38TestingProgramQuestionsandAnswers

GeneralQuestionsabouttheStateTests

1. DothetestsmeasuretheCommonCoreLearningStandards?
Yes.AllGrade38testingquestionsmeasuretheCommonCoreLearningStandards
(CCLS).ToguidetestdevelopersandhelpeducatorsunderstandtheCommonCore,the
NewYorkStateEducationDepartment(NYSED)releasedallGrade38EnglishLanguage
Arts(ELA)andMathematicstestdesignspecifications,passageselectioncriteria,and
itemreviewcriteria.Eachofthesedocumentswasdevelopedwithdirectguidancefrom
NewYorkStateeducators,theauthorsoftheCommonCore,andothernational
CommonCoreexperts.

NYSEDisconfidentthatthequestionsonthe2014testsmeasuretheCommonCore
accordingtopublishedNewYorktestdesignspecificationsandnationalconsensus.
NewYorkmeasurestheCommonCoreinwayscomparabletothetwonationaltest
consortia,PartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessofCollegeandCareers(PARCC)and
SmarterBalancedAssessmentConsortia(SBAC)andconsistentwiththeguidancefrom
Achieve,CouncilofChiefStateSchoolOfficers(CCSSO),CouncilofGreatCitySchools,
NationalAssociationofStateBoardsofEducation,NationalGovernorsAssociation,and
othernationalorganizations.AllofNewYorks2014Grades38ELAandMathematics
testquestionshavebeenthoroughlyevaluatedbyindependentreviewers.These
contentandmeasurementexperts,includingNewYorkStateeducators,nationally
recognizedcontentexpertsandprofessionalevaluators(HumRRO)haveconsistently
foundthattheitemsonthetestsmeasuretheCommonCorewithfidelityandarefair
measuresofstudentachievement.

Formoreinformationabouthowquestionsaredesignedandreviewedtoensure
accurateandfairmeasurementoftheCommonCore,pleasesee
http://www.engageny.org/resource/commoncoreassessmentdesign

2. DoCommonCoretestsrequireexcessiveorrotestandardizedtestpreparation?
No.NYSEDdiscouragesrotestandardizedtestpreparation,whichtakestimeawayfrom
learning.Thebestpreparationfortestingisgoodteaching.

3. DidNYSEDtakefeedbackfromlastyeartochangethisyearstests?
Yes.Inresponsetolastyearsfeedback,NYSEDchangedtheELADay2bookstructure,
reducedthenumberofquestions,andreducedtesttime.

NYSEDprovidesopportunitiesforanyonetosharefeedbackonstateteststhroughour
departmentemailmailbox([email protected])andphonelines
(http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/contactosa.html).

4. Whycantalltheitemsbereleased?WhydoNewYorkStateeducatorsneedto

maintaintestsecurity?
In2013,25%oftheactualtestquestionswerereleasedinthesummer.Thissummer,
weplantoreleasesignificantlymorequestionsfromthe2014tests.Questionsremain
secureformosttestingprograms(SAT,AP,LSAT,MCAT,K12statetests,certification
tests,etc.).Thisistoensurefairness.Thetestscoreswouldnotmeanthesameforall
studentsifsomestudentsreceivednarrowtestprepontestquestionsaheadoftime
andothersdidnotreceivesuchtestprep.Inaddition,effectiveteachersfocusnoton
individualquestionsandthewayaparticularquestionhappenstomeasureastandard,
butratheronthelearningstandardsthatthequestionsmeasure.Questionsmeasure
thestandardsinavarietyofways;afocusonspecificquestionsisanartificialand
unnecessarynarrowingofwhatwevalueinstudentlearning,andpreparesstudentsto
thinkaboutastandardinonesmallway.

Ittakesabouttwoyearstowrite,reviewmanytimes,fieldtestandreviewagaina
questionbeforeitisusedonatestforscoringpurposes.NYSEDsrequestofthe
legislatureforadditionalfundstoincreasethenumberoftestformsandsupportthe
releaseofmoretestquestionswasnotfundedinthisyearsbudget.NewYorkisunique
amongallstatesinthatweprintanddistributeallofourowntestingforms.Duetoour
capacityconstraints,wecanonlyhavefourversionsofatest.Moststatesoursizehave
2540versions.Themoreversionsofatest,themoreflexibilitythestatehasin
administeringfieldtestquestionsandlinkingquestions,andreleasingquestionsafter
thetest.

