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Class, Class Breakdown by Goal, Learning Continuum

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Class, Class Breakdown by Goal, Learning Continuum

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2015 Normative Data

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Power Point:  Administrator Reports from PA User Groups

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Power Point:  Administrator Reports from PA User Groups

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College Explorer from NWEA® helps students, parents, and teachers develop pathways to higher education.

This powerful tool links MAP® Growth™ scores with national benchmarks for colleges, universities, and even specific majors. Together with goal setting and parent conferences, College Explorer can help students develop a plan, consider new possibilities, and put post-secondary dreams within reach.

The College Explorer map displays colleges whose median ACT® scores correspond to the range of MAP scores entered, based on the NWEA College Readiness Benchmarks report. The tool also links to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard database, providing information about college costs and more.

I'm tremendously grateful to NWEA for developing tools that bring hope and promise to students and communities who have been marginalized for so long. It is so inspiring to hear students dream bigger for themselves for the first time after using the College Explorer tool.

Victorene King, Principal, Neal Math and Science Academy

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Mapping the Road to College College Explorer from NWEA® helps students, parents, and teachers develop pathways to higher education. This powerful tool links MAP® Growth™ scores with national benchmarks for

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Professional Learning Online, Support, and More

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MAP Growth K-2 to 2-5 Transition Guidance

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MAP Growth K-2 to 2-5 Transition Guidance

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MAP Growth grade-level test guidance (K-2 to 2-5) MAY19 (7)

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Guidance for Administering MAP for High Stakes Purposes

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Guidance for Administering MAP for High Stakes Purposes

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K-2 Screening Tests/Choosing Skills Checklists

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K-2 Screening Tests/Choosing Skills Checklists

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We have these in other languages -- if you need a translated version, please contact me and we may have it!

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12 Common Questions Parents Ask About the MAP Growth Assessment

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12 Common Questions Parents Ask About the MAP Growth Assessment

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At NWEA®, we work with thousands of schools and districts across the US and in more than 145 countries around the world. Since we reach millions of students each year, there's a pretty good chance that a child will take a MAP® Growth™ assessment some time in their school career. It's natural for families to have questions about MAP Growth: what it is, how it works, and why their child is taking it.
1. What is MAP Growth and what does it measure?
To help you in your conversations about MAP Growth, we've gathered the top 12 questions parents ask us regarding the test.

Unlike paper and pencil tests, where all students are asked the same questions and spend a fixed amount of time taking the test, MAP Growth is a computer adaptive test. That means every student gets a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions get harder. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions get easier. By the end of the test, most students will have answered about half the questions correctly, as is common on adaptive tests. The purpose of MAP Growth is to determine what the student knows and is ready to learn next.

MAP Growth is designed to measure student achievement in the moment and growth over time.

2. What is a RIT score?
MAP Growth can also track students' individual growth over time, wherever they are starting from and regardless of the grade they are in. For instance, if a third grader is actually reading like a fifth grader, MAP Growth will be able to identify that. Or, if a fifth grader is doing math like a third grader, MAP Growth will identify that, too. Both things are incredibly important for a teacher to know so that they can plan instruction efficiently.
3. How often will my child take MAP Growth?
When students finish their MAP Growth test, they receive a number called a RIT score for each area they are tested in: reading, language usage, math, or science. This score represents a student's achievement level at any given moment and helps measure their academic growth over time. The RIT scale is a stable scale, like feet and inches, that accurately measures student performance, regardless of age, grades, or grade level. Like marking height on a growth chart and being able to see how tall a child is at various points in time, you can also see how much they have grown between tests.
4. How long is MAP Growth?
Most schools give MAP Growth tests to students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Some schools may include a summer testing session as well.
5. Is MAP Growth a standardized test? How is it different from "high-stakes" tests?
Most students take less than an hour to complete a MAP Growth test. However, MAP Growth is not timed, and students may take as much time as they need to complete it.

