Assessing Student Achievement in Meeting the Standards
In the 2014-15 school year, the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) will include new assessments in English language arts and mathematics to reflect the new content in the Common Core State Standards. The assessments will be conducted online, just as current high school assessments are. The 2014-15 school year will be the first year the tests will be fully implement with the results contributing to school district accountability.
The new assessments for English and mathematics will enable educators to deepen their understanding of student progress from grade to grade — and just as importantly, identify gaps in progress so they can be addressed well before students enter college or the workforce.
New English language arts assessments
- Ask students to read more complex fiction and non-fiction texts and use evidence from these texts to answer questions, make inferences, and present persuasive arguments
- Test writing at every grade level
New math assessments
- Present students with multi-step problems, conceptual questions, and real-world applications
- Ask students to not only get answers correct, but also explain how they arrived at those answers
Development and Features of the New Assessments
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium–a group of 25 states, including Missouri–is developing assessments for the Common Core State Standards. The assessments were pilot tested from February 2013 through May 2013 by schools across the country, including more than 360 schools in Missouri.
- Scores provide students, parents, and teachers with insight into college and career readiness early enough to address issues and provide extra support where needed.
- New assessments will allow Missouri to compare student performance not only across schools and districts statewide, but also with other states.
- The new English language arts and mathematics assessments will be administered online for all grade-levels.
- For teachers, online administration means quicker results and enables more efficient instructional impact.
- For students, online administration means the inclusion of scenarios that mimic real-world situations and built-in tools that offer unique ways for all students to access and respond to test items.
- The new assessments will be ‘computer adaptive’ and will adjust the difficulty of questions based on student responses. A student who answers correctly will receive a more challenging question, while an incorrect answer generates a less difficult question. This methodology is more time-efficient, and—especially for low- or high-achieving students—produces more helpful results than traditional methods.
Practice tests are available and allow teachers, parents and students to try out the new online system.
Additional Resources Regarding Assessments
Go straight to the sample tests.
(Please note: On the first screen, simply click "Sign In." On the next screen, select a grade level and click "Yes.")
(Please note: On the first screen, simply click "Sign In." On the next screen, select a grade level and click "Yes.")