NCLB Tests
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND TESTS FOR SCIENCE
The No Child Left Behind act specifies that all students must be
tested in science at least once within the grade spans K-5, 6-9 and 10-12.
To comply with the law, California tests students at grade 5 on the grade
4 and 5 standards, middle school students at grade 8 on the eighth grade
physical science standards, and high school students at grade 10 on the high
school biology and middle school life science standards.
The high school test is comprised of 60 items, 43 percent assessing the
middle school life science standards and 57 percent assessing the high school
biology standards.
Teachers and administrators need to be aware that the 10th
grade NCLB test is given in addition to the state STAR tests
(CST) administered at grades 9, 10 and 11, and is, in fact,
now part of the state CST. NCLB requires all students at the
selected grade, in this case, grade 10, to take the same test.
Therefore, California’s high school STAR tests would not be
sufficient measures under NCLB, as they are administered only
to those students taking a specific standards-based science
course covered by one of the tests.
California's NCLB tests are now part of the California Standards Tests (CSTs).
Blueprints for all CSTs can be found on the CDE website at
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/blueprints.asp.
A complete state testing schedule, including the CST, can be found
on the CDE website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa//testdates0506.asp.
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