As we enter the Fall MAP Testing window, I wanted to offer a perspective on MAP testing as a parent and partner in the education programs my children encounter. My three children have all been assessed in the content areas of Reading and Mathematics through Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) over the last nine years. As a parent, I can attest to the fact that these results prove most informative for me to see how my children were growing in these subject areas and how I might support the instructional programs at home during the school year and over the summer.
I first learned of Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) when my daughter (now in college) would take a screener test called the Achievement Level Test (ALT). Based on the results of this screener, she would then complete a content area test in a traditional “paper and pencil” format. After multiple testing seasons, she became so familiar with the ALT screener test that she remembered many of the questions. Moreover, she took the same content area test each testing season in her later elementary years.
Something different occurred in Fall of 2002 when NWEA’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) was released and implemented in their schools. Assessment took on a new look with online tests that provided immediate feedback and were customized for each individual. What this meant was that even at the fifth grade level, a student could be assessed with items appropriate for her/his ability, even if those items were appropriate for students many grade levels above or below the grade level of attendance.
MAP is an adaptive, computer-based test that has no time limit or fixed set of questions. The MAP test establishes each student’s initial test item difficulty at his/her grade level. From the first answer submitted, the student’s performance determines the difficulty of the questions that will be presented on the rest of the test. If the student answers the question correctly, a more difficult question is provided. If the student answers the question incorrectly, an easier question is provided.
By the end of the 48 to 52 question Survey with Goals test, the students have experienced a truly customized assessment that is not limited to the grade level. In this way, a student could be assessed with test items that would generally be reserved for students in different grade levels. Based on the results of the Reading test, students receive a Lexile score (which they also receive on their ISAT report). The Lexile score can be used to determine a range of reading material that is suitable for independent and guided reading activities at home and at school. Please visit the Lexile web site for more information on how support reading through this framework.
To find out more about the MAP test, NWEA provides a great resource for parents called the Parent Toolkit. This is a great way to learn about the RIT (Rasch Unit) score and how it can be used to measure growth of an individual.
The NWEA 201: The Basics overview also provides some good foundational information on how the test is different than other tests .
To prepare for MAP testing, your child should not try to study (or cram) for this test. Rather, this test is a measure of where your child is performing AT THE TIME OF THE TEST. Think of MAP as you would taking a height or weight measurement. The goal of this is to measure growth over time. Your child needs to get enough sleep the night before the test and to reduce any test anxiety. If you would like any further information about the times and dates scheduled for your child’s Reading and Mathematics MAP tests, please contact your child’s teacher.
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