Testing: Acadience and NWEA MAP
An Update from Caln Elementary School
NWEA MAP Testing
Parent Letter
First MAP® Season
Dear Parent:
During the time periods from 9/9/2021 to 9/15/2021, your child will take tests called Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®). 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 reading and mathematics. Your child will take the tests on a computer. If your child is absent for some reason, we will use the window of 9/20/2021 to 9/30/2021 to conduct any makeups within the classroom.
MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. And with MAP tests, we can administer shorter tests and use less class time while still receiving detailed, accurate information about your child’s growth. Over the next few days, your child will spend a total of about two hours completing these tests.
Each school year, students in grades 3 through 11 will take the tests in the fall, winter, and spring. After each testing period, you will receive a report showing your child’s growth.
We are truly excited to begin a new era that focuses on every child’s individual growth and achievement. Partnering to help all kids learn, parents and teachers can have a profound positive effect on the lives of our children.
For more information on resources for parents, download the Parent Toolkit at https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/family-toolkit/.
Parent Toolkit — Public site with videos
Sincerely,
Rebecca Vietri
Thursday, Sep 9, 2021, 09:30 AM
Caln Elementary School, Lincoln Highway East, Thorndale, PA, USA
Acadience Testing for students K-5 at Caln Elementary School
Dear Parents and Guardians,
The teachers and administrators at our school are committed to helping your child become a successful reader. As part of this commitment, our school has chosen to use a test called Acadience Reading to help us examine how your child is doing in learning important reading skills. Acadience Reading tests skills that are necessary for learning to read. Children who learn these skills become good readers. The skills are:
• Phonemic Awareness: Hearing and using sounds in spoken words
• Phonics: Knowing the sounds of the letters and sounding out written words
• Accurate and Fluent Reading: Reading stories and other materials easily and quickly with few mistakes
• Reading Comprehension: Understanding what is read
Acadience Reading is made up of six short individual tests. Because each test focuses on a different reading skill, your child may be given two to four Acadience Reading tests depending on his or her grade level.
Each test takes approximately 1 minute because the tests are used only as indicators. Much like using a thermometer to take a child’s temperature is an indicator of overall health, each test is an indicator of how well a child is doing in learning a particular early reading skill. These measures are used to determine the reading skills of millions of children throughout the United States. The scores tell us whether a child is likely to be “on track” for learning to read or whether a child may need some help in learning important reading skills. Your child’s teacher will use the information to better help your child. For example, Acadience Reading test results may tell us that we need to spend more time teaching your child how to “sound out” unknown words.
Acadience Reading is used to identify children who may need extra help to become good readers and to check up on those children while they receive the extra help to make sure they are making progress. Acadience Reading also may be used to make decisions about how well our school’s overall reading program is working for all children. Acadience Reading will not be used to grade your child.