It all begins again next week for Baldwin County students, the annual testing to measure their progress, and determine whether or not schools have made Annual Yearly Progress. Perdido Elementary/Middle School decided to put a positive spin on encouraging students to achieve their best on this year’s test. Students were allowed to dress out of uniform, in camouflage, to remind them that they will be hunting for ‘fours’ on the ARMT (Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test +), next week. Over 50 students dressed out “head-to-toe” in support of “hunting for fours” next week.

On Monday, the day before testing begins, members of Perdido’s faculty, under the direction of Reading Coach, Mrs. Kerry Roley, will present “Alice in ARMT Land”. The play will follow Alice as she journeys through a school year, preparing to do her best on the ARMT. The pep rally and play will recognize those students who scored a three or a four last year as well as encourage students to be prepared to do their best.

The primary purpose of the ARMT is to:

To assess students’ mastery of state content standards in reading and mathematics

To report individual and group performance

To report relative strengths and weaknesses of individuals and groups

To provide data to study changes in performances over time

· The ARMT is a criterion-referenced test. It consists of selected items from the Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford 10) which matches the Alabama state content standards in reading and mathematics. Additional test items were developed to be included so that all content standards were fully covered. It is this combination of Stanford 10 items and newly developed items that is known as the ARMT.

· The ARMT has a 100% alignment to the Alabama state content standards in reading and mathematics.

· A student must take Stanford 10 Word Study Skills (Grade 3 only), Stanford 10 Reading Vocabulary (Grades 3-8), Stanford 10 Reading Comprehension (Grades 3-8), and the ARMT Part 2 Reading subtest to get an ARMT reading score.

· A student must take Stanford 10 Mathematics Procedures (Grades 3-8), Mathematics Problem Solving (Grades 3-8), and the ARMT Part 2 Mathematics subtest to get an ARMT mathematics score.

· Performance is reported in the following achievement levels:

· Level I – Does not meet academic content standards

· Level II – Partially meets academic content standards

· Level III – Meets academic content standards (proficient or grade-level performance)

· Level IV – Exceeds academic content standards

· Results are used for accountability for Grades 3-8 in meeting one of the requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Pictured are the winners in the various categories:

Fron row left to right: Chris Duprey, Mason Smith, Katie Dean, Reese Roberts, Reed Roberts, Coleman Dove

Second row: Tyler Crawford, Drew Davis, Lindsey Stewart, Rebecca Dean, Lina Vinson

Third Row: Tre Williams, Nathan Gilliam, Drew Turner, Samantha Gilliam, Callie Roley, Jarrod Phillips

Back Row: Ty Hyatt, Riley McCullough, Dalton hicks, Evan Williams, Sawyer McCullough, Chris Johnson

Below are the Camo Day winners and runners up. All students will have a free Pepsi on Monday at lunch in the lunchroom.

Best Camo Sawyer McCullough, Riley McCullough, Dalton Hicks, Tre’ Williams, Evan Williams, Ty Hyatt, Mason Smith, Christopher Johnson, Reed Roberts

Stylish Callie Roley, Tyler Crawford, Lina Vinson, Coleman Dove, Drew Turner, Reese Roberts, Katie Dean, Drew Davis, Jarrod Phillips, Ashley Bange

Unique: Hanna Bailey, Nathan Gilliam, Samantha Gilliam, Mikeral Wilder

Creative: Lindsey Stewart, Samantha Stewart

Runners Up: Rebecca Dean, Brice McCullough, Anna Parker, Tripp Presley, Clay Smith, Justin Brunson, Dustin Snow, Cody Commistas, Courtney Duddy

Zack Dumas, Aaron Sims, Alexa Lusk, Cagen Kimbler, Tanner Smith, Collin Davis, Amia Dean, Caitlin Davis, Holley Houdek, Hayden Hill, Olivia Trawick

Riley Davis, Corey Kelley, Micheal Stabler, Austin Dean, Alli Crenshaw, Dillion Johnson, Zack Dumas, Aaron Sims