School Blog

Growth is a computer adaptive test created by NWEA that kids take two to three times per school year. The results provide teachers with information to help them deliver appropriate content for each student and determine each student’s academic growth over time.

MAP Growth measures what students know, regardless of their grade level. It also measures growth over time, allowing you to track your student’s progress throughout the school year and across multiple years.

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 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 thetop, bottom, or middle of the scale, and a RIT score has the same meaning regardless ofgrade level or the age of the student. You can compare scores over time to tell how much growth a student has made.

The MAP scale measures students over time, and NWEA has data from millions of American and international students. The testing information is important to teachers because it indicates a student's strengths are and help that is needed in any specific areas. Teachers can use this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom.

▲ Student Progress Report sample

If you want to know more about the test, you can open this link to get access to student resources from the official NWEA website.

■ Become an active reader. Actively reading means keeping yourself focused on the main goals of the text, searching for the main purpose of each paragraph and how it contributes to the overall role of the text. This skill is absolutely vital for reading comprehension questions.

■ Carry a vocabulary notebook. Came across a new word? Jot it down! Writing it makes it easier to remember. You will be surprised how many useful words you’ll come across, especially if you follow our first tip.

■ Practice speed reading techniques. Linked to active reading, speed reading can be an excellent way of zeroing in on the main purpose of passages and thus saving valuable time during the test. Remember: while the MAP is not a timed exam, the mind itself has a limit to how long it can remain focused, so that, no matter what, your time is limited.

■ Solve one math problem a day. Math becomes far less threatening when you make the goal to practice it a little smaller. Thus, we recommend starting with one math problem a day and working your way from there.

■ Practice using specific math techniques. Sometimes getting to the right answer with a math problem is all about nailing down the right technique to use. Therefore, take the time to learn and revise various methods of solving mathematical problems.

■ Know the why, not just the how. Especially with math questions, It can be very easy to fall into the trap of answering the question simply through using the standard given formula and nothing more. However, it is important to make sure you understand the formula as well. If not it can be extra tricky when you reach questions that are a little more abstract and a little less straightforward.