MAP TESTING

2008

Information for Teachers, Parents, and Students

Stoutland R-II Schools will be testing our students with the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) in the spring of 2008.  Exact dates will be posted as they are determined by the school.

We desire for all of our students to do well.  We have worked diligently to develop a schedule that will allow for students to test primarily in the mornings; to test in smaller groups; and to test with a teacher that matches the subject area of the test.  Parents and students can also do their part to assist in testing.

Recommendations for testing well:  

9th grade will be participating in the Presidential Physical Fitness Test during the MAP Testing time.

Helpful information from  Practical Parenting Partnerships  2412-C Hyde Park Road, Jefferson City MO 65109

What you and your children should know about the MAP.

As parents, we want our children to be successful. In sports, the number of points scored, strikes thrown, or yards gained measures success. In school, student success is measured in other ways such as learning multiplication facts, completing homework, or grades on report cards and tests. Likewise, in Missouri and nationwide, there are programs in place to measure a child’s performance, or success, in school. The Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, was created in response to Missouri’s Outstanding Schools Act of 1993. When the national No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was passed into law, Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) began revisions on the MAP to comply. These two legislations are similar in that they were both designed to help raise student performance. No Child Left Behind requires states to use federal funds to improve education.

What is the Missouri Assessment Program anyway?

In 1993, the Outstanding Schools Act was passed in Missouri. This law called for the development of a new assessment system for Missouri’s public schools. The Show-Me Standards are part of that legislation. There are 40 “Content” standards and 33 “Process” standards. They are guides for what students should know and be able to do. In the medical field, there are standards for what a doctor should know and be able to do. You expect an auto mechanic to meet certain standards for repairing or servicing your car. The Show-Me Standards are similar in that they are the educational standards in Missouri. More details about the Show-Me Standards can be found at http://dese.mo.gov/standards/.

No. When the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was passed, all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were required to begin developing standards and assessments and begin implementing them by the 2005-06 school year. 

The MAP was created not only to assess knowledge, but also to measure how well a student can apply that knowledge to different situations. The MAP uses three different types of questions.  Now, in addition to multiple-choice questions (like most of the older tests used), they’ve added short-answer, or constructed-response questions. With these items, students can construct or supply an answer rather than choosing from a list of choices. Remember the driver’s test? One part of the test is the written examination, with multiple-choice questions. The “real” driving part of the test is very similar to the third type of question on the MAP tests. This type of question is called a performance event. 

It’s just one more way that students can show what they know and apply it to real world situations—the doing part. It’s like the auto mechanic thing. You want your mechanic to know details about the engine, but you also expect her to apply her knowledge of the engine to do something about fixing it. It’s the same on MAP performance events. For example, on a Communication Arts test, students demonstrate their knowledge by writing an essay. On the Mathematics test, students solve multiple-step problems similar to things they encounter in everyday life.

Yes. Reading, Writing, English, and Spelling are all included with Communication Arts.

Normally your child’s classroom teacher, the school counselor, or the district/school test coordinator will administer the exams.

MAP testing is scheduled in the spring, usually during the month of April. That way teachers and students get most of a school year to prepare.

You understand perfectly.

It depends on the student. The tests are given in 2 or 3 different sessions with an estimated time allowance. Some students finish very quickly, while others use all of the time allotted. If a student is making progress when the suggested time is up, he or she should be allowed to finish. It is recommended that schools test no more than one session in a day.

Yes. The results are available the following fall. Schools receive a substantial amount of MAP data, so it’s probably worthwhile to make a visit to the school counselor for more information, especially if you haven’t received results by mid-fall. Fall parent-teacher conferences might be a perfect time to ask questions about the achievement tests.

If you have Internet access, you can check out district and statewide MAP results at http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess, and follow the prompts to find out how your child’s school district performed. Look for the “District Report Card” prompt to find out how districts measure up. Most school district websites show these results, also. 

