TAKS Testing

Students took the Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills exams in reading, writing, English language arts last Wednesday. 

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is the state-mandated test on which both state and federal accountability systems are based.  Student performance is used to determine state and federal rankings for individual campuses and school districts.

TAKS Testing Objectives:

Reading

Grades 3, 5, and 8:  Basic understanding, literary elements, analysis using reading strategies, and analysis using critical-thinking strategies

Grade 9:  Basic understanding, literary elements and techniques, and analysis and critical evaluation

Writing

Grade 4 and 7:  Composition, organization, sentence structure, standard usage/word choice, and punctuation, capitalization and spelling

English language arts

Grade 10 and exit level language arts:  Basic understanding, literary elements and techniques, analysis and critical evaluation, composition, and revising and editing

State Mandated Fitness Testing of Students Begins

Junction ISD will begin physical fitness testing of all students in grades 3-12 starting in March.

The Texas State Legislature and Senate Bill 530 now require public school districts to conduct a yearly physical fitness assessment of all students in grades 3-12.  Junction ISD physical education teachers will use the Fitnessgram test established by the Cooper Aerobics Clinic.  Students’ fitness will be assessed in areas of: aerobic capacity, muscular strength, endurance and flexibility, as well as body composition.  The standards are based on gender and age.

The performance level of each student on the test will not be used for grading purposes, but rather as a tool for improving personal fitness goals which will enable students to verify that their scores are within a Health Fitness Zone as per the Fitnessgram standards.  An individual student’s scores are not compared, posted, or competitive by nature.

Parents may request their child’s fitness scores at the end of each school year.  Testing times and dates may vary from campus to campus pending individual school schedules.

For more information, visit the state Fitnessgram Website at http://www.fitnessgram.net/faqparents/ .