Assessment

The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) is an educational services organization based in Portland, Oregon. The company developed research-based computerized adaptive assessments for students. The assessments are growth-based informative instructional tools for teachers and students alike. NWEA results provide the teachers and students with immediate results that can be utilized in the classroom to target student learning and focus on student needs.

The MAP or Measures of Academic Progress is a computerized adaptive test, which means every student receives a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. The difficulty of each question is based on how well the student answers all the previous questions. If answered correctly the test items become more difficult, if answered incorrectly, the questions become less difficult or adapt to the level of the student.

Assessments will occur 3 times a year in Reading and Math (K-12).  Students are assessed in Fall, Winter, and Spring. The results provide teachers and students with a measure of student growth in achievement and allow for more focused teaching and learning.

This document provides charts to show average RIT scores for students at different grade levels and provides background information regarding the normative study group.

Related Files

2020 Normative Comparative Data

2020 Normative Data Overview

These are annotated reports that describe the results of a student’s MAP results. The documents display the student’s scores as compared to the district average and NWEA norm group average in both text and graphical format

Related Files

NWEA for Website/NWEA Student Progress Report Text Format

NWEA Student Progress Report Graph Format

Student Progress Report Quick Reference (Student Sample)

The list of Frequently Asked Questions has been compiled to provide information about many facets of the NWEA MAP Assessment.

Q: What are MAP Assessments?
A: Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computer adaptive test, which means every student receives 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.

Q: What do MAP assessments measure?
A: MAP results are provided as a numerical RIT score. This score is used to measure a student’s achievement level at different times of the school year and compute growth. Think of this like marking height on a growth chart. You can tell how tall your child is at various points in time and how much he or she has grown over the years.

Q: What do the scores mean?
A: MAP tests use a scaled score called a RIT score to measure student achievement and growth. The nationally normed interval scale was developed to assist with the interpretation of assessment scores that allow us to measure student learning over time, much like measuring height with a ruler.

Q: When will my child be assessed?
A: Assessments will occur 3 times a year in Reading and math (K-1) and 3 times a year in Reading, Math, and Language Arts (2-12). Students are assessed in Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Q: Do all students in the same grade take the exact same assessment?
A: No. MAP assessments are designed to target a student’s academic performance. These assessments are tailored to an individual student’s current achievement level. This gives each student an opportunity to show what he or she knows and can do. The computer adjusts the difficulty of the questions so that each student takes a unique assessment.

Q: How do teachers use the results?
A: MAP assessments are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They let teachers know where students’ strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Teacher use this information to help them guide instruction and meet individual student’s needs in the classroom.

Q: What is the difference between the GA Milestones and MAP?
A: The Ga Milestones is designed to measure how well students acquire Georgia standards for their grade level. MAP assessments are aligned to the GA Milestones. However, they are designed to measure Growth for a student. MAP assessments are adaptable and each student takes a unique assessment. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level.

Q: How do teachers use the results?
A: MAP assessments are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They let teachers know where students’ strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Teachers us this information to help them personalize instruction in order to maximize every student’s academic growth.

Q: When will parents receive the MAP results?
A: Parent will receive the results three times a year at the end of each assessment period.

Q: What if a parent would like more information or has questions about their child’s results?
A: Contact your child’s teacher and/or go to www.nwea.org.