How Does Brentwood Use MAP Scores?

The preliminary scores from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) were released on Thursday by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(See related on Patch: Brentwood Schools Exceed State Testing Targets)

The MAP test measures how well students perform at grade level in math and communication arts and is a component of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The goal of the federal program is to have all students performing at grade level by 2014.

And while the test is rich with data for educators, administrators and families, how does the Brentwood School District use the information?

David Faulkner, assistant to the superintendent of Brentwood schools, spoke with Maplewood-Brentwood Patch about MAP scores on Thursday morning.

"We like to have that piece of information, but we recognize that it's one test on one day," Faulkner said. "It's not the primary thing that we judge our students on because we see them 177 other days that the test doesn't."

Instead, the district uses the MAP testing to compare its academic success to nearby districts, like the Ladue and Maplewood Richmond Heights school districts.

Brentwood also uses the information to see if individual students lack proficiency in certain subject matters. The scores may show trends that the school district can respond to.

"We can address that with an individual student, but we can also look at the curriculum. Because if there is something that we should be teaching at a certain level—or in a certain way—we can respond to that," Faulkner said.

Brentwood still must maintain high scores to satisfy federal and state requirements, Faulkner said. The state can place sanctions on schools, such as closing the school or firing staff, for failing to meet the requirements.

But the state holds Brentwood schools accountable by making the scores public, Faulkner said.

"People can say, 'I'm looking at my scores and I want you to explain them to me,'" Faulkner said. "'Is my school doing a good job or not?'" 

Faulkner is scheduled to offer two presentations about the MAP scores to the Brentwood Board of Education during a meeting on August 16.