Tagged
MAP Testing
The Measurement Gap
RIT scores represent some of the most rigorous psychometric design in American education. Yet districts don't trust them. The gap isn't in the measurement—it's in the courage to act on what it reveals.
How Oak Park Uses MAP
Oak Park District 97 gives MAP scores the highest weight on its acceleration rubric—7 out of 46 points. Yet a 99th percentile score isn't enough to qualify. Here's how the district actually uses these assessments, and why.
The Cracks
The ceiling problem. The motivation problem. The curriculum alignment problem. The math-specific problem. Here's why teachers don't trust MAP scores—and which concerns are legitimate, which are overblown, and which should matter most for acceleration decisions.
The Beautiful Math
Before we critique MAP testing, we should understand it. The RIT scale rests on genuinely innovative psychometric design—a Danish mathematician's insight that transformed how we measure learning. Here's how it actually works.
The Test That Ate America
Teacher boycotts. Ethics violations. A federal study showing no impact. And a for-profit acquisition that raises new questions. The troubled history of America's most widely used growth assessment—and why it still drives critical decisions about our children.
The Ghost Rubric: When Requirements Reference Tests That Don't Exist
The district's published acceleration requirements reference tests they stopped giving in 2023. Midway through the school year, there's still no guidance on how the new assessment platform will be scored—or how the district is now identifying at-risk students. This reveals basic operational failures in managing acceleration, communication, and student support systems.