5th to 6th Grade Placement Info
KCSD96 works diligently to place students in the appropriate courses when students enter middle school at either Woodlawn and Twin Groves. The placement process for both Math and Language Arts is detailed below.
LANGUAGE ARTS PLACEMENT OVERVIEW
Teacher Checklist – During Trimester 3, the 5 th grade teachers are asked to provide input based on specific criteria.
NWEA MAP – All 5 th graders take the MAP assessment as part of our Spring Assessment window. The MAP assessment is included in the placement process because it is a nationally normed, objective assessment.
Writing Assessment – Students are asked to write an essay as part of their Unit 5 PBA. This essay is collaboratively scored among the 5 th grade teachers in each building, based on an agreed upon rubric.
Literacy Assessment – All 5 th grade students take a district developed reading assessment. This assessment is designed to measure each student’s reading comprehension.
Scoring the Assessments and Determining Placement
The criteria and assessments are reviewed yearly by the middle school teachers, school principals, and the Teaching and Learning Department to ensure appropriate placement. Below you will find information about the matrix used to place students at the middle school for Language Arts. This information includes the maximum number of points available for each of the components for placement in Language Arts as well as the cut scores for each course. Students are not expected to study or prepare for any of these assessments. There are no available practice tests for students or parents. All placements will be final, but there are opportunities for movement once middle school begins.
Summary
Teacher Checklist 5 points max.
NWEA MAP 10 points max.
Writing Assessment 5 points max.
Literacy Assessment 5 points max.
Total 25 points max.
6th Grade Language Arts - Scores less than or equal to 14
6th Grade Language Arts Advanced - Scores equal to or greater than 15 with a minimum of 3/5 on the Writing Assessment to qualify.
The middle school teachers and principals are provided all of the matrix information and will monitor all students to ensure that they are appropriately placed. At times, students may be moved up to Advanced near the end of the first marking period in 6th grade or at the end of the school year, based on student performance.
MATH PLACEMENT OVERVIEW
The math placement process consists of four individual assessments of student performance.
Teacher Checklist – During Trimester 3, the 5 th grade teachers are asked to provide input based on specific criteria.
Task 1 (Video) – All 5th graders will be provided a video lesson and will apply their knowledge to a performance task to complete. This task is designed to teach students new content that is immediately applied to a set of problems. They will need to complete this rigorous task and provide explanations for their work. This task is collaboratively scored by members of the staff. T
Task 2 – All 5th graders will be provided a second performance task that measures a variety of skills with which they have experience already. Students will need to combine these skills in order to solve the problems in the task. They will need to complete this rigorous task and provide explanations for their work. This task is collaboratively scored by members of the staff.
NWEA MAP – All 5 th graders take the MAP assessment as part of our Spring Assessment window. The MAP assessment is included in the placement process because it is a nationally normed, objective assessment.
Scoring the Assessments and Determining Placement The criteria and assessments are reviewed yearly by the middle school teachers, school principals, and the Teaching and Learning Department to ensure appropriate placement.
Below you will find information about the matrix used to place students at the middle school for Math. This information includes the maximum number of points available for each of the components for placement in math as well as the cut scores for each course.
Students are not expected to study or prepare for any of these assessments. There are no available practice tests for students or parents. All placements will be final, but there are opportunities for movement once middle school begins.
Summary
Performance Task 1(Video) 5 points max.
Performance Tasks 2 5 points max.
NWEA MAP 10 points max.
Teacher Checklist 5 points max.
Total 25 points max.
Core 6/7 - Scores equal to or between 0-17
Core 7- Scores greater than or equal to 18
The middle school teachers and principals are provided all of the matrix information and will routinely monitor all students throughout the year to ensure that they are appropriately placed
Typical KCSD96 Middle School Math Progressions
Questions? Contact the Teaching and Learning Department.