It is hard to believe that there are only about 4-1/2 weeks of school left for this year. Teachers are finishing up with MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) achievement testing and individual class curriculums. For anyone who does not have children in school, MAP testing is far different than the old achievement tests that we all took when we were in school. Gone are the multiple choice/fill in the bubble types of tests that I am sure most of you remember. Today's achievement tests require students to write out complete answers, show their math, and be able to answer multi-level questions in language arts & reading, math, science and social studies. Like it or not, today's public schools are heavily judged and receive accreditation based on the ability of the students to score at a “proficient” level on these tests.
If students are not motivated to do well on the test, it reflects poorly on the school. Since this problem is more pronounced the older the students become, the State of Missouri has devised a new way to assess the abilities of older students. Beginning with the 2008/09 school year, high school students will be given state-wide end of course exams in several key subject areas. Schools will be able to use these tests as part of the students' grade for the subject area (i.e. Algebra 1, Biology, English II, American History, etc.). Our teachers and administrators have been working tirelessly to analyze and rewrite our curriculum to make sure that every student will be able to score well on these exams. By making the tests more relevant to the students, we hope that the students will take the tests more seriously. Our teachers and administrators have devoted a lot of time to analyzing curriculum and revising it to match the levels of knowledge required on the MAP tests. If you have questions about curriculum or MAP testing, I invite you to come by the superintendent's office and I will try to answer your questions.
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It is hard to believe that there are only about 4-1/2 weeks of school left for this year. Teachers are finishing up with MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) achievement testing and individual class curriculums. For anyone who does not have children in school, MAP testing is far different than the old achievement tests that we all took when we were in school. Gone are the multiple choice/fill in the bubble types of tests that I am sure most of you remember. Today's achievement tests require students to write out complete answers, show their math, and be able to answer multi-level questions in language arts & reading, math, science and social studies. Like it or not, today's public schools are heavily judged and receive accreditation based on the ability of the students to score at a “proficient” level on these tests.
If students are not motivated to do well on the test, it reflects poorly on the school. Since this problem is more pronounced the older the students become, the State of Missouri has devised a new way to assess the abilities of older students. Beginning with the 2008/09 school year, high school students will be given state-wide end of course exams in several key subject areas. Schools will be able to use these tests as part of the students' grade for the subject area (i.e. Algebra 1, Biology, English II, American History, etc.). Our teachers and administrators have been working tirelessly to analyze and rewrite our curriculum to make sure that every student will be able to score well on these exams. By making the tests more relevant to the students, we hope that the students will take the tests more seriously. Our teachers and administrators have devoted a lot of time to analyzing curriculum and revising it to match the levels of knowledge required on the MAP tests. If you have questions about curriculum or MAP testing, I invite you to come by the superintendent's office and I will try to answer your questions.
