Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment MAPS math testing for kindergartener

DD is doing very well in kindergarten and we are very lucky to be in a proactive district. They recently gave her a Kathy Richardson's Developing Math Concepts assessment and was told that she scored well above kindergarten. They are now going to perform MAPS testing (the math portion)that is normally given in second grade.

- Anyone know what to expect?
- I am guessing that there is really no preparation...

Any thoughts / suggestions? When I get the results back, is there anything specific I should ask?

I am both excited and nervous for her...but she usually tests to her ability:)

Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), creator of Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) provides a page of resources for Parents and Students (link- http://www.nwea.org/resources-parents-and-students) and a page about assessments (link- http://www.nwea.org/products-services/assessments). You may wish to follow the links and find the page of MAP scoring for Mathematics, which explains understanding Rausch unit (RIT) scale and interpreting scores. There are downloadable RIT charts.

Lots of good info there.

Ours is usually a computer-adaptive test that adjusts to the test-taker (questions get harder or easier, based upon test-taker's answers). They are not rushed - I believe they can take their time (DD is usually the last one finished and does very well on MAP tests). The nice thing about this testing is you can see your DD's RIT score and if you look at the norms you can see how that score compares to others of various grades (is it a good RIT score for a 1st grader, 3rd grader?) I have found this interesting.

If she is a good test taker, there is nothing to be nervous about (you or her ). Hopefully, it will give you and the school a better idea of where your DD might be at in her learning.

The scariest thing about MAP is looking at scores and wondering just what it means when your seven year old scores higher than fifty percent of eleventh graders.

I think the biggest thing is to soften the landing for a kid with perfectionist tendencies as the test is geared to present harder material and a kid should expect to miss half the questions presented.

If the school shares the full results they cover levels in a wide range of sub topics and you can get a sense of gaps and strengths in a topic that way. If she hasn't used quizzes on a computer before, you might try some website to get her comfortable with the format.

Does she know how to use a mouse? This might be something to help her with if she's not familiar with it.

Good luck.

Thanks! I will look into the sites just to get a little background info. I think I will have her work with a mouse because she hasn't had that much computer (or tablet) time (she has always seemed to learn really quickly without screen time.

I gave her the heads up just so she would know it was coming and told her to just take her time and do her best (as she always does). I might warn her about the hard problems...I took a CAT test for my GMAT and am familiar with the concept.

I am nervous for her, but she always seems to perform up to her ability during testing and that is all I can ask for...to get a clear read on where she is doing well and where she might have gaps

Peeps, access the test company's website... it's all there for you. All are empowered. There is no inside scoop. I know you can find the info on your own in just a few short minutes by exploring the website.

Navigation on the website to get to the DEMO went something like this, there may be other paths as well:
products & services
assessments
MAP for Primary Grades
Testing Details
DEMO

I put a Peep on the mouse for an hour, but he didn't do anything. Then I put him in the microwave for fifteen seconds, and he had a consciousness expanding experience. Then he psychically tried a variety of websites and learned a wider set of skills without overly skewing his anticipation by focusing on the practice for just one, then he took a trip to Tibet with the expectation of returning in time for Easter.

That's great that your school is so proactive! Like others have said, the second grade MAP test is computer-based, so make sure she is familiar with a mouse. No prep needed, and in fact, no prep desired because you and the teachers want to see what she knows right now. The test gets progressively more difficult, so a warning that she might see some symbols she doesn't recognize but that it just means that she's done really well in certain categories and so she's getting problems from things she hasn't covered yet.

When DS was given the 2nd grade MAP in kindy, it really helped in our advocacy. The school finally was able to see what our kiddo could do and compare it with the school's second graders. This was quite meaningful to the school, and they then started providing a lot of differentiation (they gave him 2nd grade math).

LOL!