CARS TIMELINE 

In an effort to make the Cognitive Assessment for Rural Students (CARS) more manageable for your districts, we have developed a timeline to illustrate when these assessments should be administered. A copy of the timeline is posted below.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The CARS will not be administered to 3rd grade.

• The CARS will only be administered in the Fall, not the Spring. (Exception: Any new students who move into your District who qualify for CARS may take it whenever convenient.)

• For the Fall 2026 semester we will administer CARS to all students, grades 4-8, who score 75%-94% on the ELA, Math, Reading, or Science sections of MAP, or the ELA, Math, or Reading Sections of NSCAS (using Spring or Fall 2026 data), who have not previously been identified as G-T/HAL.
• The CARS is available in Spanish.  
• REMINDER: once a student qualifies, that student will remain in your G-T/HAL program for the duration of their schooling. A student who qualifies in 4th grade, for example, automatically qualifies until graduation, and will never need to take the 6-8 CARS.

The RESTORE staff will take care of administering the CARS on site at your school however works best for your District (all students at once or “chunked” however you wish). Just let us know your preference, and we’ll get your CARS date(s) on the calendar.