MAP Parent Guide - July 14, 2025 - DCSD Board Meeting Archive

This guide was created as a resource to help your family better
understand MAP and your child's results.

1. What is MAP?
You may be familiar with paper and pencil tests where all students a re asked the same questions and spend a
fixed amount of time taking the test. Measures of Academic Progress'~ (MAP"'), created by Northwest Evaluation
Association'''' (NWENM ), is different. MAP is a computer adaptive test, which means every student gets a unique set
of test questions based on respon ses to previous qu estio ns. As th e student answers correctly, questions get harder. If
the student answers incorrectly, the questions get eas ier. By the end of the test, most students will answer about half
the questions correctly.

2 . What does MAP measure?
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 com pute 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 they have grown between one time and another.

3. What is a RIT score?
After each MAP test, students receive a RITscore. Think of the score as a student's height. The score reflects the
student's academic knowledge, skills, and abilities like inches refl ect height.
The RrT (Rasch Unit) scale is a stabl e. equal-interval scale, like Feet and inches. Equal-interval means that a change
of 10 RIT points indicates the same thing regardl ess of whether a st udent is at the top, bottom, or middle of the
scale, and a RITscore has the same meaning regardless of grade level or age of the student. Scores over time can be
compared to tell how much growth a student has made, similar to measuring height with a ruler.
You can find out more about the RIT scal e here.

4 . How do schools and teachers use MAP scores?
NWEA provides many different reports to help schools and teachers use MAP information. Schools. grade levels, and
classes can be monitored to see how students are growing.
Teachers can see the progress of individual students and of their class as a whole. Students with similar MAP scores
are generally ready for instruction in similar skills and topics. MAP also provides data around the typical growth for
students who are in the same grade, subject, and have the same starting achievement level. This data is often used
to help students set goals and understand what they nee d to learn to achieve their goals.

5. Can MAP tell me if my child is working at grade level?
Just as a doctor has a chart showing the most common heights of people at certain ages, NWEA has put together
charts shOWing the median RrT scores fo r students at various grade levels. NWEA resea rchers examined the scores of
millions of students to find the average scores for students in various grades. You can see a chart of these scores in
the Comparative Data to Inform Instructional Decisions PDF. Please note that MAP scores are just one data point
that teach ers use to determine how a student is per fo rm ing. Pl ease discuss any questions that you have about your
child's perFormance with your child's teacher.

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6. What subjects are available with MAP?
There are MAP tests for grades 2 - 12 in reading, language usage, mathemati cs, and science.
There are also Primary Grade s tests for grades K - 2 in reading and mathematics. With these chil d-friendly tests for
young learners, students wear headphones since many questions include audio to assist those who are still learning
to read. The tests for grades K - 2 may also be referred to as MAP for Primary Grades (MPG).

7. How long is a MAP test?
Tests are not timed , and students may take as much time as they need to complete them . Most students take less
than an hour to complete a MAP test. MPG tests typically last a shorter time.

8 . How often will my child take MAP tests?
Most chools give MAP tests to students at the beginning, middle , and end of the school year. Some schools have
students take MAP tests at other times throughout the year.

9. Is MAP a standardized test? How is it different from "high
stakes" or state tests?
Most state or high-sta kes tests are called summative \.p,>i-,_ They measure what students already know, based on what
is expected at their grade level, and are typically given at the end of the school year as a way to measure grade-level
pro fi ci e n cy.
MAP tests are interim tests. This means they may be given periodically during the year. MAP is based on the same
standards as the summative tests so they measure similar content. Teachers receive immediate results with MAP that
show what students know and what they are ready to learn. The results can be used to help personalize lessons at
the appropriate level for the students.

10. What type of questions are on MAP tests? Are there sample
tests?
The MAP tests include multiple choice, drag and drop, and other types of questions. You can access some short
sample tests to get an idea of what MAP questions look like.

11 . Are MAP tests accessible?
Yes, NWEA is committed to making our tests accessible for all students. Download our Accessibility and
Accommodations FAq for more details.

12. What information will I receive from my child's school?
Most schools will provide your child's Student Progress Report. This report contains information and scores from
your child's most recent and past MAP tests . A simplified sample report with definitions and explanations is included
in this document to help you better understand the report. Please contact your child's school or teacher directly for
any additional information.

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13. How do I learn more about my child's test results?
Contact your child's school or teacher with any specific questions you may have about your child's test results.
Due to privacy laws regarding student information (specifically stemming from the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy
Act, FERPA), NWEA is unable to discuss any student information, test results, or school assessment programs directly with
parents, guardians, or other family members.

14. How can I help my child prepare for MAP tests?
Your child's teacher will help with any pre-test instructions to explain the test to the students. Just like any school day, make
sure your child is well-rested and fed with a well-rounded diet. Encou rage them to do their best.

15. What does NWEA do with my child's information? Is it secure?
NWEA uses technological and operational measures to e nsure security and privacy. A few of these include: regular security
audits and monitoring, technological controls, physical access controls, and privacy training for employees.
NWEA does not use your child's personally identifiable information (PII) for any purpose other than to provide services to
your child's school. Combined information that has been stripped of PII, and therefore is not traceable to any student, is used
for research and development so we can continuously improve our products and accelerate learning for all students.
We do not sell PII. Data sharing (if any) is completely at the control of the educational institutions that purchase our products.

