Growth Assessment FAQs

What is NWEA?
The acronym NWEA stands for Northwest Evaluation Association. NWEA is an organization that has assessed over 13+ million students. NWEA has a presence in all 50 states, 4,500+ districts, 35,900+ schools and 146 foreign countries.

What is MAP Growth?
The acronym MAP stands for Measures of Academic Progress. MAP Growth is an online computer adaptive assessment that is aligned to the VA standards of learning that measures your child’s skill level and determines growth from one test to the next.

What does it mean to be computer adaptive?
Computer adaptive tests adjust to each student’s learning level, providing a unique set of test questions based on their responses to previous questions. If a student gets a question wrong, the next question will be easier. If a student gets a question right, the next question will be more challenging. This type of assessment challenges top performers without overwhelming students whose skills are below grade level.

What does MAP Growth measure?
MAP Growth measures what your child knows, regardless of grade level. It also measures academic growth over time allowing student progress to be tracked throughout the school year and across multiple years. MAP Growth also provides teachers and families with the ability to understand how the student’s performance compares to their peers.

 What is a RIT Score?
After each MAP Growth test, results are delivered in the form of a RIT score that reflects the student’s academic knowledge, skills, and abilities. Think of this score like you are marking height on a growth chart. You can tell how tall your child is at various points in time and how much they have grown between one stage and another. The RIT (Rasch UnIT) scale is a stable, equal-interval scale. Equal interval means that a change of 10 RIT points indicates the same thing regardless of whether a student is at the top, bottom, or middle of the scale. A RIT score has the same meaning regardless of grade level or age of the student. You can compare scores over time to tell how much growth a student has made.

 Can MAP Growth tell me if my child is working at grade level?
MAP Growth scores are just one data point that teachers use to determine how a child is performing. MAP Growth measures whether a student is performing similarly to their peers. Please discuss any questions about your student’s performance with their teacher.

Who will take the MAP Growth Assessments?
Students in grades 2-9 (in math, up through Algebra I)

Why is VBCPS (Virginia Beach City Public Schools) administering the MAP Growth Assessments?
Divisions are required by legislation to administer a growth assessment in reading and math to students in grades 3-8. Results from MAP tests are typically available to teachers, schools, and districts within 24 hours of when a student completes a test. MAP data allows schools to differentiate and adjust instruction for individual students, groups of students, or entire classes based on timely results of the assessment.

How long does it take a student to complete a MAP growth assessment?
Although the tests are not timed, on average it takes students about 45-55 minutes to complete each MAP test. The administration for younger students may only take from 20 to 30 minutes while older students may take a little more time.

How often will my child be tested?
Except for grade 2 reading which will start in the middle of the year, students will be tested in the beginning, middle and end of each course.

What are MAP tests used for?
MAP assessments are used to measure each student’s progress or growth by VA standards.

How will the school use the test scores?
MAP tests are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. The test scores let teachers know where a student’s strengths are OR if help might be needed in any specific areas. Teachers use this information to help guide individual and group instruction in the classroom. Grade levels, subject areas, schools, and division leaders will use results to continue to improve teaching and learning.

Where can I see a practice test?
For sample tests in all subjects, visit https://warmup.nwea.org/ and select Grades 2+. Here you will find student-friendly videos and practice.

How do I learn more about my students' test results, and who do I contact with specific questions?
After each administration window, a family report will be posted in the resource section of ParentVue. Ask your student’s school or teacher about test results and what more you can do to help your student achieve their academic goals.

For more information about NWEA, visit www.nwea.org or see our Student Resources in the Family Toolkit.

Commonly Used Terms

National Average: The mean value for a group of students taking the same test during the same test administration.

Percentile: This number indicates the percentage of students in the NWEA norm group (for the same grade and same time of year) that this student’s score equaled or exceeded. The percentile rank is a normative statistic that indicates how well a student performed in comparison to the student in the norm group. A student percentile rank indicates that the student scored as well as, or better than, the percent of student in the norm group. In other words, a student with a percentile rank of 72 scored as well as, or better than, 72 percent of the students in the norm group.

RIT: Tests developed by NWEA use a scale called a RIT to measure student achievement and growth. RIT stands for Rasch UnIT, which is a measurement scale developed to simplify the interpretation of test scores. The RIT score relates directly to the curriculum scale in each subject area. It is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches, so scores can be added together to calculate accurate class or school averages.