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Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s): April 4, 2016
The Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) Grade‐Level Assessments evaluate students’ progress toward the Missouri Learning Standards. Grade‐Level Assessments provide important information that contributes to decisions concerning individual students, groups of students, and educational programs. Smith Hale student will begin testing the week of April 18th, 2016.
A policy statement, adopted by the Missouri State Board of Education, designated the purposes of the Missouri Assessment Program as:
o Improving students’ acquisition of important knowledge, skills and competencies;
o Monitoring the performance of Missouri’s education system;
o Empowering students and their families to improve their educational prospects; and
o Supporting the teaching and learning process.
The Grade‐Level Assessments include multiple types of questions or items:
o Selected Response (also known as multiple choice) items are composed of a question followed by a series of possible responses. Students must select the correct response or responses.
o Constructed Response or Short Text items require students to supply an appropriate response rather than making a selection from a list of choices.
o Performance Tasks/Events allow students to work through more complicated items using real‐world scenarios.
o Technology Enhanced items make use of technology in the presentation of the item, the ways in which students respond, or both. For example, students might listen to a story and then drag and drop labels into a diagram, or click on specific parts of a text to provide a response.
Your child’s Individual Student Report (ISR), includes an Achievement Level, which will describe his or her performance as Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, or Advanced. The report will also include a short description of the knowledge and skills that are typically demonstrated by students in each achievement level. More information regarding the Missouri Assessment Program can be found at the following site:
http://dese.mo.gov/college‐career‐readiness/assessment/grade‐level
Sincerely,
Counseling and MAP Team
Smith Hale Middle School