Two things—On an individual student report, you’ll want to see which achievement level your child’s score falls in. As a parent, it’s helpful to know your child’s academic strengths and areas in need of improvement. Maybe a child does a nice job fielding grounders but has difficulty hitting the ball. You’re likely to spend more time on batting practice. If the MAP test points out that your child excels in math, but struggles in reading, you’ll know to put forth more effort to improve reading skills. Secondly, there’s something called a Terra Nova National Percentile. This shows how your child’s score stacks up to scores from children across the nation on the multiple-choice part of the test. We shouldn’t confuse a “percent” with percentile. If my daughter received a 64 “percent” on a spelling test, I might be worried. That is, 64 out of 100 total points possible.  With a percentile, students are compared or ranked with other students who took the same test.  For instance, if my daughter’s national percentile score is a 64, she scored better than 64 percent of the students taking this test nationwide. An average score is around the 50th percentile.  

It’s important to remember that the MAP is not perfect, nor is it designed to make sweeping judgments about skills or ability. It does measure how well students are mastering Content (knowing) and Performance (doing) Standards, but it won’t tell you if your child is going to be the next Einstein. If the results are not what you hoped for, try to think of it this way. It’s only one test, and it’s designed to measure how well a group of students is doing. One test cannot possibly show everything your child can or can’t do.  

It’s a possibility for middle school and high school students. Some schools use carbonless copy paper to make a copy of certain sections of the test. Teachers may then grade these sections as they would a regular classroom assignment.  

The scores of each test session in a subject are combined into a “scaled score” and reported according to five achievement levels.  Missouri’s goal is to help students reach the top two levels of Advanced and Proficient.   However, many Missouri kids have not yet reached these levels.  

With the 2006 test administration, there will be four achievement levels rather than five:

1. Advanced (highest level)

2. Proficient

3. Basic

4. Below Basic (lowest level)

For students to receive an achievement level score, they must take all sessions of the test.

First, you’ll see a gray bar toward the left side of the paper with a number sitting on top. The bar shows what achievement level your child’s score falls in. Now, this next part is a little tricky.  The number on top of the bar is the “scaled score.” Remember, the “scaled score” combines the results from the different sessions of the test.  What’s tricky is this. The gray bar will always appear in the middle of one of the categories, so visually the graph can be misleading. That’s why it’s important to look at the number on top of the bar. It will tell you if your child just barely reached that category or if he is close to moving up to the next level.

At the bottom of each achievement level you’ll see a line that reads, “MAP Combined Score Range.” There are two numbers listing the range. Let’s say the range in the box is 700-750. If a child scored a 701, you know that he made it into that achievement level by the skin of his teeth. He will need to work on mastering many of the items described in the achievement level box next to the bar.

They refer to the Show-Me Standards. The Content Standards are the things students should know, while the Process Standards describe what students should be able to do. Those boxes give a detailed breakdown on how close your child is to meeting those Standards. If your child earned 80% of the points on the first couple of Content Standards but only 40% of the points on Standards three and four, then you would know to sit down and work on Standards three and four.

This is the Terra Nova National Percentile that we talked about. It’s the multiple-choice part of the test that students across the nation—not just in Missouri—take. You can use this percentile to see how well your child is doing compared to other kids nationwide.

You have a few options. First, the back of the report is helpful. Look for a copy of this behind our sample Student Report. Your child’s teacher or school counselor can also help. Finally, you can use the DESE website. Go to http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/publications.html and click on “Guide to Interpreting Results” or explore the website. You can also get contact information from the website if you’d like to speak to someone at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Actually, several people use the results. These results play a major role in making the state, the schools, and the teachers accountable for providing the best education possible.

In a nutshell, yes. The information below will help identify who receives this information and will provide a short description of how the reports are used.

State officials use this information to identify schools that need improvement or are top performers. This can help them to provide resources to schools that need help, or to study high performing schools in hopes of passing along “best practices.” They can also compare our Missouri results with the results of schools in other states to see how we measure up nationally.

School districts can use the results to set goals or create plans to improve in areas where expectations are not met. They can also compare their results to those of nearby districts and to the state of Missouri as a whole. Test results are used to compare data from previous years as well.

