It's been a busy week --- I've been out of the classroom Monday morning and all day Wednesday attending various school and district professional development meetings for all third grade teachers. I want to share with parents that I received very positive letters from both substitute teachers, complimenting all students on their excellent behavior.
CAASPP testing - As we discussed at Back-to-School Night in August, third graders will take the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress this spring (April 9-13, to be specific) and we've been using our time with the Chromebooks to take some practice tests. This is giving us a chance to get used to the login process, learn how to use some of the tool features available to us, and become familiar with the format of the various sections of the test. If you would like to get a look at the test, or if you want your child to get more opportunities to practice, you can access the CAASPP Training Site. Your child will not log on with their number but instead will leave the settings for "Guest" and select Grade 3. Then choose one of the Smarter Balanced Practice Tests and Performance Tasks (in pink). Please note: the purple, light blue, and dark blue tests are different from what students will encounter on the CAASPP, so use only the pink tests or tasks. These will not be scored, but you will get a good sense of the various features, and your child will get a chance to practice with the opportunity to talk to you about it, which they can't do on the actual tests.