Metro Nashville Public Schools

Preparing Your Middle School Student for College and Career Success

Preparing your child for a college education, trade or technical school training, and career options begins in elementary school and continues through middle school. The information here outlines a variety of academic skills and planning activities for parents/guardians to support their middle school child's progress toward success.

Academic skills are taught across multiple courses and are not limited to one specific subject or class.

What's on This Page?

• Highlights of skills middle school students should possess when they transition to high school.
• Tips for families on preparing students for college, trade and/or technical school, and career choices.
• How to support students taking standardized tests such as TCAP Achievement and the ACT.
• Links to information about tests and assessments students will take in middle school.

Skills Your Child Will Learn by Subject Area

For detailed curriculum information, please visit the Curriculum and Instruction webpage.

English

• Develop ideas through planning, writing, and editing.
• Include an introduction, topic details, and a conclusion when writing.
• Choose appropriate words and phrases when speaking and writing, taking the setting, audience, and purpose into consideration.
• Understand how words impact the tone of essays and assignments.
• Use correct punctuation and word choices to make writing clear, concise, and interesting.
• Improve writing by asking for and using feedback from others.

Reading

• Find and explain the main ideas in a text, using evidence.
• Understand word meanings and use context clues for words and phrases that are unfamiliar.
• Make connections between elements of a story and how those elements impact the story's meaning, style, and mood.
• Analyze specific parts of a text connect to the overall theme or plot of a story.
• Examine the arguments and evidence in a text.
• Compare different texts or interpretations.
• Collect and combine information from various sources.
• Evaluate sources for reliability.
• Craft and communicate arguments, citing supporting evidence

Math

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide large numbers, decimals, fractions, positive and negative numbers.
• Understand absolute value.
• Demonstrate knowledge of operations with positive and negative numbers.
• Use a number line and know where positive and negative numbers are located.
• Apply properties of parallel lines to measure angles.
• Understand basic angle properties and special angle sums to find unknown angles.
• Use triangles properties and special right triangles to find measurements.
• Use geometric formulas effectively.
• Plot points on a graph and translate or rotate them on a coordinate plane.
• Find slopes and midpoints of lines.
• Identify lines of symmetry.
• Use rulers and protractors accurately.
• Calculate the area and perimeter (or circumference) of triangles, rectangles, and circles.
• Find the next term in a mathematical sequence.

Science

• Make observations and conduct investigations to understand the surrounding world.
• Use graphs, tables, charts, and tools to organize, summarize, and analyze information.
• Design and develop investigations in life science, physical science, and earth and space science.
• Apply scientific concepts and skills to solve real-world problems.

Preparing for the Future

Steps for Supporting Your Student

• Set goals and create a plan for life after high school, focusing on college and career.
• Share the benefits of education for future career success.
• Encourage challenging course selections
• Volunteer and create a resume to document experiences.
• Foster healthy relationships with peers and adults who support success.
• Attend summer experiences related to talents, curiosity, or interests.
• Model professional skills such as communication, responsibility, punctuality, and respect.
• Use CollegeforTN to explore opportunities.
• Attend the MNPS College and Career Fair and/or Family University events.
• Review college and career assessments, including career inventories and PreACT 8/9 results (if given at the school).

Preparing for Standardized Tests

Supporting Your Child's Success

• Encourage identification of academic strengths and areas of improvement.
• Encourage high expectations and goal setting.
• Build aspirations for education and training after high school graduation.
• Use test-taking, time management, organizational, and study skills to enhance academic achievement.
• Set, evaluate progress toward, and achieve long- and short-term goals.
• Foster positive attitudes toward oneself as a unique and worthy individual.
• Guide them in meeting graduation requirements and planning for the future.
• Describe the benefits of education for career advancement, life management, and personal and professional satisfaction.

District and State Assessments Overview

Students will take a number of assessments while in school. Listed below are the primary assessments administered during middle school. Specific dates and additional information can be found on the District Testing and Assessments webpage.

Please contact the school to access and discuss individual student results.

• Career Inventory for students in 7th or 8th grade.
  • This inventory provides career information related to student interests and aptitudes.
• District Benchmark for students in grade 6, 7, and 8.
  • Administered at the end of the first, second, and third quarters of the school year. Provides results in math, reading, and science.
• End of Course (EOC) for middle school students who are taking high school credit courses in certain subject areas.
  • Administered in April, these tests return results in the subject area aligned to the high school credit course.
• ELPA21 is an English language proficiency test given to students who are English language learners.
  • The test is administered in February through April and measures a student's progress toward English language proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking.
• FastBridge is given to students in 6th through 8th grades.
  • The administration windows are August, January, and April. Results are reported for math and reading.
• PreACT 8/9 is administered for 8th grade students in the fall.
  • This test provides a predictive ACT score and reports results in English, math, reading, and science.
• TCAP Achievement is the state assessment taken by students in 6th through 8th grades.
  • The test is administered in April and returns results in math, reading, and science.