Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment those who tested w/ NWEA MAP through ACCES Inc.

I have a question and I thought I'd ask here before calling. I got my score report today from ACCES Inc. for NWEA MAP testing. It gives a district avg RIT and a Norm Group AVg RIT. Do you know who all is included in the "district?" Are they including the public schools in that area? Is it only testers through ACCES Inc?

Thanks,
Dazey

I have no idea, Dazey - how did it turn out?
Grinity

Haven't done this, but could you get me the link for testing through ACCES? A good friend is possibly looking for other testing options for hs.

I phoned them today and had my questions answered. First of all, for those who tested w/ them this year, they will send out a letter next year when it's time to register. They will also match your DC registration w/ last year's ID number so that the new score report will contain all scores and you can track growth easily. I asked who comprised the "district avg" quoted in the score report and it is only the homeschooled students who tested through them which is approximately 800-1000 students.

In each subject, the homeschooled students avg RIT exceeded the normed group avg.

2-5 survey
Math 201 vs 191
Lang arts 204 vs 192
Reading 201 vs 190

6+ survey w/ goals
Reading 212 vs 206
Language usage 212 vs 207

2-4 survey w/ goals
Math 218 vs 211

Grinity - my boys did fine. My 1st grader took the 2-5 survey - I registered him as a 2nd grader and used it more for test taking experience. Compared to 1st graders he did >99th%, compared to 2nd graders (normed population is the only one for which they give percentiles) he scored 96th, 97th, and 90th% for math, reading, and lang usage, respectively. He was VERY unfocused on the lang usage portion of the test and I feel that was low for him. He had quite a bit of test anxiety (first time testing like this) which I was surprised by....even though the test was untimed. I think it's due to the nature of computer adaptive tests. They start in the middle-high end, and then adjust down or up accordingly. That would freak out many kids to have your first passage as a 1st grader be a Tolstoy passage. He got it right though...tough passage but easy question.

My 4th grader grade scored 99th% across the board and hit gifted norms for 5th-6th grade gifted kids.

I do think these tests highlight just how little these tests cover. THanks to MCT and Teaching the Classics, he scored 73-75th% for 11 graders in Language Arts but it was only beginning level of both programs. His math score was 50th% for 10th graders and this is the 2-5 survey w/ goals. I think the 6+ survey w/ goals math is a bit harder even though it's not supposed to be....sometimes when going from 2-5 to 6+ students don't have as large a scoring jump as you'd expect b/c of this. For reading, he was 70th% for 11th graders.

It's be interesting to see how he scores next year. I would say, that compared to the ITBS (grade level) DS took last year, the MAP was more helpful. DS also has timer anxiety and is not a lightening fast thinker so having the test be untimed was a good thing although he took the average time for the test. It certainly helps to view the testing remotely from the other computer so I can see where the mistakes are. Even w/out doing that, I like how the subjects are broken down.

Math: computation, number sense and numeration, geometry, measurement, stat, prob, and graphing, algebraic concepts, problem solving.

Lang arts: composing and the writing process, composition structure, basic grammar and usage, punctuation, and capitalization

Reading: word analysis and vocab development, literal reading comp, interpretative reading comp, evaluative reading comp, literary response and analysis

I've looked at a website where you put in the subsection score, one level below and one level above. It then gives info on what DC should have mastered (one level below), what they should currently be working on (level) and what they should be introduced to next (one level above) and I must say, I think it was pretty accurate in both cases.

Anyhow, that's my summary of the experience if anyone is interested. 8-)

As Dottie pointed out in another thread, this test is probably only good for gifted kids to about 6th grade.
Dazey

Here's the link. http://www.acces-inc.com/testing/index.html


Registration time will be in January. I think you had until the end of Jan/beginning of Feb to register for a test window of April-May.

Thanks for the summary!

Also, if you test through ACCES, not sure if this true of other places but I do think that it is b/c the score report comes from NWEA....be sure you write down the subsection scores from the screen at the end of each subtest. The score report I received, does not have the individual subtest scores on it...merely scoring them as low (<21%tile), LoAvg (21-40%tile), AVg (41-60th%tile), HiAvg (61-80th tile), and High (>80th tile). I don't know about you but I like to know if it's 80th% or if it's 99th%.

if you do the quick and dirty survey (w/ no goals) you do not get a breakdown but it's useful for a young student such as my 1st grader since it's only 20questions. The survey w/ goals are 50-60 questions and take about an hour which would have been too much for him in one sitting.

Oh the test also gives you a Lexile Range which I pretty much agreed with.

Dazey

If you have access to a Compass Learning site, they can individualize lessons based on where your child's strengths and weaknesses are.