In This Edition
Assessment Announcements, Volunteer Opportunities (Donations for Activity Bags, Spring Maeser Appreciation Luncheon, Maeser Counseling Department, Don’t Forget to Report Your Hours), Sports Announcements (MS Boys Volleyball, Sports Academic Eligibility), Help Us Stay In Touch + Opt In For School Text Messages
Front Office Hours This Week
>>Procedures for Front Office Visits<<
7:30am-4:00pm Mon-Thurs
8:30am-1:00pm Fri
Upcoming Dates and Deadlines
April 12 & 14
4:00pm MS Boys Volleyball Home Games in the Lions´ Den (Maeser Gym)
April 19-30
RISE Testing: 7th & 8th Grades (in class)
Thursday, April 22
Utah Aspire Plus Testing
9th & 10th grades ONLY on campus
Assessment Announcements
It’s that time of year again… when we start assessing student’s growth and proficiency in core subject areas!
As you may remember, in spring 2019 the Utah State Board of Education implemented new summative assessments for our students in grades 7-10 (as required by Utah Statute 53E-4-303): our middle school students take RISE tests for English, Writing, Science and Math; 9th and 10th grade students take Utah Aspire Plus – a special pre-ACT test for 9th and 10th grade students that also provides growth and proficiency scores for Utah standards.
These changes provide our students with improved assessments that help prepare them to succeed on the ACT and other college readiness exams.
9th and 10th Grades: Utah Aspire Plus – Thursday, April 22
Fixed-form high school assessment with subtests in Reading, English, Math, and Science – provides students with a predictive score for the ACT
8th Grade: RISE – April 19-30
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, Science and Writing
7th Grade: RISE – April 19-30
Multistage adaptive summative tests in English, Math, and Science
2021 State Testing Schedule for Students in 7th-10th Grades
Middle school students will take their RISE tests in their regular English and Science classes beginning Monday, April 19th.
9th and 10th grade students will take the Utah Aspire Plus on Thursday, April 22nd. This is a special testing day – regular classes are canceled and only students taking Utah Aspire Plus are allowed on campus on Thursday, April 22nd.
Please make every effort to avoid scheduling appointments during state testing, to avoid interruptions and distractions during testing.
We appreciate your help in creating a focused and productive testing environment for our students!
Assessment FAQs
7th & 8th Grades: Readiness Improvement Success Empowerment (RISE)
What is RISE?
The RISE assessment is a multistage computer adaptive criterion referenced assessment system that includes summative tests for English, Math, Science, and Writing.
Will RISE be computer adaptive?
Yes, the statute requires these tests to be computer adaptive, but this assessment will be multistage adaptive instead of item adaptive.
How does a multistage adaptive test differ from an item adaptive test?
Both testing methods are algorithm-based approaches to administering testing, but rather than selecting individual items, groups of items are selected, building the test in stages.
The biggest advantage for our students is that they will now be allowed to navigate backward and forward within each stage or test section, so they can review and revise their answers as needed! The inability to go back and change an answer to a previously submitted question was one of the biggest frustrations our students had when taking prior state tests, so we’re thrilled that this functionality has been built in to RISE.
Which students will participate in RISE and for which subjects?
Maeser students in grades 7-8 will participate in RISE. Both grades will be tested in English, math, and science; in addition, 8th grade students will be tested in writing.
Why aren’t we assessing writing in all grades anymore?
The Utah State Board of Education made a policy decision to only assess writing in grades 5, 8, and 11. Writing is still part of the Utah English Language Arts standards and it is expected that students will be taught and assessed in those standards in their English classes.
Where can I get more information about RISE?
The USBE has produced a short video introducing the new test – you can access it here: Introducing RISE (Readiness, Improvement, Success, Empowerment).
You can also download a brochure with information about RISE here: RISE Brochure.
9th and 10th Grades: Utah Aspire Plus
The Utah Aspire Plus is a hybrid of the ACT Aspire and test items covering Utah standards. This is a computer delivered, fixed-form high school assessment for students in grades 9 and 10. The test includes subtests for Reading, English, Math, and Science. The tests will provide students a predictive score for the ACT, which is taken by all Utah 11th grade students and is the most commonly submitted college readiness assessment for local universities.
What is Utah Aspire Plus? I’ve never heard of that test…
Utah Aspire Plus is a hybrid between ACT Aspire and assessment items covering Utah’s 9th and 10th grade standards in English, Math, Reading, and Science.
Will the test be administered in one sitting, like the ACT?
USBE left this up to local schools and districts to decide. Maeser has opted to offer Utah Aspire Plus in one sitting, to help students practice in a setting similar to taking the ACT. Because Utah Aspire Plus is slightly longer than the ACT, students will have a 30-minute lunch break before the Science subtest.
