Posted January 7, 2025
Info for families of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders,
We will begin the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) assessments on April 7th. We wanted to send out the calendar so you can plan accordingly, we know many of you are advance planners.
These required assessments are one piece in a student data picture and, while they are important, we don’t want students to have undue stress around this or any assessment. These assessments focus on the knowledge and skills for our students based on the common core standards. They also measure skills such as analytical thinking and the ability to solve complex problems. The CMAS assessments focus on different content areas depending upon the grade your child is in:
These assessments will give our teachers information to see where our students are in certain skills and content areas and where they need support.
Calendar: The calendar below communicates when the CMAS assessments are occurring. We ask parents and families to ensure their children get plenty of sleep and a healthy breakfast every day, but especially on assessment days. In addition, if there are doctor’s appointments or other appointments that need to be made, we hope this calendar will help you to make those appointments on non-assessment days. We will provide an extra snack (granola bars) and mints during the test for all students.
CMAS Testing Dates 2025
Assessment Window April 7th- April 25th
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 7-11th | Literacy Session 1 5th | Literacy Session 1 3rd, 4th Lit Session 2 5th | Literacy Session 2 3rd, 4th Lit Session 3 5th | Literacy Session 3 3rd, 4th 5th Ameritowne | Make ups |
| April 14-18th | Make ups | Math Session 1 3rd, 4th and 5th | Math Session 2 3rd, 4th and 5th | Math Session 3 3rd, 4th and 5th | Make ups |
| April 21st-25th | Science Session 1 5th | Science Session 2 5th SS 1 4th | Science Session 3 5th | Make ups | Make ups |
Literacy Sessions- 90 minutes, Math Sessions- 65 minutes
Grade Specific Times for Testing
| 3rd | 8:30-10:00 Extended time 8:30-10:30 |
| 4th | 10:00-11:30 Extended time 10:00-12:00 |
| 5th | 11:00-12:30 Extended time :11:00-1:00 |
Make-Ups: While it is ideal for your student to take their test on time, and in the normal testing environment, we understand that kids get ill, and need to miss a day of school. Please do not stress. We have built make up sessions into our calendar so we can handle a limited amount of absences. It is always better to skip a session than to get sick in the middle of a session.
We appreciate your support during this time. Assessments, including CMAS as well as those taken throughout the year, are tools that support us in making instructional decisions and help to identify students’ strengths and next steps. At Swigert, we don’t put additional pressure on students to perform, we share assessments as a way to show what they know and provide information to help us support students in their academic growth. Tests are , fortunately or unfortunately, a part of the education landscape, and we want students to feel prepared and confident as they move through their education journey.
There are online resources to help parents and families support their student(s) during CMAS testing, located at https://coassessments.com/practice-resources/. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or your student’s classroom teacher.
Thank you,
Shelby Dennis
Principal, Swigert International School