Ohio Department of Education Approves Use of NWEA MAP® Growth™ and MAP® Reading Fluency™

Approval provides quality data tools to Ohio educators to help identify learning gaps and what students are ready to learn next – a critical need in the era of COVID-19

 

Portland, Ore. – August 21, 2020 – NWEA, the not-for-profit provider of assessment solutions, announced today that the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has formally approved expanded use of MAP® Growth™ and the addition of MAP® Reading Fluency™ to their list of approved assessments for Ohio public schools. More than 2,000 educational organizations in the state already use NWEA’s flagship assessment MAP® Growth™, as part of their instructional plans and this approval allows the assessment to be used across more grade levels and subjects. The addition of MAP® Reading Fluency™ is significant for the state of Ohio to advance its efforts in early reading, especially now during a pandemic that’s disrupted learning across the globe.

MAP® Reading Fluency is a new, innovative assessment solution that efficiently measures oral reading fluency, literal comprehension and foundational skills for both English and Spanish speakers. It can assess an entire class in just 20 minutes freeing up valuable instructional time. Because of automatic scoring, educators have results right away that helps them understand what’s needed to advance each student’s reading skills. The innovative assessment tool is powered by LanguaMetrics.

The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card indicates only 35% of fourth graders are proficient in reading. According to research, reading at grade-level by third grade is an important predictor of future academic success for students stating that those who are not are four times less likely to graduate from high school. Now combine a national reading crisis with a pandemic that continues to disrupt school for students across the country. Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 disruptions on learning in reading is critical – especially at the younger grades when students are building their foundations of literacy.

“This back to school time is like no other and understanding the impact on students through quality, reliable data that informs educators on what steps to take next is a game changer,” said Sylvia St. Cyr, Director, Partner Accounts, at NWEA. “We’re excited to continue our efforts with Ohio schools to work together to foster growth in all kids.”

About NWEA

NWEA® is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency—and provide insights to help tailor instruction. Educators in more than 10,000 schools, districts, and education agencies in 146 countries rely on our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; our reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™ ; our personalized learning tool powered by Khan Academy, MAP® Accelerator™; and our new assessment solution that combines growth and proficiency measurement. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA can partner with you to help all kids learn.

 

Contact: Simona Beattie, Sr. Manager, Public Relations, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526.