As you may know, we measure learners’ academic growth over the school year by using the MAP NWEA computer adaptive assessment three times a year: fall, winter, and spring. The MAP assessment is a vital part of our holistic approach to education and will aid our learners, facilitators, and families during the Individualized Learning Plan (ILPs) meetings. MAP helps us set academic goals for each learner, as a balancing counterpart to the social-emotional goals that we closely monitor and work on throughout the school year.
This will be the first of three that will be taken throughout the year. Fortunately, our school has the unique opportunity to be able to proctor the test virtually, so that your child can complete the fall MAP assessment from home in a comfortable environment.
We understand the challenges of the move to distance learning and adaptation to newly created educational, societal, and living conditions. Honoring the social-emotional well-being of each learner, we would like to offer a few reasons for having your child participate in this beginning-of-year MAP assessment:
- MAP enables us to see how your child is progressing toward their academic Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) goals, which are set at the beginning of the year and nurtured by our community, including parents, families, learners, and facilitators. iLEAD Agua Dulce embraces the whole child, focusing on both social-emotional and academic skills. The ILP is an integral part of this framework, ensuring that each child is respected and treated as an essential part of the ILP team, encouraged to be a self-directed learner and, therefore, work toward attainable self-created goals aligned to one’s individual development.
- Educating the whole child, we measure progress and emphasize growth versus final outcome and summative assessments. Thus, the fall assessment is designed to be the starting point for the year. As a school that emphasizes each learner’s individual growth and educational journey, MAP is an important measure we use to document and show our progress to our local district authorizers, who in turn determine our school’s renewal status.
- The MAP results, which will be shared with you after the assessments are completed, allow us to personalize each child’s learning path by identifying areas of strength as well as areas that need additional support and extension.
Your child’s facilitator has been trained on the remote administration of MAP and is available to support you with any issues you may have. Please contact them as needed. We want to make the process as easy and comfortable for your family as possible!
You will be receiving more information regarding the MAP assessment in the upcoming week. For further information on setting up your learner’s assessment session, please view this brief training video. There are also troubleshooting tips here to help with any issues that may arise. Please be on the lookout for additional information.