K-8 School End-Of-Year Newsletter 22.23

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Principal Message by: Dawn Walker

What a year it has been as we have followed our school year theme, Forward in Faith! God certainly showered us with many blessing as you will see as you read the articles below. Thank you for taking a moment to look through this newsletter that recaps some wonderful moments of the 22.23 school year! Blessings received this past school year include: an increased number of students to share the love of Jesus with, continued finanical support from many donors, a very successful auction that allowed us to purchase a new school bus, students using their God-given talents to HIS glory and being blessed with success, integration of NWEA testing, Mr. Rudzinski being in the top 5 finalist for the Loeb Prize for excellence in teaching science and mathematics, all of our homeroom classes participaing in the Missouri District SHINE event, a very successful golf outing, special bonds forming as our eighth graders led our Faith Families, the graduation of 24 eighth graders, and many more! Serving as principal here at St. Paul's this year has been a blessing to me as well. We are blessed with a wonderful staff that goes above and beyond in and out of the classroom to provide for our students. Our school is supported by a wonderful team of pastors and a congregation who care deeply about the spiritual growth of our students. Saints families, you are amazing and I truly appreciate all of you who volunteer your time when asked to support our teachers and students so that many special events can happen! Thank you for partnering with us as we strive to Develop Caring, Servant Leaders here at St. Paul's! I pray God richest blessings on your summer! In HIS Service, Mrs. Walker, Principal

Second Grade Learns About Alaska by: Ms. Wehmeyer The second grade spent several weeks this winter learning about the land, people, and animals of Alaska. Students completed an Alaska project about an Alaskan animal that they chose. They finished their studies with Iditarod Day. This day included games and activities that had an Alaskan theme. Students also had a chance to be mushers or “dogs” at the annual mock Iditarod race with students pulling/pushing wagons. Hear what some second graders thought: “My favorite part was racing and hoping to win,” said Ada. Spencer said, “I liked the races and wearing the pennies and dog ears.” “I liked that I got to go really fast in the race,” said Max.

Art Room Turned Battleground by: Tavia Shively

In March and April of 2023, a "first" occurred in the St. Paul's Art Room - students went to war! The only blood actually shed was from the occasional chicken wire scratch, but this was an intensely fought war nonetheless. The mission was clear: design and decorate the most creative and artistic display representing the theme of Holy Week. The enemies were defined: 7th grade versus 8th grade. The weapons were divided: an eight foot by three foot wooden frame covered in chicken wire, an arsenal of art supplies, inspiration photos, rules, requirements and a quick lesson in the art of pomping for each side. The classes elected generals to lead the troops. These students were responsible for making sure their class met all deadlines, worked as a team, stayed on task and cleaned up well after each work session. Then, the St. Paul's Art War (SPAW) began. For the next four weeks, both groups worked to design their board and begin covering it with beautiful art pieces. There were some struggles along the way. Battle blues included having points removed for not staying on task, struggling to delegate jobs and meet deadlines, and making sure clean up was accomplished. I must admit there were moments I couldn't help but enjoy watching the students discover how difficult it really is to run a classroom effectively. However, there were also some important victories. The eighth grade class seemed to learn the pomping technique much faster. Their board began to be transformed from wood and wire to a beautiful changing sky in a matter of a few work periods. The 7th graders seemed to have the edge in general to troop interactions. Their leaders stayed calm, tried to delegate tasks and encouraged their team.   As I watched, the boards began to take on a new life. Eighth grade added a 3D Upper Room complete with clay figures and a road covered with the robes followers laid down as Jesus rode by on his donkey. They also created an impressive Calvary hill that included 3D crosses and figures. Several boys in the class took on the task of creating the buildings of old Jerusalem and mixed a variety of red and brown paints to create the desired effect. Seventh grade took a bit longer to get the hang of pomping, and although many pieces were being created individually, I became increasingly concerned as their board remained mostly empty. I stepped in with a few suggestions here and there, and helped make sure everyone had a specific task. From that point on, their board showed huge progress as well. They added real pebbles to their road, created beautifully hand-drawn pictures of Jesus on the donkey and Jesus on the cross, and built a 3D communion table complete with bread and wine.   As the final week before display approached, the eighth graders were just finalizing their board and making every section as beautiful as possible. Some of my favorite additions at this point were the stars in the sky and the silk flowers around the tomb. Seventh grade, due to their slow start, was racing to finish at this point. Although I knew I would have to take points off for it, I decided to step in once more to ensure they would finish in time. All worked feverishly those last couple of work periods. People who saw the last minute transformation were amazed at the progress. Gorgeous hand-written scripture signs were added, handprint lilies were placed around the tomb, beautiful angels graced the corners of the board, and the dreaded pomping was finally completed. Both groups had finished successfully!   The boards were moved to the school gym during the last Lenten dinner of the season for the final vote. This location and timing allowed church members to view and vote on the boards along with the school families. Future politicians from each grade campaigned for their board throughout the dinner, encouraging votes one way or the other. It was thrilling for me to see the students so excited about the hard work they had completed!   At the end of the night, all points earned during classroom work periods, as well as points earned in the actual voting process, were added up. The result was close, but victory belonged to the eighth grade class! This was announced the following day at school and, as promised, the eighth graders enjoyed a pizza party that day in art class to celebrate their success.   As a follow-up to this project, I asked the students to tell me their feelings about this project. Many students said that planning out responsibilities and staying on task was challenging for them. Many said the pomping was their worst enemy. Others said staying on top of deadlines proved to be difficult. On the flip side, students said they really enjoyed the freedom this project offered. They liked having class leaders and working together towards a common goal. Watching the boards progress from boring to amazing was another positive. They also told me that the pizza prize at the end and the aspect of competition made this project both fun and challenging. For me, I loved most aspects of this project. It was actually very refreshing to be able to step back and not be the one giving directions. It allowed me to see the unique ideas and creativity of each student even more than usual. I also noticed a few things that I will need to change for future years. How was I to know bribes would be offered and one side's signs would be taped over the other side's signs? Okay, perhaps I should have anticipated that - these are middle schoolers after all. It was definitely "basic training" for all of us.   As an art teacher, I had several goals for this project. I wanted to challenge students to self-lead and self-motivate as they worked towards a goal. I wanted students to learn new skills and techniques like pomping and working with foam, stones and clay. Finally, I wanted them to figure out how to use their individual strengths as artists to contribute in the strongest way possible towards their class' success. In some ways, this project was more about leadership, discipline and teamwork than it was about art. I think that is a positive. Not many of them will grow up to be exclusively artists. However, if they can learn these skills in the context of art, they begin to see today's world as it is...a place where collaboration is important and where varied talents need to be grown, shared and truly appreciated in order to find success in any field of work.

