State testing is officially underway.
For the next eight days, Duncan Middle School students will be taking state assessments. Today started with eighth-grade students, as they take the English Language Arts test.
Nacona Lawler, a seventh-grader at DMS, wanted to provide encouragement during the testing period.
“You got this,” Lawler said.
Eighth-grade students have four assessments during the testing window. Sixth and seventh-graders will have two assessments each.
After today’s ELA testing, the eighth-graders will have state testing in writing on Wednesday, math on Thursday and science on Monday.
Starting a week from today (April 22), seventh-graders will start testing. They will test in ELA (April 22) and math (April 23). Sixth-grade students will follow with two days of testing, too, with ELA testing on April 24 and math testing on April 28.
The Oklahoma State Testing Program (OSTP) state assessments are designed to test students on their knowledge of state academic standards. The state tests are given to students in third through eighth grades and students in 11th grade, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education website.
When they are not testing, each grade level will have designated rotations for their students. Currently, seventh-grade students are getting English instruction through English and science classes and math instruction through math and social studies classes.
Emry Vonfeldt, another seventh-grader, said testing may not be fun, but there are some perks.
“Just remember, you will get a snack after,” Vonfeldt said.
Kinsley Brown, another seventh-grader, said state testing may be overwhelming to some, but she knows they can do well if they put their minds to it.
“Don’t give up,” Brown said, offering words of encouragement.
For information about how to prepare for standardized testing, check out this article from Scholastic. Some of the article help includes “optimizing brain power,” “encourage good study habits and challenge critical-thinking skills” and “know what to expect.”
Testing resources are also available on the Oklahoma State Department website.
