MAP Test? I'm confused.

[Paige]

We withdrew DS from school today and when I went to get his things his teacher wanted to talk about his MAP test results that she had just received. I had expected that he would do poorly because he told me after he tested that he got bored at the end of the test and filled in bubbles randomly to make it end. He is usually a poor tester. He scored extremely high, however. He's in 5th grade and his reading score was above level for 11th grade and his math score was above level for 10th grade. There was no scale past 11th grade. She said she'd never seen such high scores. I'm so confused. He was evaluated for gifted with the Cogat and didn't do well (twice, he didn't do well 5yrs ago either), and he was given another private IQ test and scored high average in most things. He was superior in verbal and really poor in nonverbal. Can someone explain what this indicates, if anything? I had told the school that he was far ahead of the curricula but after they tested him, they said he wouldn't qualify for different material. That's why I was pulling him out- because he was miserable doing work that he felt was babyish. He is an unusual kid and every time I think I know what's going on, something comes up to confuse me more. :confused:

[dbmamaz]

usually having two score areas which are very different like that indicates a learning disability - so he's probably 2E. dont worry about the labels, feed him the level of work he needs. it might be challenging to find material that works for him, but just be satisfied that you have a unique kid who will do best with a unique education. imo

[EKS]

I'm not sure what you mean by "above level" for 10th and 11th grades.

 

In looking at the norms for the MAP, scoring average (50th percentile) for 11th grade in reading is the same as the 88th percentile for 5th grade. Average for 10th grade in math equates to the 93rd percentile for 5th grade. Do you know the RIT scores? It would be a three digit number like 234.

Edited October 13, 2012 by EKS

[Paige]

She showed me a chart and you looked on the chart to see what grade level your number fit in. For each grade level, the chart had columns for above grade level, at grade level, 1 grade level below, and 2 grade levels below. He was in the above grade level score for 11th and 10th. I guess that was a RIT score? I don't have the numbers on me right now but I could search for them.

[NittanyJen]

I'm confused by your son's comment about filling in bubbles... MAP is a computer adaptive test that changes the difficulty of the questions in real time to adjust to how the student is responding; it is not a paper-based bubble sheet test. The two of you may not be discussing the same test.

 

That aside, I wouldn't worry over the test scores too much. Just as on the Stanford or ITBS, scoring at 10th/11th grade does not mean he is ready for 10th or 11th grade work, but it does confirm your gut feelings-- he has probably been bored in school. My kiddo was in the same boat when I pulled him out in 4th grade.

 

I would both be prepared with good enrichment materials (you don't need to toss him into high school history, but if you study ancients and he finds he loves mythology and stories, read Colum's Homer with him, D'Aulaire's Greek Myths, a Gilgamesh story, some version of The Aeneid, such as Lively's "In Search of A Homeland," and so on as he studies the ancients. Or let him research Alexander and other military minds if that s his thing, or start learning Latin) AND watch for gaps in his abilities. He might struggle with grammar or writing or fractions or baseball or art.

 

Let him have some fun getting started. Every Friday in science my kids have to present something they have researched on their own; it can be anything however peripherally mentioned in that week's study that they just HAD to know more about. So far they like the flexibility to have time to read about something they wanted to learn more about, then teach it back to us :)

 

Have fun teaching your son, and good luck!

[Arcadia]

I'm confused by your son's comment about filling in bubbles... MAP is a computer adaptive test that changes the difficulty of the questions in real time to adjust to how the student is responding; it is not a paper-based bubble sheet test.

 

I'm thinking that maybe OP's child equate multiple choice questions to filling in bubbles. My older kid calls anything multiple choice questions as filling bubbles even if it is a computer adaptive test.

[Paige]

I'm thinking that maybe OP's child equate multiple choice questions to filling in bubbles. My older kid calls anything multiple choice questions as filling bubbles even if it is a computer adaptive test.

 

:iagree: I think that's what he meant. I know it was the same test because I sent the teacher a note right away when he told me he blew it off and she made a note of it in case he did poorly. I bet he saw other kids finishing before him and getting to go play. When I've taken computer based multiple choices, they sometimes show bubbles next to the questions too.

 

The issue I am concerned with is only that he may not be capable of performing to his abilities and interests because of some learning disability. If that's true, I want to get him some help or find ways to help him succeed. We've been told that he must obviously not be as smart as everyone thinks because of his not so good IQ scores (still high, but they've been described as "surprisingly low,"). He's frequently frustrated by his performance and we've noticed a big increase in his anxiety and negative self talk.

[NittanyJen]

:iagree: I think that's what he meant. I know it was the same test because I sent the teacher a note right away when he told me he blew it off and she made a note of it in case he did poorly. I bet he saw other kids finishing before him and getting to go play. When I've taken computer based multiple choices, they sometimes show bubbles next to the questions too.

 

The issue I am concerned with is only that he may not be capable of performing to his abilities and interests because of some learning disability. If that's true, I want to get him some help or find ways to help him succeed. We've been told that he must obviously not be as smart as everyone thinks because of his not so good IQ scores (still high, but they've been described as "surprisingly low,"). He's frequently frustrated by his performance and we've noticed a big increase in his anxiety and negative self talk.

 

In that case, it indicates some type of asynchronous development, and qualified neuropsych testing is worthwhile. He could potentially be "Twice exceptional" and very frustrated-- very bright, with with some type of roadblock getting in the way of his performance, and a good evaluator will be able to tease out what is working for him, and what is challenging him. (for example, both of my kids are gifted, but my younger one has challeges such as dysgraphia, audio processing disorder, executive function problems, and so on; these made it hard for him to get what he knew onto paper, and the school had him in remedial classes, because he could not complete even simple worksheets, despite the fact that he was dreadfully bored). Your son will have a different constellation of gifts and roadblocks, from the sounds of it, and understanding where he needs support and chances to dive in deeper would probably be met with a lot of relief on his part-- and over time, probably relieve his feelings of negativity.

 

Make sure you find someone who will use a fairly extensive battery of tests and really dig through subtest scores, not just the main cluster scores of one or two tests. The "big picture" that falls out of the details can be really illuminating in the hands of a really good evaluator, and really point the way toward liberating your son.

 

Best of luck to you!