ASSESSMENTS

The Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), under the Clerc Center, is an accredited demonstration school. MSSD is mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to adhere to statewide academic standards and participate in annual statewide assessments. However, as part of the Clerc Center, a Federal program, it does not report to a state-level department of education.

Read our 2023-2024 Annual Report Card

Below are our assessments for the year: 

Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), Maryland Integrated Science Assessments (MISA), and Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA)

MCAP’s summative tests are available in grades 3-8 and high school (10-12). These assessments are taken in the springtime. The assessments include a performance-based component with longer questions that usually require multiple steps. It measures critical thinking, reasoning, and the ability to apply skills and knowledge in reading, writing, mathematics, and science.

• The MCAP English Language Arts and Literacy assessments focus on the content outlined in the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for each grade level. Students read literary and informational passages and engage in multimedia such as video or audio pieces. Students demonstrate their reading comprehension and literacy skills by responding to text-based questions and writing prompts. In the early grades, students also demonstrate their literacy skills through a variety of oral response methods.

• The MCAP mathematics assessments focus on the content outlined in the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for each grade level or course for 3rd to 8th grade and high school (Algebra 1). Students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of mathematics by solving real-world problems, making sense of quantities and their relationships, and reasoning mathematically.

• The Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA) is administered to all students in fifth grade, eighth grade, and high school. The MISA is aligned to the Maryland Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The NGSS integrates three dimensions necessary to understand science and a set of interrelated items is required to assess the three dimensions of the NGSS. All items on the MISA are part of an item set. Each MISA item set presents a stimulus related to a real-world context, which students interact with through text, videos, charts, or simulations. Students then answer five selected or technology-enhanced questions and one constructed response question to assess their scientific literacy.

• The Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA) is available for students in grades 3-8 and 11 with significant cognitive disabilities and cannot participate in the MCAP/MISA assessments, even with accommodations. This alternate assessment, based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS), covers English language arts, mathematics, and science. Additionally, the Science Alternate MSA (Alt-MSA) is offered in grades 5, 8, and 10 for students with significant cognitive disabilities and cannot participate in the Maryland School Assessment in science, even with accommodations.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)

MAP is a computer adaptive assessment that is aligned with the Common Core State Standards in English Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics. These assessments adapt according to student responses and measure individual progress or growth during the school year. This norm-referenced assessment is based on a continuum of skills in content areas from low skill levels to high skill levels. This assessment helps teachers identify the instructional and independent levels of the student and establish accurate target instruction based on students’ strengths and needs. MAP’s English Reading assessment will also measure students’ text difficulty and determine their Lexile Range score. The Lexile scale helps teachers generate appropriate reading materials or the student. These assessments are administered three times throughout the school year. 

ACT Testing

The ACT is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. This test covers four academic skill areas: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. It also offers an optional essay writing test. MSSD students in their junior and senior years are encouraged to take the ACT if they are considering college. MSSD offers students in their junior year to take the ACT test for free.  MSSD administers the ACT test a few times a year. Please reach out to the MSSD’s Assessment Coordinator for more information. 

To register for the test, the students should register with MSSD’s Assessment Coordinator. Students who do not have testing accommodations in their IEPs should register for Arranged Testing test dates. Students who have testing accommodations in their IEPs, such as extended testing time, should register for Special Testing test dates.

Maria Brecheen

MSSD Assessment Coordinator

Maria.Brecheen@gallaudet.edu

202-250-2459 (VP/VRS)