About these tests

The purpose of these is to provide examples of the type of tests students should be able to tackle, if the aspirations of the Common Core State Standards are to be realized. The methodology of the tests and their balance of different task types is discussed in more detail here.

Note: please bear in mind that these materials are still in draft and unpolished form.

What tests are available?

High School

Currently, 6 prototype tests are available aimed at College and Career Readiness at High School - typically suitable for grades 9-10. The test forms and scoring rubrics can be downloaded from the links on the left.

We have provided 3 types of High School test forms: 40 minute forms are the easiest for teachers to use for periodic assessments without disrupting the timetable, but are limited in the amount of curriculum they can assess. 3 hour forms offer a model for more comprehensive end-of-grade or end-of-term assessments. 90 minute forms offer a compromise between time and breadth of content.

Middle School

We have produced six 80-minute forms, each divided into two 40-minute sections. These tests involve content from the Standards for grades 7 and 8.

The Task Bank

These are only examples of how balanced tests can be assembled. If you require more flexibility, the complete bank of tasks, individually cross-referenced to the standards, is available here.

Who are they for?

Our trials have shown that parts of these tests, especially the less structured ‘expert’ tasks, are demanding for students who have only met typical assessments.

Currently, therefore, the target audience for these prototype tests comprises:

Working with the Classroom Challenges will give students the chance to tackle similar tasks in a more supportive classroom environment, and thus develop the skills and strategies demanded by these tests.

The Summative Assessment Tasks may be distributed, unmodified, under the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives License 3.0. All other rights reserved. Please send any enquiries about commercial use or derived works to map.info@mathshell.org.

Note: please bear in mind that these prototype materials need some further trialing before inclusion in a high-stakes test.