Unlike standardized tests, MAP Growth is administered periodically during the school year, and it adjusts to each student's performance, rather than asking all students the same questions. When we talk about high-stakes tests, we are usually talking about a test designed to measure what students already know, based on what is expected at their grade level. High stakes tests are also often used as a way to measure grade-level proficiency. MAP Growth is designed to measure student achievement in the moment and growth over time, regardless of grade level, so it is quite different.

By the end of the test, most students will have answered about half the questions correctly, as is common on adaptive tests. The purpose of MAP Growth is to determine what the student knows and is ready to learn next.

6. What information will I receive from my child's school?
Another difference is the timeliness of the results. While states often return information in the fall after the test is taken, MAP Growth gives quick feedback to teachers, administrators, students, and families. Teachers receive immediate results with MAP Growth that show what students know and what they are ready to learn, which can be used to help personalize lessons at the appropriate level for students. One similarity is that MAP Growth aligns to the same standards in a given state as the state test, so both measure similar content.
7. How do schools and teachers use MAP Growth scores?
Most schools will provide a child's Student Progress Report. This report contains information and scores from a student's most recent and past MAP Growth assessments. It's a good idea to discuss results with teachers for a full understanding of what the information means and how they can use their child's reading and math scores to identify resources that can support home learning.
8. Can MAP Growth tell me if my child is working at grade level?
NWEA provides many different reports to help schools and teachers use MAP Growth information. Teachers can see the progress of individual students and of their classes as a whole. Students with similar MAP Growth scores are generally ready for instruction in similar skills and topics. MAP Growth also provides data around the typical growth for students who are in the same grade, are testing in the same subject, and have the same starting achievement level. This data is often used to help students set goals and understand what they need to learn to achieve their goals. Principals and administrators can use the scores to see the performance and progress of a grade level, school, or entire district.

Just as a doctor has a chart indicating the most common heights and weights of people at certain ages, NWEA has put together charts showing the median RIT scores for students at various grade levels. NWEA researchers examined the scores of millions of students to find the average scores for students in various grades.

9. What subjects are available with MAP Growth?
There are MAP Growth tests for grades 2-12 in reading, language usage, mathematics, and science. Students can test in some subjects in Spanish. There is also a MAP Growth K-2 for early learners in reading and mathematics. With these child-friendly tests for young learners, students wear headphones since many questions include audio to assist those who are still learning to read.

10. What types of questions are on the MAP Growth tests? Are there sample tests?
11. How can I help my child prepare for MAP Growth?
The MAP Growth tests include multiple choice, drag and drop, and other types of questions. You can access some short sample tests to get an idea of what MAP Growth questions look like.

Your child's teacher will help with any pre-test instructions to explain the test to the students. Just like on any school day, make sure your child is well-rested and fed. Encourage them to do their best.

12. What does NWEA do with my child's information? Is it secure? NWEA uses technological and operational measures to ensure security and privacy. A few of these include regular security audits and monitoring, technological controls, physical access controls, and privacy training for employees.

MAP Growth can also track students' individual growth over time, wherever they are starting from and regardless of the grade they are in.

NWEA does not use any child's personally identifiable information (PII) for any purpose other than to provide services to the child's school. Combined information that has been stripped of PII-and, therefore, is not traceable to any individual student-is used for research and development so we can continuously improve our products and accelerate learning for all students.

We do not sell PII. Data sharing (if any) is completely at the control of the educational institutions that purchase our products.

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12 Common Questions Parents Ask About the MAP Growth Assessment

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At NWEA®, we work with thousands of schools and districts across the US and in more than 145 countries around the world. Since we reach millions of students each year, there's a pretty good chance that a child will take a MAP® Growth™ assessment some time in their school career.

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Resources for parents

You see a bright future for your child. So do we.

It's why our assessments measure what students know and how they are growing academically-to help teachers develop strategies for equitable instruction that maximizes every learner's potential. Every child can learn and grow. Our solutions help educators make it happen.

Understanding the MAP Suite

See how these high-quality assessments support academic growth

Preparing for testing at home

Support and tips for a smooth experience

Supporting your learner

Resources to help you advise your learner before and after the test

Homeschool families looking for options to use MAP Growth
If you are a homeschool family looking for an option to use the MAP Growth test, visit Homeschool Boss to learn more about solutions.

