Dear GCMS Families-
The New York State ELA tests will be Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I want to thank our school community for their hard work, support, and preparation for these exams.
The state tests allow us gain important information about our instructional programming while allowing us to monitor our students' academic achievement compared to their peers across the state. The state tests are an opportunity for us to demonstrate what we know and how much we have grown academically year over year.
Students' scores on the state tests are never held against them. They are not factored into their overall averages. They are not used in isolation to qualify or disqualify students from future opportunities. I'm proud of the number of students we have sitting for the state tests last year and this year as this is a number New York State monitors in its school accountability framework.
We have a lot of new and awesome things happening in GCMS. The state test data will be one data point that allows us to monitor the effectiveness, and plan future refinements, of new reading programs, ELA curricula, elective course offerings, and more.
Please make sure that your student comes to school with a fully charged laptop every morning, but especially the mornings of our state tests. This will ensure a smooth morning for everyone.
Thank you for your support. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Here's to a great week!
-Dr. Z
