MAP-R & Reading Group Assignment

[Anonymous]

If you bring this up with your child's teacher and they tell you their assignment is based on several data points and their MAP-R score is just one then fail to provide concrete details about those other data points, you're getting the runaround.

It's unfortunate but sometimes it's not convenient to move a child from one reading group to another. This is often because the group which is a better fit is full or it involves extra paperwork. Don't let this stop you from advocating on behalf of your child.

[Anonymous]

Late chiming in, but we had problems in 2nd grade. Kids was an advanced reader but pulled way back for writing. Kid had problems working left to right, spelling, handwriting. Ended up dumbing down writing to try not to spell wrong. Was on level M in Kindergarten and Level N in 2nd grade -- makes no sense! In 3rd, they tested orally only and bumped way up. In 4th, got into HGC and teacher worked w/ us on writing solutions. Now dc is a terrific reader AND writer.

All this to say, writing could be holding your kid back too. I would look into that and advocate based on map and oral data.

[Anonymous]

^^^PP here. Our kids 2nd grade teacher listened when I advocated and agreed that kid had advanced insight in group discussion. Moved kid up in reading level group but not actual reading level. But 3rd was the big increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my dd was younger, she was stuck on a reading level for a while and I asked the teacher about it. She said she was good at oral reading and discussing the book, but her reading level was constrained by her writing-- the measure for reading level was based on a written response, and her responses weren't meeting the expectation in various ways (I think it was about not writing enough details, etc though I don't recall exactly). So it could be that the skills tested in MAP-R aren't the same as the skills for reading-level assignment. It is a good question to ask at the November conferences, along with what skills you can work on to move her up.

Regardless of your opinion about your daughters writing ability OP, this is the most likely reason for the current reading level placement. All of my kids were advanced readers and several actual reading levels above their assigned reading group because their analysis skills as demonstrated by their written responses didn't match their reading level. Sure, they were bored by their reading group books, but they had plenty of other reading books at higher levels they read at the same time. It's not going to hurt your daughter to be in the assigned reading group.

Actually MAP are comprehensive and widely acclaimed standardized test used nationally and often takes up to an hour. They are proven to provide quantitative and objective metrics. Mclass like C2.0 is another MCPS special. As has been mentioned elsewhere, it is rarely adminstered correctly or thorough. A teacher has a child read a short story and has them answer one or two questions. It is usually completed in under 10 minutes. Bottom line. MAP is a more reliable measure of student achievement.

PP here again! Just saw all the similar responses, but wanted to take a different position to this one. My kid was really bored in reading group, & it affected interest in learning overall. The bump up helped a lot. The big game changer was getting into HGC, which ignited a passion for learning. So, if you think yours is the same to mine, I would advocate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Late chiming in, but we had problems in 2nd grade. Kids was an advanced reader but pulled way back for writing. Kid had problems working left to right, spelling, handwriting. Ended up dumbing down writing to try not to spell wrong. Was on level M in Kindergarten and Level N in 2nd grade -- makes no sense! In 3rd, they tested orally only and bumped way up. In 4th, got into HGC and teacher worked w/ us on writing solutions. Now dc is a terrific reader AND writer.

All this to say, writing could be holding your kid back too. I would look into that and advocate based on map and oral data.

Thanks for the help PP.
OP here. I'm no expert but I don't think writing is the issue. She gets A's and accolades on every paper she brings home. She has a solid working knowledge of spelling, grammar and punctuation that to me at least is remarkable for an 8-year-old. I suspect they balanced groups based on the previous years mclass value since this new data point was inconvenient being higher than expected.

[Anonymous]

A kid we know was an outlier from very early in ES. His 2nd and 3rd grade teachers really advocated for him and reached out to his parents to have him tested for HGC several years ago. They said that he did not fit into any of the reading or math groups in the classroom and was frequently bored.

Not sure what the school can do if there are no groups of higher ability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A kid we know was an outlier from very early in ES. His 2nd and 3rd grade teachers really advocated for him and reached out to his parents to have him tested for HGC several years ago. They said that he did not fit into any of the reading or math groups in the classroom and was frequently bored.

Not sure what the school can do if there are no groups of higher ability.

They could possibly have the child join a higher grade for those subjects are skip entirely. They could give the child higher level work to do on their own. (Textbooks would be helpful here.) They could have the child do self-paced work on the computer. They could allow parents to send in work. The child could read books at their level and do book reports. They could do math brain-teasers. There is a wealth of enrichment opportunities on the web. This website has some great links:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm

When my DD was reading significantly higher than her peers, her extraordinary teacher gave her a book at her level to read. Then periodically (I think it was about once a week), this teacher would spend her lunch break having book club with my daughter. By the end of the year a few kids had advanced enough they could make up a reading group. It transformed my child's reading interests. Whereas previously she only wanted to read fluff (Nancy Drew Notebooks, fairt books, etc.), she started seeking out more complex, intetesting books.

While I will always be grateful to that teacher for going out of her way to help my child, I didn't expect that. However, as described above, there are many things schools could do, with minimal effort/expense that would help. I agree that the HGCs are great, but there needs to be something before fourth grade to challenge the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my dd was younger, she was stuck on a reading level for a while and I asked the teacher about it. She said she was good at oral reading and discussing the book, but her reading level was constrained by her writing-- the measure for reading level was based on a written response, and her responses weren't meeting the expectation in various ways (I think it was about not writing enough details, etc though I don't recall exactly). So it could be that the skills tested in MAP-R aren't the same as the skills for reading-level assignment. It is a good question to ask at the November conferences, along with what skills you can work on to move her up.

Mine, too. She had terrible handwriting issues, and would either run out of time or get frustrated and shorten her written answers. She did much better in class discussions and especially on computerized testing. She's always been in the 99th percentile on MAP tests, and her Lexile levels were high, but I do remember that her teacher-assigned reading levels were lower than we expected in 2nd grade, and maybe 1st, too? I can't remember for sure when they started using written answers to assess. It took her a while to get the hang of things.

[Anonymous]

13:15
Oops, fairt should have been fairy.