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Kindergarten teachers urge Del Valle ISD to drop MAP Growth for K teacher incentives
Summary
Three kindergarten teachers and specialists told the Del Valle ISD Board that MAP Growth testing produces volatile, inaccurate scores for young learners and urged the board to reconsider using MAP results to determine the teacher incentive allotment for kindergarten.
Several kindergarten teachers told the Del Valle ISD Board on public comment that MAP Growth is not a valid measure for determining teacher incentive allotments at the kindergarten level.
Mary Vassal, a kindergarten teacher at Hornsby Dunlap Elementary, said classroom examples showed large, inconsistent percentile swings on MAP Growth and argued that ‘‘inaccurate data does not inform instruction and does not allow targeted teacher support.’’ Nina Reyes, an enrichment program specialist, added that MAP testing on iPads takes more than 30 minutes, exceeds typical kindergarten attention spans, and ‘‘produces invalid and unreliable data for kindergarten.’’ Bianca Bedgood, a Beatty Elementary kindergarten teacher, echoed those concerns and said that relying on MAP has led to K–2 teachers being pulled to support upper‑grade interventions, reducing tier‑1 instruction for young students.
Board presentations later in the meeting acknowledged testing‑administration issues and described a district rescore and validation process for MAP Growth. Dr. Bailey told trustees the district worked with MAP Growth vendors and campus principals to validate recordings and correct no‑score entries; after rescoring, kindergarten meeting rates rose modestly and first grade rates improved more substantially.
Trustees pressed for operational fixes and parental communications. Vice President Cisneros and several trustees recommended informational meetings and clearer guidance for teachers on administering MAP (for example, breaking the assessment into shorter segments and improving microphone use). Dr. Bailey said the district will provide guidance to standardize administration and share resources with parents explaining what the MAP Growth measure is designed to show and how it differs from diagnostic assessments such as M‑Class.
The board did not take immediate action on public comment but approved the staff information item on early‑literacy goal progress measures and rescoring procedures and signaled a review of assessment tools during an upcoming workshop.
