The state of Connecticut administers two standardized tests to its students as part of its assessment program: the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) and the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT).

The CAPT requires more from students than traditional tests in that this test measures students’ ability to apply what they have learned in school to situations they may encounter in real life.

The content of the criterion-referenced CMT represents the most essential mathematics and language arts skills (including reading and writing) at each of the grade levels tested and is consistent with The Connecticut Framework; K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards, the state’s individual content-area curriculum guides, and other summaries of important academic outcomes such as Connecticut’s Common Core of Learning.

The CMT measures the achievement and progress of Connecticut students in Grades 4, 6 and 8. A second generation of the CMT was introduced in 1993 and a third generation was administered for the first time in the fall of 2000.

The Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) was instituted in 1995 for all Grade 10 students as the logical high school extension of the CMT. Together, the CMT and CAPT provide a comprehensive system of monitoring and reporting on the academic progress of Connecticut students.

Merit’s language arts and math software programs correlate to The Connecticut Framework; K-12 Curricular Goals and Standards and can help students prepare for the CMT and CAPT. The content and format of Merit’s programs can help students develop and strengthen their test-taking skills as well as their reading, writing and math skills.

Merit reading software has been proven -- through rigorous, scientifically based research -- to increase both student reading comprehension and standardized test scores. Merit research study findings reveal that education software is an effective tool to improve test scores and academic performance.

Published: March 2005