MAP Parent Letter April 5, 2015
I have just sent a second BlackBoard Connect email, with a letter from Dr. Tiffany Taylor-Johnson attached regarding our upcoming MAP exams.
The body of the letter is below (am not sure how to attach a document to a blog):
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:
6th Grade: Wednesday,
April 16 and Thursday, April 17
7th Grade: Monday,
April 13 and Tuesday, April 14
8th 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 he/she brings them to school on 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.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tiffany L. Taylor-Johnson
Associate Principal- LMS