2nd Grade Receives Lutheran Service Books and Bibles by: Mrs. Boorom This school year has been full of so many blessings as God continues to look after His children. One of the blessings we experienced in second grade was receiving Lutheran Service Books! Each student was presented with their own hymnal personalized with their name on it. We use them by singing hymns in chapel every week and studying hymns in music class. Second graders were also given a Bible! We use our Bibles to study scripture so that students gain knowledge of how God will always lead us forward in our faith. Receiving these resources marks a momentous occasion because it provides students with a lifelong, personal resource to praise God and read stories of His love.

St. Paul’s “Saints” Athletics Highlights 2022-23 Da Da Da Da Da Da By Dan Sterling, Athletic Director At St. Paul’s Lutheran School we pride ourselves at being a strong school in many areas of instruction. We promote spiritual development first and foremost, academic excellence for sure, and many other areas to educate the whole student to grow in the many talents God has given them. One of those development areas is with our proud tradition of athletics and sports that we offer the students at St. Paul’s. The “Saints” athletes compete in many areas of competition with other Lutheran schools in the St. Louis area, Illinois, and around the whole state of Missouri. The sports season of 2022-23 was truly special, successful, memorable and exciting for sure. We train our athletes to honor God in all we do and how we play. We teach sportsmanship, teamwork, dedication, commitment, coach-ability and sacrifice along with skills and competition. Our boys and girls volleyball teams were very strong this year; the girls qualifying for the LSAM State tournament’s Gold bracket and the boys’ team was also very strong finishing in 2nd place in the league. Boys’ volleyball is a sport that is growing fast in our area and St. Paul’s is leading that growth. The boys’ basketball team won 24 games and finished the season with an incredible, heart stopping, LSAM tournament run for the ages. The team was seeded 9th in the state at the Jeff City tournament. We beat the 8th seeded team from Calvary Kansas City and moved on to face the top seeded City Championship team from Lutheran North Middle School. We put a scare into them and had a small lead in the third quarter. We lost the game but gave the Crusaders all they could handle, the only team to really put up a fight against them as they went on to win State. The Saints then won their next game and went into Sunday games with a shot at 5th place! In the morning game our team won the game on a buzzer beating 3 point shot from 35 feet to give us a one point victory, the crowd went crazy! Later that same day we had to hit another buzzer beater to send the game to overtime. We won that game in OT also, finishing 4-1 in the tournament and taking 5th place in the state of Missouri. Very exciting memories were made for sure, and the team certainly saved their best for last. More important than the wins and exciting shots was the bonding of our boys, the families and the coaches. These memories will form a tight connection with all that were part of the awesome weekend in Jeff City.

