Northeast Ohio Schools Proficiency Test Project
A Gift to Ohio Teachers and Students

On this page, you will find:

1. Description and purpose of the project that produced this CD
2. Acknowledgements
3. How to use these notebooks and workbooks in the classroom
   • Includes links for viewing and printing each workbook/notebook on the CD

Description and purpose of the project

Acknowledgements

How to use these notebooks and workbooks in the classroom
-A letter from Donna Snodgrass, Ph.D., STATS Member

About the Notebooks

• Fourth Grade Mathematics Proficiency Notebook
• Fourth Grade Science Proficiency Notebook
• Sixth Grade Mathematics Proficiency Notebook

Section I of each notebook includes State definitions of proficiency strands and outcomes and is taken from ODE’s Proficiency Information Guide. This section also includes general information from about the number of items on the test, the number of points on the test and nature of proficiency test items.

Section II of each notebook contains actual items from past proficiency tests. For example the fourth grade notebook includes the all of the mathematics items from the actual March 1999, 2000 and 2001 Ohio Fourth-grade Mathematics Proficiency Test. The items from the three tests are combined and reorganized by strand and then outcome within this notebook. Combining and reorganizing the items from the three tests according to strands and outcomes provides teachers with multiple exemplars of each outcome. In this way, teachers can develop a more concrete and operational understanding of the State’s theoretical strand and outcome definitions.

The fourth grade science and sixth grade mathematics notebooks contain all the items from the March 1999 and 2000 mathematics and science tests, respectively.

The items in Section II of the notebooks have additional information written on the page pertaining to:

• Levels of Understanding that the item purports to measure
• Outcome that the item purports to measure
• Item Type: multiple-choice, short answer or extended response
• The percentage of students passing individual items in the State of Ohio is written on the upper right hand side of each page. There is also room on each page for district personnel to write-in the percentage of district and building students who passed the item. State and individual district and school percentages of passage of each item are available in an Item Analysis Report from the test scoring company, NCS.

Please note that the percentage of passage for ER items reflects those students who received 4 out of 4 possible points. Also note that the percentage of passage for SA items reflects those students who received 2 out of 2 possible points.

Pagination of the items is in the lower right hand corner of each page. Each page number is organized as Strand-Outcome-Example.

Section III of this notebook includes technical and non-technical vocabulary words taken directly from past proficiency tests.

Table of Contents at the beginning of each notebook lists each item in the notebook. Each line of the Table of Contents refers to a specific item within the notebook in the exact order in which it is included in the notebook. Information about the nature and page number of each item in the notebook is also listed on each line.

About the Workbooks

• Fourth grade math workbook
          Student and teacher
• Fourth grade science workbook
          Student and teacher
• Fourth grade reading workbook
          Student/teacher combined
• Sixth grade math workbook
          Student and teacher
• Sixth grade science
          Student and teacher
• Sixth grade reading workbook
         Student/teacher combined
• Ninth grade math workbook
          Student and teacher
• Ninth grade science workbook
          Student and teacher
• Ninth grade citizenship workbook
          Student
• Sixth grade citizenship workbook
          Student and teacher
• Fourth grade citizenship workbook (in process, but not completed yet)
         Student and teacher – you may access this workbook from the
         NRPDC website: www.nrpdc.org by March 15, 2002.

• Each workbook is designed to help teachers understand the nature and scope of the items on each of the proficiency tests and provide students with an adequate number of practice items to master the skills as required by the State strands and outcome.
• The answers to the multiple-choice items on this test are in an Answer Key in the back of the workbook.
• With the exception of the sixth grade Citizenship workbook the answers to the short answer and extended response items are not in the Answer Key.
• Many districts have made copies of each workbook for children at the appropriate grade levels. These workbooks are now a part of the districts’ total proficiency test preparation program.
• Most of the workbooks have directions for teachers, students and parents. Some of the workbooks have teacher versions.

Each of us who participated in the creation of these notebooks and workbooks share them freely with all of you. We also hope that you are willing to share the materials that you develop with us. We welcome you to our regular monthly STATS meetings. The STATS group meets at the University Club from 11:00 - 2:00 on the second Wednesday of the month: February 13, March 13, April 10, May 8 and June12. The University Club is located at 3813 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio. If you are interested in attending a STATS meeting, please contact Barbara Jenkins at the NRPDC at (216) 523-7107 or email to b.m.jenkins@csuohio.edu.

-To share proficiency materials, please mail to: Barbara Jenkins, NRPDC - RT 901, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44115-4435. We appreciate your contributions to our proficiency materials.

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