Students all learn at different speeds and to different levels. So how does a teacher know which level each student is at?
The answer is, of course, through tests and assessments. But getting an accurate and effective way of assessing children can be difficult. For the last six years Beirut Baptist School (BBS) has successfully been using a system called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a standardized test designed and monitored by the North West Evaluation Association (NWEA). It is a personalized assessment in English and Maths (Grades 2 to 12) that can be tailored to each student’s learning level. MAP has provided essential information to BBS about what each student knows and is ready to learn.
“The value of the test and the reports is in the fact that they clearly show which skills each student has acquired and which ones they haven’t,” says BBS Co-Principal Alice Wazir. “It provides access to many rich resources to work with each student on skills that need to be improved.”
BBS and other evangelical schools in Lebanon will be moving to the new online version of the MAP tests and assessments this academic year. Students will be given the chance to sit for the test three times a year.
To prepare for this change, NWEA has organized a number of workshops and meetings. Alice Wazir has shared BBS’ experience of using MAP and its advantages at these workshops with other school principals, heads of department, and coordinators. Two more MAP meetings are planned for October. The aim is for the online version of MAP to be introduced at BBS and other evangelical schools in Lebanon from November 2015.