Novi Elementary Schools Start Online MAP Testing This Week

Students are barely into their first month of school and already in testing mode. 

This week marks the start of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing across Novi's elementary schools.

"The purpose of the test is to see where the kids' learning level is at each of the subjects being tested," said Village Oaks Elementary Principal Sue Burnham. 

Students will take the MAP tests online to measure their proficiency in reading and math — for all grades including kindergarten — and language usage and science — for third through sixth grades. These tests are adaptive, meaning the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers the previous questions. Questions become more difficult as the student answers correctly and easier as the student answers incorrectly. According to the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), which administers the test, an optimal test is when a student answers an equal amount of questions right and wrong. 

The tests take about an hour in each subject and Village Oaks Elementary will test all 21 classrooms of students one at a time in the school's computer lab. Teachers can see the results immediately online, Burnham said. 

"The teachers can look at each child's testing and know where their strengths and weaknesses are," she said.

The idea is to give teachers immediate information on students' abilities, like whether a particular student struggles with fractions, and measure their progress until they are tested again in spring.

Teachers have access to each students' results from the previous school year, said Orchard Hills Elementary Principal Pam Quitiquit. She said Orchard Hills teachers also use the test results to get an understanding of the class overall.

"We also use that to place our Title I kids — kids that might qualify for additional services," she said.

Testing will be complete for all Village Oaks Elementary students by the middle of October. There is a similar testing schedule across the the district. Novi schools will send the results home with students near the end of October.