CDS - First Program
The Weekly Word from CDS FP - Winter MAP Testing
Looking Back at MAP Growth Tests
Great job, FP! After successfully completing MAP tests, students and parents have now received the individual Student Progress Report. Note that the report is one piece of paper - on page 1 is the student's results. This page will have the results from every MAP test that the student has written since being at CDS. If a student attended G3 in CDS last year, then the results will include all of the student’s results since then.
On page 2, you will see the example or “quick reference” sheet to help understand the information. There is a legend to help understand fourteen different parts of the data. If you would like assistance understanding the data, by all means, please contact the FP and we would be happy to help.
What do the different color bars mean?
There are three bars in the bar graph: blue, orange and yellow.
Blue is the student score.
Yellow is the U.S. average.
Orange is the district average - for us, this is actually the class average (we have one elementary school in our district, and one class in each grade, therefore the district average = the class average).
Why does CDS give MAP tests?
We give students MAP tests to determine your child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year, in the areas of Math, Language and Reading.
Please note that integrity of MAP Testing develops with time. By this time, next year, the students will have written the tests another two or three times. This will give us much more data and information about growth over time, and will be an excellent assessment of our students. With all of this data, it will assist teachers in planning and teaching to the individual student’s needs.
Who writes the tests and when?
Each student from Kindergarten to Grade 4 wrote MAP tests. Most students write the tests three times per year: fall, winter, spring. Kindergarten students write the test for the first time in the winter season.
How should I communicate with my child about his or her results?
Firstly, I would praise the child for meeting the challenge, for being brave, for taking the tests and finishing them successfully.
Secondly, explain that there are other important things - such as our ESLRs (6Cs) - that MAP tests do not measure. The focus of MAP tests, however, is on achievement in math, reading and writing.
Thirdly, an important factor of this achievement is growth - how much is the child “growing” in those reading, writing, and math from season to season and year to year. As mentioned earlier, to focus on growth requires time and several MAP results. We want you to look at the child’s history and talk about how it is important to see “growth” in the areas that MAP tests assess.
Lastly, students at lower grades tend to show greater increase in RIT scores during a school year than students at higher grade levels.
For further details about how to interpret the results, and how to discuss these with your child, please see the links below. If you have any questions or concerns about MAP tests and/or about your child’s results, please contact me.
Educationally Yours,
Mr. Hill
Director of First Program
Who Are We - CDS FP!
Who Tries Their Best - CDS!
CDS First Program
Email: dhill@daltonschool.kr
Website: http://cdsfp.weebly.com/
Phone: 032 563 0523 (502)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDSFP