hen27, if you do a quick search on this forum, you will find many threads about low/slow MAP test growth (and I have started to contributed to many of them
). What you present has always been my "nightmare scenario" about lack of MAP test growth; that is, the child goes to the school to grow, does NOT grow at the school (programming/material ALLOWING high scorers to grow may be absent/ missing because acceleration is actually needed), the child fails to grow...and BOOM, "sorry, your child is excluded from our most challenging programming because his/her MAP test score isn't high enough." Many schools also use MAP as criteria for their programs (ours do, in addition to other criteria). While we have not yet experienced actual exclusion, the scenario is obviously unfair to the child who goes to school each year to learn, only to encounter material he/she already knows - leading to poor growth.
We finally threw up our hands this year with our school after multiple years of this happening in multiple subjects: we are after/summer/homeschooling the subjects of no/poor growth. The schools have shown a pattern of inadequately addressing the problem, because the children are still extremely high achieving, even with the poor growth. We will no longer leave it to the school to help our children learn. I have 2 DYS who are consistently in the 98-99th percentile (and usually at the HIGH 99th) on MAP, who have, at times (and for some extended periods), experienced no/poor growth. I would love to transfer both children to a full time gifted school, but the only one available is private and extraordinarily expensive, especially for more than one child.
I understand that MAP growth can ebb and flow...we are not talking about that. We are talking about entire years (multiple testing periods) passing with no/poor growth...THAT is when something needs to change.
Is afterschooling a great solution? NO! But it is better than not learning. Fortunately, our children do not seem to get "stuck" in all subjects at the same time. They have typically been "stuck" when their scores are extremely high (which might also be when they actually need acceleration).
MAP may actually be a good achievement test for a child who likes or needs to take their time on tests (it should be untimed). The child, however, needs to learn something new in order to demonstrate growth.
I am sorry you and your DD are having to deal with this.
