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Map Grade-Level Assessment Parent/guardian Letter - Missouri Department Of Education

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

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. Assessments are given in the subject areas of Communication Arts

(grades 3-8), Mathematics (grades 3-8) and Science (grades 5 and 8).

A policy statement, adopted by the Missouri State Board of Education, designated the purposes of

the Missouri Assessment Program as:



Improving students’ acquisition of important knowledge, skills and competencies;



Monitoring the performance of Missouri’s education system;



Empowering students and their families to improve their educational prospects; and



Supporting the teaching and learning process.

The effectiveness of an assessment program depends on the wise choice of assessment methods,

appropriate administration procedures and accurate interpretation of results.

The Grade-Level Assessments include multiple types of questions or items:

 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.

 Constructed Response or Short Text items require students to supply an appropriate

response rather than making a selection from a list of choices.

 Performance Tasks/Events allow students to work through more complicated items

using real-world scenarios.

 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.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) publishes a Guide to

Interpreting Results (GIR) that provides additional details about the content of the Individual

Student Reports. The GIR is available on the DESE website at:

readiness/assessment/grade-level

Map Grade-Level Assessment Parent/guardian Letter - Missouri Department Of Education