My youngest is 2e, which likely accounts for her rather erratic test scores, but I am wondering which scores one usually "believes" as accurate when achievement scores go up and down regularly.
For instance, on NWEA MAPS, her numbers may go up or down by 20 or 30 points from one testing session to the next. I recall, in 2nd grade, she was quite high in both reading and math in the spring, and then tanked in 3rd with her fall and spring #s lower than her spring 2nd grade scores.
This year was another one of those with fall scores high, but not outstanding and a bit lower than the spring prior. In reading, she came up something like 11 points from fall to spring of 6th grade, which her teacher is seeing as amazing growth, not seeming to notice that the #s are no higher than they were at the start of 5th, just that they had fallen a lot in spring of 5th and fall of 6th grade.
Math, if she's giving me the right #, came up more like 25 pts from fall to spring of 6th. She was higher in math than reading in the fall and may be really quite high on math for spring, again if she has the # right.
What we've been told in the past is that, whenever her scores are high, she has guessed well (we've heard that a lot re IQ, MAPS, and various other tests). I've also read on NWEA's site that it is impossible to guess well and get a too high #. However, if the # is high and then goes down a bunch, which # do you believe is more accurate?
I'm not always sure that the highest number is the most accurate either, though. Thoughts?
