MAP scores Q&A

What is the test?

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Missouri students must meet targets on the Missouri Assessment Program tests given in the spring.

Who is tested?

Third- through eighth-graders are tested in math and communication arts (CA). Sophomores are tested in math, and juniors are tested in communication arts. Science was a required tested subject this year but does not count toward adequate yearly progress.

What is the target?

The target in math was to have 45 percent of students score at least proficient or advanced. The target in communication arts was 51 percent. Each year, the targets rise until 2014, when 100 percent of students will be expected to be proficient.

How did the state do?

Seventy-five percent of all districts did not make adequate yearly progress; 59.1 percent of schools did not. Out of 1,168 Title 1 schools, 368 are receiving sanctions.

Definitions:

Adequate yearly progress: Schools that do not show adequate yearly progress face sanctions. Schools can make adequate yearly progress by reaching the proficiency target.

Title I school: receives money from the federal government to aid low-income students. Because No Child Left Behind is a federal law, non-Title I schools do not face the same consequences as Title I schools. Low-performing non-Title I schools must implement a school improvement plan but aren't required to offer school choice, replace staff or restructure.

Subgroups: Besides the total student population, subgroups of students within a school must also show progress. If one group fails, the entire school fails. Examples of subgroups are: black, white, those who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch (F/R) or special education students (IEP, which stands for Individualized Education Program).

Levels of sanctions for Title 1 schools that continue to not make adequate yearly progress:

Year 1: None

Year 2: None

Year 3: Level 1. Offer school choice (pay for students to transfer to a better-performing school in the district), develop school improvement plan, notify parents, spend 10 percent of Title 1 funds on professional development

Year 4: Level 2. Make "supplemental educational services" available (such as after-school tutoring), continue level 1 sanctions

Year 5: Level 3. Take one of the following corrective actions: replace failing staff, institute new curriculum, decrease management authority, appoint outside expert to advise, extend school year, provide professional development, continue previous sanctions

Year 6: Level 4. Develop a restructuring plan to do one or more of the following: reopen school as a charter, replace failing staff, enter contract with private management company to operate school, turn school over to state if permitted, significantly change governance

Year 7: Level 5. Implement restructuring plan

SOURCE: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education