MAP Letter to Parents (Revised) April 6, 2015

Good morning.  We discovered earlier this morning that the MAP Parent letter sent out on Sunday has some errors.  I just emailed a revised letter through Blackboard Connect.

The body of the revised letter is below:

April 2, 2015

Dear LMS Parents/Guardians:

Your child will be participating in the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) Grade-Level Assessments on the following dates:

6^th Grade:     Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16

7^th Grade:     Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14

8^th Grade:     Monday, April 20 through Friday, April 24

                      Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29

Please make every attempt to ensure that your child is present on anticipated testing dates and that he/she is prepared for testing by being well-rested and eating breakfast.

This will be the first year that this assessment will be administered online.  There are portions of the assessments that require students to use ear buds/headphones.  If your child has ear buds, please make sure that they bring them to school during their test days.  The district will provide ear buds for those who do not have their own set.

General Information about the MAP Grade-Level Assessments

The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) Grade-Level Assessments evaluate students’ progress toward the Missouri Learning Standards.  The MAP Grade-Level Assessments include assessments in the subject areas of English language arts (grades 3-8), mathematics (grades 3-8), and science (grades 5 and 8). MAP Grade-Level Assessments provide important information that contributes to decisions concerning individual students, groups of students, and educational programs.   

The MAP Grade-Level Assessments include multiple types of questions or items:

·      Selected Response (also known as multiple choice) items are composed of a question followed by a series of possible responses. Students must select the correct response or responses.

·      Constructed Response or Short Text items require students to supply an appropriate response rather than making a selection from a list of choices.

·      Performance Tasks/Events allow students to work through more complicated items using real-world scenarios.

·      Technology Enhanced items make use of technology in the presentation of the item, the ways in which students respond, or both. For example, students might watch a video and then drag and drop labels into a diagram, or click on specific parts of a text to provide a response.

Individual Student Reports will include an Achievement Level, which will describe your student’s performance for the grade level and content area as Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, or Advanced. The report will also include a short description of the knowledge and skills that are typically demonstrated by students in each Achievement Level for that grade level and content area.

While online assessment is new to the MAP test this year, our students are frequently more comfortable than adults with digital communication.  LMS teachers have prepared students for MAP testing over the course of the school year, and we are confident that they will do well.  As always, if you have any questions about your student’s educational experience please feel free to contact the grade-level counselor or principal.