Dear Parent/Guardian,
The Maine Educational Assessments (MEA) are not just tests but a crucial part of your child's educational journey. These assessments in Mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA)/Literacy, and Science are designed to match the content and skills outlined in the standards that guide instruction in the classroom. They provide vital information about your child's learning. Your involvement in these assessments is key. Assessment data allows our district to track cohort information over time, follow specific grade levels, and determine ways to meet each group of students and individual learners' unique needs. In RSU 38, we take a comprehensive approach to assessment, combining local assessments, student grades, and teacher reports to look at the whole picture that shows essential information about your child's progress.
For the 2024-2025 school year, the Maine Through Year Assessment in Math and Reading will be administered to students in Grades 3 through 8 and 2nd year of high school during the following windows:
● Fall (Required): September 16, 2024 - October 25, 2024
● Spring (Required): April 14, 2025 - May 30, 2025
Additionally, the district will assess students in Grades K through 2 and Grade 9 using the MAP Growth Reading and Math during the State testing windows. The fall and spring administrations of the Maine Through Year Assessment will continue to provide RIT scores for all grade levels assessed to measure student growth over time; however, the spring assessment will additionally measure a student's on-grade proficiency for the required grade levels.
The online MEA Science assessment is for students in grades 5, 8, and 3rd year of high school. The window for the MEA Science assessment is between April 2 and April 17, 2025, for high school and May 12 and May 23, 2025, for grades 5 & 8. A small percentage of students with significant cognitive disabilities take an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. The Maine State Alternative Assessment (MSAA) in Mathematics, ELA/Literacy, and Science will occur between March 10 and April 25, 2025. Finally, our English Learners K-12 will participate in the ACCESS for ELLs between January 6 and February 8, 2025.
Diane MacGregor, our Technology Director, is creating each school's specific testing schedule. Your child's principal will share this schedule with you closer to the testing dates.
We are committed to providing accurate information to parents and families in our community about the value of student participation in statewide assessments. Parents can request the district's policies and procedures regarding student participation in state and local assessments. The district will provide all applicable information to families when requested. When students do not participate in state assessments, valuable information is lost. We must test all students to have an accurate picture of how to use our resources to best meet our students' needs. We are confident that with the quality instruction delivered by our dedicated educators and your support, our students can meet and exceed these expectations. We encourage you to contact your child's teacher and/or school administrator with questions about the MEA or your child's progress. Together, we can ensure your child's success.
Sincerely,
Karen G. Smith Ed.D.
Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment