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We are pleased to announce addition of Spring 2011 MCAS Practice Tests at Skill-Guru . We have been adding new tests to help out students to practice and improve their scores. Prior to this we had added Spring 201o MCAS Practice tests.
Looking forward for your feedback and inputs.
Massachusetts Department of Education has released the MCAS/MEPA Testing Schedule and Administration Deadlines 2011–2012 . Below are details
| Date/Time1 | |||
| Fall 2011 MEPA (Grades 1–12) | |||
| Before Testing | Order MEPA-R/W test materials | September 6–16 | |
| Receive MEPA-R/W test materials | October 17 | ||
| Complete PCPA (Materials Received section)
Report packing discrepancies, if necessary Order additional materials, if necessary |
October 17–20, 12:00 p.m. | ||
| Test Administration | QMAs/QMTs administer MELA-O | October 3–31 | |
| MEPA-R/W test sessions | October 24–31 | ||
| After Testing | Complete PCPA
Schedule UPS pickup |
November 1, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline for UPS pickup | November 2 | ||
| November 2011 MCAS ELA and Mathematics Retests | |||
| Before Testing | Order test materials | September 6–16 | |
| Receive test materials | November 2 | ||
| Complete PCPA (Materials Received section)
Report packing discrepancies, if necessary Order additional materials, if necessary |
November 2–7, 12:00 p.m. | ||
| Test Administration | Mathematics, Session 1 | November 9 | |
| Mathematics, Session 2 | November 10 | ||
| ELA Composition, Sessions A and B | November 14 | ||
| ELA Reading Comprehension, Sessions 1 and 2 | November 15 | ||
| ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 3 | November 16 | ||
| Last date for make-up testing | November 17 | ||
| After Testing | Complete PCPA
Schedule UPS pickup |
November 17, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline for UPS pickup | November 18 | ||
| February 2012 MCAS High School Biology Test | |||
| Before Testing | Order test materials | October 31–November 4 | |
| Receive test materials | January 25 | ||
| Complete PCPA (Materials Received section)
Report packing discrepancies, if necessary Order additional materials, if necessary |
January 25–30, 12:00 p.m. | ||
| Test Administration | Biology, Session 1 | February 1 | |
| Biology, Session 2 | February 2 | ||
| Last date for make-up testing | February 3 | ||
| After Testing | Complete PCPA
Schedule UPS pickup |
February 6, 3:00 p.m. | |
| Deadline for UPS pickup | February 7 | ||
Here is the link to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test questions
Good news for students of Massachusetts! Those who are planning to take MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System ) , can find free practice tests to practice their skills and see how they compare with their peers.
What would the students gain when they take free quiz at Skill-Guru ?
1. Take the test anywhere, anytime and review your results at end of the test
2 . Take the test any number of times and compare your score with previous attempts. Helps you make improvements and identify your area of weakness
3. Totally Free
Take the tests MCAS Practice Tests
Department of Education has granted permission to use the contents from their site , http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/ to Skill-Guru .
Online education has been growing in popularity with more students taking online courses. More than 4.6 million college students were taking at least one online course at the start of the 2008-2009 school year. That’s more than 1 in 4 college students, and it’s a 17 percent increase from 2007.
But this may not be everyone’s cup of cake.
Seth Godin in his article why online education will not work for everyone, had come out with an analogy
Why do we go to college ?
1. To learn from our teachers and professors
2. To interact with other fellow students and learn from other smart people around you(assuming that you do not think you are the smartest)
3. Understand the value of human communication
Quoting Seth Godin
Back before the digital revolution, access to information was an issue. The size of the library mattered. One reason to go to college was to get access. Today, that access is worth a lot less. The valuable things people take away from college are interactions with great minds (usually professors who actually teach and actually care) and non-class activities that shape them as people
I think what Seth Godin says makes a lot of sense. Online education is good to get you a degree , to help you bridge the gap in knowledge of some subject , but it cannot replace traditional learning.
Another app for iphone/ipad called motuto has been launched by a company called Castle Rock Research. Motuto is a mobile platform/service that connects students to live, trained tutors. Students are no longer limited to studying at home and doing their homework in front of the computer.
It looks they are entering into the homework market which has players like cramster and homeworkhelp.com .
The motuto app is available as a free download and comes with a free 20-minute session for all users who download it before June 15th. After that, the first 20-minute session costs $4.99 and $1.99 for each additional 20 minutes. Live tutors can provide help in the subjects of math and science for grades 7-12
We had been covering few of the useful iphone applications helpful in SAT preparation. IntelliVocab is another app which personalizes the English vocabulary learning for SAT exam and is now available on the Apple Store for free download.
Being based on the latest research from MIT Computer Science and Web Semantics Lab, IntelliVocab for SAT allows users to master English vocabulary in the most effective and interactive way.
IntelliVocab for SAT completely controls the learning environment, so that users do not have to plan the learning approach. All they need to do is interact. IntelliVocab for SAT uses latest machine learning algorithms, determines user’s level – Expert or Commitment – and builds each practice session based on this level. Read more…
In our SAT essay example Sample SAT Essay for the Reality Show Prompt , we discussed the benefits that the reality television programs bring to the society, despite the fact that most of their parts are scripted. The essay prompt, which had appeared in the March 12 SAT Reasoning Test, had left students befuddled over the response or the argument that they should represent, despite the picture being startlingly clear.
In the current SAT essay sample, the flip side to the argument presented in the previous SAT reality TV essay is presented, wherein the author of the essay puts forth points for the argument that reality television shows are harmful and influence the society in a negative way.
Before going ahead with the essay, go through the SAT essay prompt once more, as it appeared in the March 12 SAT exam:
“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular.
These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled.
How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?
Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?” Read more…
The SAT (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT I ), in all its appearances is a globally recognized career assessment test taken to help high school students to plan for college. Nearly all colleges and universities in America use the SAT to make admission decisions. Many Universities may also require students to take SAT-II (Subject Tests) along with SAT- I, which are subject tests to examine their knowledge on particular subjects.
Combined with a student’s academic record, the SAT measures the – “critical thinking” skills crucial to succeed in college and beyond. The SAT assesses the subject matter competence, taught and developed during everyday high school classrooms and evaluates problem solving skills in three key areas namely- Critical reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Writing. Since its launch in 1926, the SAT remains a proven, objective and reliable indicator to measure a student’s college readiness. Read more…
While a lot of people dread SAT grammar, the monster is not as terrifying as it looks. It is relatively simple if one can avoid the most common errors in grammar. Sometimes, the pressure of taking an exam can make us forget some of the easiest things that we have learned.
One of the first things that people mess up is the pronouns. While pronouns look to be the simplest parts in a grammar test, it is one place where you have a high chance of going wrong. You must learn to distinguish pronoun usage, whether it is subjective or objective. While practicing for pronouns, make sure that you thoroughly read up on the usage of pronouns and what constitutes the objective and the subjective case. That will teach you to get your “I”s and your “me”s right.
Voice problems are another thing. Passive voice is obsolete and it is so in SAT as well. Always avoid passive voice and stick to the active. If you use passive voice, sentences become longer and you might end up making grammatical mistakes. The shorter the sentence, the sweeter and the better. Read more…
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