MAP scores

[Anonymous]

How worried should I be if my child's MAP-R did not change at all but the percentile went down - and was low to begin with? As in well below 50%? I'm even paying for a reading tutor. She is in 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How worried should I be if my child's MAP-R did not change at all but the percentile went down - and was low to begin with? As in well below 50%? I'm even paying for a reading tutor. She is in 3rd grade.

If you think she has a good tutor then I would increase frequency with the tutor.

3rd grade is when the achievement gap starts diverging a lot between the top and the bottom. This is the grade where kids are no longer learning to read but reading to learn.

Also, have you had her tested? Any concerns for dyslexia, etc….

[Anonymous]

No one has mentioned dyslexia. A couple of years ago, she underwent a complete neuropsych which showed ADHD and dysgraphia and some other issues but did not mention dyslexia. Would that have been picked up by that test?

[Anonymous]

Consider posting on the special needs board to get a sense. I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible she didn’t meet the criteria for dyslexia at the time she was evaluated if she was very young (which it sounds like she was). I think she potentially needs an updated evaluation to dig into what is getting in her way with reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one has mentioned dyslexia. A couple of years ago, she underwent a complete neuropsych which showed ADHD and dysgraphia and some other issues but did not mention dyslexia. Would that have been picked up by that test?

It's possible dyslexia wasn't picked up by the evaluation, especially if the child is gifted and can compensate in other ways, at least in the early grades. What were your DC's scores in areas like phonemic awareness?

[Anonymous]

Map-r is almost all about reading and answering questions about the passage. Have you sat down with DC to try to figure out what the situation is? I went through this myself: my DC was in the bottom 20 percentile. The kindergarten teacher didn’t see any cause for concern (???) but I felt differently. She’s now top 2 percentile no thanks to that teacher.

I have found it better to figure out for myself what DC needs help on than to rely on “experts” who are not personally invested in your kid. If I went by them, my DC would probably still be unable to read. Figure out what might be wrong if you can and then find help accordingly.

[Anonymous]

You should not be worried at all. It’s an 8 year old clicking on the computer she clicked in the wrong spot a few times or misread something. My son is about to go to HS, he is in a magnet program and is going to Blair next year. His MAP went up and down a few times before middle school. This MAP obsession DCUM has is ridiculous .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should not be worried at all. It’s an 8 year old clicking on the computer she clicked in the wrong spot a few times or misread something. My son is about to go to HS, he is in a magnet program and is going to Blair next year. His MAP went up and down a few times before middle school. This MAP obsession DCUM has is ridiculous .

NP here, the map obsession is not ridiculous. Mcps,has set up the system that way,putting so much emphasis on map scores to get the coveted low in number magnet spots. People are so desperate, kids are even cheating on map testing and teachers are turning a blind eye to it. It’s crazy!

[Anonymous]

In 3rd grade no way would I worry. The scores fluctuate from session to session depending on the randomization of the questions, your child's sleep the night before or mood, or luck. One time my child got a question about a sport she had never played but the question required knowing something about the sport. It was very random.

[Anonymous]

MAP scores staying the same basically mean the child has shown no growth between the fall and winter testing. The percentiles are normed nationally and may not necessarily extrapolate 1:1 with MCPS. This is something you should follow up with with their teacher, as they may have a different perspective on growth. Also, there are such things as bad testing days. How are your child's grades? If everything else is OK, then there may not be much to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MAP scores staying the same basically mean the child has shown no growth between the fall and winter testing. The percentiles are normed nationally and may not necessarily extrapolate 1:1 with MCPS. This is something you should follow up with with their teacher, as they may have a different perspective on growth. Also, there are such things as bad testing days. How are your child's grades? If everything else is OK, then there may not be much to worry about.

A few times, one of my kids went down 5-10 points, but they've also gone up as much as 20-30 points once or twice. I definitely keep an eye on this but also temper it with my own experiences. For example, my youngest's map-m dropped 5 points this winter, but I feel they've learned a lot this year, so expect it to shoot up this Spring. If it doesn't, I'll be surprised but will try and figure out what is going on... I also work with them especially in early ES since the school doesn't really give them much individual attention.

[Anonymous]

PP has a good point which is that if it goes down once that's NBD but if there's a trend across multiple tests over time ask your teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should not be worried at all. It’s an 8 year old clicking on the computer she clicked in the wrong spot a few times or misread something. My son is about to go to HS, he is in a magnet program and is going to Blair next year. His MAP went up and down a few times before middle school. This MAP obsession DCUM has is ridiculous .

NP here, the map obsession is not ridiculous. Mcps,has set up the system that way,putting so much emphasis on map scores to get the coveted low in number magnet spots. People are so desperate, kids are even cheating on map testing and teachers are turning a blind eye to it. It’s crazy!

MAP scores really didn't matter for the PP you responded to because they used CogAT rather than MAP for CES/magnet admissions back then. Now, MAP scores are used in place of the CogAT, hence the focus on the scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MAP scores staying the same basically mean the child has shown no growth between the fall and winter testing. The percentiles are normed nationally and may not necessarily extrapolate 1:1 with MCPS. This is something you should follow up with with their teacher, as they may have a different perspective on growth. Also, there are such things as bad testing days. How are your child's grades? If everything else is OK, then there may not be much to worry about.

Could also be that your kid had a particuarly good testing day in the fall and/or a particualrly bad testing day in the winter. Growth could still have happened, but it's not reflected in the scores. Has certainly happened to my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP has a good point which is that if it goes down once that's NBD but if there's a trend across multiple tests over time ask your teacher.

For whatever reason, my DS does best on his winter tests. Then his scores go down in spring and fall and jump back up in winter. He's in 4th now and it's been like clockwork.