At the end of the year our 7th and 8th grade boys won the 2023 LSAM Track and Field State Championship! There were 25 schools and 270 athletes at the meet with the best athletes from all over Missouri. The boys won the meet by 17 points over larger schools and many very strong athletes. It was a team effort with all 7 boys scoring points in individual events and team relays.

It is quite a satisfying challenge for our school to compete in over 10 separate sports at various grade levels for boys and girls. There are a handful of schools with much larger enrollment, but we hold our own and exceed expectations regularly. Our coaching staff is top tier. The dedication and time the coaches spend with our students is remarkable and leads to great results and so much growth and learning that goes way beyond the scoreboard. We are now in the early stages of athletics for students as young as 1st grade competing and learning in new games and clinics run by our league. St. Paul’s is one of the leaders in this effort as well. Our summer sports camps have a very strong reputation in our area and we attract kids from all over the area and many public and private schools outside of our own. We invite top high school coaches as guests at our camps and even college players to help teach the campers. The vast number of learning opportunities that our athletes and students are afforded through our athletic programs are just one of the many strong aspects of our school. We are very proud of the sports traditions dating back to 1951. We also praise God for the success, growth, learning and performance of our teams and students this past school year; one for the books. One of our best sports years ever, with many young kids watching and waiting for their turn to show their talents. We are excited to see how new and improved athletic and physical education facilities will allow us to keep growing and excelling as well. To God be the glory!

Letter to St. Paul's Congregation by: Mrs. Newsome Greetings in Christ! My name is Alexandria Newsome, and I am the 8th grade homeroom and secondary English Language Arts teacher here at St. Paul’s Lutheran School. While I have worked in an educational capacity for many years - with elementary, highschool and postsecondary students - this is my 6th year teaching middle school and my first year working in a private, Lutheran school.  To be honest, I was hesitant at first to work at St. Paul’s! We are a small school (only 24 eighth grade students! 63 middle school students total!) and truly unlike any institution I’ve ever worked for. For example, I was under the mistaken assumption that the chief responsibilities of the 8th grade homeroom teacher primarily included taking attendance in the morning and supervising arrival and dismissal. As I began to learn of all the extracurricular responsibilities expected of faculty members to keep the spirit of St. Paul’s alive, I wondered if my initial hesitance to accept the position had been well-founded afterall.  As the school year continued, the Holy Spirit worked on my heart. The numerous responsibilities became unexpected blessings and I began to see the Lord at work through the many traditions of St. Paul’s. The Spelling & Geography Bees - which I was sure would never hold the attention of the students and were going to be a nightmare to manage - were actually times of celebration and support! The seemingly overwhelming organization of Faith Families, where students K-8 are combined for chapel services and activities, were far from the chaos I imagined! Watching normally nonplussed 8th graders stoop to help or comfort anxious kindergartners and seeing our middle school students step into roles of compassionate authority has been both a joy and delight! What I initially saw as unnecessary were in fact opportunities to demonstrate courage, loving-kindness and patience. Chapel skits, student productions, service projects and ice-blocking were paradoxically infusing, uplifting and community building, where I had expected problems, waste and unnecessary expenditure. While teaching is never easy work, I could never have expected how much I needed the healing and community of St. Paul’s Lutheran School. This unique environment, unlike any other educational institution I’ve worked for and under, is worth caring for and preserving. To witness and be a part of the emphasis on care and compassion for one another, the focus on the education and cultivation of Christian men and women: these are the most important facets of education. And for so long, I had taken for granted that they were not the most important things. What could be more fundamental to the growth and development of mature Christian men and women? I have heard it said that everything is educational, but not everything we are educated in is beneficial to us. Through St. Paul’s, I have been reminded of the “upside-down” nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. The values and goals held dear in the field of education broadly are by no means worthless; children should be academically well-versed and able to contend with cultural trends and mores. However, the opportunity to openly nurture students as children loved and saved by Jesus places the emphasis of education wholly where it needs to be: our hearts. From a worldly perspective, our school’s emphasis on all these “extraneous activities” seemed worthless. But with eyes to see and ears to hear, I ask myself now: what is more paradoxically extravagant than God’s healing grace in the midst of our fallen world?

