Next school year, Central will implement a return of MAPS testing into the school system, which students will be required to take annually. Every Central student that has gone to St. Francis Middle School has taken MAPS Testing before, and many who attended different middle schools have also taken this test. Central will require each student to take a Science, Math, and Reading test. MAPS Testing is a way for students and educators to see standardized test scores in each of those three subjects, as well as see specific topics in each subject that students struggled or did well on. Teachers benefit from MAPS Testing, allowing them to see the overall students’ scores for their subject.
Sophomore English teacher Mrs. Rude will be affected by this new addition, considering that one of the required tests is Reading, an English-oriented standard. Mrs. Rude supports MAPS Testing, explaining that it helps students get feedback “from someone other than their teacher. At the end of every MAPS Test, students get to see their overall score for that specific subject, and the areas within that subject that they did well on orstruggled with. “Explaining another benefit of MAPS testing, Mrs. Rude states, “I think it allows students to see where they fall regarding the baseline because the MAPS Testing gives you that percentile. I think it makes it a little more applicable.”MAPS Testing is very helpful for students because they get to compare their scores to the national averages, which is important for some students. One of the primary benefits of MAPS Testing is for students to receive an accurate score for themselves and continues to be helpful for many students to properly assess their knowledge of the various subjects.”
Aside from MAPS Testing being a helpful tool for students, it is also a great resource for teachers. As teachers, they see their class average for the MAPS Testing which continues to helpstudents evaluate their students’ knowledge. AP Environmental Science and Freshman Biology teacher, Mrs. Cunningham, shares how MAPS Testing as a teacher has affected her. She states, “It is really useful for me, because not only can I can look at my standards and see if it aligns to their scores, I can alsolook back and see if I am deficient in any area and if I am, then the next year I can modify my curriculum, to help meet those needs of the students.” Apart from the benefit of her being able to evaluate effectively, Mrs. Cunningham also sees the benefit of doing MAPS Testing twice a year as she specified, “It helps students at the beginning of the year, to see what they are going to learn and to see what they already know. And then at the end of the year, they take it again and I think that it helps them reflect on what they learned.” Testing twice a year allows for a great evaluation of the school year, and Mrs. Cunningham, along with many of the other teachers, benefit from it because it ‘helps measure growth’.
As Central enters the 2025-2026 school year, students and teachers will be granted a new way of evaluation through MAPS Testing. MAPS Testing assists students in assessing their knowledge effectively while seeing how their scores compare to the national averages. MAPS Testing is a tool for teachers as well because they are able to see how the class average score aligns with their guidelines and goals. MAPS Testing willpositively impact everyone in the school system and is a useful tool for both teachers and students.
