eighth grade, it is important for all stakeholders to be involved in the process. We encourage parents, students and teachers to understand the significance of this year in academic achievement.  Please read the following recommendations with your child and reflect on all that is possible for every eighth grader moving to new academic or curricular challenges at the high school level.

Reading and Writing:

      From the beginning of the eighth grade year, teachers and students refine skills in reading from non-fiction to literary analysis, including practice with words and phrases, main idea, purpose, comparisons, cause effect, and reference and research.  Practice is given in test taking skills including responding to performance tasks that require students to write responses to a reading selection. Since reading is a life skill, the teachers and students realize this process is preparing students for success in the real world far beyond our current state assessment.

       Eighth grade students are assessed through demand writing, a type of writing required by some employers during the job interview process, and used in large scale assessments, such as National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), SAT, ACT, and CLAST. According to Florida standards for writing, eighth grade students should demonstrate ability to:

     “Record information in writing; compose and create communications; accurately use language, graphic representations, styles, organizations, and formats appropriate to the language, information, concept, or idea  and the subject matter, purpose, and the audience; and include supporting documentation and detail.”

      We at Murray Middle School are proud of our rigor in writing.  From grade 6-8, the students are required to demonstrate effective communication skills.  Fluency in writing is expected across the curriculum, so eighth grade students are prepared to put together all their years of instruction to complete the assessment task.

Reading and Writing

Students are assessed in reading and writing by responding to multiple choice items and performance tasks in:

• Non-fiction selections

• Literature selections

• Poetry selections

• Paired selections

• Planning and writing for 45 minutes-Expository or Persuasive passage

• Graphic organizers - use and recognition

• Maintaining focus throughout written essay

• Determining and maintaining organization in written essay

• Demonstrating support for topic development using various methods of elaboration

• Utilizing correct conventions of punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence variety in written essay

Students receive achievement levels in reading and writing:

• 1-5 according to performance and multiple choice items

• 1-6 Rubric score for writing

Math and Science:

The 8^th Grade Mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is considerably different from the 6^th & 7^th grade assessments because this will be the year students respond to performance and multiple choice formats to answer short and extended response questions in addition to the multiple choice questions. For more information on this test go to www.fcatexplorer.com and click on the “Parent & Family Guide.” Your child can also find practice questions here as well. Your child has been well prepared throughout their middle school careers, and this will be an exciting time for them to showcase their mastery of the skills they have learned!

Students will gain an understanding and mastery in the following concepts during their eighth-grade year.

 Math assessment includes:

• Number Sense: Identify operations and know what to do with them, determine estimates, and know how numbers are used and represented

• Measurement: Recognize, compare, contrast, and convert  measurements and units of measurements

• Geometry: Describe, draw, identify, & analyze two- & three-dimensional shapes; visualize and illustrate changes in shape; use coordinate geometry

• Algebra: Describes, analyze, and generalize patterns, relations, and functions; write and use expressions, equations, inequalities, graphs, and formulas

• Data Analysis: Organize, interpret, and analyze data; identify patterns and make predictions, inferences, and valid conclusions; use probability and statistics

Science concepts measured include clusters:

·         Physical and Chemical Sciences: Understanding body processes and biochemical reactions governed by biochemical principles

·         Earth and Space Sciences: Understanding interaction and organization in the Solar System and universe and how this affects life on Earth

·         Life and Environmental Sciences: Understanding competitive, interdependent, cyclic nature of the environment

·        Scientific Thinking: Recognize and solve problems using reasoning, symbolic data, and creative thinking skills

Students are assessed in math and science by responding to questions that include:

• Multiple Choice Questions - Choose correct answer from four possible choices.

• Gridded-Response Questions - Solve problems and bubble answers in answer grids.

• Performance Tasks - Think about problem, develop a strategy, and write or record their strategy and solution.

 NRT

National Norm Reference Test – NRT is a national test that compares students’ performance across the country in the areas of reading and math.  This test yields a percentage score and is used in high school placement as well as IB Program acceptance.  The scores become permanent academic records and are part of the selection process for special awards at the end of the eighth-grade year such as Presidential Award for Educational Excellence (see following section).