The reason for testing in the morning is when the students are
fresh. Some of the fourth grade testing this year took two hours.
Other parts where done in 45 minutes. Testing the third week in
May wouldn't work for our school because that's generally when we
are done with the school year in rural Missouri. This year, we
tested in late March, which was way tooo early. But Easter break
messes up the schedule. Robin

On 6/02/09, It is give and take... wrote:
> I apologize that no one has responded to your query in four
> weeks. It may be one of the most important issues that a test
> coordinator has to address.
>
> Over the years our school given the MAP in several different
> formats. If one session is administered per day, and the MAP is
> stretched over three weeks, the students and instructors are
> not as fresh and pumped up the last week as they are the first.
> If two sessions are given per day, you can finish all three
> sessions in two weeks. I have seen very little difference in
> the results.
>
> I would think that DESE would have collected data and have
> facts for testing coordinators to use to support decisions. The
> data wouldn't be difficult to collect, just have each school
> mark the actual dates that they give each session on a bubble
> sheet. They could collect data to support whether students who
> take the MAP with the entire group score higher than students
> who have to make up a session due to absences. But instead, we
> have the personal opinions of regional leaders, teachers, and
> testing coordinators that drive the way you set up your tests.
>
> All that said, I personally prefer to give two sessions in one
> day; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Teachers are
> not giving difficult lessons that require homework the
> remainder of a day if only one session is tested, so the day is
> often not strongly academically structured (meaning many
> schools virtually give students fun, stress-free activities to
> fill up the hours in which the MAP is not given, so the day is
> a waste academically anyway).
>
> I would also like to see the assessment window from the last
> week in April until the third week in MAY. Many schools still
> have an additional six-week term after they have given the MAP.
> Students tend to think that "learning is over" after the MAP,
> and it is more difficult to get them to work on lessons. If
> the MAP was later, that learning window might be extended
> another month.
>
> 4/22/09, Gena wrote:
>> I am the Assessment Coordinator for our District. We
>> usually spread the MAP testing in grades 3rd-6th out over
>> two weeks taking one or maybe two sessions a day. I teach
>> kindergarten so I do not give the MAP test, but I make the
>> schedule. The state recommends that you only give 1 session
>> a day. My teachers feel the kids would do better to NOT
>> stretch it out over 2 weeks. They would rather give a
>> session in the AM and one in the PM in one week. I am
>> wondering what other districts are going and if you have
>> seen any trends in results?? Thanks!!

Share This Post | Report This Post

Next Post >>

Posts on this thread, including this one