A MESSAGE FROM MR. LOWIE AND MRS. TAYLOR
NYS TESTING INFORMATION FOR THE ELA EXAM
The NYS English Language Arts (ELA) exam will be administered on April 14-16 at Ann G. McGuinness
School for grades 3 through 5. The reading passages selected for the 2015 ELA tests will assess whether
students can comprehend and analyze a range of informational and literary texts. Common
informational texts include textbooks, magazine articles, essays, interviews, memoirs, recipes, editorial
pieces, training manuals, and biographies/autobiographies.
Short response questions will ask students to take a position, make a claim or draw a conclusion and
then support it with details. The two-point rubric used to score short response questions will focus on
the inference and evidence a student provides in his/her response. Extended response questions will
ask students to analyze texts and address meaningful questions using details from the text. A student’s
extended response will be scored on evidence, organization, analysis, and conventions. Short and
extended response questions will be scored using rubrics provided by the state.
GRADE 3 ELA TEST DESIGN
Day 1:Book 1 Day 2: Book 2
70 minutes
70 minutes
Passages
5
1 Reading 2 Writing
Multiple Choice
30
7 Reading X
Short Response
X
X
3 Writing
Extended
X
X
1 Writing
Response
Total Number of Literary Passages
Total Number of Informational Passages
GRADE 4 ELA TEST DESIGN
Day 1: Book 1 Day 2: Book 2
70 minutes
70 minutes
Passages
5
1 Reading 2 Writing
Multiple Choice
30
7 Reading X
Short Response
X
X
3 Writing
Extended
X
X
1 Writing
Response
Total Number of Literary Passages
Total Number of Informational Passages
GRADE 5 ELA TEST DESIGN
Day 1: Book 1 Day 2: Books 2
90 minutes
90 minutes
Passages
6
1 Reading 2 Writing
Multiple Choice
42
7 Reading X
Short Response
X
X
3 Writing
Extended
X
X
1 Writing
Response
Total Number of Literary Passages
Total Number of Informational Passages
Day 3: Book 3
70 minutes
3
X
5
1
Total Number of
Questions
11
37
8
2
4-7
4-7
Day 3: Book 3
70 minutes
3
X
5
1
Total Number of
Questions
11
37
8
2
4-7
4-7
Day 3: Book 3
90 minutes
3
X
5
1
Total Number of
Questions
12
49
8
2
4-8
4-8
NYS TESTING INFORMATION FOR THE MATH EXAM
NYS Mathematics exam will be administered April 22-24 at Ann G. McGuinness School for
grades 3-5. The exam will be composed of three sections for each grade level.
GRADE 3 PERCENT OF TEST POINTS
The students will be tested on number and operations in base tens (5-15% test points), number
and operations in fractions (15-25% test points), operations and algebraic thinking (40-50% test
points), measurement and data (15-25% test points), and geometry (5-15% test points).
GRADE 4 PERCENT OF TEST POINTS
The students will be tested on number and operations in base tens (20-30% test points),
number and operations in fractions (20-30% test points), operations and algebraic thinking (1525% test points), measurement and data (15-25% test points), and geometry (5-15% points).
GRADE 5 PERCENT OF TEST POINTS
The students will be tested on number and operations in base tens (20-30% test points),
number and operations in fractions (30-40% test points), operations and algebraic thinking (515% test points), measurement and data (20-30% test points), and geometry (5-15% test
points).
The format of the test at each grade level will contain multiple-choice, short-response (2 points
each), and extended response questions (3 points each). For the short response questions,
students will be required to complete a task and show their work. For extended response
questions, students will be required to complete two or more tasks or solve a more extensive
problem.
GRADE 3 MATH TEST DESIGN
Day 1: Book 1
Day 2: Book 2
Day 3: Book 3
Total Number of
60 minutes
60 minutes
70 minutes
Questions
Number of
24
24
X
48
Multiple Choice
Number of Short X
X
5
5
Response
Number of
X
X
3
3
Extended
Response
GRADE 4 MATH TEST DESIGN
Day 1: Book 1
60 minutes
Number of
24
Multiple Choice
Number of Short X
Response
Number of
X
Extended
Response
Day 2: Book 2
60 minutes
25
Day 3: Book 3
70 minutes
X
Total Number of
Questions
49
X
6
6
X
4
4
GRADE 5 MATH TEST DESIGN
Day 1: Book 1
80 minutes
Number of
24
Multiple Choice
Number of Short X
Response
Number of
X
Extended
Response
Day 2: Book 2
80 minutes
25
Day 3: Book 3
90 minutes
X
Total Number of
Questions
49
X
6
6
X
4
4
PLEASE ASSIST US WITH THE TESTING PERIOD IN APRIL
 Please make sure that your child arrives at school on time and has no appointments on
the test dates. This is always the best practice, but it becomes very important at testing
time.
 Please be sure that your child is well rested. Going to bed early and having breakfast
before the test will help your child be at his or her very best.
 Encourage your child to do his or her very best because the test is important, but not to
worry about the test. We know that when children are worried, they have more
difficulty showing what they know and can do.
Students have been working on all of the skills and concepts that are evaluated with these
assessments. We are proud of our teachers and staff for their hard work in preparing our
students for success.
Thank you for partnering with us. Instilling confidence in your child to do his/her best is the
greatest thing you can do!
NEW YORK STATE ELA ASSESSMENT
APRIL 14-16
8:05 – 11:30 A.M.
GRADES 3-5
NEW YORK STATE MATH ASSESSMENT
APRIL 22-24
8:05 – 11:30 A.M.
GRADES 3-5
Sincerely,
Timothy J. Lowie
Principal
Elaine Taylor
Assistant Principal