It's Test-Taking Time in Middletown Public Schools

It's standardized test time across Connecticut, a season that puts added stress on students, teachers and parents alike as schools administer the Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.

The CMT is taken by students in grades 3-8 each year, while the CAPT is given to high school sophomores annually. 

In Middletown the tests began today. Both will pick up again on March 11 and then run through March 20. Makeups begin after that, says Assistant Superintendent of Schools Enza Macri.

After today, Macri says, "we'll take a break for the rest of the week due to the blizzard and snow days." Teachers will use Wednesday to Friday to get in some more preparation lessons before testing resumes Monday.

Many of the schools held motivational pep rallies, Macri says, and afterward many have special events rewarding students for their hard work. "I'm sure they're going to shave Jon Romeo's beard again," she says, an annual event at Macdonough Elementary, which last year saw saw the principal and two teachers sacrificing their hair.

The CMT and CAPT are the the major standardized tests public schools across Connecticut are required to give their students annually. How students fare on them is one of the measurements the state uses to gauge a district's overall performance.

While the tests are not used to determine if individual students should be held back a grade, they can provide teachers with insight into which students need additional help in particular areas.

The CMT and CAPT tests students in reading, mathematics, writing and science.

The website teacherweb.com offers the following advice for parents and students for success on the tests:

• Get a good night's rest
• Give yourself plenty of time to get ready the morning of a test 
• Eat a good, wholesome breakfast
• Take your time and do your best
• Parents, encourage your child to take the testing seriously and do the best job that they can.   
• Don't schedule doctor, dentist or other appointments during testing if possible.
• Make sure students are on time for school as students can not start testing late and it will count as an absence.       
• If students do miss testing because they are absent, it will be made up at a later date.