Just Released! 2013 Test Guides for ELA & Mathematics

The Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) were adopted by the New York State Board of Regents in June 2010 and approved in January 2011 for all schools and districts that serve students enrolled in Grades K–12.  The adoption of the CCLS signaled the need for educators to shift instruction to prepare students in accordance with these new, rigorous standards.  In order to best assess student learning of the CCLS, the Department has developed new Grade 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics Tests.  These new tests will be administered beginning in the spring 2013 and assess only CCLS. 

In the past, the Department has released one Test Guide in mid-winter, which was focused primarily on test administration.  In an effort to provide educators with as much support as possible regarding the instructional and assessment shifts necessitated by the Common Core, the Department has prepared 2013 Test Guides for each subject and grade.  The Test Guides integrate important instructional and assessment information into a single document and detail how the CCLS in English Language Arts and Mathematics will be measured on the 2013 tests and supplement the other Common Core implementation resources found on EngageNY. 

The Test Guides for English Language Arts and Mathematics will address the following topics for each grade:

• The instructional shifts demanded by ELA and Mathematics CCLS;
• How ELA and Mathematics are conceptualized in the CCLS;
• How the 2013 Common Core ELA and Mathematics Tests differ from previous New York State Tests;
• The 2013 Common Core ELA and Mathematics Test content and design; and
• The new CCLS rubrics for short and extended constructed response questions.

For more information and for copies of the Test Guides, please visit:
http://engageny.org/resource/test-guides-for-english-language-arts-and-mathematics