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Stafford Schools trims assessment footprint, phases out some MAP testing and adjusts SOL/Writing timeline
Summary
Staff proposed reducing the district assessment load for 2026–27: eliminating MAP in grades 2 and 6–10 (keeping grades 3–5 this year while division items are developed), embedding targeted items into existing assessments, changing PSAT/SAT administration and moving the verified writing assessment earlier to give students more remediation time.
Amy Seep Guard, director of research, evaluation and strategic improvement, presented changes intended to reduce students' testing time and better align assessments with instruction.
Guard said the division will give NWEA MAP in reading and math in grades 3–5 for 2026–27 but will not administer MAP in grade 2 or grades 6–10; the district plans to embed division‑developed, standards-aligned items into existing assessments as replacement measures while teams develop a fuller suite for 2027–28. "So we made the decision to eliminate MAP testing," she said, adding the district will keep MAP this year where replacement items are not ready.
She explained that House Bill 199 eliminated the statewide growth-assessment requirement for grades 3–8 and staff evaluated whether to continue MAP under local needs. Guard described heavy time burdens from some assessments—grade‑level students spending many hours on testing—and framed the change as recouping instructional time while providing more targeted, timely measures.
On college-readiness testing, staff will administer the PSAT/NMSQT for grade 10 and offer it to grade 11 students who wish to take it; the district will offer an SAT school day for 12th graders (and interested 11th graders) consistent with recent state law. Guard also described a plan to move the verified EOC writing assessment into grade 10 by 2027–28 to give students more time to meet the verified-credit requirement.
Board members asked about validity and comparability of division‑created items versus MAP and asked for clarity on how embedded items will be isolated in reporting; staff said items will be tagged in Mastery Connect and results can be extracted at the item level for analysis. Concerns were also raised about overlapping literacy screeners (VALS vs DIBELS) and whether DIBELS could substitute for VALS; staff said VALS is state‑mandated and DIBELS provides diagnostic and progress-monitoring supports.
Staff will communicate assessment calendar details to families, post updates on the district assessment webpage and provide additional follow-up materials requested during the Q&A.