Will Utah Aspire Plus be timed?
Yes, Utah Aspire Plus is a timed test – practice taking exams under timed conditions helps prepare students for success on timed high-stakes tests like the ACT.
Is Utah Aspire Plus computer-adaptive like RISE?
No. While the text will be taken online like RISE, Utah Aspire Plus is a fixed-form test like ACT.
Why aren’t we assessing writing in all grades anymore?
The Utah State Board of Education made a policy decision to only assess writing in grades 5, 8, and 11. Writing is still part of the Utah English Language Arts standards and it is expected that students will be taught and assessed in those standards in their English classes.
What kind of score report will my student receive?
Utah Aspire Plus score reports will be very similar to the report provided by ACT for the ACT Aspire, including a predictive ACT score.
Maeser’s State Testing Schedule
When will Maeser be giving RISE and Utah Aspire Plus?
Middle school students will take their RISE tests in their English and Science classes beginning April 19th.
9th and 10th grade students will take the Utah Aspire Plus on Thursday, April 22nd. This is a special testing day – regular classes are canceled and only students taking Utah Aspire Plus are allowed on campus on Thursday, April 22nd.
What if my student has to miss their scheduled testing?
Missing a test day does not excuse the student from state testing. We will be pulling students out of class in the following weeks for make-up testing. Please make every effort to have your student here on the scheduled testing dates so they can avoid missing class in the last critical weeks of school.
Can I opt my student out of RISE or Utah Aspire Plus?
While we hope you will allow your student to participate in RISE and Utah Aspire Plus – both to receive feedback on areas your student can improve in preparation for the ACT and to help our school improve instruction – we will always respect a parent’s desire to exclude their student from state testing. Though you can submit a Parental Exclusion Form at any point, submitting the form to the school at least 24 hours prior to the test date helps us ensure that your student does not access the test and is not scheduled for make-up testing.
Volunteer Opportunities
Senior Capstone Project: Donations for Activity Bags
Senior Devyn Giles’s Capstone research paper is on Uncovering the Truth about the Hidden Dangers of EMF Radiation. For his senior capstone project he is creating activity bags for the pediatric unit of Utah Valley Hospital to provide parents with information about EMF radiation and to give kids at the hospital fun activities to do instead of playing on cell phones, tablets, or other electronics – and he needs your help!
The items needed are: coloring books, crayons, sticker books, stickers, puzzle/activity books such as dot to dot, origami, or hidden picture books, play dough, magnetic tin games, scratch art, fidget spinners, travel games, toy dinosaurs or other animals, hot wheels, and craft kits. Adult coloring books, colored pencils, or twistable crayons that teenagers would like would also be appreciated.
Donations can be dropped off in the marked box in the front office at the school between April 12th-23rd. For more information and to sign up please visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4BABAC2AA0FDC70-utah. Thank you!
Spring Maeser Appreciation Luncheon
Spring Maeser Appreciation Lunch sign up is now live. Thank you wonderful parents/volunteers who helped with our March lunch. It was DELICIOUS and was fun to actually eat together again! These lunches have been sponsored and provided by our amazing parents. The parents have asked that instead of waiting until May for Maeser appreciation week that we spread this out as a monthly activity. Our team appreciates all the kindness that you have shown.
Maeser Counseling Donations
Maeser Counseling needs some donations for student programs. Please check out the sign-up sheet and donate if you can: Counseling Department Donations
Don’t Forget to Report Your Hours!
Report your volunteer hours once you’ve dropped off your donation: Report Parent Service Hours. Each $5 spent for donations counts as one hour of volunteer service!
Sports Announcements
MS Boys Volleyball
The middle school boys volleyball team has two more home games before their State tournament: one on Monday the 12th and the second on Wednesday the 14th. A team games start at 4:00pm and B team games start at 5:00pm. See you there!
Sports Academic Eligibility
Students (7th-12th) must earn a 2.7 GPA with no Fs/NGs. In addition, high school students cannot have any Fs/NGs/Incompletes from previous high school terms. If the F/NG/Incomplete is made up by the beginning of the sports season they will be able to participate.
Help Us Stay In Touch!
Not getting our emails, phone or text messages? Here’s how to make sure you’re getting all of our important announcements and information:
Opt In For School Text Messages
Our school utilizes the SchoolMessenger system to deliver text messages to your mobile phone with important information about events, school closings, safety alerts, student fees, and more. We will only use text messaging for urgent and important information.
You can participate in this service by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587. You can also opt out of text messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
Thank you for helping us keep in contact with your family!
Update Your Contact Information
If any of your contact information has changed – email address, mailing address, phone number – please let us know so we can stay in touch with your family.