Lutheran Jr. Honor Association Develops Caring Servant Leaders by: Mrs. Cannon

St. Paul’s Lutheran Jr. Honor Association exists to recognize students who demonstrate excellence in academics, service, leadership, and discipleship and foster those qualities through service to the community. This year was an especially rewarding one as our members work to be the hands and feet of Christ.  Our LJHA members resumed preparing meals at Ronald McDonald House this year after a two-year Covid related hiatus. Students worked alongside congregation members to plan and prepare Sunday dinners for the families who stay at the house while their children get care at nearby hospitals. We especially enjoyed meeting three children and their families from Barbados, Antigua, and St. Lucia, who are here for orthopedic surgeries at Shriners Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Cannon were even able to bring them to church to worship with us!   Tutoring refugee children through Christian Friends of New Americans was another memorable experience for our members. One night per month, we head down to the Peace Center in the city to meet with students from Nepal, Nigeria, the Congo, and other countries to share devotion time, work on English language skills, and assist them with their homework. Our favorite part of tutoring is the fun games and social time we get to enjoy at the end of the evening. Other service projects we worked on this year included assembling meals for Feed the Need, collecting Christmas presents for kids with cancer, writing cards of thanks and encouragement to Lutheran pastors in our community, and making cookies for first responders.  Through LJHA, we strive to exemplify the words of Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Making History Come Alive in Fifth Grade by: Mrs. Eyster

Fifth grade students at St. Paul’s Lutheran School spent the year learning about the history of the United States beginning with the Native Americans and ending with the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. I believe the richest and most memorable lessons for my students derive from first-hand experiences. Combining history with art and drama, as well as integrating faith into my lessons, deepens my students’ understanding and appreciation of our country’s history. Some of these history class experiences include: researching, writing, and creating Native American tribal masks; becoming a first-person interpreter for an early European explorer; readers’ theater plays, and writing a report about President Lincoln’s life.  Throughout their final history project, fifth graders also develop a creative way to share what they learned through their research and writing about Abraham Lincoln’s life.

St. Paul’s fifth graders also get an amazing opportunity to spend a whole day in Springfield, Illinois touring Lincoln’s New Salem village, The Lincoln Presidential Museum and Home, and Lincoln’s tomb. Studying history helps students to better understand and grasp complex questions and conflicts by examining how the past has shaped relationships between societies and people.  The Bible can teach us how to approach American history. Using a Christian worldview to study history helps explain the times when God was disobeyed and the results were negative. It also gives a framework to share those who were obedient to God’s call and made a positive impact throughout history. I want my students to learn that everything we do reflects our relationship with Christ, including the views through which we study and share history.

Third Grade Wax Museum Event by: Heather Hemler Would you like to meet Alexander Graham Bell, Sacagawea, or Jacques Cousteau? Have a close encounter with them, as well as many other famous people, at our Third Grade Wax Museum! Every year our third graders choose a biography to read, write a detailed report on their selection, and then have their character come to life at the Wax Museum. Friends and family attend this special night, where each student dresses up as their famous person and remains frozen until their button is pressed. At that time, they “come to life” to tell everyone some facts about their person and the impact they have made in the world. This night becomes an unforgettable memory for all the students!   Elijah said, “I found it really cool that the school had us study about a person in history. I really liked it!” “I think writing the report was one of the most fun parts,” said Ava. Auggie said, “It was fun! I hope we do something like it again.”

Science Fun in Kindergarten by: Ms. Holly Cannon

This year in Kindergarten, our kinders learned a lot about all different aspects of the physical world in Science Fun each Friday. Each week we explore God’s creation in a new way. We had so much fun working together to make things work and watch God’s Wonder unfold before our eyes.  Our kindergarteners got to try experiments on their own. They dropped vinegar onto baking soda with a dropper to see what would happen. They formed Skittles into a pattern of their choice and added milk to see the colors create patterns. We added baking soda to cups of vinegar with white acrylic paint to create magical snowstorms. They built “turkey traps” out of marshmallows and toothpicks that had to stand on their own. They showed the St. Paul’s ECC what our science fun is about with a morning of science centers such as bubbles you can hold, sand tables, dancing corn kernels, and glow in the dark beads! We also worked together with the 5th graders to create the tallest marshmallow tower they could using only dry spaghetti noodles, tape, and string. The students learned teamwork through these projects as they worked together to reach a common end goal.  The kindergarten class got to watch many different demonstrations of science as well. We made a pumpkin ‘throw up' with a chemical mixture that exploded out of its mouth. We learned about the different depths of the ocean through layering water, oil, dish soap, and rubbing alcohol. We learned about the importance of washing our hands by using oil and glitter to show just how easily germs can spread and how hard you need to wash your hands to really get them all off.  In our first year as St. Paul’s Saints class of 2031, these students learned a lot about the world around them.

