My DS6 in first grade took the MAP Math test this Monday and Tuesday and he said he got 213. I've searched online to see what this result means and tried to figure out what grade level math he is really in. It seems that most of the online charts are telling me that with this score, he's already exceeding 3rd grade math level and somewhere at the 4th grade. I've been told that the MAP test has the ceiling so it is only testing the kid at his grade level. So I am kind of confused on how to interpret the score charts I found online. Any thoughts? Thank you.

I'm sure an expert will chime in soon enough, but from what I have gathered, it is adaptive, and it does go above grade level, but there are three test versions, K-2, 2-5, and 6+. The scores do increase each year, and the student continues at the level they left off, but comparing against grade 3 probably isn't as accurate of an assumption as it would be if he'd taken the 2-5 grade test. Same as my DS in 4th, his scores against grade 6 aren't quite the same, because of the lower number and diversity of questions available at the ceiling. Someone please correct me if I got that wrong!

I am curious, too, though, if a child scores really high on the younger test, should they move the child to the higher grade test a year early, to finesse out gaps and breadth?

I did not realize that the test for 1st grade is a different test from the 2nd grade test my older DS8 took two years ago. I guess even the test is at a lower level and less diverse for my DS6, I do agree that a higher grade test would be a better choice for him to take next time, as he's already reached the ceiling for his grade level test. Not sure if the school would do that for him though.

The 2015 norms are lower so 213 is 96 percentile for 3rd grade. Your DS6 is obviously strong in math. However, there are normally huge jumps as well as large variations in scores in the early grades plus many schools switch to the 2-5 MAP by 2nd grade, so the K-2 test for a high achieving 1st grader doesn't provide the best indication of his "grade level". District level end-of-year assessments would probably give you a clearer indication of your DS6's grade level as compare to actual students in his district.

Thank you, Quantum2003. From what I gathered so far, I realize that I can't really compare the score from the K-2 test to the 2-5 test therefore, the score doesn't really tell me what grade level my DS6 is on math. This is actually the first year my school district gave the 1st graders the MAP test to take. We'll see what the report says when it becomes available later this month.

I would definitely ask which version of the test he took. Either way, he is clearly strong in math. In all likelihood, he took the K-1 test. I can tell you that DS7 took MAP last year in 1st and it was a different test (K-1) than this year's (2-5)...his winter and spring score were extremely high and somewhat higher than his very high score on the fall 2-5 version test. DS thought that the 2-5 test was harder than the K-1 version (my understanding is that there are MORE of the higher level questions on the next level test). Still, your DS probably needs something quite different (no matter what grade-level he is taught at the pace MAY always be a problem) than the average 1st grader. HTH!

Here is a document on the ceiling for different test versions. He may still have some room, but there will be fewer "questions" in the test bank than the nest test level (how it was explained to me): https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1nA_PlvjvwFTi5vMwRxlfmmVUJo63pfwn67ZAMHaV4oU

While "grade level" is one way to look at it, I'd be even more concerned about the fact that you have probably identified that he has a learning difference in math (and possibly other subjects). He will catch on quicker to most of what he is taught, so he needs a different approach. This is unlikely to go away...enjoy the journey.

Loy58, thank you for the link and your comment. I sure will find out which version my DS took.

He is currently taking a weekend class at a local university enrichment program. He tested 99%+ on all areas on the assessment test he had to take for admission to the enrichment program. We realized that he needs something different so I talked to his principal last month. She told me that they will wait to see the MAP test result and come up with a plan for him and other kids who are at his level in the school. Our school doesn't offer gifted program until 3rd grade. Sending him to a gifted school is not an option for us right now so we are hoping our school can work something out for him and other kids who are in the similar place as he is.

Just confirmed with my DS teacher that the MAP test they took is the K-2 one.

To get a rough idea of what he has mastered, you need to find out what grade level and time of year his RIT score is at the 90th percentile (students at the 50th percentile haven't mastered grade level material). Using the 2011 norms, this would be somewhere in the fall of 3rd grade. Since the 2015 norms would probably place him slightly lower, he is likely ready for 3rd grade math.

Do you happen to have the link to the 2015 Norms that you can share? I can't seem to find one that is as useful as the old Normative Data Chart. The ones I find online seem to be sample norms.

Never mind, found it: http://www.sowashco.org/files/department/rea/2015NormsReport_Reading.pdf

I asked a similar question a while ago. My daughter at the beginning of 4th grade got a score that was basically off the chart even for 7th graders. I just couldn't see how that's possible given that I know what really advanced 7th graders can do (I have an older child who is strong in math so I know what he was doing in 7th grade). I got different answers when I asked around. Our teacher said that the NWEA score can't be used as an indicator for grade levels; some in this forum said that it can. I think that both were correct: within the "band" of the test that the child used, the score can be an indicator of grade level. But the score can't be used this way across bands. The score indicates how solidly one grasps the concepts, but not necessarily how many concepts one knows.

We didn't find the NWEA scores useful for our kids in any way. If a child showed weaknesses in certain areas, teachers can tell from the scores and help the child focus on these areas. But if a child showed overall mastery of all the concepts, we find that the teachers tend to do nothing extra (at our school, of course).

Thank you for your input. I am waiting to see if the school can give us his scores (he just finished reading test yesterday and not sure about the score) before the teach-parent conference late in this month, so we can start talking options with the school. I am hoping the school can do something for him. Anything extra or advanced would be better than what he's learning now. I feel like the time he's in school is not being utilized in terms of academic learning. Good thing is that he has been improving his social skill at school.

That's the doc that I found most useful. Appendix C starting at pg 66, has specific percentiles for comparison.

that is a very high score regardless😀. Another thing to look at is the mean and standard deviation...if I remember right, that would be around 3 standard deviations from the mean for his age or 99.8-99.9th percentile.

Received my DS6's MAP test report and he did get 213 on math and 207 on reading, placed him at 99 percentile for both. His school is currently working on a format for his individual academic plan. I am very hopeful that the school will come up with the good plan for him so he's actually being challenged in these subjects. We don't want him to skip grades due to his maturity and social skills. He also needs to learn other subjects (social studies, science, etc.) other than math and reading at his grade level.

Thank you all for your inputs and advice. Great to be in this forum :-)