NWEA stands for the North West Evaluation Association. NWEA is a not-for-profit organization committed to helping schools improve learning for all students. 

MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is an online assessment that is aligned to national standards and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). These computerized assessments are adaptive and offered in Reading, Language Usage, Mathematics, and Science. When taking a MAP assessment, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all of 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. This is the most accurate way to pinpoint a student’s readiness to learn new material and concepts. MAP is not a mastery level or high stakes assessment. MAP Growth—measures areas that are related to standards.

In the ARCHGH, our focus is on student growth, a student’s progress between two or more points of time to demonstrate their progression toward goals or benchmarks. Reality tells us that all students cannot attain the same levels of academic achievement. Not every child is a straight A student, not every student can achieve above average performance on classroom or standardized assessments, and not every student can cross the same finish line in an academic year. A focus on end-of-year achievement does not consider where a student begins and has goals that are “one-size fits all.” Further, it does not account for individual strengths and weaknesses. As Catholic schools fulfilling our mission to educate all, a focus on student growth supports our belief that every student can grow in their learning and academic success regardless of their academic abilities and past experiences. MAP allows schools to assess and monitor student growth during the school year and between school years.

No. MAP assessments are designed to target an individual student’s academic performance. Assessments are tailored to a student’s current instructional level giving students a fair opportunity to show what they know, what they can do, and what they are ready to learn.

Rapid guessing occurs when a student moves quickly through questions without fully reading or considering them. When this happens, the assessment may no longer accurately reflect what the student truly knows or can do. This can lead to lower inaccurate scores, instructional decisions being made based on incomplete data, or an unclear picture of a student’s academic growth over time. To maintain accurate and meaningful results, NWEA recommends retesting students who rapidly guess on 30% or more of the questions.

MAP Growth uses the RIT (Rasch Unit) Scale to measure and compare academic achievement and growth. The scale from 90-300 measures levels in academic difficulty. The RIT scale extends equally across all grades, making it possible to compare a student's score at various points throughout their education. What does a specific RIT score mean? It represents the level where a student is just as likely to answer items at a particular RIT score incorrectly as they would answer them correctly. 

Yes, the reading test provides a Lexile for each student assessed.

The Family Report is the report that should be distributed to parents. Schools determine the frequency of distribution. At minimum the report should be distributed once after end-of-year assessments are complete.

Parents can access additional information through the following links:

ARCHGH Parent’s Guide to MAP Growth
NWEA.org
NWEA Family Toolkit