5. Sincequestionsmustbekeptconfidential,howdoeducatorsandparentsknowwhat
thetestwillbelike?
NYSEDhasbeentransparentabouttheCommonCoreassessments.StartinginJune
2012,wepostedsamplequestionstoshowhowthestandardswouldbemeasured
(http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatecommoncoresamplequestions).

InFall2012,weprovidedgradespecifictestguidesthatarticulatedspecificallyhowthe
shiftsininstructionwouldbeassessed(http://www.engageny.org/resource/testguides
forenglishlanguageartsandmathematics).

Thatsameschoolyear,weprovidedtheexactcriteriausedtoselectpassagesforthe
testandwritingquestions(http://www.engageny.org/resource/commoncore
assessmentdesign).Wehavereleased25%ofthequestionsusedontheactualtest.

Foreveryreleasedquestion,weprovidedanexplanationforhowthequestionmeasures
theintendedstandard,anexplanationofwhytherightanswerisrightandwhythe
wronganswersareplausible(becausetheyarebasedoncommonmisconceptions)but
incorrect,andforconstructedresponsequestions,wereleaseseveralexamplesof
studentwork,withexplanationsofwhytheresponsegotthescoreitdid.

Wehavealsoprovideddetaileddescriptionsofthespecificknowledgeandskills
measuredateachofthefourperformancelevelsonthetest
(http://www.engageny.org/resource/performanceleveldescriptionsforelaand
mathematics).

Additionally,throughtheirRegionalInformationCenters(RIC),schoolshavesecure
accesstothedataforeveryitemthatcontributestoastudent'sscore.RICsprovide
reportsthatindicatethepercentofstudentsthatscoredeachtestquestioncorrectand,
forthereleaseditems,thepercentofstudentsthatselectedeachincorrectresponse.
Foreachquestion,wealsoprovidethestandarditmeasures.Thisinformationallows
educatorstoanswerquestionssuchas,Howdidthestudentsinmyclassandschool
performonthequestionsthatmeasureeachstandard?HowcanIteachastandard
differentlynextyearifmystudentstruggled?Forthereleasedtestquestions,
educatorscanidentifythemostcommonmistaketheirstudentsmadeoneach
question,anddeterminewhattheycandonextyeartohelpstudentsresolvethat
misconception.

Theseresourcesaretestamentthattheresultsofthestateassessmentsprovideavalid
andrichsourceofinformationaboutstudentperformancethatcomplementswhat
educatorsandparentsknowfromclassroombasedwork.

6. Whatinformationisprovidedtoparentsandfamiliesaboutstudentperformanceon
thetests?
StateassessmentresultsareprovidedbyNYSEDandbythelocaldistrictorBOCES.The
stateprovidestheIndividualScoreReport(ISR).Thestateprovidesextensiveguidance
forparentstohelpunderstandtheISRandhowtousethereportasabasisofdiscussion
withthechildsteachers.Thisguidancecanbefoundat
http://www.engageny.org/resource/interpreting38elamathematicstestsresults
scorereports.

Inadditiontostatelevelfeedback,RegionalInformationCenters(RICs)haveaccessto
thedataandresourcesnecessarytogeneratemoredetailedparentfeedbackreports
(forsuggesteddataanalyses,seehttp://www.engageny.org/resource/suggesteddata
analysesfor38elaandmathematicsstatetests)thatbestmeetlocalneedsand
requests.

