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New England Common Assessment Program
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The New England Common Assessment Program (universally abbreviated NECAP, and generally pronounced "knee cap") is a series of reading, writing, mathematics and science achievement tests, administered annually, which were developed in response to the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. Since 2005, school students in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 have been participating in NECAP, and Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 joined the assessment program in 2009. It is a collaborative project of the New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont departments of education, with assistance from the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessments. Measured Progress, an assessment contractor from Dover, New Hampshire
Dover, New Hampshire
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, in the United States of America. The population was 29,987 at the 2010 census, the largest in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...

, coordinates production, administration, scoring and reporting.

The NECAP tests measure students’ academic knowledge and skills relative to Grade Expectations which were created by teams of teachers representing the three states. Student scores are reported at four levels of academic achievement; Proficient with Distinction, Proficient, Partially Proficient and Substantially Below Proficient. Reading and math are assessed in grades 3–8 and 11, writing is assessed in grades 5, 8 and 11, and science is assessed in grades 4, 8 and 11. The reading, math and writing tests are administered each year in October. The science tests are administered in May. In Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 students in grades 5 and 8 take the science MEA (Maine Education Assessment). Students in Maine do not participate in the science NECAP.

The states supporting this initiative are planning on phasing over to the newer Common Core State Standards Initiative
Common core state standards initiative
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a U.S. education initiative that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other by following the principles of standards-based education reform. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council...

 by 2014.

Purpose

NECAP provides assessment results for students in Grades 3-8 and 11 based on a common set of grade expectations. The scores serve a variety of purposes, including –
  • Measurement of individual student achievement and progress
  • Program evaluation and systems-change
  • Public reporting
  • School accountability and identification of schools in need of improvement

Approach

NECAP tests are made up of multiple choice, short answer and constructed response questions. The writing test also includes an extended response essay question, and the science test includes an inquiry session that requires students to analyze experimental data. Every NECAP test question is aligned to a specific grade expectation.

Teacher Involvement

One major goal of NECAP has been to create tests that are relevant to classroom instruction. To accomplish this goal, teachers are involved in test development in a variety of ways, including:
  • Development of the Grade Expectations
  • Review of test items for alignment with the grade expectations, as well as absence of bias
  • Setting standards (determining the test score needed to be considered “proficient’)

Content

The NECAP tests provide broad scores in reading, writing, mathematics and science literacy
Scientific literacy
Scientific literacy encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories.-Definition:...

, as well as the following strand or domain scores:
  • The Reading assessment addresses Word Identification, Vocabulary, Initial Understanding and Analysis/Interpretation. Comprehension is measured using both literary and informational text.
  • The Mathematics assessment addresses Numbers and Operations, Geometry and Measurement, Functions and Algebra, and Data, Statistics and Probability
  • The Writing assessment addresses a variety of writing genre including narratives, informational writing and response to both literary and informational text. Writing conventions and structures of writing are also assessed.
  • The Science assessment addresses four domains: Life Science, Physical Science, Earth Space Science and Inquiry.

Science inquiry

The inquiry section of the NECAP Science test is a unique approach to assessing scientific literacy. Students in grades 4 and 8 work in pairs to conduct an actual, hands-on science experiment (11th graders use authentic data from existing research). Then, working independently, they use their data to analyze results, test hypotheses and make predictions. In other words, the test requires students to think and act like scientists.

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Sources

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