As we approach the winter season of the school year, we come upon the standardized test called MAPS. Many students very dislike this week of testing. MAPS testing is used for all students grades 3-10.
It is found that MAPS testing can cause some stress in kids, whether it’s from just taking a test to getting a higher score than last time. A survey was taken on 10 students from BCHS about their efforts on MAPS testing. 8 out of those 10 students guessed on their MAPS testing. If students don’t understand the concept and just guess what is the point of even taking this test?
MAPS testing is used to measure the students knowledge in the subject and also used to evaluate the school. Most kids don’t care about their score so they just guess on the test. In English MAPS, when students get a long paragraph to read, they will most likely read only a paragraph or two and not read the whole thing. They find the most logical answer for the question that goes along with the text and then move onto the next question.
Most highschool students average a 220-250 in English and a 230-270 in Math. Most of these scores aren’t accurate because students care enough to try. Without knowing it, MAPS is just measuring your guessing ability.
Although many students do not attempt to do well, there are still a few that do. The district thinks MAPS is doing something reasonably and something that will benefit students by doing a test once and a while that can measure a student’s growth. They could be right with a couple of students, but again, if you survey kids on if they actually try on MAPS, 2 out of 10 kids try instead of guessing. These tests also cause stress in kids that have stress from taking tests, and yes it is an actual condition (40% of students struggle with this.)
I have no doubt even some teachers do not appreciate MAPS testing and the time it takes away from their teaching plans. Many teachers have to send kids out of their classrooms and use their learning time to make up a test they just guess on. This has an effect on most teachers and students and their learning. Students won’t be able to learn as much if they are out of class taking this test and then they will have more stress because they will be behind.
All these reasons are why schools shouldn’t waste time on MAPS testing. MAPS testing is useless because kids do not strive for a good score and it causes stress in many students and even teachers. Students and teachers’ learning gets affected. There is nothing we can do about this dilemma (it is CCSD required). This is why I believe MAPS testing should not exist.
