Introduction
This guide is intended to support to you as you plan for implementing MAP and/or MAP for Primary Grades in
your school.
With the multitude of priorities you are faced with every day, we know the importance of taking a pro-active stance
toward implementing new initiatives. Over the years, we have listened carefully to our partner schools about the
things they have done to have a successful first testing experience, as well as what things have helped them effectively
use MAP data to meet student needs. We have organized this guide in an effort to share these ideas, and help you
determine your focus based on the needs of your school.
Schools and districts start their use of MAP at various levels of readiness. This is often determined by the school/
district organizational culture and priorities. Prior to finalizing your school-level plans, be sure to check with your
district leadership so that planning and communications will be coordinated.
This guide includes a self-assessment and planning template to help you and your school leadership team prepare in
four areas:
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Introducing MAP: What is MAP? Why are we using it?
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Roles/Responsibilities: Who has responsibilities before, during, and after the first testing season? Which tasks
will be accomplished now; which are ongoing?
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Calendar/Schedule: When and where will testing occur? What other important MAP related activities need to
be included on the calendar?
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Ongoing Use of Data: After testing, what happens related to using and sharing the data throughout the year.
We have devoted a section of this guide to each of the four areas above to assist you in creating your plan. In each
section you will find the following sub-sections:
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Importance: Brief overview of why this area is important to ensure a successful implementation.
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Readiness Indicators: Basic guidelines for criteria that you can use to gauge the readiness of your staff
in each area.
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Planning Ideas: Suggestions to consider as you support your staff to meet the readiness indicators.
These are meant as a springboard for you and your team as you customize the learning experiences that
will engage your staff as they prepare.
D. Resources: Materials and resources to assist you in preparing your staff.
How to use this guide:
On the following pages you will find a table with planning questions for each of the four areas listed above. This table
is both a needs-assessment and a planning template.
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Needs-Assessment: Determine which preparation areas you have already covered, and which areas need to
be planned for and/or developed. Completing this checklist will help you identify the parts of this guide that
apply directly to your needs as you plan your MAP implementation.
There are three possible responses for each question. Your response will help you know where to start and
how deeply to explore each section to create your implementation plan.
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.. No: This has not been addressed. These items may become your first priorities. The corresponding
section for each will help you think about when and how you will address the topic.
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.. Not sure: This may have been addressed, but I need to make sure. The corresponding sections
for these topics will provide information and ideas to help you determine whether this has been
fully addressed.
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.. Yes: This has been addressed. These sections could be reviewed. Even though an area has been
addressed, the information in the section may provide you with additional insights or ideas.
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Planning Template: As you review each section of the guide, use the planning columns in the table to record
your thoughts on how you will address each question. You will see that some items will be important to
address right away, some can wait until a few weeks before testing and others can happen throughout the
year, when you and your staff are ready for them. This will help you prioritize your time appropriately as you
create your plan for the year.
Note: Each section has an optional row to record notes or other planning needs allowing you to keep all of your plans
in one place.
Section 1: Introducing MAP (What and why?)
A. Importance
As you and your staff begin your implementation, it is important to start with a shared understanding among all
stakeholders—students, parents, staff—of the purpose of MAP.
Some leaders already have a very clear idea of specifically how MAP will be used in their school before it is
introduced to staff. Others have the general purpose in mind but want to engage staff once they have some
data to use. Regardless of where you are, there are some basics to consider that are important to student and
teacher engagement.
Student engagement is critical to ensure that the data you get is a good representation of students’ efforts to
communicate what they know. For the first testing experience, many teachers report a high level of student
engagement. They often attribute this to the fact that it is new, it is done on a computer, it is the beginning of a school
year, etc. However, we also know that over time that engagement can quickly fade if students don’t see how the
results are being used to impact what they are learning. We will discuss this more in Section 4: Ongoing use of Data.
Teacher engagement is also critical. Your first administration is much more successful when teachers have an
understanding of the basic characteristics of the MAP assessment and its purpose. Teachers can then better
prepare students.
B. Readiness Indicators:
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Prior to giving the first MAP/MPG assessment, teachers explain to their students:
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.. What MAP is and what it measures, using a common vocabulary.
