Mapping Student Growth

The Montcrest strategic plan aims to empower personalized learning in an inclusive community. Over the past 2 years of implementing our plan, members of the Montcrest Leadership and Student Success teams have spent considerable time and effort researching the best approaches to understand the unique learning profile of every child to provide just the right support and challenges for all. As a school, we currently use a variety of diagnostic assessment tools and approaches that provide insights into what students know and are able to do as it relates to literacy and math learning. Within the toolkit of every teacher is a range of methods and tools that continue to support their practice in meeting learners where they are and providing the next steps in learning. As you heard Lisa McMeans mention during Learning@Montcrest Night, we are piloting a new system of assessments called MAP Growth and MAP Fluency. They are an extension of this diagnostic toolkit and come with additional benefits for learners and teachers.

So, what is MAP Growth?

MAP stands for Measuring Achievement Progress. It is a digital adaptive testing tool that can be used to evaluate where learners are in their Math, Reading and Language usage, including conceptual understanding and skill. While international, it is customized to our provincial context and aligned with the Ontario curriculum.

How will we pilot MAP?

As we begin our first use of MAP, teachers have been introduced to the tool with the support of training and leaders working alongside them to explore, administer and then later analyze the data obtained from the diagnostic assessment. Learning new tools and systems takes time and deep thought.

For learners, this exploration has begun with curiosity about 4 key ideas: map, growth, personal best and test. We have taken time to unpack these ideas by exploring what they mean, what they look like and how they are helpful. These workshops with learners have revealed a deep understanding of learning and the purpose of tools like tests.

What does this mean for families?

As families of learners at Montcrest, we are aware of your invested interest in understanding your children’s strengths and struggles in learning. We know you are equally curious to know what goals and next steps are necessary for your children. At this time, MAP will primarily be used as a tool to inform learning and teaching. We will continue to use parent/teacher conversations and report cards as our main way of communicating with families about student growth and achievement. These conversations and reports will continue to reflect student progress and next steps as derived from all of their assessments, including the diagnostic MAP data.

As you heard from Matthew Barry during Learning@Montcrest Night, exploring and enhancing our communication of learning with families is an area of focus for us this year. You will now have a formal parent/teacher interview or report card every two months and may notice other changes as the year progresses.

Student Learning in Action

Below are some photos and quotes from the student workshops we began this week. All classes will engage in the workshop prior to beginning to use MAP. These workshops are an opportunity to explore and discuss ideas, watch a video and practise using MAP.

Map

“Maps tell you where to go.”

“They give you directions to get places.”

Growth

“Growth means when you can do more things.”

“Not just growth in the body, but in the mind and skill.”

“Growing means learning what the world can be when you get older. If we stayed a kid forever, our parents would get tired of doing things for us.”

Personal best

“Doing your best at something hard.”

“Personal best means the best answer or score or drawing that you have. It can also mean even if you didn’t win you did the best for yourself.”

“Knowing your personal best is good because then you can push past it.”

Test

“A test is something that might challenge you or it might be easy for you!”

“Tests are useful to learn and see what you know.”

“A test helps the person teaching you know what you’ve learned and what to teach next.”