Teachers can identify any improvement areas in Content or Process Standards. For example, the data might show that most fifth graders could name the body systems, but a low percentage of the same students could identify the function of each system. The teacher could use the information gained to devote more time to teaching the functions of each body system. A teacher might use the information to address needs of individual students. Teachers can also receive training to become more effective teachers.

As parents, not only can we see how our children performed, but we can also see how well the schools are teaching our children. We can work with our community to support our schools when they need help.

Our children also benefit from the test results when the state, school district, teachers and parents work together to make improvements for our students. Individual results can help identify kids who need extra help.

The news media uses MAP data to report information to the public. It’s important for you to know that your child’s individual test results are private. Only you and your child’s school receive those results. Rather, the media reports on the state, district, or school as a whole group.

School officials may use the results as a guide to best meet the educational needs of your child, but the Student Report is only one factor of many to be considered in a child’s education. For example, the student’s grades, teacher and/or parent recommendations, and further testing along with MAP scores may help determine placement in special classes such as Gifted Education, Title I, or Special Education, or whether to pass or retain a student.

Yes. Children with disabilities, just like all other children in public or charter schools, are required to show that they can put knowledge into practice by a number of state and federal laws and regulations.

Yes. Many students with disabilities take the MAP test at the same time and in the same way as their classmates. Some students with disabilities take the test with the help of certain accommodations. The purpose of an accommodation is to “level the playing field” so that students with disabilities can demonstrate what they know and are able to do.

Every student receiving special education has an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. The IEP is developed by a team. You are a member of this team as a parent or legal guardian of your child. Decisions about accommodations that are needed for the MAP and classroom instruction are made by this team. Generally, accommodations should not be used for the first time on the test. They should already be in use during classroom instruction or tests.

For a student with limited vision, the size of the print on the test could be enlarged, or the test could be written in Braille. This is an example of an accommodation for a physical disability. A student with a learning disability in Reading who is taking the Mathematics test may need to have the test given individually so that the questions can be read aloud for better understanding.  Some students may need additional time to complete the test or additional breaks during the test.  The accommodations depend on the student. To view the Accommodations List for Students with Disabilities - Communication Arts/Math, go to http://www.dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/special.html and click on Technical Assistance Bulletin: State & District-wide Assessments of School Achievement. The list can be found on page 5 of that document.

As you may have seen at the bottom of the chart, reading the Communication Arts test aloud to the student invalidates the results of that test. If the IEP team determines that this accommodation is needed, the team needs to understand that the use of this accommodation does invalidate the results. For students with visual impairments who use oral reading in daily instruction, the Communication Arts test can be read aloud without invalidating the results. The use of paraphrasing test questions will invalidate results for any of the MAP tests. Students will still receive a Student Report with an achievement level that reflects their performance with the accommodation that invalidated their test.

Accommodations should NOT:

1. Give students with disabilities an unfair advantage.

2. Jeopardize test security in any way.

3. Be used for the first time on the MAP tests.

4. Give clues to the correct answer.

Do all students take the paper and pencil MAP tests?

Most kids, including students receiving special education, will take the regular MAP tests.  However, regular paper and pencil tests may not be appropriate for some students with significant cognitive disabilities who are working mostly on essential skills. The term “essential skills” means that the main focus of the student’s education is on daily living skills. These are students with whom educational priorities address essential skills needed in adult daily living, and who, after high school, will likely require supported or assisted living. The MAP-Alternate (MAP-A) was developed for these students, and has been updated beginning in the 2005-06 school year.

What is the MAP-A?

Who makes the decision on whether a child takes the MAP-A or the regular MAP tests?

When do students take the MAP-A?

Is the MAP-A scored?

Yes. The child’s teacher is required to observe and assess a student’s performance and collect evidence in Communication Arts and Math during three specific collection periods. Your child’s performance is assessed on Alternate Grade-Level Expectations (Alternate-GLEs). You can access the Alternate-GLEs by going to the following link: http://www.dese.mo.gov/divimprove/assess/mapa.html. The teacher is then responsible for submitting the MAP-A to DESE for scoring. The scored assessments will result in score reports and student achievement levels consistent with regular MAP results.

