Michigan Educators’ Ultimate Guide to Prepare for M-STEP Assessments

Between making sure that you’re staying on pace with curriculum guides, practicing test-taking procedures and strategies, and providing the targeted preparation and reinforcement individual students need, testing season can quickly begin to feel overwhelming for Michigan educators. The good news is that a little research and planning can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re able to provide the support students need to be successful on their M-STEP assessments. We’ve gathered all of the most useful, detailed, and relevant resources out there to help you put an outstanding test-preparation program into action.

When it comes to the M-STEP assessments, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is obviously the authority. And, the MDE has a great collection of free resources for educators! We’ve done the legwork of combing through the MDE library to find the best M-STEP materials.

2019–2020 Guide to State Assessments  
It’s always important to understand the basics. This document provides a great overview of scheduling, content, and procedures for the M-STEP and all of the other Michigan summative tests.

Released ELA Test Samples (Prompts & Student Essay Scores and Essay Prompts)
Released writing prompts from previous years’ M-STEP assessments are outstanding resources to give students a first-hand look at what they can expect to encounter on testing day.

Parent Resources: Assessment Guide and How to Help Students Handouts
These resources provide helpful information for parents to understand the M-STEP assessment process, why it matters, and how they can support their student during and after testing.

Additional M-STEP Resources Available
The MDE has tons of additional resources available to cover all of your M-STEP needs and questions, including information on the most recent updates, student accommodations, specific content areas, professional development, and reporting.

M-STEP Assessment-Preparation Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Classroom Teachers

M-STEP prep doesn’t have to dominate your classroom agenda this spring. By getting started early, utilizing formative assessment strategies, and making the most of practice testing, teachers in the classroom can provide students with individualized M-STEP support without sacrificing time from the standard curriculum. Check out these resources to get started.

[NWEA in Michigan] What to Do Next with Your MAP Growth Assessment Data
The NWEA™ MAP® Growth™ benchmark assessment is one MDE-approved provider that can offer educators outstanding insights into student progress and needs to support targeted instruction. But, once the test has been administered and RIT scores received, the data have to be put to use for those truly meaningful insights to be uncovered—and that can be a daunting process.

5 Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Practice Testing
The old adage “practice makes perfect” is a familiar turn of phrase for a reason. Ensure that you’re getting the most out of every minute your students are spending on practice testing.

3 Ways Online Practice Can Support Your Test-Prep Program 
As you are considering different options to ensure that your students have achieved standards proficiency, it’s critical that you have a program that’s aligned to the Michigan K–12 Standards. Consider this and other benefits of using an online program.

4 Best Practices to Use Midyear Benchmark Assessment Data
Like any assessment, midyear benchmarks are only as valuable as the strategies you employ using the data. Here are four ways to make these assessments a truly valuable exercise for you and your students.

Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online Practice
The Edmentum research team was honored to have Marzano Research peer review a research project that we conducted for our classroom practice and assessment program, Study Island. Through that review, Marzano confirmed our findings about the effectiveness of Study Island, and we also uncovered four best practices to help students get the most out of online practice.

General Test-Prep and Test-Taking Tips for Educators

No matter the exact situation, testing is a stressful process. But, successful test taking, beyond content knowledge, is also a skill that can be taught, acquired, and mastered. Here are some of our best resources on general test prep and test taking to help the M-STEP assessment process go smoothly at your school.

10 Classroom and School Tips to Improve Test Scores
Helping students achieve M-STEP success is about much more than targeted practice in the classroom. Check out these 10 holistic tips to make sure that your students are ready for their assessments in all ways.

8 Last-Minute Steps Districts Can Take to Improve Test Scores
Administrators may not feel like they have a direct hand in making sure that students are well-prepared for M-STEP assessments. But, there is no shortage of steps administrators can take to ensure that their teachers and students have what they need for a successful testing season—even when it comes down to the wire.

6 Tips for Teachers to Help Students Manage Stress
Testing season inevitably means classroom stress will hit a new high. So, how can you keep anxiety levels in check and help your students stay cool, calm, and collected when test day rolls around? Here are six tips for a low(er) stress testing season:

8 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Prepare for High-Stakes Tests
Parents and other caregivers are critical to every student’s education journey. So, get them involved in the M-STEP–preparation process! Share these eight simple tips with parents to help them support their learners on testing days.

Ready to take your M-STEP test-preparation program to the next level? Check out Study Island, Edmentum’s online solution for classroom practice and assessment, and our extensive library of programs designed exclusively for Michigan educators and students. You can even start your FREE trial of Study Island today!

This blog post was originally posted on February 4, 2019.