4th Grade Field Trip by: Ms. Rudsinski If you want to know the history of how Missouri became a state, just ask a St. Paul’s fourth grader. On April 27th, the fourth graders traveled to the first state capital…St. Charles. Yes, you read that correctly! Our first state capital was St. Charles…not Jefferson City, like many people think. Their initial stop was the Capitol building and the Peck Brothers Dry Goods “Store”. Here the students were able to see where the first laws of Missouri were made, the governor’s office, and how the citizens of Missouri lived in the 1820’s. A picnic lunch was eaten at Frontier Park on the Katy Depot. After lunch, the class walked to the Lewis and Clark Boathouse and Museum. They heard a presentation about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, completed a scavenger hunt by finding animals that those on the expedition would have encountered, and saw replicas of the keelboats that Lewis and Clark used on the journey to the Pacific Ocean. A great day of fun and learning was had by all!

First Grade Cares for the Earth by: Mrs. Burford The first graders have been learning to reduce, reuse, and recycle items. To celebrate Earth Day, they reused a cereal box and made a jet pack. They enjoyed flying through the playground after they were done. The children also wanted to show care for Earth by cleaning the playground for part of the SHINE event.

Eden said, “God created the beautiful Earth. We need to take care of it.” Lyric said, “We want to help the Earth.”

SPOTICS 2022-2023  by: Mr. Rudzinski

This year marks the seventh year St. Paul’s Lutheran School has competed in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science & Technology) International LEGO Robotics Competition. The purpose of FIRST Lego League is to guide youth through STEM learning and exploration at an early age. This is done through three components of their program. The students create an innovative solution to a real-world problem. They design a robot to navigate missions on a challenge field, all while demonstrating core values of friendly competition and mutual gain, which are not separate goals. St. Paul’s as a school has fully embraced this program and we have advanced seven teams in the past six years to the regional state competition.  The challenge this year was to explore where energy comes from and how it is distributed, stored, and used—and then put their super-powered creativity to work to innovate for a better energy future. The Gilded SPOTICS designed a floor tile that produces electricity through piezoelectric technology. They plan to use floor tiles in high-traffic areas in buildings to create sustainable supplemental electricity for the building.  SPOTICS Steampunk Chicken developed a solution for residences to generate electricity with compressed air as their energy source. Their product includes five components (a small wind turbine, air compressor, a series of storage tanks, motor, and electric generator) to produce sustainable energy when the power goes out or supplemental energy for the home. On December 10, 2022, our teams competed in the FLL Qualifier at Lutheran High School of St Charles. Our 7th and 8th-grade team, The Gilded SPOTICS, took 1st Place Champions Award. Our 5th and 6th-grade team, SPOTICS Steampunk Chicken, took home the 4th Place Champions Award. These awards earned advancement to the championship tournament. On January 21, 2023, these two teams competed at Wentzville High School in the Missouri Regional Championship, where each team advanced to international competitions. Our 7th and 8th-grade team, known as The Gilded SPOTICS, placed 2nd out of 32 teams and advanced to the FIRST LEGO League Challenge World Festival in Houston, TX, on April 22-25th. Our 5th and 6th-grade team, known as SPOTICS Steampunk Chicken, advanced to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Open Invitational in Fayetteville, AR, on May 18-21st.   Both teams prepared for their final competitions for several more months. Each team determined how to score additional points in the robot field competition, designed new strategies and robot attachments, and refined elements of their project. St Paul’s SPOTICS teams had very good presentations and robot performances at these competitions. The Gilded SPOTICS collaborated with a team from Norway and the SPOTICS Steampunk Chicken worked with a team from Israel.  What the program gained by competing at these competitions will guide our teams as we continue to implement new design strategies for the next season.

