Lindbergh Assessment Scores Have Declined - the MAP/EOC and NWEA Assessments Show the Same Results

The Lindbergh School District has seen a decline in Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and End of Course (EOC) Assessments for the last decade.  Please review the Lindbergh MAP and EOC test scores on the Lindbergh page to see the results.  Across every grade and content area there has been a decline. 

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education states that, “Assessments used in Missouri are designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in Missouri’s Learning Standards (MLS). The assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, district, and state levels. This information is used to diagnose individual student strengths and weaknesses in relation to the instruction of the MLS, and to gauge the overall quality of education throughout Missouri.”  The MAP and EOC testing are the only statewide and independent testing of Missouri K-12 public and charter schools.  The MAP and EOC Assessments have been used for decades to determine academic proficiency.

The Lindbergh school district is part of a Pilot Program to use a different Assessment but will still administer the MAP and EOC assessments.  At a January 19, 2023, Lindbergh School District Workshop the Administration explained the rationale for the additional NWEA Assessments.  Here is link to a video about this testing change.

The NWEA test is currently only taken for grades 4 through 8 for Math and ELA.  MAP Assessments are for grades 3-12 and includes a Science Content Area. 

During the February 16th St. Louis County Family Association Lindbergh Candidate Forum several School Board Candidates, upon being questioned about the lower test scores, stated that the MAP and EOC scores are not reflective of the Lindbergh student body.  The Rumble recording of the event starts at the 19:20 mark in the video is the start of this discussion.

Several of the candidates believe that the lower MAP and EOC Assessment scores as not indicative of the decline in Lindbergh student proficiency.  They claim that the new testing, which is held three times a year, shows a truer level of proficiency.  One incumbent candidate said that “I don’t believe it (MAP and EOC) is a true snapshot of our student’s learning.”

The below interactive chart shows that NWEA and MAP proficiency percentage levels for the 2021-2022 are nearly identical. The data was not made available to the public.  It was obtained by Board Candidate David Randelman via a Freedom of Information Act request.  The MAP data is made public by the state of Missouri without using legal mechanisms to obtain the data.

Since the NWEA proficiency levels are low and the MAP/EOC proficiency levels are also low, Lindbergh student proficiency must be lower if we are to believe the science.  The near identical match of the NWEA Assessment results to the MAP data proves, in other words, that the MAP and EOC Assessment Tests are valid determinations of Lindbergh student learning.   

Click on the Content Area and Grade Level drop down boxes to see the comparisons.