MSA scores?

[Anonymous]

You all seem to think that the tests results are for you, but they are really for the State/school system.

[Anonymous]

They do provide percentiles - just not as specific as you would like. There are three categories: basic, proficient and advanced. You will get the percentile of kids in your school, in your county and in the state for each category.

[Anonymous]

But you don't get your individual child's percentile. The numbers left me questioning more than providing answers. The report told me that 26% of the kids in the school were advanced, DD was among them, and that her score was Y within a range of X - Z.

Supposing there were 100 kids in her grade that took the test, of the 26 that were advanced, were they clumped near the top of the spread (X-Z) or were they spread out? Is she near the top or near the bottom?

Why would I want to know that? I have an only child, and we don't have a network of family (only 1 infant nephew). I have no basis for comparison. DD seems different from many of her friends and classmates. Is she such an outlier that I am justified in searching out other schools or services, or should we just suck up and deal?

Just a little bit more information would be so helpful. I'm sure it would be just as helpful for those on the other end of the spectrum. But it's not about the outliers, but about keeping the middle up and the numbers up for the tests. MCPS doesn't really seem to care about the individual students, by how the keep information secret, don't share the numbers and give no one any grounds to ask for more or different or help in any way. They seem to want parents and families to be content with that we get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all seem to think that the tests results are for you, but they are really for the State/school system.

This. The ultimate purpose of the MSAs is to evaluate schools for NCLB purposes. And, I think the format of the report is probably determined by the state, not by MCPS.

[Anonymous]

I talked to MCPS and MD ST DOE. Nobody knows anything about percentile scores of MSA. A good opportunity is being wasted since MSA is a standardized test similar to SAT or ACT, though not of the same magnitude. If reported correctly, this could tell how you child performed in more detail in comparison to peers from Maryland Schools. There are perhaps no other standardized tests as large as the scale of this one in Maryland and now the kids will only know their standardized test taking potential only when they sit for the SAT/ACT exams. I am frustrated since this can be easily fixed. I can understand that not everyone is reported in this information, but nonetheless this information should be made public somewhere even if not on the scores sent home.

[Anonymous]

I meant not everyone is interested (instead of reported)

[Anonymous]

I recently spoke to a middle school counselor who told me they use MSA scores to determine placement (advanced vs. regular) for middle school courses. I too would like to know my child's percentile. DS is in the advanced range for MSA scores but so is half of ds's grade. The score does not seem that high to me (mid 500 range out of a possible max of 650) but ds MAP-R is off the charts (99th percentile for a 8th grader even though ds is in 5th grade- Lexile score of 1600) and he is taking Math 7 (Math B) in 5th grade.
I am nervous that what to me looks like a relatively ordinary MSA scores might determine course placement in middle school. Knowing percentiles might provide me more information if I wish to advocate for my child to receive more challenge.