The South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) is a statewide assessment in science and social studies administered to students in grades four through eight.  SCPASS test items are aligned with the South Carolina Academic Standards for each content area describe what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. Academic standards also include indicators that are statements of the specific cognitive processes and the content knowledge and skills that students must demonstrate to meet the grade-level standards. The format of SCPASS and SC READY tests consist of multiple-choice items. These tests will be administered on the computer.

Three performance levels were established to reflect the continuum of knowledge and skills exhibited by students on the SCPASS:  Exemplary, Met, and Not Met.

• Exemplary- The student demonstrated exemplary performance in meeting the grade level standard.

• Met- The student met the grade level standard.
• Not Met- The student did not meet the grade level standard.

The South Carolina College- and Career- Ready Assessments (SC READY) is a statewide assessment that includes tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics administered to students in grades 3-8. SC READY test items have been developed by the contractor and aligned to the 2015 South Carolina College- and Career- Ready Standards for English language arts and for mathematics.  Standards describe what schools are expected to teach and what students are expected to learn. Academic standards are statements of the specific cognitive processes and the content knowledge and skills that students must demonstrate to meet the grade-level standards.

Four performance levels were established to reflect the continuum of knowledge and skills exhibited by student on the SC READY ELA and mathematics tests:  Exceeds, Meets, Approaches, and Does Not Meet Expectations.

Exceeds Expectations- The student exceeds expectations as defined by the grade-level content standards.

Meets Expectations- The student meets expectations as defined by the grade-level content standards.

Approaches Expectations- The student approaches expectations as defined by the grade-level content standards.

The ELA test will be administered in two sessions over the course of two days with one session administered per day.  Session 1 of the ELA test will include a text-dependent analysis (TDA) item where students will read a passage and write an extended response, using information from the passage to support their answer. Both sessions of the ELA tests and the mathematics test will contain a variety of other items types to include selected-response (SR), evidence-based selected-response (EBSR), and technology-enhanced (TE).

The following schedule will be used:

Please continue to encourage your child to practice typing at home and to provide you proof or evidence in passages that he/she reads to you. We encourage all of our students to eat a healthy breakfast on the morning of testing and to get a good night’s rest.  We are confident that our students are prepared for the upcoming tests.  We have been preparing all year long.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2017!  As we surmount upon a new year, we continue to prepare our students diligently  for their upcoming standardized tests. We ask for our parents to continue to support our efforts at school as we continue to challenge our students and to encourage higher order thinking.  The SDE testing website has excellent resources for students/teachers/parents for every state testing program. There are different web-pages for each testing program that include very helpful links, including sample items, scoring rubrics, and test blueprints. Please take an opportunity to view the SDE website to learn about what is required of our students.

Educationally yours,

Mrs. Benson

We are off to a great start for the 2016-2017 school year.  We are in the process of bringing our World’s Finest Chocolate sale to an end, and we would like to thank everyone for their support of this great fundraiser.  We are in the process of trying to gather information concerning an after-school program at our school.  Please complete the attached survey and provide us with your feedback.

Also, our school is funded by Title 1, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Therefore, we must outline our responsibilities along with those of our parents and students.  We are asking that you sign the School-Parent Compact and return it to school by September 8, 2016.  We are in a partnership to improve our students’ academic achievement and to help our children achieve the state’s high standards. Once again, thank you for your continued support.

Educationally yours,

Mrs. Benson

The Holiday season has approached us, and it is a very exciting time of the year.  Nevertheless, we want to remind our students that we continue to have a lot more standards to cover before our Winter Break.  We need for everyone to remind focused and to keep pushing forward.  Parents, we continue to ask for your support as we move forward with rigor in our daily instruction.  It is with our partnership that our students will continue to excel and grow.

As we move forward with technology, we will begin in January to send our school newsletter home electronically via email.  Therefore, we ask that you make sure that you have an email address on file in the office so you will not miss out on this fabulous publication.  We will include important information from the school as well as information from each class along with pictures from each class in our newsletter. 

We are excited about the wonderful things happening in our school.  Our mission every day is to be always caring, always positive, and always learning.

Mrs. Benson, Principal

We have missed several days during the first nine weeks due to inclement weather.  Parents, we need your continued support in helping to encourage our students to keep pushing forward.  We have many standards to cover to adequately prepare our students for their end of the year standardized tests.  Once again, thanks for all you do in support of our school.

Mrs. Benson, Principal

Welcome to school, where we are Always Caring, Always Positive, and Always Learning.  We are excited about the 2015-2016 school year.  Our focus this year will incorporate rigor in our lessons and assessments.

The beginning of the year is always exciting, and we want our students to “make their marks” daily.  We challenge our students to be brave, creative, and to learn something new every day.

We look forward in continuing to develop partnerships with our parents and the community.  These relationships are vital in the growth of our students.  It indeed takes a village to raise a child.  Thank you for your support in making this a great school.

Mrs. Benson, Principal