Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment MAP test score for reading going down

There is nothing to worry about. Either 207 or 204 is great scores for K or 1st graders, and adults should not over-analyze the numbers. The 'going down' is called fluctuation. The official report you get gives you a range. Some typical reasons are:

1. Any test scores are should be viewed as a kind of statistical average. So it serves as a guideline, but should not be exacted on a single person;

2. The questions were picked up by computers. So the questions may have more words that he didn't know this year or something. Also, the computer knows him after his first test last year, so it may started with harder questions, and worked backwards;

3. Young children may have worked more attentively last year, since it was his first time. Since he did so well, he may have rushed himself this year, or any other factors.

You will never know what actually happened -- Mr. Heisenberg said so. :-)

*small hijack- my apologies!*
He's bored enough to do extra studying but not in areas the MAP cares about :-) This is a case where we're waiting for the test to catch up to the kid I'm afraid!

And the school is very disinterested in working with us at this point. New principal considers my son's scores (all of them... piles of them) to be a "fluke". So we're done... we're homeschooling next year! DS is adjusting to the idea. He has made some very good friends now post-skip and is worried about losing them. But it'll be okay- the new friends are close neighbors and are also heavily considering homeschooling. I suspect we'll be working together some time soon!

My DS told me that they do use the headphones. The MAP score sheet they give shows scores till 8th grade (not sure if its 9th or 8th grade). Would this MAP testing be MAP or PMAP then?

tenBelow, he is in second grade not in first. Its the second grade where reading has not stalled but fallen back every time he was tested this year.

I think the suggestion to read out loud is a good one. He does read a lot but when asked to read out loud - isn't happy about it.

That would be PMAP

It makes sense for the percentile to change as his peers gain experience with reading. However, it doesn't make sense for the score itself to be going down. I'd be concerned that his reading is just sort of stagnating. I'd be looking for ways to stretch him at home.

I'm not sure if this will be helpful to you or not, but I was just looking at a MAP Reading skills ladder and noticed that the test is not just reading and comprehending what you've read or defining a word from its context, but it also requires students to know the meaning of terms like synonym, homonym, antonym in the directions in order to answer certain questions, and also there are questions about root words and suffixes and prefixes. I'm sure this varies by district, but it occurs to me that these terms are not even taught in 1st and 2nd grade in our district. This is a big ah-ha moment for me. My DS has never been taught these things at school, and I'm not sure these terms have come up much in our discussions at home, either. Perhaps these things might account for the stagnation of scores while your child continues to read well and comprehend well?

Strange question but are the headphones actually turned on? My son's school makes everyone wear them to block out the surrounding noise, fidgets etc, no matter grade level.

Does your school do MAP testing twice per year? If so, I'd compare those results. My friend's DD's school did testing 2-3/year. The 2nd and 3rd tests would show a decline. The first test would show an increase. Why? B/c her DD spent the summer reading at her level which was way above the school's grade level so on her first test, she'd test well. After tuning out during the school year, her scores would decline again. Only to go up again AFTER a summer of reading and enrichment.

Thanks everyone for the input. Got the chance to talk to the teacher. According to the teacher the problem may be not reading slow enough but kind of browsing through the material. She thinks he is in a hurry to complete the test. She definitely thinks that if he slows down during the test he can do way better because according to her his score should be above 210 at least.
Any recommendations from you all on how to get him to slow down. Any books out there that really cater to MAP style test practice?
Many school districts do the MAP testing but I have never heard of any specific course material. Is there a particular reason why there aren't any but just broad guidelines published by NWEA?
Thanks in advance for replying to my questions

Here's a link for reading practice:
http://www.sowashco.k12.mn.us/ro/Pages/studentlinks/map/reading.htm