New testing for Boise students

  • 2015-12-01
The Boise School District recently began administering new standardized tests that are given to students from grades two to ten.

The 20-minute long multiple choice tests cover math and reading, and the results are used to show how well the pupils in those particular grades are learning these two core subjects. This can be used to determine if they are learning what they will need to know if they are to be successful in high school and beyond.

This new evaluation tool will be given as a supplement to the new standardized achievement tests that have been implemented across the state. It will provide more precise information about any gaps that exist in the current educational plan for the students. A business that provides newsletter printing services can produce informational materials that can be sent home to parents and caregivers that keep them informed about how their children are performing on the tests, and what steps the schools will be taking to target any deficiencies that are found.

The tests that will be used are the STAR programs in reading and math, which are prepared by Renaissance Learning. The price tag for them comes in at $200,000, and the data they provide can be used by individual schools and even at the level of the individual classroom to determine what the students are and are not learning, and the curriculum can be adjusted accordingly.