Last fall, the Cresskill school district started a new type of assessment testing for students.
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is an online assessment tool which measures a student’s ability and also tracks their performance. An advantage of this system is that it is highly individualized, takes up less class time, and provides detailed information in real time so you don't have to wait for several months which is normally the case with performance testing results. Teachers can see instant results that are very detailed about an individual student’s strengths and weaknesses. Parents can log on to an interactive portal and learn how their children are doing and follow through with strategies to support their children.
Focusing on students in grades 1 through 10, test results have children working on areas that the tests showed were weak, and on challenging, above grade level projects where the tests indicated they are advanced or have a special aptitude. For example, students in fourth grade who need to work on problem solving and reading comprehension can focus on those specific skills rather than taking basic remediation course and students who are adept at problem solving can move forward to higher level material. Being able to target teaching to student needs improves their academic experience and helps them to achieve more.