Where can I find more information about the MAP-A?

I’d say that student should stay home in bed! Is he sick?

I’ve always been nervous about taking tests, too. Why do some children get so worked up?

1. Many children feel pressure from adults to perform well. They want to please their parents and teachers and worry about disappointing them.

2. Students feel nervous when their familiar classroom settings are changed, like when the volume changes from the “normal” classroom sounds to very quiet, or if the room has been rearranged for testing.

3. Some students get upset when they are tested in unfamiliar surroundings or with someone they don’t know well.

4. Some kids are worried about how their test results might affect their school.

That’s so much pressure! How can I help?

Is there something else I can do?

Any suggestions?

Thanks! I’ll keep these ideas in mind when my children take tests-especially the MAP tests!

Other than the stress-taming strategies, how else can I help my child succeed on tests?

There are many ways to help. Again, always communicate with your child’s school and teachers.  It’s very important that your child attend school regularly—unless, of course, he or she is sick.  Missing even one day could mean missing out on skills and knowledge that will last a lifetime.  Practice reading every day. You can read to your children, or have them read to you, as often as possible. Newspapers, magazines, and books are all handy learning tools. The only way to practice reading is by reading!  Point out natural ways to use math in daily life-such as in baking or shopping for groceries.  Help your child get organized and stay that way! Point out a comfortable time and place to do homework, and encourage her to stick with a schedule.  Help your child understand different types of questions. Find the sample questions at http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~map/mapcd/ or released items at http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/releaseditems/index.htm. Use them to help your child identify different kinds of questions, such as:

1. Which item does not belong?

2. Which statement is NOT true?

3. Describe the best route to take to school. Explain why you chose that route.

4. What was the problem in this passage, and how was the problem resolved?

Work with your student on “restating the question.” This simple skill helps the child to show understanding of what is asked. For example, if you asked, “What is your name?” The child’s answer should be, “My name is Pam.” When asked, “How old are you?” a student should respond with, “I am ten years old,” rather than a one-word answer like, “Ten.”

Use vocabulary words that your child is likely to see on a test so she is familiar with and understands them. Words like describe, explain, define, compare, and contrast are often seen on tests.

Discuss the process of elimination. If she doesn’t know the correct answer, have her work in reverse, mentally removing answers that she knows do not belong. Try to choose the best answer from those remaining.

How can my child help herself in preparing for tests?

You and your child’s teachers should encourage her to approach the test with a positive attitude and to keep the following tips in mind.

1. Carefully listen to or read directions. It’s okay to ask questions if you don’t understand the directions.

2. Read the entire question or problem. Be sure you understand the question before giving an answer, being careful to notice words like “not” or “never” or “all of the above.”

3. Take notice of special headings or pictures on the page. These may give clues to help answer the questions.

4. Go back and check answers if you have time. Even the best test-takers skip questions or make simple mistakes.

5. As tempting as it may be, never try to get answers from another student’s test. First of all, the test is created for you to show what YOU know. Second, the penalty for cheating can be severe. Finally, there is no way of knowing that the student’s answers are correct.

6. Understand that some sections of a test will take longer than others. For example, when you have to read a story and answer questions, there is usually plenty of time allotted. It’s okay if you don’t remember all the answers; you can look back at the story and skim through it to find the answers you need.

7. Wear comfortable clothes.

8. Be prepared with extra pencils and erasers, just in case.

9. If using an answer sheet, check often to be sure the question number and number on the answer sheet match.

10. If you don’t know an answer to a question, skip it and come back to it later. You don’t  want to spend too much time on questions you don’t know.

11. Think positive thoughts!

You can find more tips by doing an Internet search for “Test Taking Tips.” There are also many books available on test taking skills.  Just remember, as your child’s primary caregiver, you can be a great help to her in preparing for tests.

Thank you! You’ve given me lots to think about. Any last thoughts?

Just remember that communication is important. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask school personnel or contact the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

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