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Grades
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Frequency
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State or District Initiated
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Measure of Academic Progress (MAP)
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K-10
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3 times per year
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District
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The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments are administered three times per year: fall, winter, and spring at grades K-10. These computerized tests are adaptive and offered in reading, language usage, and mathematics. Adaptive means that, when taking a map test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. The final RIT score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level based on how the questions were answered. Students receives a RIT score in each area tested. 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, are built from data about the performance on individual test items.
Characteristics of the RIT Scale include:
- It is an achievement scale.
- It is an accurate scale.
- It is an equal interval scale.
- It helps to measure growth over time.
- It has the same meaning regardless of grade or age of the student.
Another advantage to MAP testing is the ability to set student growth targets which helps students take ownership of learning. They become energized by their success and achieve their aspirations.
The group and individual data provided to the teachers is extensive and is used to plan instruction and evaluate individual and group progress.
What are NWEA assessments used for?
MAP assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. You may have a chart in your home on which you mark your child’s height at certain times, such as on his or her birthday. This is a growth cart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP assessment do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s growth in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science skills. The scale used to measure your child’s progress is called the RIT scale (Rasch Unit). The RIT scale is an equal interval scale much like feet and inches on a yardstick. It is used to chart your child’s academic growth from year to year.
Growth over Time
We expect RIT scores to increase over time. Typically, younger students show more growth in one year than older students. Students who test above grade level often show less growth. Sometimes RIT scores may decline from one test to the next. One low test score is not cause for immediate concern. Like adults, students have good and bad days and their test results do not always indicate what they know. Students’ attitudes toward the test can also affect their score. Therefore, growth over time is a better measure of learning.
Parents and guardians should become comfortable with the understanding that individuals will grow at different rates. Anticipated growth rates for each student are based on national norms and should be viewed as “typical” growth, not expected growth. Our teachers will use the data to differentiate and adjust instruction so that all students grow at levels appropriate for each individual.
Adapting the Test to the Student
MAP dynamically adapts to a student’s responses – as they take the test.
- Answer a question correctly and the test presents a more challenging item
- Miss a question, and MAP offers a simpler item
In this way, the test narrows in on a student’s learning level, engaging them with content that allows them to succeed.
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