Parents and Students,
On March 9th, 10th, 16th and 17th students at TJMS will be taking the Maryland School Assessment (MSA). The MSA tests are used to measure the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) of students at the school as they progress toward proficiency in their academic subjects. The tests also determine the amount of funding schools in the district receive from the federal government.
It is imperative that TJMS’s students do well on these assessments. To ensure that students are well rested and mentally prepared for the tests:
- Please do NOT schedule doctors’ appointments or any events that will pull students from school or keep them out of school on these dates.
- Please ensure that your child goes to bed EARLY and gets sufficient rest for the test. A well-rested student is a prepared student.
- Please ensure that your child gets a proper meal the night before each test AND the morning of the each test.
- Please ensure that students arrive to school ON TIME (8:30 am).
- Avoid fast food, candy, sodas and chips. Opt for fresh fruit, real juices (Juicy Juice, Caprisun, Apple Juice) and dried fruit (raisins, nuts, cranberries). Proper nutrition affects a students’ ability to maintain attention, their behavior and their ability to comprehend complex problems.
- Please avoid after-school extracurricular activities on the days before these tests so that students can be well-rested.
- Review notes and work which encourage higher order conceptual thinking (questions which ask students to explain, analyze, infer, discuss, prioritize or evaluate, not simply ‘what does this mean‘)
Thank you again for your part in helping our students (your children!) to succeed. Parents, Administrators and Teachers working together ensure student achievement!