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CAT 3

Our school division tests students in the fall of the year in Grades 5, 9 and 12, with the Canadian Achievement Test 3. High schools may choose to assess in early June also. This must be discussed with Greg Miller, Assessment Supervisor by May 1st. Students will do only the basic battery plus two supplementary subtests, as follows:

  • Reading/Language Part 1
  • Reading/Language Part 2
  • Mathematics
  • Spelling
  • Computation and Numerical Estimation

Students do not do the other subtests, such as Vocabulary or Language/Writing Conventions. These skills are instead assessed through our Benchmarks program in connected writing at Grades 4, 8 and 10, and 7 and 11 for French.

Students can normally complete the test comfortably in three time blocks of 1 to 1.5 hours each. However, this can be extended if each subtest is administered on a separate day. A two-week window is adequate for teachers to schedule the testing. These tests are norm-referenced, and it is important that teachers administer the tests according to the directions in the Examiner’s Manuals. Time limits for each subtest must be adhered to, so that the results can be interpreted correctly. In standardization studies it was found that giving students more time did not result in greatly improved performance for most students.

This assessment is intended for students who take the majority of their English and Mathematics instruction in the regular classroom, even if their skills are not at grade level. Students in Alternate Resource Programs or Learning Disabilities classes would not write this test, but students who receive Learning Assistance in addition to classroom instruction in Language Arts and Mathematics would do it. However, if there are special circumstances for any particular student, please contact Greg Miller, Assessment Supervisor at 3125 to discuss the situation.

All schools will test students between September 17th and September 28th. Schools will receive the following materials in the AV delivery. All materials MUST be ready for Stores to pick them up on Oct. 2nd. You will receive:

  1. Test Booklets (Level 14 for Grade 5, Level 18 for Grade 9, and Level 20 for Grade 12)
  2. Examiner’s Manuals
  3. Scoring Sheets (bubble form)
  4. Group Information Sheets (bubble form)
  5. Group Information Envelope

If more materials are needed, please call Carol Kotylak at #3160. All tests must be completed as scheduled, as the answer sheets will be sent to the scoring service immediately after October 2nd.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Have teachers prepare the students. A booklet on thoughtfully preparing students for standardized testing by Robin Fogarty, called How to Raise Test Scores, has been placed in all school Resource Centres.
  2. Have teachers administer the test according to the instructions in the Examiner’s Manual. All students in the regular program are to be tested. Students in Alternative Learning Resources or Learning Disabilities Programs are not to be tested, but students who receive Learning Assistance in addition to classroom instruction in Language Arts and Mathematics would be tested. If there is any student whom the teacher feels should not be tested for any reason, the teacher should discuss the situation with the Principal and Greg Miller (3125).
  3. It is critical that all students fill in their student information correctly, including the level of the test they are doing (Grade 5 is Level 14, Grade 9 is Level 18 and Level 20 is Grade 12). It is very expensive to have the Scoring Service do this work before the sheets are scanned.
  4. When the testing is finished, complete the Group Information Sheet and include it with the answer sheets (in alphabetical order) in the Group Information Envelope. Information for correctly filling out the Group Information Envelope and Sheet comes with the materials. If this sheet is not correctly filled out, there will be a charge to re-run the student data.
  5. Return all CAT 3 materials to Carol Kotylak at the J.A. Burnett Education Centre in the special pickup on October 2nd.
  6. Student Answer Sheets that are not returned on or before October 2nd cannot be sent to the Scoring Service. They will have to be hand scored at the school.