Beginning March 11, Terra Nova Testing will be administered to all in person and virtual students in grades 3-7 attending Archdiocesan Catholic schools. The Terra Nova Testing is a standardized achievement test designed to measure a student’s performance in reading, English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The publishers of Terra Nova, McGraw-Hill, assess students’ results based on a norm-reference scale. Instead of students receiving a grade, scores of all students participating in Terra Nova are compared. Each student is then placed in a national percentile.

The Terra Novas are national standardized tests.  Catholic school students, especially those in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, do much better than their counterparts in other schools.  Across the board, uur students perform well above grade level. Of the oldest children taking the test in our school (7th and 8th grade), students perform in the top 20%, nationally. 

Terra Nova Testing will begin on Thursday with In-View Testing. Friday will be the reading section, Monday will be language, and Tuesday will be Mathematics. No testing will take place on Wednesday to give students a break and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Thursday’s assessment will be on science and the assessment will be wrapped up on Friday March 19 with social studies.

All Terra Nova Testing will be taken in person beginning promptly at 8:15 am each morning. Students should arrive by 7:55 am to make sure they have enough time to unpack and get settled in. Students are advised to eat a good breakfast and be well rested. Three sharpened #2 pencils, an eraser, a water bottle, and a book should be brought every day for testing. While class will be held after morning testing concludes, no homework will be assigned during Terra Nova week.