MISSOURI ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Teacher Training Opportunities

Missouri is now implementing a performance-based assessment system for use by all public schools, as required by the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993.  Known as the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), the testing program is based on the Show-Me Standards, the academic performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education in 1996.

Since 1993, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has actively recruited and involved teachers in the development of the MAP.  The Department also sponsors an intensive professional development program that gives teachers a unique opportunity to learn more about performance-based assessment and participate in state-level decisions about the MAP.  Hundreds of teachers in school districts across the state are already involved, and the network continues to grow.

By the fall of 2001, DESE's goal is to involve about 1,000 more teachers in the MAP-related professional development network.  Teachers from all levels and all subject areas are eligible to take part.

Benefits for MAP Teachers

• Learn to develop, use and score performance-based assessment tools.
  DESE and local school districts share the cost of providing released time during the year for teachers to take part in regular workshops designed to provide in-depth, practical understanding of Missouri's emerging assessment system and related changes in public education.
• Use performance-based assessment in your classroom.
  MAP teachers learn how to integrate performance-based strategies and techniques into their daily classroom practice.
• Be a professional leader.
  MAP uses the "trainer-of-trainers" model. The Assessment Section of DESE, along with a group of regional assessment specialists, provide training and materials for selected teachers to serve as "Senior Leaders." These teachers commit to sharing their experience and expertise with district-level teams, as well as district wide. "Team members," in turn, share information and resources with other colleagues.

Help Shape the Statewide Assessment 
System by

• Determining the format and content of statewide assessments.
  MAP participants work with other teachers, curriculum specialists and citizens across the state to decide the appropriate content for each subject-area assessment. Items and scoring guides for the MAP are being designed by Missouri teachers, in cooperation with specialists from CTB/McGraw-Hill, the test publisher for the MAP.
• Setting levels of achievement.
  Working with business and civic leaders, legislators and other educators, MAP teachers help define expectations for achievement in each subject and grade level.
• Paving the way for statewide implementation.
  As performance-based assessment becomes required throughout the state, there is growing demand for MAP teachers to provide leadership and training for local school personnel.
• Scoring the assessments.
  Each summer, Missouri teachers are hired to score the MAP assessments given during the previous spring. This allows state officials to be sure that the contracted scoring service (whether conducted instate or out-of-state) conforms to Missouri standards.

How MAP Teachers Work Together

Teachers may join MAP as Senior Leaders or as Team Members. Senior Leaders participate in a comprehensive three-year program of instruction at a regional center (see below). Senior Leaders attend five full-day workshops conducted by Regional Facilitators over the course of the school year. After each workshop, they provide at least five hours of local training for district teams up to eight teachers.

Team Members volunteer to learn about performance-based assessment by working with a Senior Leader. Their initial focus is to understand the theory and practice of performance-based testing, the MAP and related national activities and trends. After three years of participation in MAP activities team members may choose to lead teams of their own as Lead Teachers.  Like Senior Leaders, Lead Teachers provide local training for district teams.  For larger districts, district-wide training is available.

Regional Facilitators are professional educators who direct MAP activities in nine areas of the state. The Regional Facilitators maintain the MAP Regional Centers and provide training for, and supervision of, Senior Leaders. When called upon, Regional Facilitators provide on-site assistance to Senior Leaders and their local teams. The facilitators also serve as resources for local districts and the state's nine Regional Professional Development Centers (RPDCs).

The Assessment Section at DESE is responsible for the overall coordination of professional development activities related to the MAP. The Assessment Section is the source of the policies that guide MAP, the funding that fuels most of its activities, and the information that Regional Facilitators need to stay abreast of statewide issues and developments.

How Do Districts Join?

District administrators who want to recommend teachers as either Senior Leaders or Lead Teachers should contact the nearest MAP Regional Center listed below.