7. Itdoesntseemlikestudentshaveenoughtimetocompletethetest;willthataffect

testscores?
Wewillcontinuetocollectfeedbackonanydifficultiesstudentsmayhavehad
completingspecificsectionsofthetests.Afterwereceivestatewideresultsfrom
regionalscanningandscoringcenters,weinvestigatewhetherthelengthofthetesting
sessionsaffectedstudentperformance.Basedontheresultsoftheanalyses,we
determineifchangestothenumberofitemsortheamountoftimeallowedare
warrantedforfuturetests.Followingthe2013Grade38testadministrationNYSED
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conductedindepthanalysesofstudentresponsestodeterminewhateffect,ifany,time
hadonperformance.Theresultsofthoseanalysesindicatedthattimewasnotafactor
indeterminingstudentperformance.

8. Howlongarethegrades38tests?

Ingrades34,thetypicaltimeforcompletionisabout50minutesperdayfor3days
eachforELAandmath.Ingrades58,thetypicaltimeforcompletionis5060minutes
perdayfor3dayseachforELAandmath.Additionaltimeisprovidedincasesome
studentsneedmoretimetocompletetheirwork.Theoveralllengthofthegrades38
statetestshasbeenreducedforthisyear'sadministrationandwasalsoreducedin
201213comparedto201112.SinceNewYorkStateadoptedtheCommonCorein
2010,wehavenotaddedanynewtestsandtotaltestingtimeaccountsforlessthan
onepercentofclasstimeeachyear.

QuestionsandAnswersaboutEnglishLanguageArts(ELA)

9. DotheELAtestsaccuratelyandadequatelymeasureastudentsreading
comprehension?
Yes.ELAtestsmeasuretheCommonCoreELALearningStandards.TheCommonCore
LearningStandardsdefinereadingcomprehensionastheabilitytoreadandmake
meaningoftext.Tomakesenseofanytext,studentsmustbeabletounderstandthe
mainideasanddetailwithinthetext,understandhowanauthorbuildsandshapes
meaningthroughtheircraftandstructure(e.g.,howanauthortellstheirstoryor
conveysinformationthroughspecificchoicesofwords,characters,events,chronology,
etc.),andultimatelybeabletointegratewhattheylearnfromthetextintoagreater
bodyofknowledge.

OneofthefundamentalideasintheCommonCoreLearningStandardsisthatstudents
mustbeabletoreadandmakesenseoftextbeforeastheytrulylearntolovereading.

10. DotheELAtestsmeasureunderstandingofsmalldetailsratherthanoverall
comprehension?
No,thetestmeasuresstudentsabilitytobothidentifykeydetailsandcomprehend
overallmeaning.Whenstudentsstruggletounderstandandidentifydetailswithina
text,theywillhavedifficultyunderstandingatextasawhole.Smalldetailsintext
changemeaning,coloremotion,revealpointofview,definecharacters,andultimately
revealmeaning.EachoftheReadingstandardsrequireunderstandingdetailswhether
itistheexplicitidentificationofcharactertraits,context,orideas(StandardR3),using
contexttodefineunknownwords(StandardR4),orusingdetailsasevidencetojustify
anyinference(allStandards).

Belowarequestionstakendirectlyfromthe2013ELACommonCoreteststhatillustrate
howstudentsarerequiredtodemonstratebothoverallcomprehensionofapassageas
wellastheabilitytoidentifykeydetails:

Grade3,page17
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade_3_ela_re
leased_questions.pdf
Asshewaitsherturn,howdoesTaylorfeelaboutjumpingoffthedivingboard?Use
twodetailsfromthestorytosupportyouranswer.

Grade3,page12
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade_3_ela_re
leased_questions.pdf

Whichdetailbestsupportsthearticlesmainidea?
A Parrotscopyhumansounds.
B Peoplecopysoundsandnoises.
C Mlaikaisoneoftheelephantsthatcopysounds.
D Dr.JoyceH.Poolestudiesmammalsthatcopysounds.

