Parents and students can now update Directory Release Information and Blackboard Connect OPT IN choices using the Aspen Student Portal. Directions are as follows:

 

Once logged into the Aspen Student Portal, select the MY INFO top tab. From MY DETAILS side tab, the Directory Release and OPT IN to receive Blackboard Connect Phone Messages information data will be displayed.

 

From the PAGES top tab when you log into the Aspen Student Portal, click the Initiate button in the TASKS widget, then click the magnifying glass and select the student name (there should only be one choice) and click OK. Click the NEXT button. The current choices for both the Do Not Distribute Codes and Blackboard Connect OPT IN are listed.

 

It's shorter. It's easier for teachers to administer. It takes less time away from lessons. It still keeps kids on track for college and careers. 

 

Click here to have several frequently asked questions answered! 

 

Click here to visit the Maryland State Department of Education's PARCC informational page.  

Each week from now until the start of the spring assessments, we will post a PARCC test item to give parents and others a glimpse into the kinds of questions students can expect.

 

 

 

This week marks the launch of the spring 2015 PARCC, with more than 100,000 students starting tests this week in Ohio, one school district in Illinois, and a handful of high schools starting in New Jersey today. With the exception of a few glitches, all is going relatively smoothly. There were a number of calls to the call center for help logging students in, password resets, and so on. In other words, the kind of things you would expect in the first week of testing on a new platform. We appreciate the efforts of so many educators working to make this testing experience a positive one for students, teachers and others. 

 

 

MSDE is launching an intensive, month-long campaign to help parents #PrepareForPARCC.  Beginning February 2, 2015, new PARCC resources and information will be released daily via MSDE’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and on MSDE’s new Prepare for PARCC webpage, www.marylandpublicschools.org, and click on the Prepare for PARCC icon to access their best resources for parents, including a new video message from Dr. Lowery, Maryland Schools Gear Up for PARCC Assessments. 

 

 

 

Maryland is working to improve education for all students by implementing new academic standards, the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards, and new PARCC state assessments aligned to new standards. Parents may ask, "What do those terms, “standards” and “assessments,” actually mean?" "How do standards and assessments fit in with the curriculum and classroom instruction that students receive?"

 

The chart below– What Are Standards, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments? helps put those pieces together and explains the important role each component plays in teaching and learning. Feel free to use the graphic on your websites, with educators and parents.

To report incidents please click on the picture above to report it.