Dear families:
Each year, students in grades 3 through 8 participate in the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System (NH SAS).
Due to the school closure in the spring, students didn’t take the assessment scheduled. So the NH Department of Education is providing guidance and support to public schools by requiring students in grades 4-8 to take the NH Statewide Assessment System (SAS) Interim test. Three thirty-minute tests (Reading, Writing, Math) will provide a perspective on the needs of students at both the school and individual levels. This assessment will help our teachers prioritize resources and supports, while ensuring that all students have equitable access to instruction.
This fall, your child will take the following assessments:
| Assessment | Grade Level | Content | Testing Window |
| NH SAS Interim Assessment | 4-5* | English Language Arts and Mathematics | October 19-31 |
*Students will take the previous grade level interim assessment.
Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Section 1111(b)(2) and New Hampshire law, RSA 193-C:6 requires each school district in the State to implement a set of high-quality academic assessments that includes, at a minimum, assessments in mathematics, reading/language arts and science to be administered in each of grades 3-8 and not less than once during grades 10-12; and in science not less than once during grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12. Furthermore, ESSA sections 1111(b)(2)(B) require State assessments to be the “same academic assessments used to measure the achievement of all public elementary school and secondary school students in the State,” and provide for the participation in such assessments to all students.
State assessments are an important part of a student’s core educational program. They provide an evaluation of student mastery of content and skills in various academic areas, serve as one tool for measuring the degree to which students are on track to graduate high school and be college- and career-ready, and help inform future instruction in the classroom. Along with student work on classroom assignments, projects, essays, and local assessments, state assessment results give teachers and you, the parents, important information about where students are on their path toward academic success. If you choose to exempt your student from the state assessment (permitted in RSA 193-C:6), you must submit a form to the school the student attends. Please contact Pam Miller in the Main Office to receive a copy of the exemption form. Please understand that if you choose to exempt your student from the assessment, no scores or summary of individual student performance, based on the statewide assessment, will be provided to you or your student. If PES has low participation, we may lose our Title 1 funds.
Student results for the NH SAS (reading/writing, mathematics and science) are generally available within 10 days upon the student completing the test. Pittsfield School District will send a student’s Individual Score Report home as soon as possible after receiving results.
Parents may access training tests for the NH SAS by going to the portal at https://nh.portal.airast.org/training-tests.stml.
Your child’s classroom teacher will confirm the dates of testing later this spring when they are scheduled. If you have any questions related to this assessment administration, you may contact me. Thank you for supporting your student and encouraging him/her to do his/her best during this assessment administration.
Sincerely,
Danielle Harvey
603-435-6701 ex 1103