Grade4,page10
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade_4_ela_re
leased_questions.pdf

TheSungetsangrywiththeWampanoagpeoplebecausehethinkstheyarebeing
A ungrateful
B childish
C unfair
D cruel

Grade6,page3
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade_6_ela_re
leased_questions.pdf

HowdoestheauthorshowthattheRossIceShelfisdangerous?
A byexplainingthatsomecrevassesarehidden
B bygivingthelocationsoftheworstcrevasses
C bytellingaboutatruckgettingstuckinthesnow
D bydescribinghowthecrewusedbulldozers

11. DidtheELATestshavestrongemphasisonquestionsaddressingstructureratherthan
theauthor'sintentionalmeaning?
No.Innogradearemorethan10%ofpointsderivedfromquestionsaboutstructure
(e.g.,howanauthortellstheirstoryorconveysinformationthroughspecificchoicesof
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words,characters,events,chronology,etc.).Asoriginallystatedinthetestguides
releasedinFall2012,thevastmajorityofquestionsontheCommonCoreELAtests
requirestudentstoidentifykeyideasanddetailsfromtexts(approximately6065%of
points).ThiswasreiteratedinthetestguidesreleasedinFall2013
(http://www.engageny.org/resource/testguidesforenglishlanguageartsand
mathematics).Theremainingpointscomefromquestionsthataskstudentstodefine
wordsandphrasesastheyareusedintext,identifyoranalyzethestructureoftexts,
identifypointofview,showhowillustrationscontributetounderstandingoftext,
evaluatewhichevidencesupportsdifferentpoints/claimsmadeinatext,orcompare
andcontrasthowdifferentpassagesaddresssimilarthemesandtopics.

12. WhydosomeoftheELAquestionsrequirestudentstogobackandrereadsentences
orparagraphs?
Studentsmustbeabletocompareandsynthesizeideaswithinandacrossmultipletexts,
iftheyaretomakemeaningofthetext(s).Thisoftenrequiresrereadingandlooking
backatwhathasbeenread.Studentswillneedthisskillsetinordertoparticipatein
informedcivicdiscourse,conductinquirybasedresearch,andargueintelligentlyand
persuasively.Inotherwords,thisisadesirableandfundamentalreadingskill.

13. WillhighqualityCommonCorealignedinstructionadequatelypreparestudentsfor
theELAtests?
Yes.TheassessmentsmeasuretheinstructionalshiftsdemandedbytheCommonCore
(seehttp://www.engageny.org/resource/commoncoreassessmentdesign).When
teachersteachwhatisrequiredbythestandardsusinggradeleveltexts,close
reading,writingfromsources,citingevidencetosupportclaimsthenstudentswill
growintheirabilitytoperformwellonthetests.

Greatteachershavealwayschallengedstudentstorecognizekeydetails,butalsolook
beneaththesurfaceleveltofindoutwhatanauthorreallymeantandhowthatrelates
totheworldatlarge.Allstudents,includingthosewhoarestrugglingreaders,English
LanguageLearners,andstudentswithdisabilitiescanrecognizekeydetailsandlookfor
meaning.

14. Whydosomepassagesandquestionsfromthe2013testsappearonthe2014test?

Somepassagesandquestionsthatappearedonthe2013CommonCoretestsalso
appearedonthe2014tests.Toensurethatsamescoresmeanthesamethingyear
afteryear,asmallpercentageofquestionsfromprevioustestsmustbeusedoncurrent
test;thisprocessisbestpracticeandaddressedintheJointStandardsforEducational
andPsychologicalTestingpublishedbyNationalCouncilofMeasurementinEducation,
AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,andtheAmericanEducationalResearchAssociation
(http://teststandards.org).Questionsthatwerefieldtestedinoneyearwilllikely
appearonthetestinafutureyear.

15. Whydopassagesoccasionallycontaintheuseofbrandnames?
6

OneofthemainshiftsoftheCommonCoreLearningStandardsistohelpstudents
analyzeauthenticliteraryandinformationaldocuments.Brandnamesareoccasionally
referencedinmanynonfictionandinformationalpassagesthathavepreviouslybeen
publishedforotherpurposes(e.g.,consideranyarticleyouwouldreadinthe
newspaperoramagazine;whetheritisfictionoranewsarticle,sometimesbrand
namesareusedbytheauthor).Brandnamesarenotpurposelyselectedforinclusion
onthetest;rathertheyexistaspartofthepreviouslypublishedpassagesduetochoices
madebyauthors.

