September 11, 2018
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As you know, all HMS students in grades 5 through 8 participate in the standardized NWEA-Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment two times during the school year. This test is taken online. We use the scores from this assessment internally to gauge our students’ progress and academic growth from year to year. The scores provide evidence of growth and highlight any areas where students may require support. Our teachers talk with students about their growth on these assessments privately; these conversations are focused on goal setting.
The MAP scores are only one source of information about student progress. Daily work, classroom assessments, projects, classroom conversations and conferencing offer a more complete picture of our students’ academic functioning and progress.
This year our school-wide universal MAP screenings will happen during the months of December and May. A select group of students are recommended to participate in an additional MAP screening in Math and/or Reading in the month of September based on their previous MAP scores. You will receive additional information from us in the next few days if your child is recommended to participate in the small group screening this month.
Your child’s results on the MAP assessment will be put into PowerSchool as they were last year. You will be able to access the results by logging into the PowerSchool parent portal and clicking on the link “Measures of Academic Progress.” We will let you know when the scores are posted.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks very much-
Joan Adler and Tom McDowell
HMS Administrative Team