A NOTE TO STUDENTS....

NECAPs and MEAs GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO SHINE!

So it's October for NECAPs for grades 6-8 and March for MEA science for eighth graders, and your teachers are telling you to take another important test. What's the point, you ask? Why do students have to take tests anyway? The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) and the Maine Educational Asessment (MEA) are really important tests. They help YOU by showing you how much of the curriculum you have mastered. Sometimes you don't know just how smart you can be when you apply yourself at school! The tests will give you the AWESOME opportunity of showing the school, your parents/guardians, the state, and best of all YOURSELF what you have learned. What a great chance to do your BEST and to shine!

They help your TEACHERS by letting them see how well they taught you the Maine Learning Results (MLRs) curriculum that the State of Maine wants you to learn. It helps your PARENTS/GUARDIANS by showing them if you have improved in school since last year and just how smart you are!

The test results also help school officials decide which classes are best for you to learn at your specific level. Overall, the MEA and NECAP are really important tests. We hope you do your best because YOU want to. It demonstrates all that you know. What cooler test could there be than a test that shows how DEDICATED and FOCUSED you are as a student?

This is your BIG CHANCE to show what you can do. TRY your best and you WILL succeed!

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Eat breakfast!

Get a good night's sleep!

Stay focused on the test, not on outside drama!

Try your best! Give it your all!

Breathe. Relax. It's only a test. You will do just fine!

Be here! Make sure you are on time!

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

TRY EVERY QUESTION. Even if it's difficult, you could get partial credit, so try!

MOVE ON. Try each question, but don't spend an hour per question! Spend about 1-2 minutes on each multiple choice question, and 2-3 minutes on each short answer question.

USE BREAKS WISELY. During break time get up and stretch, move around the room, eat a snack and get a drink so you can be as focused and relaxed as possible when you return to testing.

STAY FOCUSED. Don't let your mind wander during the test. Whatever was going on between your friends yesterday or at home last night, try your best to leave it at home and not think about it during test times. You need to be as focused on the test as possible.

DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. You should know there might be really difficult questions on the test that you read and think, "How on Earth am I supposed to know the answer to that question?" Just TRY your best. Some questions are more difficult on purpose just to see how well you can do.

THIS IS ONLY A TEST. Rmemeber that this is only a test. It's not the end of the world. If you do your best, then that's PERFECT. Do NOT stress about the MEAs or NECAPs.