Vermont NECAP Test Prep

About Vermont’s Standardized Tests for 3rd Grade – High School

Are the students in your family preparing for the Vermont NECAP? If so, as a parent or caregiver, you’ll want to become familiar with the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) and the Vermont Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) that it measures.

NECAP tests are administered to Vermont students in third through eighth grades, and eleventh grade, and assess reading, math, science, and writing proficiency. VT NECAP test results provide actionable data that will help parents, teachers, and students improve academic performance. NECAP tests are also used to determine each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Time4Learning, an online service that teaches many of the NECAP test skills, offers this page to support your research on NECAP and the best ways to help your children with NECAP practice and test prep.

Vermont NECAP at a Glance

Vermont students take the following NECAP tests:

NECAP: 3rd Grade – 8th Grade, and 11th Grade
Aligned to Vermont’s Framework of Standards, VT NECAP measures how well your child has learned each subject, based on grade level expectations (VT GLEs). The annual NECAP tests are given as follows:

• NECAP Reading and Math Tests: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 11th Grades
• NECAP Science Test: 4th, 8th, and 11th Grades
• NECAP Writing Test: 5th, 8th, and 11th Grades

NECAP reading, math, and writing tests are administered in the fall. The NECAP science test is given in the spring.

Vermont DRA for 2nd Grade
The Vermont Developmental Reading Assessment (VT-DRA) is given to second graders in the spring, with the goal of evaluating early reading performance. The Vermont DRA is no longer required as a state assessment but many schools continue to use it.

NECAP Scores
The Vermont NECAP assessments are criterion-referenced tests, as opposed to norm-referenced tests. Thus, your child will only compete against him or herself, rather than be compared against the group. The VT NECAP tests measure how well students have mastered the Vermont state standards, and report student performance using the following four levels:

1) Proficient with distinction
2) Proficient
3) Partially proficient
4) Substantially below proficient

Students with NECAP test scores at or above the proficient level are considered to have met state standards. In addition, every Vermont school must use NECAP results, along with local data, to write an action plan for school improvement.

VT-DRA test scores fall into one of five levels: little evidence of achievement, below the standard, nearly achieved the standard, achieved the standard, and achieved the standard with honors.

Other Vermont Standardized Tests

Vermont uses a balanced range of assessments to promote learning for all students. The Vermont Alternate Assessment (VAA) is designed to measure the progress of students with cognitive disabilities who require special accommodations. Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) take the ACCESS for ELLs® assessment, which measures their progress in English language acquisition.

Vermont also participates annually in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card, where a sampling of students (from grades 4, 8, and/or 12) are tested in several content areas as part of a nationally representative assessment of student performance.

Preparing for the Vermont NECAP

For general tips on test preparation, please visit our standardized test overview page.
The real preparation for the VT NECAP tests, or any standardized test, begins with your commitment to your children’s education throughout their school years. Devote time and effort to helping your children learn. Start by making sure your kids do their homework and read every day. Many families also employ tutors or an online learning program, such as Time4Learning, to build fundamental skills.

When preparing for standardized tests, students often benefit from test prep programs and books, which offer guidance and practice with test formats, time restrictions, test-taking strategies (when to guess, when not to), and different types of questions. For instance, when a reading passage is followed by comprehension questions, many test prep programs teach students to scan the questions first in order to know what areas of the passage require close reading. Time4Learning is not a test prep program, it is a program that builds the skills that will be tested.

Time4Learning is a new approach that takes advantage of today’s technology. It’s a convenient, online home education program that combines learning with fun educational teaching games.

The online language arts and math curriculum comprise a comprehensive program for preschool, elementary school, and middle school. Science and social studies programs are provided for most grades.

Kids like using the computer to learn and to develop their skills. Time4Learning’s educational teaching games give students independence as they progress at their own pace.

Parents like that it tracks progress and helps kids advance by teaching through individualized learning paths that assure mastery of the skills and concepts that makes kids succeed.

Have a child with math and language arts skills at different grade levels? No problem, just tell us in the online registration process.

Time4Learning is proven effective, has a low monthly price, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can be sure that it works for your family, risk free!

For more information and resources on Vermont Education and Assessment, visit:
Vermont Department of Education
Vermont Homeschooling Information