FAQ: Science

How do NWEA Science assessments work with other NWEA resources?
To which grade levels are NWEA Science assessments applicable?
What goal areas are covered by the Survey with Goals (adaptive) tests?
What are the prerequisites for licensing NWEA Science assessments?
How do NWEA Science tests align to state standards?

How do NWEA Science assessments work with other NWEA resources?

Science tests are an optional component of the MAP assessment program. Science skills and concepts are included in DesCartes. In states that have state-aligned Science tests, NWEA will also have science sections of DesCartes that align to the structure and content of state standards. For all other states, the science sections of DesCartes rely on the content and goal structures of national standards.

To which grade levels are NWEA Science assessments applicable?

Science test items are useful up to and including tenth grade. After tenth grade the general science scale typically breaks into three different domains (biology, chemistry, and physics), which measure differently from each other.

What goal areas are covered by the Survey with Goals (adaptive) tests?

The Reading tests cover phonological awareness, phonics, concepts of print, vocabulary and word structure, comprehension, and writing.

The Mathematics tests cover problem solving, number sense, computation, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability, and algebra.

What are the prerequisites for licensing NWEA Science assessments?

MAP for Mathematics, Reading, and Language Usage must be licensed prior to purchasing the Science assessments.

How do NWEA Science tests align to state standards?

The NWEA Science tests are state-aligned for several states, and nationally aligned for others.

The nationally-aligned tests are based on the two national standards documents that exist in science, the AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literary and the NRC's National Science Education Standards. Like the national standards, many state standards emphasize inquiry, the unifying concepts which underlie all branches of the sciences and content knowledge in earth and space sciences, the physical sciences, and biological sciences. Like the national standards, they also emphasize the interaction of science, technology, and society. NWEA tests emphasize inquiry, unifying concepts, and the content knowledge described.