Yet another MAP R thread

[Anonymous]

Reading books alone doesn’t help increase MAP scores. My DS reads quite a bit but he isn’t a bookworm and reading isn’t his favorite thing either. But he is above grade level and does well in school but still doesn’t get very high scores in fact sometimes his scores dip. What can we do to increase his scores?

[Anonymous]

Do they matter or is it just for MD own knowledge?

My daughter is in 1st and has only ever done a Math MAP. Does that change?

[Anonymous]

Are the subtest scores lopsided?

[Anonymous]

Why do you care about increasing scores? Do you want him to go a magnet literacy program that he won't enjoy?

[Anonymous]

I have never figured out why they matter. My HS kid who takes honors and AP scores well below the 50th percentile on the MAP R. Clearly no reflection on abilities.

[Anonymous]

Have 3 good student kids but only the oldest who is a voracious reader gets the top MAP R score. So reading seems to be what can improve it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never figured out why they matter. My HS kid who takes honors and AP scores well below the 50th percentile on the MAP R. Clearly no reflection on abilities.

They only matter if you believe things like vocabulary acquisition or reading comprehension matter. There are certainly lots of jobs that don't require these things.

[Anonymous]

Very high MAP scores correlate with deep understanding and cognitive thinking skills. It's not sufficient to decode, the test-taker needs reading comprehension and vocabulary. It's normal for MAP scores to fluctuate and for the progression to be non-linear.

For reading: if your child is in elementary, read to your kid, more advanced books than they might be able to tackle themselves. Select ones that have rich vocabulary and more complex sentence structure - classics are usually more complex than moderns. Stop every now and then, to make sure your kid understands the words and follows the plot: ie, has a micro and macro understanding of the story. Ask questions to evaluate your kid's depth of understanding.

There are workbooks you can buy to develop reading comprehension (some good ones at the Critical Thinking Company), and one specifically geared towards understanding inferences in texts, called Inference Jones (two levels of books). I highly recommend them as summer brain drain prevention

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never figured out why they matter. My HS kid who takes honors and AP scores well below the 50th percentile on the MAP R. Clearly no reflection on abilities.

There is no point to MAP testing in high school for most students, but they're made to sit and take it. Of course he's clicking straight through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care about increasing scores? Do you want him to go a magnet literacy program that he won't enjoy?

There is differentiation in reading groups based on MAP scores. Also, there is a whole thing when the kids take the test and then brag about their scores. Even though I know my DC is better at reading than what his scores show, I usually can’t do anything about it. I know its mostly self-imposed stress and worry.

[Anonymous]

Since MCPS has done away with entry testing into the CES and magnets, MAP scores have become more important to determine in-pool eligibility. So that's one practical reason to have high scores if you're interested in those programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they matter or is it just for MD own knowledge?

My daughter is in 1st and has only ever done a Math MAP. Does that change?

The MAP-R begins in 3rd grade. She'll start taking it three times a year then. It is used to determine the lottery pool for CES (which guarantees access to ELC at the home school), so for that purpose it definitely matters. Same with middle school magnets/access to the enriched social studies class at the local school (HIGH).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never figured out why they matter. My HS kid who takes honors and AP scores well below the 50th percentile on the MAP R. Clearly no reflection on abilities.

There is no point to MAP testing in high school for most students, but they're made to sit and take it. Of course he's clicking straight through.

Sure, it isn't used for student placement but it does help the county evaluate the school. It's too bad they can't coordinate with the state and minimize the number standardized tests needed to accomplish that. Personally, I have more faith in the MAP than the wacky MCAP test the state recently made up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very high MAP scores correlate with deep understanding and cognitive thinking skills. It's not sufficient to decode, the test-taker needs reading comprehension and vocabulary. It's normal for MAP scores to fluctuate and for the progression to be non-linear.

For reading: if your child is in elementary, read to your kid, more advanced books than they might be able to tackle themselves. Select ones that have rich vocabulary and more complex sentence structure - classics are usually more complex than moderns. Stop every now and then, to make sure your kid understands the words and follows the plot: ie, has a micro and macro understanding of the story. Ask questions to evaluate your kid's depth of understanding.

There are workbooks you can buy to develop reading comprehension (some good ones at the Critical Thinking Company), and one specifically geared towards understanding inferences in texts, called Inference Jones (two levels of books). I highly recommend them as summer brain drain prevention

Another good one was editor and chief to teach grammar since the county doesn't really do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you care about increasing scores? Do you want him to go a magnet literacy program that he won't enjoy?

There is differentiation in reading groups based on MAP scores. Also, there is a whole thing when the kids take the test and then brag about their scores. Even though I know my DC is better at reading than what his scores show, I usually can’t do anything about it. I know its mostly self-imposed stress and worry.

But you can if you want to. There are all kinds of parents in this world. You can be a hands-on parent if it makes you happier. What the other poster would call "crazy Tiger parent"! I was that parent. My kids are teens and young adults and entirely fine with it.