• NWEA MAP - Measures of Academic Progress

    The Measures of Academic Progress are computer administered and scored achievement tests designed to measure growth in student learning for individual students, classrooms, schools, and ACA as a whole. Tests for mathematics and reading are available for grades K-9 and science and language usage are available for grades 2-9.  These tests yield a national percentile score as well as a growth scale score (RIT).  ACA administers the MAP in the fall, winter, and spring.

    The MAP RIT Scale (2015 Norms)

    The RIT Scale is a curriculum scale that uses individual item difficulty values to estimate student achievement. An advantage of the RIT scale is that it can relate the numbers on the scale directly to the difficulty of items on the tests. In addition, the RIT scale is an equal interval scale. Equal interval means that the difference between scores is the same regardless of whether a student is at the top, bottom, or middle of the RIT scale, and it has the same meaning regardless of grade level. RIT scales, like scales underlying most educational tests, are built from data about the performance of individual examinees on individual items.

    MAP tests produce scores that make it possible to monitor student growth from year to year along developmental curriculum scales. The RIT Charts show examples of the kinds of work students can do at various points along the NWEA RIT scale, assuming they have been exposed to the content. This type of information is helpful in supporting appropriate instruction. All MAP tests are based on the state curriculum for Texas (TEKS - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills).

     

    FAQs

    Where can I learn more about NWEA MAP?

    You can visit their website at https://www.nwea.org/assessments/map/. 
     

    What resources are available to me as a parent? 

     

    To use the RIT Reference Charts, find the range that contains your child's RIT score for the appropriate grade and test.  The RIT Reference Charts (MPG for Primary, MAP for Intermediate and Middle School) show an example item that your student is working on at each RIT range.  

    For the RIT Reference Chart, the range in which the RIT score falls is the current instructional level.  Items below that RIT range are assumed to have been already learned and items above the RIT range are new topics to be introduced.
     
      

    What happened to the ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills)?  

    ACA elected to replace the yearly testing of students with ITBS with the NWEA MAP for three main reasons.  First, the ITBS could only be given once a year.  The information gained from the test garnered a wealth of information about what students did or did not know but its infrequency did not make it useful in impacting instruction.  On the other hand, the NWEA MAP can be given up to three times a year and this frequency will help us track student growth and make adjustments to our instruction during the school year.  Second, ITBS was aligned to Common Core State Standards and was testing our students on a curriculum that we don't teach.  NWEA MAP though is aligned to our state TEKS so we are assessing what we are teaching.  Finally, the ITBS was a static test that asked the same questions year after year.  If the test was too easy for some students, it had a hard ceiling past which we could not track their level of understanding.  The NWEA MAP is a computer-based adaptive test.  What that means is those test items are drawn from an item bank and the difficulty of the questions changes based on how successful the students are being.  As a student answers the questions correctly, the items become increasingly challenging until the instructional level of the child has been determined.
     
    Is the MAP assessment a norm-referenced assessment?  
     
    Yes, the MAP assessment is nationally normed every 3 or 4 years (most recently in 2015).  This allows for comparison of student scores to the "average" scores of other students in the same grade from a wide variety of school across the country.  This will help serve as a starting point for teachers to review data and gain a better of a child's current instructional level.
     

    How will ACA use the RIT scores my child received on the MAP assessments?

    MAP scores help teachers and administrators determine the current instructional level of each student.  In knowing this, lessons can be designed that provide for students at all levels within the same classroom setting. By knowing where each student stands in each objective area, teachers are better equipped with tools that allow them to design flexible groups and differentiated lessons.  With this data, teachers can support struggling learners, more accurately plan on-grade-level instruction, and enrich students who are moving faster than others.  With assessments taken at the Beginning of the Year (BOY), Middle of the Year (MOY) and End of the Year (EOY) students and teachers are able to interpret strengths and weaknesses as well as, set goals for academic growth. The results of each test administration are shared with parents in a report (Student Growth Report) covering each of the subject areas tested. If you have any questions regarding the NWEA MAP, please do not hesitate to contact us.