Content knowledge in these subject areas is assessed as well as the application of such knowledge. The TCAP Achievement Test uses multiple choice questions and has set time limits. There is no passing or failing grade on the test. Norm-referenced information permits the achievement of students to be compared with the performance of a national sample of students. The TCAP Writing Assessment is administered to fourth, seventh, and eleventh grade students in February each year.
Students produce an essay on an assigned topic within a specified amount of time.
Fourth grade students write essays that tell a story or recount an event or experience. In the seventh grade students write essays to explain something or provide the reader with information. Eleventh grade students write essays to convince or influence the reader to agree with the writer's point of view. The purpose of this test is to help identify strengths and weaknesses in individual writing as well as to help identify group writing trends. The Competency Test is taken for the first time in the fall of the ninth grade year.