About the Assessment
The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) includes the Maryland Integrated Science Assessment (MISA), which is administered to all students in fifth grade, eighth grade, and high school. The purpose of the assessment is to provide educators, parents, and the public with information on student progress toward scientific literacy.
The MISA aligns with the
Maryland Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The NGSS integrates three dimensions necessary to understand science: Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas.
Specific Information about the grades 5 and 8 MISA
The grade 5 MISA assesses the Elementary Grade NGSS for grades 3, 4, and 5. The grade 8 MISA assesses the Middle School NGSS for grades 6 through 8. The assessment includes disciplinary core ideas from life science, physical science as well as Earth and space science.
Specific Information about the high school MISA
The Life Science MISA (LS MISA) is an end of course exam given during the high school life science course, often Biology. It assesses the
life science NGSS standards taught in the high school life science course.
Blueprints
A set of interrelated items is required to assess the three dimensions of the NGSS. Each item set has a stimulus that focuses on a specific real-world context or phenomenon. Each stimulus may include text, videos, charts, diagrams, or graphics. Items in each set assess the student’s ability to make sense of the given information, including one constructed response item, which requires students to write a detailed response to a prompt.
The following blueprints provide a high-level overview of each science assessment's structure and scoring categories.
Rubrics
Constructed response items can be worth two, three, or four points. The MISA utilizes a holistic rubric to determine each student’s score based on how well the student demonstrated their ability to apply the three NGSS dimensions.
Test Preparation and Practice
The following links provide resources that can help students prepare for the MISA.
Grades 5 and 8 Practice Tests
High School Practice Test (LS MISA)
Select the version of the Practice Test from the dropdown menu.
MSDE Public Release Site
This site provides access to released questions from former MCAP tests. MCAP released questions are representative of the content and skills included on the MCAP and are provided to help students recognize the nature and format of the questions.
Additional Resources and Information
Contact:
Jeremy Marcus-Wenger
Project Manager of Science Assessments
Office: (410) 767-0860
jeremy.marcuswenger@maryland.gov