Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion new NWEA MAP norms

Cricket... that wasn't the school. I think that was NWEA and how the reports printed this year. DD's spring reading was 96th percentile on the report in the spring and 73rd percentile on the fall report... not sure how that happens either

Yes, Cricket that happened for us too. I think it's lame that NWEA went back and changed the 2009 data to match the 2011 norms. How did my kid get normed to a group of data that didn't exist at the time.

He apparently got dumber retroactively ;-)

What I did notice was that the top end has a wider spread and 99th percentile seems to be further out there than it was before. On one hand, this is good because they are recognizing the top end. On the other, it is a little frustrating for advocacy because I can hear the teacher now saying "He's not 99th percentile for the next grade up anymore, see right here?" Well just because you changed the data, doesn't mean you taught him anything this year!

Thanks for posting the link to the updated norms report. It does look like a big jump at the high end. It also looks like it'll be a greater stretch for kids on the high end to meet their growth goals which may help for advocacy.

Thanks for the link, djf!

I'll be very interested to see how our district handles this information. I'll bet they're already gearing up for a lot of bewildered/angry callers!

As I see it... my dd7 didn't not learn anything.. they just changed the norms. I am not looking back on the scores but forward. What is the school going to do moving ahead to ensure the kids at the higher end meet growth goals and maintain their percentiles.

We're homeschooling this year, precisely due to the school's lack of interest in MAP scores. They test the kids 3x a year from K-6th grade. But they were only interested in 70th percentile and below. They were using MAP as a predictor of state standardized testing. Anyone above 70th percentile was essentially let off the hook for the year. I kid you not, my son was completely excused from math in 3rd grade. No different work, no next level up- just excused to read a book.

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. My son is in 3rd grade and he got 203 in nwea math in Fall 2011.
He had his second Nwea math test today in Winter 2012. His score was 206.
Is this a good improvement? First of all, what score is considered as a good score for a kid in 3rd grade?
Is my child below grade level or above grade level? I am confused.
Can someone explain me in detail please?

Hi, BmJ. That's unfortunately not much of an improvement, which might indicate that your son is not learning much at school. On the other hand, it might simply be that he had a bad test day during the winter, etc.

203 is at the 81st-82nd percentile for U.S. third graders testing in the fall. 206 is at the 72nd-74th percentile for U.S. third graders testing in the winter.

Fall 3rd grade math 203 is 82nd percentile. Winter score of 206 is 74th percentile. He is above average in the winter. Even though his score went up it did not go up at the same rate as other kids in the norm group (the drop in percentile).

As Iucounu said.. its just a snapshot of one day. There are many reasons for scores decreasing or no growth (low growth). Your child may have been fatigued, not feeling well, or just having a rough day.

I would contact the teacher to see what her plan (and yours) to ensure your son meets his growth goals for the year. I would also ask your son what he thinks about school and math. Is it too easy, too hard just right. Ask him about what happens in class. Does he get homework? How does it appear to you?

Thanks for the replies. How do you guys know about the percentiles. Where can I get that info from? Can you please send me the link?