Inter rnation Sch nal hool Ma anila

Univers Parkway sity Fort Bo onifacio, 1634 Taguig City Philipp pines Mailing Address: P.O. B 1526 MCPO 1255 Box Makati City, Philippines 32 Tel +63 840-8400 Fax +63 840 8405 32

Sep ptember 9, 201 11 Dear P Parents, September 12 to October 6, I will conduc tests called Measures of A t ISM ct Academic Progr TM (MAP). ress From S What are MAP tests? MAP tests are an extern assessment from the Un nal t nited States, u used to assist in determinin ng nstructional le evel. Currently there are approximately 40 internationa schools in th y 0 al he students in Asia Pacifi region using MAP tests. ic g does MAP testi at ISM? ing Who d Students in Grades 3 to 10 take MAP te ests. Students receiving Lear rning Support a ESL suppo and ort will be give the opportu en unity, where ap ppropriate, to participate in the MAP testing. Parents wi ill be contacte individually regarding any modifications taking place. ed What do MAP tests assess and how often do the occur? a w ey These tests will measure academic growth across the school ye in the are of Reading s e ear eas g, Language and Mathemati a ics, and are ad dministered tw wice a year at ISM. They will be taken again l in Semester 2 of the 2011-12 school yea r ar. How d MAP tests work? do w Your child will take the te w ests on a comp puter. MAP tests are unique i that they ar adaptive. Th in re he test becomes more diffic cult the more questions the student answe correctly. W ers When a studen nt incorrectly answers a que estion, the fol llowing test qu uestion is adju usted according and is at a gly an easier level. In this way, your child wi take a test specifically cr ill reated for his or her learnin ng level. How a MAP tests reported? are r Your childs MAP results a reported in RIT (Rasch U s are n Unit) scores. Th is a differen type of scor his nt re than a typical test that p provides a perc centage correc Parents wil receive a report that show ct. ll ws core, the normative RIT score for the grad level at ISM, and the norm es de , mative scores fo or their RIT sc students in the United S States within t the same grad level. These reports will be available in de e November. w mation that MA provides? AP What does ISM do with the inform Teachers us the data fro MAP testing to inform lea se om g arning and teac ching. It assists in determinin s ng which skills require enha s ancing, which skills students have already developed, a s y and which skil lls need to be introduced. M MAP tests also provide our sc chool with a re eference point for the ongoin ng developmen of the schoo nt ol-wide curricu ulum. This data allows us to look for trend within certain a ds areas of our curriculum. r How d I prepare my child for MA testing? do m AP Factors such as sleep and how a child is feeling can all affect result of a standard s ts dized test. You ur er hree days in th coming week your child w sit the test he ks will ts. class teache will let you know which th Please talk to your child t help avoid h to him/her feeling anxious about MAP testing. g y Lastly It is importa to rememb that MAP re ant ber esults provide one piece of a assessment dat in the process ta of acquiring information a making jud g and dgments about student progr t ress toward int tended learning g. At ISM, we believe soun assessment involves crea e nd ating a multitu ude of ways t measure an to nd communicate student learning over time a photo alb e bum versus a si ingle snapshot. .

more information on MAP te esting, please consult the N NWEA (North West Evaluati ion Association n) For m websit te at www. .nwea.org. In addition, parents can access the MAP Paren n e nt Toolkit a at http:/ //www.nwea.o org/support/ar rticle/930/par rent-toolkit. rely, Sincer Simon Gillespie Middle School Principal e Clarissa Sayson C n Middle School A M Assistant Princ cipal