MAP Growth Testing
Outline
Continuing from the testing in the PYP, students in Grades 6-10 undertake MAP Growth testing twice each year. The purpose of the testing is to measure academic progress in key areas of learning that underpin academic achievement. Results from the MAP tests are triangulated with MYP achievement data as well as teacher observation and judgment to provide a fuller picture of each learner's progress and needs.
MAP Growth testing is offered by NWEA and is norm-referenced testing that tracks each student's longitudinal growth, as well as providing comparative data sets from other international schools.
Students sit three tests, twice each year:
English reading
English language usage
Mathematics
These tests are online adaptive tests that allow for accommodations for EAL learners, students with behavioural challenges, cognitive disabilities and students that are visually impaired.
No preparation is required for students when sitting the MAP Growth tests.
Instructional Areas
English reading:
Word meaning, word origins, word relationships and semantics
Literary concepts: main ideas, details, inferences, purpose, structure and devices
Informational concepts: main ideas, details, inferences, purpose, structure and arguments
English language usage:
Language mechanics, (for example, grammar and punctuation)
Parts of speech
Usage (for example, identifying correct vocabulary in context)
Writing process (for example, the purposes and processes of editing)
Mathematics
Number sense
Computation and problem solving
Algebraic concepts
Geometry
Measurement
Data, statistics and probability
What does the test look like?
As an adaptive programme, the test questions become harder or easier depending on the accuracy of the student's responses. At the end, the test generates an RIT (Raisch Interval Unit) score. For any score, a student will have answered questions at or near that score correctly about half of the time.
Below you will see sample questions from reading, language usage, and mathematics respectively. In each case, you will see how the questions become more complex according to the RIT (the number above the question).
Reading: informational concepts (main ideas, details and inferences) (NWEA, 2020)
Language Usage: mechanics (syntax and sentence structure) (NWEA, 2020)
Mathematics: computation and problem solving. (NWEA, 2020)
Reporting and Results
Reports of the results are shared with parents. These will be sent by email and are separate to our semester school reports. As this information is comparative to the study group and not linked to DIS curriculum assessment, we advise that this report is not shown to students. Information from the testing will be used in discussion with students in the classroom with regards strengths and next steps, however, the data on the report lacks the appropriate context to be useful for a child's learning.
Please see below an annotated sample from a parent report:
The study group against which a child's results are compared comprises between 3.6 and 5.5 million students in the USA (NWEA, 2020).
As well as the report, parents are provided with relevant grade level information for comparative purposes:
mean international RIT score
mean RIT score of other international schools in Germany
Will I see growth in every report?
It is not unusual for students to reach a plateau in their learning for a period of time, which can be reflected in 'low growth' since a student's last MAP growth test. This is why triangulation against MYP achievement data as well as teacher observation and judgment is important.
Moreover, achievement in the MAP Growth tests is not decisive for MYP achievement. Students' self management and affective skills such as resilience can mean, for example, that students with lower MAP Growth scores are still able to achieve strong MYP results. While the MAP Growth tests assess student learning in some areas, the MYP curriculum covers a broader range of skills and dispositions that MAP Growth does not cover.
It is useful to note that there are also a range of factors that can influence the results of a MAP growth test. We schedule MAP Growth tests to take place in the mornings of our school days so that students might be more alert. A student's attitude and the time they spend on a test can influence the result. As well as the RIT score, we are provided with the time it took for each student to take the tests. Furthermore, the testing programme registers how quickly students respond to each question and will register what is termed 'rapid guessing'. In the teacher report, we can see how much of a test a student may have been rapidly guessing responses rather than spending time to think them through. While this information is not on the parent report, it can be shared, upon request.
Questions or concerns
If the report raises any questions or concerns for you about your child's learning progress, please contact Flora Mather, Assistant Principal and MYP Coordinator. We can arrange a virtual or face to face meeting which can also include relevant subject teachers so that your questions can be answered and any concerns addressed.
References
NWEA. “MAP Growth: Precisely Measure Student Growth and Performance.”NWEA, 2020, www.nwea.org/map-growth/.