Boulder Elementary School (BES) principal David Jaminson is preparing students and faculty for a transition to a new standardized testing format being adopted by grade schools statewide this year.
The Montana Aligned to Standards Through-Year (MAST) assessment will measure the progress of students grades 3-8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics repeatedly throughout the school year. Students at BES will first be exposed to the MAST assessment in early November, and tested again in January, April, and May.
“After this first round of testing, we’ll sit down and look at the quality of data we get from the assessments,” said Jaminson. “What usually happens when you bring in a new testing system is that you get some artificially low scores, across the board, during that first year. It’ll give us a baseline to see what we need to pay attention to, but, as everyone gets more familiar with the exam format, things will generally improve in the second and third years.”
