Mustang Valley students in grades 3-5 will be taking the Oklahoma CRT standardized tests April 10-16. These tests must be taken by students across the state to evaluate the effectiveness of Oklahoma’s public school and provide valuable information indicating the strengths and weaknesses of individual students. The tests are a way of finding out what kind of school work a child is capable of and what he or she is presently achieving in the basic skill areas. Tests are useful in identifying students’ specific needs and talents. Information gathered from tests can be used to improve educational programs for students. This information will also be used, in part, to determine our school’s API score. Our goal this year is a perfect API of 1500.

Being academically prepared for standardized tests is ultimately the responsibility of the students. However, parents can play a part in helping students have a positive testing experience. Parents can make sure their child:

• Reviews for the tests by using "Study Island" (www.studyisland.com) or other prep materials.
• Attends school each day of testing and in the days prior to testing for review. Please avoid scheduling appointments during testing.
• Arrives at school on time.
• Gets a good night’s sleep. Restrict evening activities during the week of testing.
• Gets a nutritious breakfast each morning of testing. Children have difficulty concentrating if they are hungry.

Students should be encouraged to do their best. The importance of testing should be emphasized. Do not, however, scare the children and reinforce feelings of anxiety that could interfere with test results. Feelings of anxiety, inferiority, and fear of failure to measure up to parental expectations can impair test performance. Stress that these tests in no way affect grades but instead are means by which teachers identify areas of strengths and weaknesses.

Please understand if a class is testing, we cannot interrupt. All visitors must check in at the office. This will enable us to check the teacher’s testing schedule and avoid interfering with the timed tests.

If you have any questions about testing, please contact the school.