Picture this: You check your email on a Sunday afternoon and see in the Viking News Letter: ‘M.A.P. testing this week!’. Dread courses through you as you realize you’ll be spending an entire class period on a test that doesn’t even matter – right?
The M.A.P. (Measures of Academic Progress) test is nothing like your typical standardized test – it is untimed and it adapts to your academic capabilities to give you questions that are suitable for your skill level. This allows students to apply themselves without the fear of time while demonstrating their expanded understanding. Something I have recognized is that some students will take the M.A.P. test too seriously and overstress about their scores so they can get into a higher-placed class. I have also seen students take the M.A.P. test unseriously, and it’s often said that this inhibits their academic growth.
When students finish the test, they tend to look at their overall score and then immediately click off. But this lack of care winds up limiting their potential for improvement. The score breakdown analyzes student performance based on different demonstrated skills, allowing them to understand their weaknesses and strengths. Students should use this as a guideline to focus their energy on what they need to improve upon while honing in on their strengths.
The issue with the M.A.P. test is its possible overemphasis on the importance of standardized testing. Some schools use M.A.P. testing results as the sole assessment of a student’s growth over the school year. Due to this lots of unnecessary pressure is set on the students to perform well on the test. For example, The Village School uses the M.A.P. testing results to measure our progress and to place us in classes.
An issue I had last year was not performing well enough on the test which hindered me from joining a class. Due to this, I, along with many other students, had to retake the test during the summer. And to be completely honest, I did worse since I forgot some of the topics taught to me. Some students find having to retake the test unnecessary, since no matter what you get, you can still be admitted into the course with a signature from your parent or guardian. This leads students to loathe the test and not use it as a learning tool as it should be. “The thing is, even if you don’t get a high enough score on the M.A.P,” said sophomore Eddie Wang. “It doesn’t matter, since you can just get your parents to sign the sheet and you can just do the course anyways. Right now I don’t think there’s much use for the M.A.P. in the school apart from just to see if you did better than last time.” Overall Eddie Wang is right, the M.A.P test should be used as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and not solely as a representation of your academic success.
The argument for the uselessness of the M.A.P. test is quite reasonable, so I decided to ask the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Coordinator of M.A.P. testing about her opinion on this matter. “We don’t use the data as a sole data point to decide whether a student should be in a specific class or not, it’s meant to be a benchmark to decide if a student is ready, it’s a readiness assessment.” Said Staff Sarah Conroy, Director of Curriculum. “Along with that, we’re also looking at teacher recommendations, previous course history and grades, and overall effort… We also recognize that a student taking a test on one day at one specific time doesn’t also define their ability to be successful in a particular course.”
Overall, the M.A.P. test shouldn’t be something you hate. It should be recognized as a way to determine your growth as a student and a tool to focus your energy on topics you don’t understand yet. It should not be perceived as your only gateway to a higher-placed class since, no matter what, you get a second chance. And even if you still didn’t do as well as you should’ve, you are only a signature away from that course you want to take.
