MAP Guidance for Teachers and Tutors

Why is it Important to Prepare for the MAP Test?

The MAP test is designed to measure a student’s academic progress, and it adapts to the student’s level based on his or her answers. The better prepared a student is to answer the questions, the more advanced questions he will receive, and the more advanced he will be considered in his academic achievement. Therefore, the best way to prepare for the test is to practice answering the types of questions that are being asked on the MAP test as much as possible. The students need to be used to facing unfamiliar and challenging questions so that they are better equipped to handle them. Additionally, if students are used to the way that the questions are asked, they are less likely to get confused or misled and their score will more accurately reflect their grasp of the material. Practicing these types of questions will also allow the students to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the relevant material.

What should I focus on?

When preparing for any of the subjects of the MAP test, it is important to cover all of the basic material for your students’ age group. It is also important to review material from earlier stages and to cover some more advanced areas as well, in case the students regress to more basic questions on the test that they may have forgotten, and so that they are prepared if they find themselves progressing to higher level questions.

Language Usage

For the Language Usage section, the students need to be prepared in the areas of:

• Writing mechanics, such as punctuation and spelling.
• Identification of the various parts of speech and understanding their different forms and functions.
• Sentence structure, including the different types of phrases and clauses and the rules that govern them.
• Basic organized writing techniques, such as introductions and conclusions, forming an argument, and using sources, as well as identifying different types of writing.

The MAP test will sometimes provide the students with short passages and expect them to revise the text according to a certain rule, such as consistency of verb tense, voice, or agreement with the subject, or for specific errors in punctuation or grammar.

Tip: Providing your students with texts like these could be a great platform by which to prepare them for the test. This will give them practice in the area of revision, and it will serve as an opportunity for you to teach and review the different rules that emerge from the text.

Click here for more information about the Language Usage Section.

Reading

For the Reading section, the students will be tested in vocabulary, including application of roots, prefixes, and suffixes, as well as determining meaning from context, and they will be presented with both literary and informational texts and expected to answer questions about them. Some of the main things that the MAP test tends to ask about these passages include:

• Identifying themes, key points, tone, and usage of various literary devices.
• Understanding how arguments are formed and supported.
• Understanding how different components—such as setting, plot, visual aid, persuasive technique, and other devices—contribute to the purpose of the passage.
• Drawing inferences and conclusions and understanding cause and effect.
• Analyzing text for rhetorical technique and bias.

Tip: Students should read as many literary and informational passages as possible and practice these types of questions over and over again; you can teach and review all of the relevant terms and devices as they arise in the passages.

Click here for more information about the Reading Section.

Mathematics

For the Mathematics section, students will be tested in their grasp of various mathematical concepts such as number sense, computation, estimation, algebra, geometry, measurement, statistics, probability, and problem solving. The main concepts that the test tends to examine are:

• Understanding concepts of number theory and applying concepts of representation, identification, ordering, counting, and comparing various number types.
• Solving real-world and mathematical problems by applying multiple computation properties.
• Applying algebraic concepts, including solving equations and inequalities, simplifying expressions, identifying patterns, and working with functions and plots.
• Understanding and applying geometric concepts, such as similarity and congruency of figures, transformations and symmetry, and identifying and classifying various two/three-dimensional figures.
• Measuring and converting appropriate units—calculating areas, surface areas, perimeters, and circumferences.
• Analyzing data, reading, understanding, and properly interpreting graphs, and determining probability and using it for predictions.

Tip: Since the MAP test includes such a wide range of mathematical material, and different students struggle with different areas conceptually and practically, it is important to identify specific strengths and weaknesses among your students and determine the proper balance of attention and practice between the subjects.

Click here for more information about the Math Section.

Where can I find practice materials?

As we mentioned, the best way to prepare your students for the test is to practice, and TestPrep Online is here to help.

• Check out our free MAP samples! You can test your students on the information you are teaching them, and at the same time, give them a basic understanding of the style of questions on the MAP test.
• If you want your students to be as ready as they can be for the test, get access to our full MAP PrepPacks!

About Our MAP PrepPacks

Our MAP PrepPacks are the perfect companion for preparing your students for the MAP test. Use our study guides to get a clear picture of the content and how best to explain it to your students, then let them test their knowledge with the quizzes included, featuring three different levels of difficulty for each grade-level.* The quizzes are administered in a modern, online format that is very user-friendly and convenient, and they include progress reports at the end to track the student’s improvement. Take the quizzes together in class, or access individual subscriptions so that each student can try his or her strengths alone.

*MAP 8 quizzes soon to come!

Each question includes a clear and thorough explanation of the correct answer and what makes it so, as well as helpful instructions and tips (when relevant) to guide you toward the correct answer in similar questions. We advise reading all of the explanations even when answered correctly because they will provide your students with strategies that may make solving the question easier, or else provide them with the tools to solve similar questions more adequately. Since our questions are designed to reflect all of the material that the real MAP test tends to focus on, the explanations serve together as a detailed study guide for all of the relevant subjects.

When you have finished going over the quizzes, you can move on to the full-length tests, administered in the same online format with the same progress reports, and see how well your students have grasped the material. There is one full-length test for each of the three subjects that we cater to (Language Usage, Reading, and Mathematics), and these tests include detailed explanations for all of their questions as well. There is no limit to the number of times that you can take the practice tests in the packs.

Good luck to all of your students on their upcoming MAP tests!

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