Founded by educators nearly 40 years ago, NWEA is a global not-for-profit educational services organization known for
our flagship interim assessment, MAP. More than 7,800 partners in US schools, school districts, education agencies, and
international schools trust us to offer pre-kindergarten through grade 12 assessments that accurately measure student
growth and learning needs, professional development that fosters educators' ability to accelerate student learning, and
research that supports assessment validity and data interpretation. To better inform instruction and maximize every learner's
academic growth, educators currently use NWEA assessments with nearly eight million students.

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~ick Reference
Thi s OJ!i ck Referen ce samp le report is meant to help you understdnd the Student Progre~s Rep ort for our child. The Student Progr ss Re port you rece ive will
contain your child's NWEA MAP test r~ u lts .
The MAP tes t:, determine YOllr child's instructional level and me",ure academic growth throughout the scliuul years in which your child was tested. NWEA
research ers an alyze test data from millions of students and dete rmi ne how stud ents MAP sco res typically change over time based on the subject, grade, and
their start.ing achi evement leve l. The report uses his Info rmation to show you ho w your chil d IS doing comp ared to ot he r stu de nts In the same grade in your
child's schoo l d istri ct and ac ross the United Sta tes.
Your child's MA P res ults are pro ided as a nume ri ca l RIT score . Yo ur chlld's re po rt tnJy ((l ntai " multi ple ch arts renecti ng the varioLi s ' It ubject areas. Because
school di stricts can make s v ra l cho ices when Ihey pri nt this ,·e pori. your reporL may lo ok d in; re nt; For exam ple. you may see a bar chart instea d of a line
graph . This ",ill not change the meaning of the data on th e report.
If you have que,tio ns abo ut th is re port. please contact your child's schoo l or teach e r.

Studen t Progress Report
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Ch.Jrt legend RI!SUHs Table Legend
7. Growth Comparison Period - The terms that define th e time frame for
1. Student RIT - The stud ent' RrT core on each test.
which the RfT Grol'.1h, Growth Projection and Student RIT Projection
Z. District Grad e Level Mean RIT - The average RIT score for students in the va lu (s) are calculated.
sam e school district and sa me grade Jnd subject that were tested at the same
ti me as the stud ent nam ed on th is report. Th is number Is only genera ted a. Te mn /Y ar - The test term (FA~ fali. SP=spring, WI=winter, 5U ~umm e r) and
the year whe n the stude nt took the test.
after th district fi nis hes testing. If you do not see thi s nu mber. it is becau l
th e district did not mark the testing season comp lete fo r the term. 9. Crade - Grade of th e stud ent when the tes! was taken.
J. Nomn Grade Level Mean RIT - Th e average RIT score for stu dents Who 10. RIT- The middle. bold number is the stu de n ~s RrT score. The numbers on
were in the same grade and tested in the same subject in the s"m e term. If ei her side of the bold RIT score define the RfT range. If retested soon , the
you do not se this num ber, it 1\ because it is not available due La a la ck of stud nt's score wo uld fall within this range most of the time .
suffi Cien t co mparable dat.! for th e grade and su bjecL 11 RIT Growth - This shows the student's growth in RIT pOin ts made between
4, Stud ent RIT Projection - Th e pmjecled RIT sco re when th e stud ent takes a growth t e ~ls in the Growth mpMison P riod. For e"" mple, if U,e Growth
future test. Th is projectio n IS based on how the ~ tu denl has performed en Compariso n Period (see #7 above) is fall to fall , thi s will show the growth
pa st tests and how other students in the same grade and subject who tested betwee n consecutive fa ll u,sts.
in the same term wi th similar scores have performed 11. Growth Proj ection - Th e average growth of students who were in the same
5. Goals Performance - Each test subject, li ke Read ing, is broken down into grad , tested in the ", me subj ect. were tested in the sam e initi al term, and
different aneas ca iled "goals." This section shows how the student did on began with a ' imila r RIT score.
each goal area. You may see a R range here, or a descnptive adje tive. Goal 13. Percentile Ran ge - Th~ nu mber in th e mi ddl e is this student's p r entile
descrip ors translate the pe rcentile to one of the following: Low (p ercentl l r] nk, or the perce ntage of students in the sam e grade that had a RIT score
less than Zl ). LoAvg (percentile between 21 and 40), Avg (percentrle between less tha n or equ al to this stud ent's score. The num bers on either sid e of the
41 and 60), HiAvg (percentile between 61 an d 80). and High (percenll! pe rce ntile ra nk defi ne the percentile range. If retested soon, the student's
greater than 80). So. for example, if th e stud en t's sc re for "Building perc ntile rank woul d be ,, 'thl n this range m st of the li me .
Vocabulary" is HiAvg, this mean s that the stud en is performing b lter in
this goal tha n 61-80% of oth er students in the same grade. If you see an
asterisk H for any goal, that mean s that the goal score was not able to be
calculated due to too many qu stions answered ·nco rrecUy.
6. Lexile RJnge - Thi s range dppears when th e student has ta ken dreading
test. This ra nge allows you to fi nd reading material, appropriate for your
stude nt. You ca n use it with online resources to identifY appropriately
challenging books, periodicals, and other rea ding material. Lexile"" is a

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