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Testing Program

• Terra Nova standardized achievement tests, required by the Archdiocese of Boston, are given once a year.  These are norm-referenced tests and they enable parents to see how the student’s performance rates with national standings.  Grades 1-8 are tested in the fall; kindergarten students are tested in the spring.

• Grades K, 2, 4, 7 are administered the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT).

• Gates MacGinitie Reading tests are administered once a year.

• Stanford Diagnostic Math Test is administered each year.

• Comprehensive exams are given at the end of the school year to evaluate the student’s performance in each subject.

A MEASURE OF SUCCESS: Why Educational Testing is So Important

Each year our students are administered standardized tests.  In the fall, students in grades 1-8 take the Terra Nova, standardized assessment developed by CTB/McGraw-Hill for public school districts and dioceses nationwide.  Kindergarten students take their test in the spring.  These tests are mandated by the Archdiocese of Boston and play an important role in our students' education. Educators, parents and, in the public sector, policy makers insist on having measurable results of the academic program schools offer their students.  Standardized tests such as the Terra Nova provide objective measures of student performance and of the effectiveness of an academic program.

The primary focus of the test is to assess the student's ability to apply the knowledge and critical thinking skills learned in the classroom.  It also assesses a student’s overall cognitive ability--a student’s aptitude in verbal, non-verbal and quantitative reasoning skills, giving parents and teachers a unified view of each student’s achievement and ability.

In addition to measuring student achievement, school administrators and the teaching staff use test results to evaluate teaching and instructional practices.  Schools have standards that outline what children should know and be able to do at every grade level in every subject.  In the public sector, these standards are mandated by the state department of education based on the National Standards of Learning.  In a parochial school such as Ste Jeanne d'Arc, we are held to the curriculum guidelines of the Catholic School Office of the archdiocese.  These are also based on the National Standards.  We design our academic program to ensure that our students meet or exceed the expected standards.  Assessments such as the Terra Nova help us measure our students mastery of the skills and concepts taught.  In effect, this type of testing gives us the information we need to know if we are being successful in the classroom. 

There are many different types of standardized tests and they all provide different information.  Our students take the OLSAT (Otis-Lennon School Ability Test) in the fall in grades K, 2, 4, and 7.  The OLSAT assesses verbal and nonverbal reasoning abilities that are related to success in school.  The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test is given annually to all students to assess skills essential to reading ability.  In the spring, students take the Stanford Diagnostic Math Test to check their understanding of mathematics concepts and skills. 

The Terra Nova is a complete battery including Reading/Language Arts (Reading and Language Arts scores are reported separately), Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies tests.  Parents are familiar with the Home Report which gives testing results for their child in each area.  The school is provided with information on all students and results for each grade level's performance.  This type of information is valuable for identifying student weaknesses, for meeting individual student needs and for determining the effectiveness of our teaching strategies in those subjects in every grade.