Petersburg rolls out MAP baseline for grades 2–8; winter administration complete, parent reports and teacher training planned

Petersburg City Public Schools presented baseline Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) data for reading and math in grades 2–8 at its Feb. 5 board meeting. Dr. Decadre Jackson, director of accountability, said the fall administration establishes the district’s baseline and that the winter testing window had just closed.

“This is benchmark data from the fall,” Jackson said, noting that MAP is a nationally used, computer-adaptive assessment that can be administered multiple times per year to measure both achievement and growth. Jackson explained that Petersburg received a waiver to use MAP as a predictive measure tied to the state’s growth and accountability system and said the assessment can project how students might perform on Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests.

Key points Jackson presented included:

- Grades covered: math (grades 1–8 in the division) and reading/language arts (grades 2–8) for the MAP rollout described at the meeting; the district administered the fall MAP and completed the winter window the day before the presentation. - Use of results: MAP provides student-level instructional reports, helps teachers form small groups based on specific skill needs and supplies parent-friendly reports. Jackson said teachers and parents will receive reports and that school staff have run professional development sessions to help educators use MAP reports for grouping and targeted instruction. - Parent engagement: staff urged parents to attend half-day parent conferences in February (elementary parent conferences listed for morning hours, about 8:30–11:30 a.m.; middle-school conferences scheduled in the afternoon) to receive individual student MAP reports and to use provided guiding questions when meeting teachers. - Expansion: the district is discussing extending MAP into high school grades in future years (possible ninth and tenth grade administration discussed) to provide more early indicators for secondary students.

Jackson said the next formal presentation will return to the board in March with growth results from the winter administration so the district can show change over time rather than a single baseline. She also described efforts to build teachers’ capacity through targeted professional development and a planned summer institute of instructional strategies.

Ending: Board members asked to visit classrooms to see MAP-driven small-group instruction in practice; Jackson and staff encouraged parents to pick up MAP reports at the upcoming parent conference sessions and promised follow-up materials and training for teachers.