Maine DOE is recruiting schools again this year to serve as field testing sites to administer the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) Science Inquiry Tasks in grades 5, 8, and 11. This opportunity allows Maine educators to see science performance assessment tasks in action. The field tests will occur between Nov. 2 and Nov. 20.
In the NECAP, science assessment, inquiry tasks can either be “hands on” or a traditional paper-and-pencil test session depending on the grade. “Hands on” means that students work in pairs to conduct an experiment and record their data before responding independently to test questions. For the field tests this fall, the inquiry task is “hands on,” for grade 5 and grade 8 and the grade 11 task is a paper-and-pencil test.
The total time commitment for participation in the grade 5 field test will be approximately two hours of student time and upwards of two and half hours for test administrators. The total time commitment for grades 8 and 11 will be approximately one and a quarter hours of student time and one and a half hours for test administrators.
Schools will receive $5.00 per completed test. For more information and to participate in the field test, please contact Stephanie Means at Measured Progress at means.stephanie@measuredprogress.org or 800-431-8901 ext. 7158.