White paper
How Post‑COVID Norm Shifts Change the Meaning of MAP Growth Metrics for School Accountability
July 2026
By: Ayesha K. Hashim
Description
This white paper examines how the 2025 update to NWEA’s MAP® Growth™ national norms changes the interpretation and use of key norm referenced metrics in school accountability contexts. We show how shifts in post COVID achievement and growth patterns and the introduction of NWEA’s enhanced item selection algorithm (EISA), call for careful review of commonly used metrics.
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This is the technical appendix to the research brief, “The Power of Connectedness: A Case for a Coherent Instructional System for Reading and Science Improvement,” which examines the practices and conditions of a coherent instructional system, and where and how it had the most impact.
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Products: MAP Growth
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User Guide and FAQ: MAP Growth National Dashboard
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Technical Appendix: MAP Growth National Dashboard
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Using data from the MAP Growth National Dashboard, this Trends Snapshot report focuses on academic growth trends post-COVID and points to a positive turn for U.S. reading after years of stagnation. This positive trend was also noted for historically underserved groups who showed the largest reading gains from 2025 to 2026.
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Achievement and Growth Norms for Spanish MAP Reading Fluency Foundational Skills
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By: Wei He
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Topics: Early learning, Item response theory, Measurement & scaling, Test design