16. Whydothetestsincludepassageswithgrammaticalinaccuracies?
Usingauthenticpassagesonstatetestsallowsfortheinclusionofliteraryand
informationaltextsthatareworthyofreadingoutsideanassessmentcontext.Theuse
ofauthentic,meaningfultextsmaymeanthatsomepassagesincludetheintentional
andunintentionaluseofincorrectgrammarandspelling.Eliminatingpassagesfortheir
useofnonstandardgrammarwouldexcludemanyauthorsandtextsthatarecapableof
supportingtherigorousanalysiscalledforbytheCommonCore.

Forexample,selectionsfromMarkTwainsTheAdventuresofTomSawyerorRichard
WrightsNativeSonmayappearonaCommonCoretest,eventhoughselectionsfrom
theseauthorswouldlikelyincludewritingthatcontainsincorrectgrammarandspelling.
BothTwainandWrightintentionallyuseincorrectgrammarandspellingtodevelop
characters,themesandsettings.Bothofthesetextsarepotentialfoundationaltextsfor
thegradeband.Whilepassagesfromtheseexamplesdonotappearonthisyearstest,
passagesdrawnfromsimilarlygreatworkswillbetaughtacrossthestate,andsomeof
themmayenduponthetest.

17. Whydothetestsincludepassagesand/orquestionsthatuseslang,technicaljargonor
archaicterms?
Theuseofauthentictextsmaymeanthatsomepassagesincludetheintentionaland
unintentionaluseofslang,technicaljargonorarchaicvocabulary.Questionsmayask
studentstousecontextcluestodefineslangortechnicaljargonasitisusedbythe
authorinthetext.Likeallpassagesandquestions,materialincludingslangortechnical
jargongoesthroughthoroughreview.Passagesandquestionsonthetestthatinclude
slangandtechnicaljargonarereviewedmultipletimesbyNewYorkStateteachersto
ensuretheyarecorrectandfreefrombiasorsensitivityissues.Definitionsforwordsor
phrasesareprovidedforELApassageswhenoffgradelevelwordsorwordsthatarenot
defined(eitherexplicitlyorthroughcontext)arenecessarytocomprehendmajorpoints
orlargeportionsofthetext.

18. WhyaretherepotentiallycontroversialpassagesintheELATest?

ThetransitiontoauthenticpassagesandtheCCLSforEnglishLanguageArtsmeansthat
CommonCoreEnglishLanguageArtsTestswillbeexperienceddifferentlythanpre
CommonCorestatetests.ManyoftheCommonCoreReadingStandardsrequire
studentstorecognizehowauthorssupporttheiropinions,tounderstandtheauthors
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pointofviewandpurpose,andtobeabletodiscernwellsupportedargumentsfrom
thosethatarenot.Inordertoassessthesestandardsonthetest,wemustincludetext
passagesthatexpressopinionsandtheorieswithwhichnotallreadersmayagree.
Studentsmustdemonstratetheirabilitytodeterminepointofview,purpose,and
successofargumentationwithsupportingevidenceinsubjectsthattheywillencounter
bothinacademiccourseworkandintheirdailylives.

Forexample,aselectionfromMarkTwainsTheAdventuresofTomSawyermayappear
onCommonCoretests,althoughthecompleteworkfromwhichitwasdrawnmay
includecontroversialideasandlanguage.Likewise,apassagefromRichardWrights
NativeSonmayappearonaCommonCoretest,eventhoughsomemayfindtheideas
andincidentspresentintherestofthetext(thatdoesnotappearonthetest)tobe
provocative.Bothofthesetextsarepotentialfoundationaltextsforthegradeband.
Whilepassagesfromtheseexamplesdonotappearonthisyearstest,passagesdrawn
fromsimilarlygreatworkswillbetaughtacrossthestate,andsomeofthemmayendup
onthetest.

