It's PACT testing time for Cherokee County students.

From now until May 16, students in grades 3-8 will be taking different portions of the state's Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT). Students will get a chance to show their knowledge on tests in English, math, science and social studies.

Many of the PACT test questions are "open ended" so the answers require critical thinking, problem solving, and writing skills. Test results identify students' strengths and weaknesses, how students perform on different types of questions, and are used by school districts in planning instruction goals.

"PACT is a challenging testing program that requires students to achieve at higher levels than past tests," district testing coordinator Mary Jones said. "Parents are encouraged to make sure students go to bed early, get plenty of rest, and have a nourishing breakfast."

Students spent Monday and Tuesday taking the English/language arts section.

No testing will be done Wednesday.

Students will take the math section Thursday.

The PACT tests will continue May 15 with the science section before wrapping up with the social studies section May 16.

Unlike previous years, students will only have to worry about multiple-choice questions on the science and social studies sections.

Past editions of PACT had included short answer and essay questions in science and social studies. The state Department of Education estimates the change will result in an annual savings of $660,000 each year by no longer giving short answer questions on PACT.

This will be the last year all elementary and middle school students will have to take all four sections of the PACT. Beginning in 2007, state lawmakers have agreed to let a sample of students take the social studies and science sections of PACT for the state's Education Accountability Act.

Students will spend May 17 participating in field tests of new test items developed for future editions of the PACT. Make-up testing dates for PACT will be May 18, 19, and 22.

Parents will receive a report on their child's PACT test results this fall. These reports have no information on a student's strengths and weaknesses in a specific subject.

Cherokee County schools give a MAPS (Measurement of Academic Progress Standards) test several times during the school year to provide teachers with information on student progress.

PACT test results are used to grade schools and school districts for the state's report card and see if schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind law.