Kindergarten Writers by: Mrs. Hanke

Kindergarten is a tremendous time of growth and learning for our youngest Saints! Light bulbs go off daily as our students unlock new skills. The first semester of the school year is spent mastering letter identification and corresponding letter sounds. Students spend 3-4 weeks working their way through the writing process:

brainstorming, rough drafts, revisions, and ultimately a final draft. During this time, our students also learn about concepts of print, and practice copying sentences from decodable readers on the pages of their journals. Throughout the second semester, our Kindergarteners apply this knowledge when they write a research report on ocean

animals, as well as a personal narrative. In addition to the written component of these projects, students also complete a unit on illustration which guides them as they draw and paint pictures to represent the words in their stories. Students enjoy sharing their stories with parents and peers during an “Author’s Tea”, a celebration of our young writers!

2023 School Choir Trip by: Kantor Gerhardt For many years, students who sing in the School Choir have had an annual opportunity to take an exciting trip the weekend after Easter. Each tour has three main focuses: singing for worship, a service project, and opportunities for fellowship. This year, students traveled to Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana. Cantor Priscilla Gabriel of Faith Lutheran Church in Bloomington graciously agreed for us to serve as the choir in the Sunday Divine Services. We were warmly welcomed and the hospitality team provided delicious snacks in the form of Bloomington’s signature square donuts and a lovely meal after worship. Our service project was at University Lutheran Church in Bloomington. Pastor Richard Woelmer led us in a short prayer service, after which he and his wife Carolyn led the students in service projects including oiling pews, pulling weeds, cleaning the alley, and burning the palms from Palm Sunday for the next Ash Wednesday. Pastor and Carolyn also shared about their ministry at "ULu”, which serves the campus of Indiana University and the city of Bloomington. Finally, there were many opportunities for learning, fellowship, and fun. From an engaging choir clinic with Mrs. Amy Hughley of the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, to visiting the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, to seeing many of the world’s largest things in Casey, Illinois, to meals together, to swimming, to playing and jumping at Urban Air, and even a Culver’s stop for frozen custard, there was something to engage everyone who was a part of this trip. Thank you for your support and encouragement of this vital experience for these young musicians!

STEM by: Mrs. Meyer STEM projects are completed every other week with students in grades 1 - 4. The students complete the engineer process to help them complete their STEM problem.  This process includes brainstorming, designing, creating, testing and sharing. The 3rd graders were tasked with building the tallest structure using candy dots and toothpicks. They enjoyed this activity because they got to eat their work.

Accountability for Learning - 2023 by: Mrs. Walker As educators, we frequently pause to assess how our students are progressing. Daily, classroom teachers do this in many ways. Teachers formatively assess their students in the middle of lessons. Students complete assignments, take quizzes, create projects, and are scored on summative tests. This year we began administering the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tool in the areas of reading and math in grades K – 8. These tests were given in the Fall, Winter and Spring.  MAP tests are adaptive tests taken on a computer. This means that the test becomes more difficult the more questions a student answers correctly. When a student incorrectly answers a question, the test becomes easier. Therefore, each student takes a test specifically created for their learning level. MAP is aligned with the Missouri State standards.  MAP results are reported in RIT scores (short for Rasch Unit). A RIT score is an estimation of a student’s instructional level and also measures student progress or growth in school. MAP assessments measure a student’s growth in mathematics and reading. This is a different type of score than a typical standardized test that provides results for a percentage correct. MAP tests are also different from many tests that provide results based on a child’s score compared to others in the same grade. Instead, the RIT score is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches, that is independent of grade level. As a result, one can easily measure growth in learning. This type of score increases the value of the test as a tool to improve student learning because it enables teachers to know what standards a student has mastered and which standards they are ready to learn. Please keep in mind the following when interpreting test scores:    There is a standard error of measurement - all tests have a standard error of measurement since they are a sample of student performance at one particular time. Consider the size of the test group – Because our class scores are based on small numbers of students, they need to be interpreted with caution.         The below chart provides you with each grade levels’ Mean RIT for the Spring test along with the Mean End-Year status RIT national norms. Your child’s individual scores were sent home with your child’s report card at the end of the school year. It is important to be sure to include daily grades and teacher judgment when evaluating your child’s academic ability. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are blessed to partner with you along your child's educational journey!

Your child’s individual scores were sent home with your child’s report card at the end of the school year. It is important to be sure to include daily grades and teacher judgment when evaluating your child’s academic ability. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are blessed to partner with you along your child's educational journey!

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