19. Arethepassagesinthetestsdevelopmentallyappropriateforstudents?

Yes.CentraltotheCommonCoreLearningStandards(CCLS)forEnglishLanguageArts&
Literacyisreading,writing,speakingandlisteninggroundedintext.CommonCore
instructionandassessmentrequirestextsbeofqualitythatis,worthreadingandre
reading,andcapableofsupportingrigorousquestionsgroundedinevidencefromthe
text.Inherentinthestandardsistheneedtoengagestudentsintextsofappropriate
complexityfortheirgradelevelandtodirectstudentattentiontothecomplexityofthe
texts.StudentsmayfindpassagesonthetestchallengingbecausetheCommonCore
LearningStandardsdefinegradeleveltextcomplexitydifferentlythanmanyvendorsof
curricularmaterial.Whilestudentsmayfindthepassagesinthetestmorechallenging
thanthoseinnonCommonCoretests,carefulattentionwaspaidbytestdevelopers
andreviewers,includingNewYorkStateeducators,toensurethatthepassagesmetthe
gradeleveltextcomplexitycharacteristicsdefinedbytheCommonCoreLearning
Standardsandwerealsodevelopmentallyappropriateforthegrade.Seehereforthe
passageselectionguidelinesusedforNYstatetests:
http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatepassageselectionresourcesfor
grade38assessments.

ThedefinitionofgradelevelcomplexityusedintheCommonCoreLearningStandards
reflectscurrentresearchandpractitionerunderstandingaboutcognitivedevelopment
anddevelopmentalappropriateness.TheauthorsoftheStandardsworkedwith
educatorsacrossthecountrytoensurethedevelopmentalappropriatenessofthiswork.
BybuildingonwidelyrespectedhighstandardsinstatessuchasMassachusettsand
California,internationalbenchmarkssuchasPISA,andtheresearchandjudgmentsof
educatorsacrossthecountry,therewasverycarefulattentionpaidtoaninternational
consensusonwhatstudentscanhandleatvariousages.Gradelevelcomplexityas
definedintheCommonCoreLearningStandardsisusedtoselectpassagesforNew
8

York'sCommonCoretests.Thecomplexityofanygivenpassagemaydifferfromthe
complexityofthefulltext;seeELAtestguidesformoreinformation
(http://www.engageny.org/resource/testguidesforenglishlanguageartsand
mathematics).

20. AretheELAquestionsonthetestsdevelopmentallyappropriateforstudents?
Yes.Thecontenttestedbythequestionsisdevelopmentallyappropriate.Each
questionisdesignedspecificallytomeasuretheskillscalledforbythegradelevel
CommonCoreLearningStandardsforELA.Tounderstandandcorrectlyanswerthe
questions,studentsmustfirstreadandcomprehendtheentirepassage.Studentswho
readatgradelevelwillhavethevocabularyandcomprehensionskillstoboth
understandthepassageandthequestionsthatfollow.Beforeappearingonthetest,
eachquestionisreviewedandeditedbymultiplepanelsofeducatorsandprofessionals
inassessmenttoensurethatthequestionshaveasinglecorrectanswer,arefair,and
appropriatelymeasurethestandards.

QuestionsandAnswersaboutMultipleChoiceQuestions

21. Whydomultiplechoicequestionshaveplausibledistractors?
ThequestionsontheCommonCoreEnglishLanguageArtstestaremorecomplexthan
thosefoundonpreviousteststhatmeasuredpreviousgradelevelstandards.Correct
answerswillnot"jumpout";rather,studentswillneedtomakeathoughtfuldistinction
betweenthefullycorrectoptionandtheplausiblebutincorrectoptions.These
multiplechoicequestionsarespecificallydesignedtodeterminewhetherstudentshave
comprehendedtheentirepassageandareproficientwiththecomprehensionand
analysesspecifiedbythestandards.

ToanswerELAquestionscorrectly,studentswillneedtocloselyreadeachentire
passage,andbepreparedtocarefullyconsidertheirresponsestomultiplechoice
questions.Inmanycases,ifthestudenthasnotreadandcomprehendedtheentire
passage,theansweroptionsmaynotmakesense.Assuch,itisunlikelythatevenadults
couldanswerthequestionscorrectlywithoutcloselyreadingtheentirepassage.

