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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

MAP Scores Mixed for Southwest Missouri Schools

Nixa High School
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Nixa Public Schools
Nixa High School

Results are in for this year’s Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and some local school districts have reason to celebrate. Both Ozark and Nixa scored above the state average in all categories, which include English, math, science, and social studies.

Dr. Stephen Kleinsmith is the superintendent of Nixa Public Schools.

“Nixa has been very fortunate to do quite well on their assessments and high stakes testing, so much so that we have ranked number one in the conference for going on 16 years in a row,” says Kleinsmith

In Springfield, results indicate a higher percent of SPS students scored proficient or higher in the area of social studies compared with the state average. However in English language arts, mathematics and science, student proficiency remains slightly below the state average.

This was the first year that tests were based on Common Core state standards. Springfield Public Schools officials say that as a result, this year’s test sets a new baseline for student performance in Missouri and cannot be compared with results from previous years.

In a statement, Superintendent Dr. John Jungmann said, "MAP results provide a snapshot of how a student performs at a specific point in time. Springfield Public Schools values MAP data and uses it in conjunction with other formative assessment tools to support our work to personalize learning for all students."

Kleinsmith says that however successful his district may be with MAP testing, these tests are not the ultimate gauge of a school’s success.

“But having said that, it is just a test. Nothing more than that. You get some degree of measurement of success of a student, and the school district. But it’s just a snapshot, and I wouldn’t make it any more than that,“ Kleinsmith says.

A better measure of success for local school districts may come with the Annual Performance Report in October. The APR will include testing results from MAP, ACT and the military ASVAP, as well as college preparedness, and overall graduation rates.

A list of Missouri school districts and their MAP testing scores can be found here.