Good scores and growth are important to Missouri because the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is used to accredit Missouri schools and school districts.
ST. LOUIS — Students across Missouri are under pressure as state testing is underway and many families dread this time of year.
Good scores and growth are important to Missouri because the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) is used to accredit Missouri schools and school districts.
However, not everyone is the best standardized test taker, and this annual evaluation can be daunting for children.
That's why 5 On Your Side spoke with Education Plus CEO Chris Gaines. He said that if a student tests well on the MAP, the district's accreditation status improves, which means more funding for the school.
So what can you, as a parent, do to help your child?
- Make sure your child goes to bed at a certain time and gets enough rest.
- Make sure they eat a good breakfast.
- Talk to your child about taking the test seriously and doing your best.
But Gaines wants to be careful not to put too much stress on parents.
“I think parents and teachers alike understand that the MAP test is just a small piece of the picture of a student's performance. It's not the be-all and end-all. “I think educators and parents know that's not the case,” he said.
We all know that the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on student learning, and this is reflected in the post-COVID MAP test results.
The good news is that there has been some overall improvement in the state's scores, but there is still room for improvement, Gaines said.
“We are still seeing delays from the pandemic, especially perhaps some younger students who may have been out of school for long periods of time and are learning to read and write during that time and learning the core skills that will be important later on. “You may be learning concepts that will help you continue with your schooling,” he said.
5 On Your Side took a closer look at last year's MAP test results. The main points are:
- Overall performance rates have not reached pre-pandemic levels.
- Improved ELA performance except for 6th and 7th grade.
- Mathematics and science increased overall.
- Social studies has decreased.
Gaines said the main effect of the pandemic still impacting these scores is lower school attendance.
“I talked to the superintendent and their attendance is 5 to 7 percent below historical attendance. I actually talked to the superintendent and he said he wanted to go and had one child “We were frustrated by the number of parents who were blindly pulling us out of school for the week. That wasn't something we necessarily saw often during the pandemic,” he said.
Gaines said the issue of student attendance has been identified as a challenge in Missouri by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and attendance rates are down significantly across the state.
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