Allquestionsonthesetestshavebeendevelopedwithextremecareandthoroughly
reviewed.Nonetheless,NYSEDreviewsallquestionsthatarebroughttoourattention
duringtestadministrationorscoringtoensurethatitisfairandhasasinglecorrect
answer.

QuestionsandAnswersaboutMathematics

22. WhichoftheCCLSstandardsdoestheMathematicstestMeasure(SeptAprilorMay
June)?
TheAugust2012memorandumGrades38MathematicsTestingProgramGuidance:
9

SeptembertoApril/MaytoJuneCommonCoreLearningStandardsprovidesguidance
onaligningstandardstoeachtimeperiod.Thetestsmeasurethestandardsdesignated
asSeptembertoAprilforeachspecificgradelevel,aswellastheMaytoJunestandards
fromthepreviousgrade.Forexample,theGrade4MathematicsTestcouldincludeany
oftheMaytoJunecontentstandardsinGrade3andanyoftheSeptembertoApril
contentstandardsinGrade4.

23. WeretheNYSCommonCoreMathematicstestsmorerigorousthanpastNYStests?
Yes.TheNYSCommonCoreMathematicstestsweredesignedtomeasuretheCommon
CoreLearningStandards.TheNYSCommonCoreMathematicstestsincludequestions
thatrequirestudentstoshowunderstandingofMathematicsprocedures,aswellas
problemsthatrequirestudentstodemonstratetheirconceptualunderstandingaswell
astheirabilitytoapplyMathematics.Forexamplesofinstructionalandassessment
expectationsforCommonCoreMathematicspleasevisitthefollowingpageson
EngageNY.org:
http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatecommoncoresamplequestions
http://www.engageny.org/commoncorecurriculum

24. Aremathconceptspreviouslyassessedatlatergradesnowonteststakenbystudents
atearliergrades?
Yes.WiththeadoptionofTheCommonCoreLearningStandardsforMathematics,
expectationsforstudentlearninghaschanged.TheCCLSidentifiessomecontentfor
instructionatearliergradesthanpaststandards.Assuch,youngerstudentswillnowsee
testquestionsthatmeasurematerialpreviouslytestedathighergrades.Forexample,
theNYSGrade8CCLSMathematicsTestdoesincludequestionsthatmeasurestandards
previouslyencounteredbystudentsathighergrades.Formoreinformationaboutwhat
isexpectedateachgradelevel,pleasereviewtheCCLSforMathematicsandthe
optionalCurricularModules.Thesecanbefoundat:
http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatep12commoncore
learningstandardsformathematics

http://www.engageny.org/commoncorecurriculum

25. Whydosomequestionsonthetestslooksimilartothoseonpasttests?Whydosome
lookdifferent?
TheCommonCoreLearningStandardsforMathematicsincludeprocedural,conceptual
andappliedmathematicalexpectations.Insomecases,questionsontheCommonCore
Mathematicsteststhatmeasuredproceduralunderstandingarereminiscentofpasttest
questions.However,tomeasureproficiencyontheCommonCore,thetestsnowalso
includequestionsthatmeasureconceptualandappliedunderstanding.Questions
measuringconceptualandappliedmathematicalunderstandingoftenlookdifferent
thanquestionsfoundonpaststatetests.Formoreinformationaboutthequestionsand
howtheymeasurethestandards,pleasereferto:
10

http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatep12commoncore
learningstandardsformathematics

http://www.engageny.org/resource/newyorkstatecommoncoresample
questions

26. WhydosomequestionsontheNYSCommonCoreMathematicstestsrequirereading?

Mathematicsinstructionandmeasurementrequirereadingbecausemathematicsisa
languageandatoolwhichweusetounderstandandcommunicatedetailsaboutthe
world.Assuch,mathematicsquestions,especiallyquestionsthatmeasureconceptual
andappliedmathematicalunderstandings,requirereadingtosetthecontextforwhere
andwhymathisused.WhilesomeMathematicsquestionsdoinvolvecomprehension
ofawrittendescription,eachquestionischeckedforgradelevelappropriatereading
load.

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