MAP – What is it?

Measure of Academic Progress

Northwest Evaluation Association

Reading, Math, Language tests

How MAP works

• Measures growth to inform teaching and learning

• State aligned

• Computerized

• Adaptive assessment

• Growth and achievement data drive instruction

• Possible to take the tests 4 times per year

(How it works – continued)

• Adapts to each student’s ability

• Measures academic growth over time

“Our teachers finally feel empowered to make adjustments to their instruction based on data for each student.”

Ginger Hopkins, Associate Superintendent of Academics and Accountability, Beaufort County, South Carolina

Interpreting the Data

• Teacher report within 24 hours

• Use data right away

• Student gets immediate score

• RIT score (scale 150-250) – constant growth scale corresponding to K-12 NC curriculum

• What is RIT – Rasch Unit – George Rasch – Danish mathematician measurement

(Interpreting the Data – continued)

• Measures how “tall” a student is on the curriculum (like measuring height on a yard stick)

• Curriculum scale that uses individual item difficulty to estimate student achievement

• DesCartes Learning Continuum – continuing skills aligned with state standards

(Interpreting the Data – Continued)

• Lexile Score – align reading level of texts (identifies reading material that is at an appropriate difficulty level for an individual student)

• Goal performance – strands based on state curriculum

• Standard Deviation – how “spread out” the instructional level is for a group of students

Student Goal Setting

• Engage students in their own learning

• Conference with them – show strengths and weaknesses

• Set goals to improve 1-3 points in reading evaluation, etc.

• Track progress from fall to spring or each time you take the test

Scores

• Score range should be used in placement/grouping decisions

• Percentile – scored as well as or better than students in the same grade (not a good measure for individual growth)

Summary Data Reports

• Class average (mean)

• Class median – middle score

Most importantly!

• Clusters students with skills needed

Ways to Use MAP scores

• RIT score – overall performance of class• Goal strands – individual

strengths/weaknesses• Clustered groups in terms of performance• Create flexible groups for specific skills• Identify groupings for differentiated

instruction• DesCartes –Skills and Concepts to

Develop/Enhance/Introduce

Ways to Use MAP scores (continued)

• Select appropriate materials for instruction

• Compare class growth and individual growth from fall to spring

Overall RIT Scores

Teacher Report - Reading

Goal Strand

Possible Concerns

• Cost: $11.00 per student per test

• Time frame

• Computer lab availability

• Students taking the test seriously

• Realistic time to disaggregate data

• Time to plan for differentiated instruction based on data

Support

• “Teachers and principals are using data to make instructional decisions and to evaluate their efforts. They are asking themselves and teams more sophisticated, in-depth questions about their practices.”

John Wilson, Assessment and Evaluation Coordinator, Tempe, AZ