LETTER: Praise for MAP testing system

Thank you for your Nov. 18 story on the increasing use of the MAP testing system in the Clark County School District. Having used this system as a special education teacher in a Wisconsin middle school during half of my 16 years teaching there, I can testify to its utility for teachers, students and parents. Tests are low-stress for most students and for the staff who administer them.

Results are delivered almost immediately and in forms that are informative for instruction and easy to explain to students and parents. Recommendations for areas in need of improvement were clear and matched what I already knew of my students’ capabilities. I found these results very useful in setting goals for the individual education plans and quarterly reports required for each of my students.

Because increasingly reporting and record keeping are a large part of teaching, I am glad that this system is being made more widely available for the staff at the school district, and that the results of testing will be available to students and parents.