This research brief examines the data on holding back five-year-olds from starting kindergarten – a practice known as redshirting. Using national data from over three million kindergartners from NWEA’s MAP Growth K-2 assessment, this study explores redshirting trends between fall 2017 and 2025. It also follows a kindergarten cohort (2021-22) through the third grade, examining whether there were academic advantages for redshirted students.

This is the technical appendix for the research brief titled, “Should kindergartners be redshirted?” which examines the data on holding back five-year-olds from starting kindergarten – a practice known as redshirting.

This is a family facing fact sheet about the data on the practice of delaying kindergarten, known as redshirting. Schools can use this fact sheet with families considering redshirting or who just want more information.

The 2025 norms update addresses several critical factors: evolving U.S. student demographics, documented shifts in academic performance following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the item-selection algorithm in the newly enhanced MAP® Growth™.

This technical report documents the processes and procedures employed by NWEA to build and support the English MAP Reading Fluency assessment.

This document provides an overview of the research underlying MAP Reading Fluency with Coach’s AI-powered intelligent reading tutor and the research on key elements of early literacy instruction. It describes the components of the MAP Reading Fluency with Coach pedagogy and the research base supporting each component.

This executive summary outlines results from the Content Proximity spring 2022 pilot study, including information on the validity, reliability, and test score comparability of MAP Growth assessments that leverage this new item-selection algorithm.