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.. How to interact with the assessment.
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.. How the results will be used.
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There is a consistent message communicated to students by all staff members about the importance of the
assessment and doing their best.
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Parents have been provided with basic information about MAP—when it will take place, what the results will
show, how the data will be used, and how they can support their children.
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Community and/or other key stakeholders are provided with similar information, as it applies to them.
C. Possible Planning Ideas:
All Staff
In the MAP Administration: Overview, participants learn some general characteristics of the MAP Assessment, are
guided to take notes about MAP using a note-catcher, and complete an activity to articulate what they have learned.
You might do one or more of the following:
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.. Watch the MAP Welcome video and MAP Introduction video at a staff meeting (total time about 8 minutes)
and discuss as a group the characteristics of MAP. Come to consensus on a general message about MAP that
everyone is comfortable sharing with stakeholders.
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.. Have staff bring their completed activity to a staff meeting to share. Have a recorder keep track of the
common themes that arise. Discuss the themes in small groups and construct a school-wide message about
MAP to share with stakeholders.
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.. Share information at a staff meeting about how MAP complements the other assessments that you use and
how MAP data will be used within your current system. Let them know that once you have completed your
first testing window and have had a chance to look at the data, you will be enlisting their support and ideas
for the most effective uses for MAP data within your current system.
Teachers
During the learning for the Instructor or MPG Instructor role as a part of MAP Administration, teachers completed
tasks associated with using data and preparing students. Based on that learning, you might do one or more of
the following:
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.. Meet with individuals or grade levels to discuss their student presentations. Discuss how teachers will help
their students know how to interact with the test. Help them plan when, where, and how they will give their
presentations to students and think about when to engage students with the Test Warm-up activity.
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.. Have grade-level teams present the highlights of their student presentations at a staff meeting. This can
help all staff to get ideas from their colleagues and ensure that everyone is on the same page concerning
communication and preparation of students.
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.. Ask teachers to share the ideas they generated in the MAP or MPG Scenario Activity, completed as a part
of their online learning, for ways they intend to start using the data. Determine which ideas will be
communicated to students.
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.. Allow time for grade-level teams to work through the MAP or MPG Scenario Activity together. This activity
helps them think about how they might want to use the data after testing. In working through this as a team,
teachers collaborate to generate ideas on how they might use the data.
MPG Teachers
In addition to the activities above, primary teachers, who complete the MPG Instructor role, will learn about the three
components of MPG. They will also work through an activity to help them think about how they might use the various
components to give them the data that will be the most helpful for instructional purposes. Based on that learning,
you might do the following:
.. Meet with your primary grade teachers to discuss what they learned about the components of MPG and come
to consensus on which assessments will be used.
Parents/Community
As you think about what to tell parents and other stakeholders about MAP, you might do one or more of
the following:
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.. Send information about MAP in a weekly/monthly newsletter.
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.. Personalize the Sample Letter – First Season for your school to send home with students.
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.. Share a student presentation at a parent meeting. It will allow parents to hear the same message that
students heard.
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.. Show the MAP Introduction video at a parent meeting to introduce MAP. Share the plans that your school has
to use the data. Discuss ways that parents can help by talking to their children about doing their best, and
explain what reports they can expect to see at conferences.
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.. Ask teachers to assign homework, after the student presentation, asking students to share information with
their parents. Any lingering parent questions could be sent back to school for further clarification.
D: Resources That Can Help
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.. For all staff to create a shared basic understanding of MAP and a common message about MAP:
. Welcome to MAP video (2 minutes) – welcome staff to MAP
. MAP Introduction tutorial (3 minutes) – share general information about MAP
. MAP Sample Test (5 minutes) – experience the test
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.. For Instructors to use to prepare students (to be used before first administration):
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. Engaging Students webcast (45 minutes) – gain ideas about how to create high student engagement in
the testing experience
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. Student Introduction to MAP Testing – set the tone and provide reminders before each testing session
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. MAP Test Warm-up (5 minutes) – practice interacting with MAP
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. MAP for Primary Grades Test Warm-up (5 minutes) – practice interacting with MPG
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.. For Parent communication:
. Parent Resources in the Educator Help Center
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