(SLIDESHOW) Hopkins Excels on MAP Tests

Furor over the No Child Left Behind Act has given testing a bad rap.

Yet sees so much value in an assessment called the Measures of Academic Progress that it has elected to give students the tests since 2004.

The MAP tests are significantly different from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments used to fulfill No Child Left Behind requirements. Third through sixth grade students take the reading and math tests once in the fall to establish a baseline. They then take the tests again in the spring to see how much they’ve progressed and whether they met their growth targets.

The computer-administered tests provide quick feedback on specific categories where students struggle. Teachers then use that information to address individual student needs during the school year—, which aren’t available until after the school year has ended.

“In all honesty, I’m always more encouraged to talk to you about MAP results because we find them useful in the classroom,” Diane Schimelpfenig—the district’s director of teaching, learning, and assessment—told board members Thursday.

Schimelpfenig and Zhining Chin—the district’s coordinator of assessment, evaluation and research—walked School Board directors through a report of last year’s progress at the meeting.

“There’s a lot to celebrate in this MAP report,” concluded Betsy Anderson, the board’s vice chairwoman.

Click through the graphs above to read Schimelpfenig’s and Chin’s interpretations of the information and to find out what it means for Hopkins students.