Word on how the pandemic affected students continues to come out, and what is becoming clearer is that COVID-19’s effect on Lincoln hasn’t been as bad as it could have been. In fact, fall assessments are showing that Lincoln students progressed at a better pace than their peers around the nation.
Schools around the state, country, and world closed or were reduced in hours. Many schools ran hybrids of online and offline learning and staggered days in which students could attend in person. No matter the circumstance, Lincoln was no exception. But now that LPS officials have released their Fall 2022 Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) data, it looks like the capital has come out well.
Sarah Salem, LPS Director of Continuous Improvement and Professional Learning, spoke with KLIN News about the MAP assessment. “The MAP growth assessment is one of the nation’s most widely used assessments to measure academic achievement and growth in K-12 students,” said Salem. “Millions of students take it every year, so we feel really good about its validity and reliability. We give this assessment in grades three through eight, and they take this assessment in reading and in math.”
When KLIN News asked Salem about why Lincoln’s MAP assessments were higher than in other areas, Salem credited the city’s educators. “We have amazing teachers,” said Salem. “Our staff should walk around with their heads held very high, because they were dedicated to ensuring that we minimize that learning loss as much as possible.”
“Keeping schools open, keeping students in class – that was a huge part of it,” concluded Salem.