ELA and Social Studies 9 

Pre-Assessment and Honors Placement Requirements

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PRE-ASSESSMENT RATIONALE and TESTING DATES

In order to properly place students in their freshman year, pre-assessments for both ELA and Social Studies will be given to all current 8th-grade students at the start of the second semester.  These assessments will take place in the student’s current ELA and Social Studies classes and are required for all students.

For students interested in potential placement in an honors course, these assessments will serve as a mandatory data point that will inform placement in both ELA 9 and World Studies.  For those students who are not interested in honors placement, the results of these assessments will be utilized by the 9th-grade teachers to inform their instruction and plan lessons designed to meet each student's specific needs best.

Both the ELA and Social Studies assessments are intended to measure critical thinking in context. The Social Studies assessment involves various types of readings and charts, and the ELA assessment involves three types of readings: fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. All questions are multiple-choice on both assessments.

PREREQUISITES FOR ELA and SOCIAL STUDIES 9 HONORS

For students interested in placement in an honors-level course for ELA and/or Social Studies, the prerequisites are as follows:

English Literature and Composition 9 Honors

1. 93% average for Marking Periods 1 & 2 in 8th grade Language Arts;

2. A score of Advanced on the ELA 9 pre-assessment administered to all 8th grade students in their current 8th grade ELA class at the start of the second semester.

World Studies Honors

1. 93% average for Marking Periods 1 & 2 in 8th grade Social Studies;

2. 93% average for Marking Periods 1 & 2 in 8th grade Language Arts;

3. A score of Advanced on the Social Studies 9 pre-assessment administered to all 8th-grade students in their current 8th-grade ELA class at the start of the second semester.

A NOTE ABOUT MEETING PREREQUISITES AND MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY:

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: Students must meet the course prerequisite at the time of course selection in order to enroll in a given course and must continue to meet the prerequisite through the remainder of the current school year in order to remain eligible for the course. The same expectation will be applied to students who are granted waivers into a given course. Student’s average must not fall below their average at the time of waiver approval for the remainder of the current school year to remain eligible for a given course. If a student fails to maintain the expected average for a course by the end of the current school year, they will be removed from enrollment in the course.

THE WAIVER PROCESS

Eligibility

Students who do not meet the prerequisites as stated above but who are still interested in placement in an honors level course may complete the waiver process if:

1. the student’s average for Marking Periods 1 & 2 in 8th grade Language Arts is at least 90% (required for both ELA and World Studies Honors consideration);

2. the student’s average for Marking Periods 1 & 2 in 8th grade Social Studies is at least 90% (required for World Studies Honors consideration only);

3. the student’s score on the ELA 9 pre-assessment is at least 70% (required for ELA Honors consideration only);

4. the student’s score on the Social Studies 9 pre-assessment is at least 70% (required for World Studies Honors consideration only).

Students who meet the criteria for waiver eligibility as stated above may submit a waiver application for possible consideration of placement in the honors level course.  The waiver process is as follows:

1. Eligible students receive a link to the waiver application (Google Form) via their MTSD email account from the MHS supervisor on or about APRIL 1, 2025;

2. Student completes and submits the waiver application (Google Form) by NO LATER THAN 5PM EST ON APRIL 25, 2025;

3. MHS supervisors review waiver applications for possible approval.  Additional data will be considered in the decision-making process, including:

a. Final MP3 grade in ELA 8 and/or Social Studies 8 as appropriate;

b. Performance on MP3 Performance Assessments in ELA 8 and/or Social Studies 8 as appropriate;

c. Performance on MP3 Summative Assessments in ELA 8 and/or Social Studies 8 as appropriate;

d. Performance on the 23-24 NJSLA in the areas of Reading-Informational Texts, Vocabulary, and Writing-Expression

4. MHS guidance counselors update student course selection in Genesis, if applicable, by MAY 20th for the student to view.  Please note that if the student’s course selection is not changed at that time, their application was not approved and they should proceed with summer assignments for the CP course(s), if applicable.