The school supply shelves look pretty depleted – in fact, the Halloween costumes are already out! For many, that means it’s the first week of school, and for others, you have been back in school for a few weeks. For us, that means thinking about how we can help partners set the stage for a great year of growth. Many of you will soon be delivering a MAP test, or communicating to parents about MAP testing taking place. In preparation for fall testing, we worked with our partner support team to provide answers to 5 common questions at the beginning of testing season.
1. What kind of information can we send home to parents? It’s great to have parents invested in the academic growth of their children. In the MAP Help Center (pictured below), we have letters intended for parents in both English and Spanish. These letters give a brief overview of MAP and how it supports individualized growth.
In the MAP Center, search for “Parent Guidance”.
On our website, check out the section dedicated to providing Resources for Parents or download the Parent’s Guide to MAP (also available in Spanish and Arabic).
2. What are the best reports for the start of the year? The Achievement Status and Growth (ASG) report is a great place to start. It predicts growth for students for term to term (such as fall to winter, winter to spring). Our website has a quick reference chart on all of the available reports. It is also important to note that there is a NEW Student Profile Report and more reports will be updated soon.
3. Which students still need to be tested? How do I find out? The Test History Search will allow you to find our which students have suspended or not started testing. To access this report you will need to be assigned as a proctor. For other rostering questions go to the Roster and Data Help Center(login required).
4. Where do I find the Norm and State info? Educators use the RIT Scale Norms to compare students’ nationally based on their achievement status and changes in growth. MAP Normative Data for 2015 can be found on our website. On our website, you can also see state specific information by clicking on the tab at the top labeled “Where are you located?”
5. What accessibility and accommodations features does MAP have? The test aid available for MAP and MAP for Primary Grades (MPG) is the highlighter tool. In addition, we provide “item aids” which appear on appropriate items only. The item aid available for MAP is the calculator tool.
New this fall, NWEA now offers Accessibility tests that are compatible with JAWS (Job Access with Speech), enabling students with visual impairments to take the MAP test. For a complete rundown of item aids, test aids, accessibility and accommodations, learn more with our Accessibility and Accommodations FAQ.
One last resource! Check out our colleague Kathy Dyer’s post on the Seven things to consider in preparing for MAP. We hope that these resources have been helpful! If you have further questions, please contact Partner Support at 877-469-3287 or online.
