A school system’s stunning standardized test schedule for 2014-15

Classes for the 2014-15 year began for students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth largest district in the country, on Monday, Aug. 18. And so did student standardized testing.

Yes, it’s time not only for class but also for a new slew of standardized tests in Miami and everywhere else in the country — and this year, more of these exams are expected to be given to students than ever so that kids be assessed and so can their teachers, and their principals, and their schools and their districts.

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Thanks to then Gov. Jeb Bush well over a decade ago, the state of Florida has been a national leader in the use of high-stakes standardized tests in public schools. And this year, thanks to a requirement for end-of-course exams for every subject — including music and physical ed and dance — in every grade (including kindergarten) so that the results can be used to evaluate teachers, the school year calendar is jam-packed with tests.

Here is the published testing schedule by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. If your system has a testing calendar that boggles the mind, send it to me or publish it in the comments:

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2014-2015 TESTING CALENDAR, GRADES PreK-12 Tentative: August 12, 2014
The calendar will be updated periodically as additional information is obtained about the District, state, national, and international tests administered to the students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
DATE	DESCRIPTION	ABBREVIATION	PARTICIPANTS	MANDATE
July 14 – 25	Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards End-of-Course Assessments Algebra 1, Biology 1, Geometry, and US History CBT*	NGSSS EOC	Grades 9-12, eligible students	Federal and State
July 30 – 31	Alternative Assessment for Grade 3 Promotion	AAGTP	Grade 3, retained only	State
August 18 – September 5	Interim Assessment Tests: Baseline Science	IA	Grades 5 and 8	State and District
August 18 – September 30	Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (Work Sampling System and (Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading)	FLKRS (WSS and FAIR)	Kindergarten	State
August 25 – November 7	Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading Assessment Period 1 (AP1)	FAIR-FS	Grades K-3, all students; Grades 4-10, Levels 1 & 2; Grades 11-12, Retake**	State and District
September/October	Preliminary ACT Test	ACT PLAN	Grade 10, Optional	Nationally Offered
September 2 – 30	Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Assessment Period 1 (AP1)	VPK	Prekindergarten	State
September 15 – 26	Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards End-of-Course Assessments Algebra 1 , Biology 1, Civics, Geometry , and US History CBT*	NGSSS EOC	Grades 6-12, eligible students	Federal and State
October 1 – 31	FITNESSGRAM Pretest	FITNESSGRAM	Grades 4-12, students enrolled in PE courses	District
October 6 – 17	Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Reading and Mathematics Retake CBT*	FCAT/FCAT 2.0 RETAKE	Grades 10+,11, 12, eligible students	State
October 6 – 24	District ELA Writing Pre-Test	DWT	Grades 3-11	District
October 15	Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test	PSAT/NMSQT	Grade 09, Optional	Nationally Offered
			Grade 10	State
			Grade 11, Optional	Nationally Offered
October 27 – November 14	Interim Assessment Tests: Fall English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Biology 1, United States History, and Civics	IA	Grades 3-12	State and District
November 12 – 13	Grade 3 Mid-Year Promotion	GTMYP	Grade 3, eligible, retained students	State
December 1 – 5	Florida Competency Examination on Personal Fitness	FCEPF	Grades 10-12, Optional	State
December 1 – 19	Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards End-of-Course Assessments Algebra 1, Biology 1, Civics, Geometry, and US History CBT*	NGSSS EOC	Grades 6-12, eligible students	Federal and State
December 1 – 19	Florida Stanards Assessments English Language Arts – Writing Component Field Test CBT*	FSA	Grades 4-11, selected schools	Federal and State
January 5 – March 19	Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading Assessment Period 2 (AP2)	FAIR-FS	Grades K-3, all students; Grades 4-10, Levels 1 & 2; Grades 11-12, Retake**	State
January 6 – February 4	Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Assessment Period 2 (AP2)	VPK	Prekindergarten	State
January 12 – 23	District ELA Writing Post-Test	DWT	Grades 3-11	District
January 20 – May 8	Grade 3 Reading Student Portfolio	GTRSP	Grade 3	State
January 26 – February 13	Interim Assessment Tests: Winter English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Biology 1, United States History, and Civics	IA	Grades 3-12	State and District
January 26 – March 6	National Assessment of Educational Progress Reading, Mathematics, and Science	NAEP	Grades 4, 8, 12, Selected schools	Federal
