Jewel,
My kids have also taken the SCAT - and one thing I don't know about that vs other tests (we don't use the MAP here) is what types of questions are asked on the SCAT - it's really tough to make comparisons between tests without knowing specifics about the type and breadth of questions asked on the tests. Please know I'm not discounting the SCAT scores at all! Just saying that I haven't found a lot of info re what is included... and yes, I do know there are sample questions on the CTY site. I also don't know what kind of info parents get re the questions asked on MAP tests.
When I had questions about where my kids are at re math curriculum, I've found the easiest way for me personally to get an understanding of it was to have them take an assessment through ALEKS - simply because the ALEKS assessments can spit out a report tied directly to your own state standards... which in theory should be the basics your school district curriculum is built upon.
I personally wouldn't have my young child prep for math by taking a CTY course - as Peter mentioned, they are extremely expensive. We do have our middle school ds taking CTY courses, but they are courses he hasn't taken in school and it's likely we'll be able to use the credit from the courses he's taken for placement in high school. There are a large number of other options for math enrichment in elementary school. One thing that's not mentioned as often here is local tutoring groups (could be a national chain such as Sylvan or Kumon) or something local. In general, I wouldn't personally use these for enrichment but the bonus for families I've known who have is that the schools where we are recognize and give credit to achievements through tutoring services. The downside to a program like Kumon (just from my experience) is that they follow a very set progression, so if you're looking to fill in a few specific gaps rather than just progress through their curriculum from point a to point z, you most likely aren't going to be able to do that without doing everything else along the way.
Last thing - I wouldn't overly worry over one MAP test - it's possible it was just not the best testing day for your dd. If you've had other concerns about how she was progressing in math or what was/wasn't offered in her class this year, then definitely pursue helping her out - otherwise, maybe just let her have the summer off
Hope some of that helps!
polarbear
