middle sChool Course Guide - Frederick County Public Schools

transfer to high school and are credited toward the 75 hour
high school meritorious service award . Each middle school has
a Student Service Learning contact person who facilitates the
meritorious service program .
sTudenT supporT serVices
Student support services are provided in all middle schools
based on the needs of individual students . Student support
services are provided by either a student support teacher or
through the student’s school counselor . These services are provided
to a relatively small number of students who need daily
intervention to experience success in school . The school partners
with the family and student to outline goals and develop a
plan for achieving them .
Technology insTrucTion
Understanding the role of technology and how to use technology
effectively are critical 21st-century skills . FCPS offers
technology instruction and practice from kindergarten
through 12th grade to help students meet Maryland’s Technology
Literacy Standards . Study emphasizes acquiring keyboarding
skills, using the Internet to gather relevant and appropriate
research data, understanding cyber-ethics, and developing
effective means to organize and present data .
20 2013–2014 FrederiCk County PubliC sChools middle sChool Course Guide
TesTing programs
The following testing programs — in combination with class
work, quizzes, and homework performance — help teachers
evaluate student progress:
• criterion-referenced evaluation system (cres)
FCPS uses CRES tests to determine how well students
have mastered the essential curriculum through daily
instruction . The assessments consist of selected-response
(multiple-choice) and constructed-response (essay and
short-answer) items . CRES results are used to ascertain
students’ and schools’ progress toward meeting accepted
standards for student performance and to establish the
steps necessary to improve instruction and performance .
• maryland school assessments (msa)
The state’s testing program is designed to meet requirements
of the federal No Child Left Behind Act . The MSA
includes multiple-choice and constructed-response items .
Students receive individual test results . In March, students
in grades 3 through 8 take the reading and math MSA . In
late April, 5th through 8th graders take the science MSA .
• high school assessments (hsa)
These state-required, end-of-course exams are aimed at
raising academic standards and preparing graduates to
compete in the workplace and post-secondary education .
Middle and high school students enrolled in Algebra/Data
Analysis, English 10, and Biology must take the exams at
the completion of each course and are required to pass the
exams in order to graduate . (Note: Middle School students
who take Algebra with Data Analysis take the HSA .)