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Learn how MAP Growth works, what it measures, and how it's scored.

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8 Resources for Parents to Promote Summer Learning

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8 Resources for Parents to Promote Summer Learning

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As summer sets in, and all of the family routines change, parents might be thinking about having fun and relaxing with their kids - but they might also be wondering about how to avoid losing all of the learning their kids did during the school year. According to the National Summer Learning Association, which invests in summer learning to help close achievement gaps, all students experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer months. Most lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills. (And as we've blogged about recently, we think reading over the summer is pretty important, too!)

Parents can explore these eight, free online resources so that summer is a time of learning and growth (as well as relaxation!).
Reading & Language Arts

1. com - Vocabulary is a critical component of reading comprehension. Playkidsgame.com helps your students build and retain reading comprehension skills through interactive games. Students can play within their current RIT Range (from their latest MAP Growth test) and create their own games if they master a specific level.

2. Your Reading Path - Use MAP Growth results to link student RIT scores in Reading with over 7,000 books across a wide range of topics and action genres that help pave the way to a path of reading pleasure. The tailored approach ensures the best match for readability, interest, and age appropriateness for each student.

3. Summer Boost - Worksheets, games, workbooks, activities, lesson plans and more from education.com will help parents put together fun exercises to keep their kids active during the summer. There is a nominal fee for access to premium content, but parents can pay as they go without a commitment.

4. Opposite Ocean - The Opposite Ocean is a great app to improve student vocabulary and reading comprehension on the go. Available for iPads and iPhones, this interactive app developed in concert with the Virginia Department of Education allows students to master antonyms while "going deep" on grade-appropriate vocabulary. Current game settings are appropriate for students in grades 2-6.

Math

1. SumDog - Nothing sparks learning like competition. Help your students retain math, reading, and writing concepts with Sumdog, an interactive gaming site that allows students to become superheroes, complete activities, and build skills while school's out. Teachers can create free logins for their students and track their progress over the course of the summer.

2. MAP to Khan Academy - Take advantage of Khan Academy practice exercises that are correlated to a student's Math RIT score. The Khan exercises are interactive problems for students with instant feedback.

3. TenMarks - Summer math programs, such as TenMarks, can help teachers and parents maintain academic rigor with online coursework. On-demand curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and provides adaptive instructional models that keep students learning during the summer months. Note: This tool will only be available for a limited time, so take advantage of it soon!

4. Math Champ - Available for iPads and iPhones, Math Champ is a challenging and innovative gaming app that allows students to test their math skills and go head-to-head against classmates in a virtual math competition. Teachers can customize quizzes by selecting appropriate content by grade and difficulty level. After the competition, teachers can also access aggregate student data and see the performance of all students in an easy Excel format.

Experiential learning is also something that parents can encourage over the summer. Local field trips, camping, and museums are all great ways to connect students with their surroundings and nature, while having fun!

Jean brings over 25 years of experience in education to her role at NWEA. She began as a middle school reading teacher in the Berkeley, California public schools. There, she developed a curriculum focused on engaging students in career explorations to foster a love of reading. She served as lead instructional designer for an online reading curriculum, held senior editorial positions with Technology & Learning magazine and Scholastic.com, and managed global communications for the Intel Foundation's professional development program.

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8 Resources for Parents to Promote Summer Learning

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As summer sets in, we want to have fun with our kids as well as help them avoid that summer learning loss. Explore these 8, free and fun, online resources so that summer is also a time of learning and growth.

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NWEA 2015 MAP Norms for Student and School Achievement Status and Growth (full report)

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NWEA 2015 MAP Norms for Student and School Achievement Status and Growth (full report)

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Comparative Data

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Register to browse our eBooks, webinars, case studies and more!

Get a quick overview of how MAP Reading Fluency uses technology and smart test design to take a giant leap forward in fluency assessments.

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A Better Way to Assess Early Readers: Discover MAP Reading Fluency

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Register to browse our eBooks, webinars, case studies and more! Get a quick overview of how MAP Reading Fluency uses technology and smart test design to take a giant leap forward in fluency assessments.