Dear Vikan Parents and Community,

As March approaches, our minds are again focused on CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program). CSAP will be March 9th, 10th and 11th and 16th , 17th and 18th . All testing will be in the morning from 8:00 to 11:00. I know there is a lot of controversy with standardized tests and we sometimes wonder why we have to take them. I wanted to take this time to help clarify the importance of CSAP and perhaps answer some questions you might have.

CSAP is designed to provide a picture of how your child is progressing toward meeting academic standards, and how your child’s school is doing to ensure the learning success of your student. CSAP scores are used to plan for the school year and provide the student with the necessary interventions and enrichments needed to ensure successful academic achievement. We ask that you encourage you child to try their best on CSAP so that we can have a true indicator of their academic abilities.

Some suggestions to help your child during this stressful time might be:

Make sure that your child gets a good rest the nights before the test. Children who are tired are less able topay attention in class or to handle the demands of the test. Feed your child a nourishing breakfast on the mornings of the test. Hunger can detract from good test performance. Or make sure they are here on time to have breakfast at school. (by 7:15)

Plan ahead to ensure that your child is present and on time for the test. Do not plan any medical or dental appointments on testing days. You child will Not score as well if they take the make up tests.

Encourage your student to take the test seriously. By taking it seriously as a parent you will help to establish the expectations for their attitude as well.

Remind your child :

· If you don’t know an answer to a question, skip it and go on to the next question.

· If there is time at the end of the test, return to the unanswered question.

·  It is helpful to eliminate some of the answer choices that you think are wrong.

· It is better to tackle each question one-at-a-time, rather than thinking about the whole test at once.

If you finish early, check your answers.

 

Also Happening in March: End of Quarter March 5^th, No School March 5^th, and Spring Break March 26^th –April 2nd., WEB fundraiser at Arby’s March 4th., KORT and Academic Assembly for 3rd quarter is March 25th.

 

Thank you again for all you do

Ana Mendoza- Rodriguez

Principal