Students in Cincinnati Public Schools are tested throughout the school year to determine their knowledge level. These tests measure students' achievement to determine their strengths and weaknesses so teachers can adjust and reteach lessons to meet students' needs.
Elementary students participate in testing required by the Ohio Department of Education. This includes:
Students in grades K-8 participate in a series of benchmark assessments throughout the school year in reading, mathematics, science and social studies. These assessments are timed to parallel the teaching of the district's curriculum and are tools to alert teachers to students' needs.
Cincinnati Public Schools is using the TerraNova Second Edition standardized test published by McGraw-Hill. This test compares a student's score to a standard of average performance of other students across the nation. Grade 6 students are tested in October and grade 2 students are tested in February.
Students interested in enrolling in the Special College Preparatory Program at either Dater or Walnut Hills high schools must pass this examination. All sixth-grade students take the SCPP exam as part of their standardized testing in October.
A high school student must pass all 5 Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) exams prior to receiving a high school diploma, as required by the Ohio Department of Education. High school students take a practice test in the fall of ninth and tenth grade. The official administration of the Ohio Graduation Tests begins in the spring of each student's tenth-grade year.
All tenth-grade students participate in PLAN and students in grades 10 and 11 take the PSAT. Both tests help students prepare for successful performance on the SAT and ACT.
PLAN — PLAN is the pre-ACT examination. It is a comprehensive guidance resource that helps tenth-grade students measure their current academic development, explore career/training options and make plans for the remaining years of high school and post-graduation years. It is administered to students in grade 10 in December in the Cincinnati Public Schools at no cost to students.
PSAT — The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT) is a program co-sponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. It is given in October of the tenth and eleventh grades, at no cost to students. National Merit Scholarships are awarded based on eleventh-grade scores.
All high school students are expected to take the SAT or ACT tests during their junior or senior years. Students must register directly with ACT or SAT; the Cincinnati Public School District does not manage the registration or testing of the ACT or SAT. GuidanceNet and Peterson's Online Prep Courses are available free to all Cincinnati Public Schools' high school students.
Peterson's StudentEdge is a Web site specifically about college planning and includes online preparation courses for the PSAT, ACT and SAT. CPS students can explore careers, research colleges throughout the United States and search for financial and other advice as they plan for college.
Students register for StudentEdge courses at school. They create their own user names and passwords, which should be kept secure and private. After registration, students may access the Web site from any computer with Internet access. Any student who has lost his/her username or password should call 1-877-TEST PREP for help.