February	Florida’s Postsecondary Education Readiness Test	PERT	Grade 11, eligible students	State
March 2 – 13	Florida Standards Assessments English Language Arts – Writing Component	FSA	Grade 4; and Grades 5-11 CBT*	Federal and State
March 2 – April 3	Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment	CELLA	Grades K-12, all current ELLs and eligible former ELLs	Federal and State
March 2 – April 7	Florida Alternate Assessment	FAA	Grades 3-11***	State
March 16 – April 2	Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Reading and Mathematics Retakes CBT*	FCAT/FCAT 2.0 RETAKE	Grades 10+, 11, 12 eligible students	State
March 16 – April 2	Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards End-of-Course Assessments Algebra 1 Retake CBT*	NGSSS EOC RETAKE	Grades 7-12, eligible students	Federal and State
March 16 – April 10	Florida Standards Assessments English Language Arts and Mathematics	FSA	Grades 3 and 4	Federal and State
March 30 – May 29	Trends in Mathematics and Science Study	TIMMS	Grades 4, 8, 12 Selected schools	Federal
April 1 – 30	FITNESSGRAM Pretest	FITNESSGRAM	Grades 4-12, students enrolled in PE courses	District
April 13 – 17	Stanford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition Reading and Mathematics	SAT-10	Grades K-2	District
April 13 – May 8	Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test 2.0 Science	FCAT 2.0	Grades 5 and 8	Federal and State
	Florida Standards Assessments English Language Arts CBT*	FSA	Grades 5-11
	Mathematics CBT*	FSA	Grades 5-8
April 13 – May 29	Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading Assessment Period 3 (AP3)	FAIR-FS	Grades K-3, all students; Grades 4-10, Levels 1 & 2; Grades 11-12, Retake**	State
April 20 – May 15	Forida Standards Assessments: End-of-Course Assessments Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 CBT*	FSA EOC	Grades 6-12, eligible students	Federal and State
April 20 – May 22	Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards End-of-Course Assessments Biology 1, Civics, and US History	NGSSS EOC	Grades 6-12, eligible students	Federal and State
April 21 – May 18	Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Assessment Period 3 (AP3)	VPK	Prekindergarten	State
April 27 – June 12	Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education Examinations	AICE	Grades 10-12, enrolled, registered students only	Internationally Offered
May 1 – 5	Florida Competency Examination on Personal Fitness	FCEPF	Grades 10-12, Optional	State
May 4 – 15	Advanced Placement Exams	AP	Grades 8-12, enrolled, registered students only	Nationally Offered
May 4 – 26	International Baccalaureate External Written Examinations	IB	Grades 11-12, enrolled, registered students only	Internationally Offered
May 5	AP SEMINAR	AP	Grades 10-11, Selected schools, enrolled, registered students only	Nationally Offered
May 11 – June 5	District-Designated End-of-Course Assessment	DDEOC	Grades K-12	State
May 26 – June 3	Alternative Standardized Reading Assessment	ASRA	Grade 3, eligible students	State
TESTS GIVEN ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS
DESCRIPTION		ABBREVIATION	PARTICIPANTS	MANDATE
Florida Post Secondary Education Readiness Test Dual Enrollment Placement, College Placement Testing, Post Remediation, Comparative Scores for Algebra 1 EOC		PERT	Grades 10-12	State
Aprenda La Prueba de los Logros en Español Segunda Edición Placement decision for Gifted Program, Spanish-speaking ELLs		APRENDA	Grades K-12, eligible ELLs	State
The Iowa Tests (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and Iowa Tests of Educational Development) Placement decision for Gifted Program		ITBS/ ITED	Grades K-12, eligible students	Federal and State
Exit ESOL Program (six semesters or more)			Grades 2-12, eligible students, Charter Schools only
ACCEL Option			Selected students
Miami-Dade County Oral Language Proficiency Scale Revised Placement decisions for ESOL Exit ESOL Program-Second Instrument Needed		M-DOLPS-R	Grade K, eligible students	Federal and State
On-line Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment Placement decisions for ESOL Extension of services for ESOL Program		On-line CELLA	Grade 1-12, eligible students	Federal and State

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS NATIONALLY OFFERED FOR INTERESTED, REGISTERED STUDENTS
Anticipated SAT and SAT Subject Test Dates*		ACT Test Dates
October 11, 2014	March 14, 2015 (SAT Only)	September 13, 2014	April 18, 2015
November 8, 2014	May 2, 2015	October 25, 2014	June 13, 2015
December 6, 2014	June 6, 2015	December 13, 2014
January 24, 2015		February 7, 2015

*SAT Sunday administrations usually occur the day after each Saturday test date for students who cannot test on Saturday due to religious observance.

Notes:

*Designates computer-based testing.
**The following students in all schools must participate in FAIR as follows:
– Grades K-3, all students;
– Grades 4-10, Levels 1 and 2;
– Grades 11-12, Retake eligible**
***Only includes ESE students exempted from standardized testing at these grade levels.

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