See How MAP Growth K-2 Exceeds Expectations for Young Learners

See How MAP Growth K-2 Exceeds Expectations for Young Learners - TLG-IMG-02282019MAP® Growth™ K-2 delivers three unique assessments that focus on the learning needs and requirements of young students: growth, screening, and skills checklists. The growth assessment measures each student’s performance, regardless of whether they are on, above, or below grade level. This assessment data is useful to inform instruction and track student growth over time.

The screening assessment provides educators with baseline information for students in the earliest stages of learning to support placement decisions. Educators can assess early literacy and early numeracy at the beginning and end of the school year. Finally, educators can use skills checklists to assess how well students know specific skills and concepts, either before or after teaching them. This valuable data can be used to focus instruction to support student growth.

At Stepstone Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, students take MAP Growth K-2 three times per year–in fall, winter, and spring. The computer-based, adaptive format of the assessment fits in seamlessly with other activities, since computers and technology are an integral part of the students’ learning. Each season, the assessment results help guide the team in differentiating instruction and evaluating programs. This made the decision to add MAP Growth K-2 to their toolkit a no-brainer, according to Colleen Lennon, Curriculum Specialist:

To be honest, there was no contest. It’s the most well-researched test out there. I’m continually impressed by the norm studies and other research NWEA publishes. I feel good about the quality of the results. When I’m asked about the credibility of the test, I know what I’m saying is research-based, and there are many studies to back it up. We’ve been thrilled to be able to work with a company like this.

Tweet: See How MAP Growth K-2 Exceeds Expectations for Young Learners https://ctt.ec/QcwD5+ #edchat #education #MAPGrowthWith MAP Growth K-2 assessment data, teachers at Stepstone Academy are able to keep small group work and daily online instructional time focused. As Lennon explains:

We use MAP Growth K–2 reports to ensure our college and career readiness alignment is great. We’ve started to develop a list of skills to incorporate into our teaching so that we can be sure we’re setting students up for success.

So far, the results are exceeding expectations. In kindergarten mathematics, Stepstone students achieved a mean growth of 26 points on the RIT scale—a jump from the 4th to the 77th percentile in just one year. In first grade mathematics, students soared from the 8th to the 73rd percentile. In reading, the mean growth was almost 25 RIT points in both kindergarten and first grade (from the 12th to the 63rd percentile in kindergarten, and to the 65th percentile in 1st grade).

As Lennon reflects:

l believe the growth is a combination of everything we’re doing: the daily computer time, the differentiation, the focused work on skills we’ve identified as needing improvement with the help of MAP Growth. Seeing how far we’ve come this year, we’re absolutely thrilled. As we move forward, our goal is for all of our students to be able to reach the benchmarks. We’re working to prepare them for our state’s upcoming summative assessment. We’re ready to continue raising the bar.

For more information on MAP Growth K-2, visit our website or download the fact sheet. To learn more about how Stepstone Academy uses assessment data to drive student growth, read the complete case study.

Blog post

Helping students grow

Students continue to rebound from pandemic school closures. NWEA® and Learning Heroes experts talk about how best to support them here on our blog, Teach. Learn. Grow.

See the post

Guide

Put the science of reading into action

The science of reading is not a buzzword. It’s the converging evidence of what matters and what works in literacy instruction. We can help you make it part of your practice.

Get the guide

Article

Support teachers with PL

High-quality professional learning can help teachers feel invested—and supported—in their work.

Read the article