I went to a Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Matters in-service today and it sparked my interest and excitement for this assessment. I think the MAP test offers a variety of positives for our students and our instruction. MAP is an assessment that is done on the computer and can be done with students as early as kindergarten. The test is not created for grade levels, it is created to test individual abilities. All students can take the test and will be assessed on what they currently know, not what they should know for their grade level. Students are tested three times a year and that allows us as teachers to see growth throughout the year and implement differentiated instruction when necessary. A great part of MAP testing is the instant results. Teachers are able to view reports of the whole class the following day. I think this is so important so teachers can actually use the information throughout the year to improve student learning. This is quite different from state assessments where teachers wait a long time for their student’s results. Student’s RIT scores can be used to compare students to each other and to other students in the nation. By looking at the reports a teacher can also see what standards the class or individual students are struggling wiyj. This not only allows a teacher to help students who struggle but they are able to see what students are above average and can provide specific instruction for those students as well. I think it’s great that there is also a MAP assessment for primary grades (K-2). The MAP Primary provides a warm up test for students to use to learn how the test works. Students on the MAP Primary can also take a skills checklist test as often as the teacher would like. This allows a teacher to keep very close tabs on skills that the teacher chooses to test. There is so much more to MAP testing so if you would like to know more about the MAP test you can visit the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)website or Teacher Web for additional information.
I read an article from an Ohio newspaper that discusses how the MAP test works and how it has been beneficial in their schools. The article shared that some schools are grouping their classes into three learning levels according to MAP scores. In the example given the class that had the low readers were able to be taught at their level and made positive gains on their next test. Do you think this is something that would work in your schools? I see both sides of that, I think it would be great for students to be taught at their ability but what would parents say about this and are their disadvantages of not having a variety of achievement levels in the classroom? The article also states that MAP scores provide schools with a early look at how their students may perform on the State Assessment. I have not used MAP testing yet but I would be interested in hearing if this has proved to be right. During my in-service today a speaker also mentioned that some states (Idaho and Utah) are combining the MAP test and state assessment by using a test created special by NWEA. Do you think this would be a good idea so we could eliminate testing but still receive the results we want? I would love to hear anyone’s input (positive or negative) on MAP testing. Do you think this is as great as it was presented to me in my in-service?
Why restructure? Does it really do anything?
15 years ago
We have used MAP testing for a few years at our school now and the teachers can only speak positively about it. Students and teachers can see the results right away after testing if the teacher allows. We test as a school twice a year...fall and spring. This is a great way to see growth...like you mentioned...and to also see what needs to be focused on for the next school year.
ReplyDeleteWe have a math program in which students can be placed according to their levels and MAP testing can help significantly for that. Parents are also communicating with teachers and discussing the results concerning MAP testing.
The testing can also determine if students need help in reading which coincides with our Intervention program.
Basically, MAP testing is very useful and beneficial and you will definitely enjoy how efficient and quick it is for you.
Good luck and have fun with it!!
Denise
My school district also uses MAP testing. I find it very useful when assessing students individualized learning needs. The problems that I have come across are if students do not try hard on the test, then their test score will be useless. I also think the DeCarte (sp) chart that lines up students abilities with their scores is confusing at times. The chart has three rows of columns per standard. Each column is filled with benchmarks. The first column has benchmarks the student has mastered, the second column has benchmarks the student needs to work on, and the third column has benchmarks teachers should be introducing. There is an over abundance of benchmarks under one strand and the scores do not necessarily give the teacher specific benchmarks to work on. So at first it is a bit overwhelming but once I understood what I was looking at, it became a bit easier to work with.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments so far, they are very helpful. We take our tests next week so hopefully all goes well. We do have a lady coming out afterwards to help us understand results so I think that will be really beneficial.
ReplyDeleteWe also use MAP testing at school. I find it a useful tool in differentiating lessons. The amount of data generated can be overwhelming at first but once you get comfortable with the DeCartes you will quicky see that students can be grouped according to their strengths and weaknesses. One of the issues we've had to deal with is getting teachers that don't teach math or language arts to use the information. At the moment the staff is being pushed hard to recognize we all teach language and math; just different applications. The second issue we've had is we have no solid system in place to remediate when a student scores well below grade level in a specific topic. Don't get me wrong, we have double math and Read 180 in place, but we have nothing for students who may be behind 1-2 years in say algebraic relationships or sentence structure. The math and language teachers bear the burden and the extra work to try and catch these students up. Later this month we will be giving the NECAPs as a new state assessment. This teat was developed by the Measured Progress company as well. I'm anxious to see how the students are scored as meeting grade level expectations as we would normally give the state assessment in the spring.
ReplyDeleteTrista,
ReplyDeleteOur entire district uses MAP. I have had mixed feelings about the MAP primary due to the fact the test is read to them. I find it doesn't show a true spread of what my students are capable of. My lower students were scoring really high because they didn't have to read it themselves. We switched to taking the regular MAP test this year and only use MAP primary for those students who score a 160 or below (for 2nd grade). I have found this year the difference in scores is extreme. It finally shows a the true colors of a student's abilities because they now have to read it themselves.
I do really enjoy the tests being administered 3 times a year so I can adjust my teaching and the student's learning. It is also a great way to group students and find specific skills the students are lacking. Good luck I hope you enjoy it.
Jenna