March 18, 2015
JACKSON, Miss. – Starting in the 2014-2015 school year, Mississippi’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act requires 3rd grade students to read at or above grade level in order to be promoted to 4th grade. Under the law, a student scoring at the lowest achievement level on the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment will be retained in 3rd grade, unless the student meets the good cause exemptions for promotion as specified in the law.
To assist 3rd graders in preparation for the test, parents may view the test blueprint and sample questions that have been provided to schools (view here: www.mde.k12.ms.us/OSA/RSA). The blueprint will give parents a sense of the types of questions their children will have to answer.
The blueprint includes 24 sample questions and a complete description of the 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment. The blueprint identifies the skills the test measures and explains how these skills align with the Mississippi College- and Career-Ready Standards.
The 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment will be administered in public schools statewide during the testing window of April 10-23, 2015. Students who do not pass the test the first time will be given two opportunities to retest. The first retest window is May 18-22, 2015. The second retest opportunity will take place between June 29 and August 7, 2015.
Students will be asked to answer 50 multiple choice items based on short questions and passages up to 55 words long. The test is computer adaptive, which means questions get more or less difficult depending on whether a student answered the previous question correctly. Test items will assess comprehension of literature and informational text, the use of vocabulary, and foundational reading skills including phonics, word recognition and fluency.
“Students need strong reading skills in order to succeed in all of their school subjects,” said Dr. Kymyona Burk, state literacy director. “The 3rd grade is a critical year for literacy because that is when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn.”
Sample 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment questions:
Phonics and Word Recognition
1. Which does the word armful mean?
(1) as much as the arms can carry
(2) one who works with his arms
(3) something that looks like arms
Fluency
2. A shark never runs out of teeth. If a shark loses a tooth, another tooth takes its place. During its life, a shark grows thousands of teeth!
Which tells about the paragraph?
(1) It tries to get you to buy a shark book
(2) It explains true things about sharks
(3) It tells you a story about a shark
Key Ideas and Details
3. Once a week, Hiro goes to a game group after school. Each week, he asks a new friend to come with him. He likes to talk to the other kids in the group too. Hiro likes it when everyone has a fun time together.
Which word best tells about Hiro?
(1) bossy
(2) friendly
(3) quiet
Answer key: 1 (1); 2 (2); 3 (2)
To view the test blueprint and all of the sample questions, visit www.mde.k12.ms.us/OSA/RSA and click on “3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment Sample Item Booklet.”
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Jean Cook, APR
Communications Specialist
601-359-3519