Dear Parent Community,
Please
join Ms Sweet and me on September 5th at 8:45 in the ES Cafeteria
for our first parent coffee session of the new school year. Our one hour
get-together will be divided into two sessions: (1) parents will work in table
groups to engage in guided conversations about the supervision of students on the
playground before and after school and (2) we will visit the library where you will be introduced to
our library staff and learn about the services that the library has to offer.
Please be sure to click on the Physical Education and After School Activities tabs above for important information.
Beginning
next Tuesday, all students in Grades 2 to 5, with the exception of students who
are in Level 1 of our English as an Additional Language Program (EAL), will
take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests. Returning parents are
already familiar with the MAP test and perhaps new families are too. MAP tests
are administered in over 13,000 schools in more than 2,700 school districts in
50 US states. Internationally, MAP tests are taken in over 300 schools located
in over 100 countries.
MAP
tests are computer adaptive tests in Mathematics, Reading and Language Usage. Computerized adaptive tests
are taken on a computer. The difficulty of a test is adjusted to each student's
performance. Therefore, each student sees different test questions. The
difficulty of each question is based on how well the student has answered the
questions up to that point. As the student answers correctly, the questions
become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become
easier, thus adapting to your child's level of learning. Thus, each student has
the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward
testing.
Your
child’s MAP results are reported in RIT scores. This is a different type of
score than a typical test that provides a percentage correct. The RIT score is
an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches (or centimetres and meters), that
is unrelated to age or grade level of the student. As a result, we can easily
measure growth in learning. This type of score increases the value of the tests
as a tool to improve student learning because it enables teachers to recognize
where to focus attention for your child’s learning. You will receive a MAP “Student Progress
Report” later in the fall.
Parents
often want to know how to prepare children for MAP tests. My best advice is not
original advice: get a good night’s sleep and be sure to eat breakfast in the
morning.
Below is a
list of strands in which all students are tested:
Reading:
· Word Analysis and Vocabulary
·
Literal Comprehension
·
Interpretive Comprehension
·
Evaluative Comprehension
·
Literary Response and Analysis
Math:
Number Sense and Numeration
Computation
Measurement
Geometry
Statistics and Probability
Problem Solving
Algebraic Concepts
Language Usage:
Writing Process
Composition Structure
Grammar
Punctuation
Capitalization
Focusing on the achievement and growth of every student is our top
priority. Partnering to help all kids learn, parents and teachers can have a
profound positive effect on the lives of our children. If you have any questions with regards to the MAP assessment
please feel free to contact me or visit the Parent Tool Kit here.
Date
|
Test
|
Classes
|
September 4th
|
Reading
|
2 A, B and C
4 C, D and E
|
September 5th
|
Math
|
4 C, D and E
2 A, B and C
|
September 6th
|
Language Usage
|
4 C, D and E
2 A, B and C
|
September 7th
|
Reading
|
2 D and 2 E
|
September 10th
|
Reading
Math
|
4 A and B
2 D and 2 E
|
September 11th
|
Language Usage
Math
|
2 D and 2 E
4 A and 4 B
|
September 12th
|
Reading
Language Usage
|
3 D and E
4 A and 4 B
|
September 13th
|
Reading
Math
|
5 D and 5 E
3 D and E
|
September 14th
|
Math
|
5 D and 5 E
|
September 17th
|
Reading
Language Usage
|
5 A, B and C
5 D and 5 E
|
September 18th
|
Math
Language Usage
|
5 A, B and C
3 D and 3 E
|
September 19th
|
Language Usage
|
5 A, B and C
|
|
September 21st
|
Reading
|
3 A, B and C
|
|
September 24th
|
Math
|
3 A, B and C
|
|
September 25th
|
Language Usage
|
3 A, B and C
|
Have a great weekend,
Kevin Hall
Elementary School Principal