We are newbies in the world of MAP testing. Today our 3rd grader had the Reading MAP test. His score was 213. Unfortunately, I can't find any info on interpreting the score and what it means. I know we will be getting more details from the school soon. In the meantime, could someone familiar with MAP scores let me know what the testing number means? Is it above or below average?

Thank you all in advance for your help

The percentiles can be found in this link appendix b
http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/NWEA_2011_RIT_Scale_Norms.pdf

Thank you so much Deonne.

That is a great score for fall 3rd grade - 94th percentile if I read it right. This district has a lot of nice info about MAP:
MAP info

Under Parents, click on Reading to see what sorts of skills the score represents.

eta: formatting of URL

We are also new to the NWEA system. Our 3rd Grade son had a 222 in Math and 221 in Reading which is 99% and 98%, respectively. How many actual kids take this test? Does it truly mean he is in the top 1-2%? Thanks.

Does anyone know of an test to use if a students reaches the ceiling on MAP? A good alternative?

Hi - sorry no one saw your post. Maybe Inky or another MAP expert will chime in, but the tables are national norms. Your kiddo tested in the top 1-2% of all kids across the nation who took the test. Some schools also have their own gauges, so depending on your student body, your kiddo may not be top 1-2% at your school. You can ask the school how its scores compare nationally. The NWEA website may have more info about how many kids take the test, but it's becoming fairly popular.

If I recall correctly, the ceiling on the MAP is 11th grade level. At that point, the SAT may give you more info? I'm really not sure. Anyone here know?

I was told MAP's ceiling is something like a 320. My ds6 highest math subtest score was a 265

I've done many hours of research and while the top of the MAP score is 320, the individual subtest areas seem to ceiling around 260. There are still questions to answer after 260, but they are limited.

There are also three separate levels of MAP tests and a kid scoring at or near 240 on the 2-5th grade test, should bump up and take the 6+ test. In theory, the test continues but it's clear looking at the Descartes reports that the level of difficulty on the 6+ test is dramatically different than that on the 2-5th grade test. The continuum doesn't truly continue from test to test, though the RIT score is continuous. The continuous RIT score makes it easier for teachers and schools to compare the data.

When looking at percentile, I like to also look for what grade my child is performing at 95th percentile or above. NWEA uses 95th percentile+ for "gifted". If you have a situation where your child is 95th percentile for the next grade level up, in all subjects, it might be worth a conversation about a grade skip.

This is very interesting. I know that my son took the 6+ test at the beginning of last year in math and received a 240. He also received a 234 in reading but I don't know what level test he took. Then, even though I know he made quite a bit of progress in reading and math (he was homeschooled so I could see the actual progress; also his ITBS scores were through the roof on a test three grades up), his math score only went up by two points and the reading score went down by three points. I wonder if they gave him the 2-5 test by mistake. Is there any way to find out?

Hmmm... is there a link where I can read more about the fact that there are three grade-level group versions? This is not obvious from the RIT-to-percentile conversion charts. If my son's RIT was 253 for fall of 4th grade (presumably on the 2-5th gr test), should I ask for the next level MAP test when the school does its next round of testing in January?

You have to piece together a lot of different information, or just ask your school. NWEA is pretty guarded on releasing the information.

You can see from the parent toolkit that there is a MAP for Primary Grades (generally K-2, though some schools use K-1) which has a lot of the test reading questions to the student. You can also see from the toolkit that the test says students move up to about 260 in high school.

http://www.nwea.org/support/article/930

Then if you keep reading, you'll find snippets where they discuss MAP 6+ like in this article about the integrated math assessments: http://www.nwea.org/support/article/916

And if you keep digging and digging, you'll get to this "familiarization of tests" article- which seems to be the only place the actual existence of two tests is mentioned!
http://www.nwea.org/support/article/familiarization-tests

You can find plenty of unofficial NWEA information out there on the two levels- including things like this: http://www.fortheteachers.org/curriculum_ladders_math.htm

Thank you, CAMom! That helps!

Yup we are new to the testing world. My daughter who is also in 3rd grade is in the 99 % . The school suggested we do the NUMATS test. We registered her but cannot find any test preparation material.

If anyone has any suggestions I appreciate it.
Thanks

Hey Guys - was reading your posts regarding MAP testing. Excellent subject. I am a big fan of MAP testing for gifted due to its very high test ceiling. The RIT ceiling is around 320, which is approx. a grade 14.
The only difference between the Math 2-5 and the Math 6+ is the starting point for questions. But once the student answers the questions correctly, the test quickly adapts to their level and the ceiling for math 2-5 is quickly lifted.
If I could figure out how to make an attachment, I would show you my favorite quick table for showing the range of RIT levels per each grade level and the mean for each grade.
My favorite part is the Decartes continuum which trasnlates those RIT numbers into the objectives the student is ready to learn. I design Individual Academic Plans from those objectives in Decartes.
If you have any questions - or would like to talk about your childs particular numbers. This is what I do.
I am the only independent consulatant, licensed to use MAP from NWEA.
I would love to talk with anyone about MAP and how awesome an assessment it is for monitoring academic growth in gifted learners.

Feel free to email
mcesarano@highpotentialeducation.com

The NUMATS site says that there are practice materials on the Toolbox and also they will mail the materials to you when you sign up. http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/numats/registrantinfo/

Mcesarano-

If that's true that the only difference between Math 2-5 and Math 6+ is the starting point of the questions, then why does the Descartes report look completely different depending on the test, but with the same RIT score? This is my big puzzle and what has led me to the conclusion that the access to the questions is actually different. The goals, the titles on the Descartes reports and the "ready to learn next" is different, even with the same RIT score.

CAMom, that makes sense if they assume that in elementary school you are focusing on K-5 curriculum. I imagine most 4th grade teachers would be put out to be told their student had goals only in the middle school curriculum and would rather know about relative weaknesses in the material they are prepared to teach.

But LJoy- it's blank. As in "there is nothing more your child is ready to learn". Especially in the 240+ range...

Yeah, I know. We're there too. But the Descartes reports are marketed at classroom teachers, and the system isn't built for our kids. Again. I'm requesting that our winter and spring assessments be 6+, but I don't know if we'll get it.

CAMom, That was a great question. I went into the Decartes and did find a few objectives that were different. Especially around the 220-250 mark - Which makes sense.
So I called my research group at NWEA - The response was the starting question was the main difference, and it doesn't impact the ceiling of where the gifted student can reach.
But the bank of test questions changes for a student who is taking the 6+.
NWEA adds in the objectives that are considered "Pre-Algebra" for the student who is in sixth grade and higher.
So an average 5th grader could be high but not exposed to Pre-Algebra objectives but a 6th grader could fall into that same range but have a need for Pre-Algebra objectives.
At least that is how I interpreted their response.
Great question - Thank you
Also - they said they were adding more objectives for those few gifted students who are placing so high and showing very few objectives to learn.
Which is Awesome! I just tested a 3rd grader who was placing post high school on all areas and it was difficult to create the individual academic plan from such few objectives. I am glad to see NWEA on top of it.

Mcesarano

ljoy - If you wanted to have outside school MAP testing 6+ - just let me know

If the school has one student take the 6+, then their records for seeing "students who haven't tested" will show that the rest of the class needs to take that test also. Which is totally doable, but sometimes confuses the school admin.

mcesarano