What material is MAP developing?
MAP materials are of two complementary kinds:
Summative tests or tasks
exemplify the performance targets that the standards imply.
The tests show the kinds of performance that students in rich math
programs will achieve, with the range and balance that the standards
describe. The tasks, with the associated guidance, equip teachers to
monitor overall progress in their students’ mathematics.
Classroom Challenges
are lessons that support teachers in formative assessment. They
both reveal and develop students’ understanding of key mathematical
ideas and applications. These lessons enable teachers and students to
monitor in more detail their progress towards the targets of the
standards. They assay students’ understanding of important concepts
and problem solving performance, and help teachers and their students
to work effectively together to move each student’s mathematical
reasoning forward.
In addition, because formative assessment involves a wider range
of classroom strategies and skills than many traditional curricula,
the professional development modules
will help teachers with the pedagogical and mathematical
challenges that this approach involves. Built around the Classroom
Challenges, these modules are designed for use by groups of teachers,
working together in a supportive school to improve the effectiveness
of their program.
These materials have been developed in classrooms across the US,
using the research-based design and development methods that the MARS
Shell Center team has advanced over the last three decades. MAP is
grateful to the teachers and students who took part in the development
process. They, in turn, are helping to lead the way toward preparing
students across the nation with the knowledge and skills they need to
succeed in college and careers.
