Do We Really Need MAPS?

The most dreaded event of the year for many students is most likely the MAPS testing that takes twice a year. MAPS stands for Measures of Academic Progress. It is a test that is “a computerized adaptive test which helps teachers, parents, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child’s academic growth.” (www.greenville.k12.sc.us) In AISG, we take three tests: Reading, Language, and Math. Because each test takes around 100 minutes to complete, our daily 85 minute periods are cut short into 60 minute periods. This affects teachers and students alike. I interviewed a group of them to understand if they think MAPS is a necessity for our learning.

Most teachers that I had in middle school say that they use it to measure and get a feel of where their students stand on that particular subject. Mr. Parker talked about how he felt MAPS was necessary because “the students can see where they are” and “how [they] can improve”.

I asked five anonymous students how they felt. This is what they said:

A freshman said, “It’s not needed. Colleges don’t look at them, and neither do other schools. What is the point of wasting precious class time? It doesn’t teach me anything, so I don’t see the point of doing it.” A 10th grader said,”It cuts down on our class schedules, so teachers can’t teach us things that we need to learn in our own syllables. It doesn’t affect our grades, and it is a waste of time.” Another freshman said, “We do not need it. It really just wastes time.”

A sophomore said,”I can understand why [AISG] wants it, but [we] don’t need it. Teachers don’t acknowledge it, and we miss a lot of class time. ” A student who chose to remain anonymous said, “A number should not define how smart you are. There is no motivation for any of us to do, except for the score at the end. We compare scores among ourselves, and when your friends’ scores are higher than yours, you feel dumb.” All of the five students said that they prefer WRAPs over MAPs. They talked about how in WRAPs, you can receive feedback from both a professional and your own English teacher.

I then interviewed Mr. Tragert to further ask how our MAPs testing scores are used. He told me that the test is used “as a tool to help measure growth”. Since the test is aligned to what we learn in school, by looking at our scores in September and May, our school can see how much we have learned. As a student, we can also see how much we have learned. He said, “Assuming you do your best on the MAP, the score you receive helps you reflect on what you have learned and how you can grow from it.” He further explained how MAPS gives the teachers an in-depth analysis of students and trends throughout the grade. He gave me an example, saying, “Your MAP score might indicate that you’re a super math student but struggle specifically with the topic of statistics and probability. Knowing that, our teachers can then work to support you better when that unit happens in class.” AISG also uses MAPs data to make important decisions about the school’s curriculum and resources, which is then used to make school-wide decisions to support us in that weakness.

Do you think MAPs is necessary? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments below!