Nevada high school students must achieve proficiency on the HSPE as a requirement for graduation. Proficiency levels are based on scale scores. The scale score range for the Passing and Failing proficiency levels are shown on your Nevada Student Report. The Passing and Failing levels indicate whether or not students demonstrated proficiency in the Nevada Content Standards.

The overall scale score indicates student performance in each subject. Scale scores are reported instead of raw scores (number correct) because the meaning of the scale scores, and their ranges for each achievement level, remains about the same year after year. Scale scores were translated from raw scores using a method which took into account students’ ability, test difficulty, and student guessing.

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This information is not available because test forms vary from year to year.

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The recommendation in each topic is based on how you scored in each topic compared to how overall Passing and Failing students scored in each topic. In other words, if your percentage correct in a topic is similar to the percentage correct scored by students who passed the HSPE overall, you will receive a recommendation of Additional Instruction and Practice or Advanced Work in that topic. Conversely, if your percentage correct in a topic is similar to the percentage correct obtained by students who failed the HSPE overall, you will receive a recommendation of Help with Fundamentals in that topic.

The recommendations may not always seem obvious because different topics can contain different numbers of hard and easy questions. For example, if a topic area contains mostly hard questions, even those students who passed the HSPE may get many of the questions wrong in that topic. Thus, it is possible for you to receive an Additional Instruction and Practice or Advanced Work recommendation in some cases where your percentage correct may seem low. In such a case, students who passed the HSPE generally had a low percentage correct in that topic. The opposite can also occur with receiving a Help with Fundamentals recommendation in some cases where your percentage correct may seem high. In such a case, the questions in that topic may have been relatively easy, and students who failed the HSPE generally had a high percentage correct in that topic.

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High school students must pass the Nevada Writing Assessment as one of the high school proficiency examination requirements for receiving a diploma. Student write two essays in response to prompts. Essays may be descriptive, expository, narrative, or persuasive.

	Descriptive writing describes a person, place, thing, or idea.

	Expository writing instructs, gives information, or explains a topic.

	Narrative writing tells a story by sharing the details of an experience.

	Persuasive writing tries to get the reader to agree with a writer’s opinion on a topic.

The scoring of the high school writing assessment is based on the overall, or holistic, impression of the writing. Trained teachers independently score each of your essays on a scale of 1 to 6, where a score of 4 or more on each essay demonstrates proficiency.

A strong essay:

	focuses and develops ideas in a compelling manner;

	clarifies and defends arguments with relevant evidence;

	defines and frames issues clearly;

	organizes ideas in a clear, logical, and coherent manner that enhances the thesis;

	speaks purposefully to the audience in an appropriate and engaging manner;

	uses multiple sentence structures and word choices effectively;

	commits few grammatical and spelling errors.

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The Iowa Test of Educational Development® shows how your knowledge and skills compared with those of other tested students in the nation. The Nevada HSPE tests student mastery of the Nevada Content Standards. Unlike the ITED®, Nevada HSPE scores are not based on results of other students.

You can use the ITED® results to get an idea of how you performed compared with other tested students in the nation.

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Your score on each test is measured as a percentile and as a quartile. Your percentile indicates where your performance falls relative to other tested students in the same grade. For example, a percentile score of 75 means that you scored the same as or better than 75% of tested students in the nation.

Each quartile includes one quarter of the tested students. For example, the Bottom Quartile includes the lowest performing 25% of tested students in the nation, while the Top Quartile includes the highest performing 25% of tested students in the nation.

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Below are descriptions of the ITED® subtests in Reading.

	Reading Vocabulary This is a test of your vocabulary development. The words are typical of everyday reading, writing, and listening; technical terms are not included. You should be able to understand vocabulary in the context of short phrases or sentences.

Reading Comprehension Whether you’re reading a magazine, newspaper, or classic novel, it is important to identify main ideas, make inferences, and draw conclusions. When reading fiction, we should think about how dialogue, symbolism, and word choice add to the impact of a text. When reading nonfiction, like articles on social studies, science topics or a personal memoir, we should consider how word choice contributes to the purpose of the text.

Below are descriptions of the ITED® subtests in Mathematics.

Mathematics Concepts and Problem Solving This subtest focuses on the meaning behind the math. You know the definitions and properties from the math content. You also give examples and non-examples of concepts, compare and contrast concepts and principles, and apply concepts in practical problems. You should also be familiar with the procedures that allow you to solve problems. Examples of procedures include setting up and solving a linear equation, rounding a number, graphing a line, or making a table. You can identify which procedure is needed to solve a problem and explain the reasoning behind your choice.

Mathematics Computation You are already very familiar with how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers. Now you can find relationships between number systems such as real numbers and irrational numbers. You should be able to apply your skills with operations to more complex problems such as finding the Greatest Common Factor of a set of polynomials. You should also be able to choose the correct numerical relationship such as proportions, absolute value, and order of operations, etc., to solve word problems.

Click here for more information on the ITED® subtests in Reading and Mathematics.

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In using some of the resources on this website, you might have a parent or tutor adapt the Reading and Math activities. For example, if you speak another language at home, try working on math in ways that do not rely on English. Offer problems that involve symbols alone, and work in your native language. Each time you try these activities at home, gather the work that you have created in a folder. The work you do at home will help you succeed in school. Be proud and positive as well as patient. Developing strong skills and language proficiency takes time and occurs over many years. In addition, make sure you are working with your school and take advantage of all its resources for Special Needs students and English language learners. Below you will find websites with useful activities and strategies.

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder http://chadd.org Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), is a national nonprofit organization providing education, advocacy, and support for individuals with AD/HD. The entire site is available in Spanish and English. CHADD also offers a National Resource Center on AD/HD: 1-800-233-4050 (Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Eastern time).

	Teaching Special Kids: On-Line Resources for Teachers http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr139.shtml This Education World® article is rich in lessons and activities for teachers of special needs students. Parents might try some of these activities at home. The article provides many parent-friendly links for students with disabilities.

National Center to Improve Practice http://www2.edc.org/NCIP The National Center to Improve Practice (NCIP) promotes the effective use of technology to enhance educational outcomes for students with sensory, cognitive, physical, and social/emotional disabilities. This site index provides parents with a collection of resources about technology and special education, videos of students using assistive and instructional technologies, links to other special education and technology resources, and more.

	Frequently Asked Language Acquisition Questions http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/expert/faq This is a list of frequently asked questions put together by the National Clearing House for English Acquisition. This page also has a link to a glossary of useful English language learner terms.

	Strategies for Supporting Bilingual Children http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/spotlight/1_parents.html This link, also from the National Clearing House for English Acquisition, provides strategies for supporting bilingual children as they become literate in two languages.

	100 Ways for Parents to be Involved in Their Child's Education http://www.pta.org/spanish/brochure.asp This Spanish-language version of a National PTA publication suggests 100 Ways for Parents to be Involved in Their Child’s Education.

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Visit the Nevada Department of Education “Nevada Accountability Report” website at http://www.nevadareportcard.com to look up information about your school, including contact information. After you have chosen the “School” button in the “Profile” row on the main page, choose your district’s name and school’s name from the drop-down menus. The contact information will be shown at the top of the web report.

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Testing companies do not distribute copies of the tests, but you can familiarize yourself with the types of questions on the Nevada HSPE Reading and Math tests by looking at the sample questions in the Review Guide, which is posted on the Nevada Department of Education website.

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If you did not receive your report, contact your school. If your data was not available, please ask your school for a copy of a generic report.

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If you have misplaced your report and cannot obtain a copy from your school, contact The Grow Network’s support team via e-mail at support@grow.net.

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