Negative Growth
The NWEA Research group has identified common behaviors which explain why some students show negative growth scores in the spring. Negative growth most commonly appears on reports for two general reasons: either students took too little time to take the test or students were not engaged during the test.
The Impact of Not Spending Enough Time on NWEA Assessments
If students spend 25 seconds or less on an item, they will not show their top performance. Generally speaking, to show their best growth, students need to spend at least 25 to 30 minutes on each test. Most students take more time per item at the start of the test, and then rush through toward the end of a test. Proctors should watch students at the end of the test and caution them to take their time. Six minutes is the lowest amount of time a student can spend on a test and still have the score be considered valid. In short: The longer a student spends taking a test, the more likely they are to demonstrate growth.
The Impact of Students Not Engaging with NWEA Assessments
Students may be over-tested and tired of taking tests (state mandated tests, other local required tests). Even students who decide not to make their best effort on NWEA tests and check the same answer letter for each question will actually begin to select correct answers; as the questions become easier, they are embarrassed to not answer correctly. The student in this case is generally engaged early in the test, then not engaged, and then engaged again. The result is that the student got enough correct answers to have the test be considered valid but achieved a very low RIT score.
Some students may "cherry pick" items on the test. That is, they will correctly answer items that are easy enough to solve quickly and guess on items that would take more work. This can lead to deflated scores.
Test fatigue may be a real issue, especially with younger students or special education students. Conducting the test in two sittings of about 30-35 minutes each may be an answer in this case. If the shorter Survey test was given in the fall or winter, followed by the longer Survey with Goals test in the spring, younger students in particular may have negative growth in the spring, as fatigue is a strong factor. Older students may not be as engaged with computer testing as younger ones are and decide to opt out as the test questions become more difficult.
A major problem exists with adults promising a fun or rewarding time "once everyone is finished with the test". Not only do the students rush, but they are not making a positive effort since something more fun awaits them at the end.
Other Concerns and Recommendations Regarding Negative Growth
Negative growth is not affected by the alignment of NWEA's Rasch Unit (RIT) scale to any state's individual standards. If a student takes an NWEA paper-pencil assessment in the fall, then moves to a MAP test in the spring, it's possible that students may get more items correct with paper-pencil tests because they contain fixed material, and may not be completely leveled to their ability. In some circumstances, this may create an insignificant shift downward on growth scores. Middle school and high school students are likely to see very little improvement in reading scores, unless the school/district has a focused reading improvement program at those higher grades. Students who have emotional or physical problems on or near the spring test dates that were not experienced in prior testing sessions may be less engaged with testing.
Recommendations
Proctors should log start and end times for students when possible. Documenting short test times can explain an unexpected poor result. Students who have an 11-point decline in their RIT score should be considered for re-testing. Students with growth index scores under -11 (mathematics) would be in the bottom 10% of performers based on our current study. Retesting is not helpful if the student is not more engaged on the second attempt. The RIT Scale Norms book contains tables showing the likely growth or decline by grade level.