MAP Testing: A Redemption Story

As public high school teacher, I hated standardized tests. As a student, I hated them even more. And I was someone who did exceptionally well on them; the demoralization they caused for my students and parents was never worth the payoff. The same high-stakes tests that ate up 20% of our school year with practice tests, repeated test dates, remedial courses, and the constant hum and worry were also tied to our funding. How well our students performed was what was keeping us from federal takeover of the school. 

Did they pass? Did they make adequate progress? Will they be able to graduate? Summing up a years’ worth of academic progress within a couple of hours created such a stressful environment for everyone, because it wasn’t just the students being assessed. It was the teachers. The support staff. The parents’ felt their child’s failures and teachers had to navigate communicating that a faceless test, some entity outside of the building they send their child to every day who doesn’t know them is responsible for keeping them from graduation. 

When I was told our homeschooled students would complete formal assessments at the beginning and end of the year at Kalexedy Learning Center, I was originally skeptical. What could this test tell me that I don’t already know as a professional educator of my own children? What could this faceless test know that I don’t? But most of all, I didn’t want to introduce a stressor to their already complicated lives. 

I was relieved to find that I was wrong. The MAP Test, or Measures of Academic Progress test, is different: for one, it isn’t the same test for each student, it’s a computer-adaptive assessment. Meaning that if a student is doing well the questions go up in difficulty until the student hits a threshold of progress. So each question asked is based on how well they have done so far on the previous questions. One drawback is that students can’t go back to a question if the solution occurs to them later, but the goal of this assessment is to pinpoint where students are and what sort of strengths they have (and places where improvements can be made), so this isn’t a big deal. As long as students understand this going in to the exam, they’re considerably less stressed. 

I also facilitate an environment that is low in stress. I make sure that we start an hour after everyone has arrived, giving them time to acclimate to the day at the learning center and not have anyone stressed if they were dropped off late that morning. I bring my pet rabbit from home and he is very good at reducing stress by quietly existing near the students. Having him around makes MAP test days something to look forward to! We also only dedicated four days a year, two in the Fall and two in the Spring to testing, and students can take their time and are not rushed to complete their assessments.

When we get our results the next day, we don’t encourage students to share them with each other since they are personal achievements, we emphasize this with them so they don’t feel the need to compare. They know to only compare their scores to the ones they previously received, and only if they choose to. What’s been incredible is that with a mixed-age classroom and each student completing different grade levels and topics at any given time, each students’ test scores went up from Fall to Spring. They’re reading levels were already incredibly high (undergraduate levels all around) and our students maintained or increased their already high reading levels. 

As we prepare our end-of-the-year homeschool portfolios for our district, including their MAP scores and the learning statements are a great addition. It feels good to know their percentiles compared to peers and that they're continuing to make adequate progress and academic growth in addition to all of the other work they've been doing as part of their personalized learning plans. I'm glad to have this tool for assessing student achievement and growth over the school year, even if I was initially very skeptical of its value.

I’m so proud of all the hard work our students put in this year and doubly glad they don’t have the typical standardized test stress that happens every year in the traditional classroom!