Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment MAP TEST in texas

We just moved from New York to TX. The school administers something called MAP (measures of academic progress). They seems to be tougher than the regular STAAR. How can I best prepare my kids.Are there any materials for it?

I would not recommend preparing for it. NWEA MAP should measure your DC's academic progress in reading, math, and possibly other subjects (depending on what your school uses it for), much like a ruler measures your child's height. The test is computer-adaptive, meaning that questions become harder or easier, depending upon the responses of the child. The first time your DC takes it is usually considered a baseline. Ideally, your child will "grow" by getting a higher RIT score each time he or she takes it.

While it is not perfect, I prefer MAP testing over other grade-level tests, since it can provide an indication that a child is working above grade-level (which can be confirmed by out of level testing).

HTH!

In general the rule for when to prep for a test is as follows:
If it is an IQ/ability test, do not prep (Yermish article on Hoagies).
If it is an achievement test, prep using materials supplied by the test maker.

A web search can help a parent with this:
MAP tests (Measures of Academic Progress) are achievement tests, created by NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association), and practice sample test questions are provided by the maker: MAP Test Warm-up.

Interested parents may wish to know that standardized tests, including MAP, are controversial in that students who are "taught to the test" may perform well but lack depth and breadth of knowledge, while students possessing vast depth and breadth of knowledge may perform less well on the tests than those who were "taught to the test". Therefore it may be beneficial to have a variety of ways to demonstrate knowledge.

Explain to your kids that the test is adaptive and not timed so to take their time and just try their best even if they see unfamiliar material. I don't think that you are meant to "study" for it as it measures mastery of curriculum.