Advances in Educational Assessment: Measure of Academic Progress - Essay Example

Every child has a potential that when nurtured can be fully realized. Most parents who nurture the potential in their children at an early stage always find out that such children can always perform beyond their imaginations. Unfortunately, some parents realize the ability of their children when it is quite late. Others get discouraged when they realize that their children are weak academically, yet others do not provide a favorable environment for learning. They forget that it is their duty to ensure that their children are provided with the necessary facilities which are prerequisites for the children to realize their goals.

In order to better the performance of students who are perhaps still in grade 2 or grade 5, various modern assessments kits have been developed to help students, parents, and teachers monitor the progress of the children so that the final objectives of learning are realized through a computerized adaptive test device. The computer which is used for the assessment and storage of results of students is thus programmed in a way that it stores all the information of students including their progress in the continuous assessment tests done (DeLong 60).

The Measure of Academic Progress depends on various tests administered to students during specified sessions, most preferably during the first few weeks in school. The MAP sessions cover various areas studied in schools and the probability of each student answering questions correctly determines how difficult the progressive questions will be. That is to say, when a child answers questions correctly in one test it means that the next test has to be difficult. That is when it would be possible to determine the academic progress of the child. Likewise, children who have difficulties answering questions are always given simpler questions in the next tests in order to determine if they grasped the content which was taught earlier on. This method is an effective tool for assessing students’ capabilities because of the fact that it focuses on a student’s strengths and weaknesses rather than a whole class.

It, therefore, helps teachers in knowing the ability of each student since each student has the opportunity to do unique tests. The measure of Academic Progress of students is also important because the progressive test helps determine the intelligent quotient of children. Through this, teachers are able to identify children who are gifted and talented. It is equally vital to students because they are able to gauge their potential (Frederiksen, Mislevy, and Bejar 382).

Theoretically, it is right for curricular designers to employ this technology in assessing the progress of children in schools since it cannot be assumed that every child is intellectually prepared to move to the next grade. However, the MAP method has limitations. For example, it can demoralize students who might feel looked down upon given the fact that the more a student fails in an assessment test the simpler the subsequent tests become. Some students, therefore, are bound to take the whole test as a specimen for ridiculing them because they are tested on simpler things as compared to children who are brighter and are given more difficult work (Skip 74).

On the contrary, even though the application of the MAP in schools set up has bottlenecks, it is not just important to center on the limitations without considering its advantages as a primary tool for doing the assessment. Its function is relevant in the academic arena since it gives an accurate portrayal of the MAP as an actual MAP test given the above-highlighted functions. It also helps in placing students who are still new in school in suitable instructional programs.

Given its scope of application, I support the MAP test to be very essential in learning environments. Teachers should be encouraged to adopt MAP as an assessment tool in teaching in order to improve students’ performance. I therefore strongly recommend that its applications should not just be narrowed down to classwork, rather, governments and education stakeholders involved in the training of teachers should ensure that teachers fully adopt it as a teaching pedagogy.

In summary, the applications of the computerized MAP in academia cannot be effective without the participation of teachers, parents, and their children. Against this backdrop, children should be given the freedom to say what they think is best for them.