What is NWEA? NWEA™ (Northwest Evaluation Association) is a global not-for-profit educational services organization located in Portland, Oregon. NWEA partners with over 3,500 educational organizations worldwide to provide research-based adaptive assessments, professional development, and research services. NWEA’s mission is partnering to help all kids learn. As a result of NWEA tests, educators can make informed decisions to promote your child’s academic growth.
What is the MAP? NWEA’s assessments are called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®). When taking these computerized adaptive tests, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. In an optimal test, a student answers approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level.
Do all students in the same grade take the same test? No. MAP® assessments are designed to target a student’s academic performance in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science. These tests are tailored to an individual’s current achievement level. The computer adjusts the difficulty of the questions so that each student takes a unique test. This gives each student a fair opportunity to show what he or she knows and can do.
How long does it take to complete a test? Although the tests are not timed, it usually takes students about one hour to complete each MAP® test.
What are MAP 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 chart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP assessments do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s progress by 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.
How do teachers use the test scores? MAP tests are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They let teachers know where a student’s strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Teachers use this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom.
How is MAP different from the state-required tests? MAP assessments are based on state standards and can help students prepare for state-required tests (MCAs). However, unlike the MCAs, the MAP is adaptive. The difficulty of each question changes to find the level for your child. The goal is not to pass the test, but to find out how to help your child learn throughout the school year.
What type of question are on he MAP Growth test? Are there any samples?The MAP Growth tests include multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and other types of questions. You can view our Warm Up Test to get an idea of what the questions look like.
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