When I read that we were to discuss an assessment tool that our district or school uses I immediately thought of MAP testing in math. Many school districts, including Sumner use Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®)exams which are “computer adaptive interim assessments that provide a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level.”
As the student answers questions, the test decides which question to ask next by evaluating the student’s response. The test will ask harder questions the more you get right, or easier questions, based on wrong answers. MAP is said to more accurately evaluate a student’s Math knowledge and can provide a better picture of what the student has learned. Our district administers the test once in the fall and then again in the spring, and records the results in the student’s permanent record.
The company, Northwest Evaluation Association, also provides a standardized scale of scores that represent the probability that a student would pass the HSPE exam. In addition, the scale shows what would represent one year of growth. An example would be if a student needed 20 more points on the MAP exam to be statistically ready to pass the HSPE (now the SBAC), but the average student growth rate is approximately 15 points per year, then the student would be more likely to pass the test after two years of instruction. This information is then used by the district to address learning and teaching. MAP exams meet ISTE standard 2 by providing students with varied formative assessments aligned with content. The results have been used the past few years to better individualize instruction and help the student pass the Math EOC’s. The Math EOC pass rate has increased some, but I am unsure if the instruction was changed because of the outcomes.
MAP Overview for Teachers and School Leaders – NWEA. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from https://www.nwea.org/resources/map-overview-teachers-school-leaders/
GCP Update/Alignment: At this time my project is back to the planning stages. The student I was hoping to work with is not interested, so I am contacting several middle school teachers to see if there is a way to connect with their game design classes with my programming class and students.
Mind Map:
My school uses a computer adaptive program, as well, and I use the data to inform both my reading and math instruction. However, we don’t get much guidance other than “make sure you check your scores.” I’m curious what sort of PD is available to your teachers around MAP testing? How does this tool change how you teach as a Computer Science teacher? How do students take ownership of their data? It sounds like your school has had success in using the MAP assessments to make significant positive changes for students.