Welcome to the start of a great new school year.  I am writing to inform you that we will begin our fall MAP testing for all 1st through 8th grade students on September 16th and will continue testing through October 11th.

MAP or M- A- P stands for Measure of Academic Progress and it is a test given on the computer to measure your child’s academic progress in school.  Your child is scheduled to take a math and a reading exam.  Starting this 2013-14 school year all grade 1 students will take the MAP for Primary Grades assessments (MPG) test.

The MAP test will be given to all students at our school in grades 1st through 8th grade in the fall.  In the winter, selected students may be given the MAP test.  Then in the spring, only 1st and 2nd grade students will be given the MAP test.  This test is a computerized adaptive test in reading and math that reflects the instructional level of each individual student.  It measures growth over time in addition to performance.

Please check in with your child’s classroom/homeroom teacher to find out the exact date of each of the above tests that your child will be taking.  Make sure you let your Childs classroom/homeroom teacher know if your child will be gone during their scheduled testing time so that the test can be rescheduled for your child.

In addition to the MAP testing all Kindergarten students will be given the Kindergarten Assessment.  This assessment is individually administered by Early Childhood Cadre, a group of testers trained on its standardized administration using a standard set of materials. The Beginning and End of Kindergarten Assessments measure literacy and numeracy skills.  We feel that testing is one way to measure something that is valuable, your student’s learning. 

Many parents/guardians have asked why we test.  I have included for you information about both the MAP and the MPG tests that I received from the NWEA, Northwest Evaluation Association below.

Please remember that testing is used in schools to measure student achievement and tests are designed to provide teachers, students and parents with much needed information to make decisions that will support students on their learning paths.

Thank you all for your continued support of Lake Harriet Community School and your child’s academic success.

Sincerely,

Merry Tilleson, Assistant Principal

Common Core MAP (for 2nd – 8th graders)

Assessments deliver valid, reliable, and real-time growth and proficiency data. Our cross-grade item pool lets you assess students who are performing below, on-grade, or above grade level with appropriate levels of challenge that neither bore nor overwhelm. As a result, you get key instructional insights into all student populations—including high- and low-performing students and special needs students.

MAP assessments inform in-the-moment instructional practices by identifying every student’s strengths and opportunities for improvement

• track student progress from fall to spring
• predict performance on high-stakes summative assessments as well as college readiness
• generate valid growth data to use when evaluating programs within and across your schools
• boost your students’ comfort with computer adaptive assessments by permitting them to “try out” new item types anticipated in the Consortia summative assessments

Our assessments align to each state's version of the Common Core standards.  MAP allows you to establish longitudinal data continuity for each student.

Common Core MAP® for Primary Grades (MPG)  (for grade 1)

Assessments give you real-time student growth data that allows you to maximize individual student learning well before high-stakes testing begins.

Whether your students are performing below, on-grade, or above grade level, MPG lets you assess them with developmentally appropriate levels of challenge that neither bore nor overwhelm. MPG also comes with supplemental skill mastery assessments that target core early childhood skills.

While MPG offers your youngest students colorful graphics and audio support, you receive valid, reliable data as well as longitudinal growth and norms. Use Common Core MPG data to:

• identify student learning levels and target skill gaps through differentiated instruction, including Response to Intervention (RTI) efforts
• measure student growth and achievement and predict student performance on high-stakes 3rd grade state tests as well each student’s college readiness
• track both individual and district-wide student achievement independent of grade level

Our assessments align to each state's version of the Common Core standards. Paired with Common Core MAP, MPG allows you to establish longitudinal data continuity for each student.