Dear Hudson CSD Families,
As a part of our balanced assessment system, our schools will participate in the annual New York State Grades 3-8 assessments. These assessments, which are snapshots of moments in time, in conjunction with other measures administered by the district and locally at our schools, provide a more complete picture of student learning. This letter informs families of some significant changes coming to these State assessments.
Please note that the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) is transitioning the Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science assessments from paper-based to computer-based testing (CBT). This transition is part of NYSED’s commitment to meeting both the needs of 21st-century learners and improving test delivery, test integrity, scoring validity, and turn-around time on testing results. All of our students in grades 3-8 are accustomed to taking State assessments on paper and their Chromebooks.
As a district, we are confident in our students’ ability to transition to CBT. Over the past three years, our students have made tremendous strides in improving their technical skills and knowledge. We will continue to provide our students with ample technology exposure and opportunities in the classroom to enhance their skills and ensure they are entirely ready to demonstrate their proficiency on the state standards through CBT.
As part of this exposure and to build comfort with the CBT platform, our students will participate in a CBT simulation this month. Students will spend an estimated forty-five (45) minutes on each of these online practice opportunities using the NYSED’s online testing platform. The emphasis for these practice assessments is on providing students a chance to hone their digital skills, as well as for the district and school to gain valuable feedback on our technology capabilities. These practice opportunities will not be graded.
Parents/guardians and students can review CBT sample questions by visiting NYSED’s Question Sampler website (https://ny.nextera.questarai.com/tds/#practice ). More information about the Grade 3-8 CBT assessments can be found at https://www.nysed.gov/state-assessment/computer-based-testing-cbt.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the State’s transition to CBT, please do not hesitate to contact your principal.
Sincerely,
Dr. Elsa Kortright-Torres, Executive Director for Teaching and Learning