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What are your thoughts on MAP testing as an indicator of giftedness?

DD10 scored a 240 on her Reading MAP this fall which puts her in the 99th percentile (maybe even 99.99%) and aligns with 11th grade (she's in 5th).

I know my DD's are gifted, but I've often wondered HOW gifted they are. We haven't needed to do IQ testing at this point (although DD8 may be doing a grade or subject skip so IQ testing may be in our near future for her).

I wonder if DD10 would be considered HG/PG with a score of 240. But not sure if it's an accurate measure or assumption in regards to levels of giftedness.

What are your thoughts?

Posted By: longcut Re: Is MAP a decent indicator of giftedness? - 11/05/16 12:57 AM
From what I've seen around here, since MAP is an achievement test, it could mean the child is a good tester with a lot of crystallized knowledge, a good question guesser when faced with new difficult material, or it could support being gifted. From my own personal experience with a DS who had high scores in CogAT, MAP, WIAT, state tests, and EXPLORE at that age, his WISC V did not place him quite in the 145+ range, but the other tests did.
Higher score in MAP means she is great academically compared to the same age group peers. No more than that. MAP is not designed to measure any giftedness-related ability. It measures straight forward academic concepts taught in each grade level.

Usually, Gifted kids are ahead of school curriculum and they can get higher score on the MAP test, but MAP can not be an indicator of giftedness. I think your DD's giftedness might have helped get higher score on the MAP test. But, you have to use different tools to evaluate her actual level of giftedness or IQ.

The score aligned with 11th grade norm doesn't mean she is 11th level in English or she can jump to 11th English class. Even Elementary and Secondary kids take a different set of exam and usually kids are experiencing dropping of scores when they switch from primary to secondary MAP exam because secondary exam holds more difficult problems.
You may use DD's score to see if there're enough peer groups at her class and to consider advanced placement, independent learning, etc.
Thanks for your thoughts. I understand MAP results can't be used to measure IQ, just wondered if anyone had noticed a correlation between MAP scores and their child's IQ.

We're conferencing with DD10's teachers next week, and I plan on exploring options to continue to grow her academically within her classroom with a score of 240. Otherwise, we have no reason to move her at the moment (she is taking an accelerated math course already). Thankfully, one of her teachers is also certified as a gifted teacher so I'm sure they'll understand! smile
Posted By: Loy58 Re: Is MAP a decent indicator of giftedness? - 11/05/16 09:25 PM
No, I don't think MAP is a measure of IQ. It's a measure of achievement. That being said, both of my DYS have always had very high MAP scores, often spiking RIT scores well, well over the minimum 99% mark. I believe that MAP itself talks about scores above the 95th percentile as being an indicator of giftedness. I believe that many gifted students who are sufficiently exposed to higher-level material, and who are not struggling with a LD, also demonstrate this type of achievement.

It sounds like your DD attends a school with a least one teacher trained in teaching gifted students, which is wonderful! It may not be necessary to further ability test her to confirm that she needs something different to help her grow. I would not bother with further testing, unless she needs it.

Posted By: indigo Re: Is MAP a decent indicator of giftedness? - 11/06/16 03:53 PM
While MAP testing may not be an indicator of "giftedness" per se, it can be a reliable indicator of a child's mastery in a given subject area. In some cases the MAP score may reveal that the child has the readiness and ability for advanced curriculum.

The readiness and ability for advanced curriculum, the need for more academic and intellectual challenge in order to keep learning and growing, is what schools may increasingly rely on (as opposed to a "gifted" designation or label). This may be related, in part, to lowered standards which may result in 15-45% of students working one or more grade levels ahead beyond the standard curriculum, although a much smaller number may have an IQ in the "gifted" range. Thinking along those lines, this old post may be of interest.
Not a measure of IQ, but there's a reason that Davidson accepts achievement tests, not just IQ tests. (They don't accept MAP, but they do take the WIAT and the SAT.)
That's about 2.27 standard deviations above mean, or 98.8th percentile. HG and PG are typically defined as 3 and 5 SD, respectively (251/281V, though as noted it's more an achievement than IQ test. ED is 4 SD)

For reference, my DYS DD12 scored 251R/274M in 5th Fall. (Her qualification was mostly based on SAT M scores). My oldest was 226V/243M and has consistently been 95-98th percentile. IME, I would guess that it has a fairly high correlation to "gifted"

What does "aligns" with 11th mean? I've never seen that terminology. 240 is 85th percentile for 11th grade.
My understanding of the MAP scoring system is that a score of 240 would indicate that if 11th graders were given the same leveled test your DD took, 85% of them would score a 240. It doesn't necessarily mean she's reading at an 11th grade level.

This test is also has different stairs in it and it is quite possible to hit a ceiling with the exam.

I'd pursue some other testing if you do not feel you are getting the services she needs.
Posted By: longcut Re: Is MAP a decent indicator of giftedness? - 11/15/16 06:57 AM
Originally Posted by MamaRachel
My understanding of the MAP scoring system is that a score of 240 would indicate that if 11th graders were given the same leveled test your DD took, 85% of them would score a 240. It doesn't necessarily mean she's reading at an 11th grade level.

It's not quite like that, as it is adaptive, not grade-level-based. MAP test comes in three versions, PK-2, 2-5, and 6+ (which includes all the 2-5 questions and higher), so while you can't really equate a score from the grade 2-5 test to 11th grade (it doesn't have as many questions at the higher RIT levels), you can compare grade 2 to 5 pretty well, and even a loosely to grades 6-8.

A score of 240 on the 2-5 is between 98-99th percentile for a 5th grader. That means better than 98% of all 5th graders who take the 2-5 test.

You can compare students in grade 6 to grade 11 taking the 6+ test -- the scores go up each level. At the 85th percentile for grade 11, if one got a 240 on the 6+ test, that would mean they did better than 85% of students in grade 11, not that 85% of 11th graders score that high.
Originally Posted by MamaRachel
240 would indicate that if 11th graders were given the same leveled test your DD took, 85% of them would score a 240.

With the caveats above, it would mean that 85% scored below that level, not that 85% scored at that level. 85% lower, 15% equal to or higher.
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