This school year, MAPs testing comes at the end of January. Between Jan. 20 and Jan. 30, hundreds of Moffat County School District students will be testing to show their growth.

MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. It’s one of many means by which the district is able to assess its students and measure their learning and growth.

MAPs, as the tests are often called, are intended to provide data points whereby students can demonstrate how much stronger they’re getting in the areas of math, reading and science. These assessments are administered twice a year, once in the fall and once right now.

Hopefully, students come back with better scores in the spring than they did in the fall, when the baseline was set. That would show that they’re making progress. If they’re not, that’s good to know. Adjustments can be made. That’s why the district does these tests.

MAPs testing is a progressive, dynamic test, which means the questions get more advanced or less challenging depending on the answers to each successive question. If a student is getting everything right, the questions get harder, just to see where he or she is at. If they’ve leveled off at a certain spot, or if they’re getting everything wrong. The test adjusts accordingly.

If there’s a need for intervention or advanced programming, MAPs is one good way to identify that need. MAPs helps the district learn what students have learned.

Students — as always — are encouraged to do their very best on these assessments. It helps the schools know how to help or challenge that student more effectively.

MAPs differs from CMAS in several ways. CMAS, or Colorado Measures of Academic Success, is not dynamic or progressive. It tests all students against the same expectations. It’s also how many resources are directed at the state level.

Districts who don’t do well on CMAS testing demonstrate a need for additional support. CMAS testing is coming in April. MAPs is more for the benefit of helping each individual student identify his or her strengths and opportunities to grow.

Students see their scores right away, so they’ll come home knowing how they did that day. We hope you will celebrate that success with them and be encouraging if there’s an opportunity for growth as well.

Our students are working hard, and so are our teachers, to grow and reach important academic goals. Keep cheering them on and supporting them, and these kids will do great things.