MAP (measure of academic progress) testing is a nationwide test that is administered two or three times per school year. Its purpose is to measure students’ growth and how they perform in certain subjects, while also helping teachers identify what each student needs more or less help with.

Rishi Pampati, ‘27 thinks the purpose of map testing is to “show how a student is doing over the years and if there’s any sudden drop in their academics that a teacher wouldn’t catch, the standardized testing would catch that.”

Pampati dislikes taking the MAP tests.

“I think that it’s annoying to take but an essential part of how we receive education,” Pampati said.

“After an exam, students often receive a grade without insight into where they need to extend or improve their learning—only what they got right or wrong. MAP data provides teachers insight into each student’s unique skills and challenges as it is adaptive to their level,” according to an article by Stamford American HK.

Pampati did not study or prepare for the MAP tests in any way. His teachers also did not give him any resources to prepare for the tests.

“I would say the MAP test isn’t really something you need to prepare for,” Pampati said.

Pampati thinks that Map testing can help the education of students.

“I think that the report they send after it where they show what areas you’re lacking can help,” Pampati said.

“The MAP assessment was developed by experts at NWEA using over 40 years of experience…MAP assessments allow educators factual data to benchmark growth on an extensive and diverse global sampling of learners,” an article written by Stamford American HK said. 

If Pampti could change one thing about MAP testing it would be how many times you take it a year.

“I’d say we only need to take two in the year. I know some schools where they have fall, winter and spring [tests],” Pampati said. “I could just do fall and spring. I don’t think they need to take it [three times a year].”

Alex Flamme, ‘28 assumes the purpose of MAP testing is a diagnostic, but is unsure where the data collected from the MAP testing goes and if it has a purpose at all.

Flamme, like many, strongly dislikes the MAP tests.

“I kinda hate it,” Flamme said. “I feel like it’s very boring. I know it’s important for the school but it’s very, very boring.” Flamme said.

Flamme does not think taking MAP tests are necessary.

“They don’t really ever talk about what happens after you take the test,” Flamme said. “I don’t really think it has to be necessary.” 

“Do standardized tests teach students? No. Do standardized tests capture the learning styles of students? No. It is the teachers who build connections with their students. Teachers are the ones who are able to track the progress of students and where they stand academically,” An opinion article for The Pitch about MAP testing written by Rachael Wolfson said.

Flamme did not prepare to take the MAP tests, nor did his other teacher prepare him for it. His English teacher gave him a diagnostic test but that was before it was known that they had to take the MAP tests.

Flamme is not sure that MAP testing helps the education of students.

“I don’t really know because the reading one typically, it’s basically a bunch of excerpts from literature that we haven’t really ever looked at, and they’re kind of hard to read sometimes,” Flamme said “But it could help us like improve our literature abilities, just because there’s hard stuff in there.”

If Flamme could change one thing about MAP testing it would be knowing how many questions you’re getting.

“I would like to know how many questions there are specifically because once you get past 50, I have to do another one after another one after another one,” Flamme said. “On top of this, many high school students do not even care about trying their best on MAP,” Wolfson said. “A lot of students just try to finish it as fast as they can because the scores are of little use. Students aren’t sending these scores to colleges or potential employers.”

All in all, many students at WHHS do not like MAP testing. Whether or not they think it’s necessary, most students will agree that they would rather do without it.