Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Ceiling effect on NWEA MAP math section?

Based on the specific facts in your posts, I don't think that your DD is anywhere near the ceiling as to MAP. The scale on the MAP 6+ goes up to 320 and I would think that you would likely need to approach 290 to reach the "soft" ceiling. In your case, I would look at her highest score on the MAP 2-5 (compare that to the 255 in 3rd grade) and her lowest score on the MAP 6+ (compare that to the current/highest 262 ). I would also look at each of the 4 categories (Operations/Algebra, Real Complex Number Systems, Geometry and Statistics) to see if there are variability/weaknesses.

I have twin 6th graders who have taken the MAP 2-5 numerous times in elementary and the MAP 6+ twice this year. DS is scoring around that soft ceiling while DD is nearer your DD's range. Based on their observations, the questions on MAP 6+ are vastly different from the questions on MAP 2-5. A 255 on MAP 2-5 may be accurate, an underestimate or an overestimate depending on the particular child. Therefore, I would focus only on any stagnation of your DD's scores since starting the MAP 6+ (likely Fall of 6th but can be earlier). Furthermore, the highest level of questions that DS and DD encountered were vastly different due to the approximately 30 point difference in their scores. According to DS, as you approach the higher score levels, you get a lot of science application questions that require knowledge of mathematical formulas that he hadn't memorized but could often derive. In that sense, it is very different from the PSAT/SAT . However,your DD's PSAT score actually looks to be around the same ballpark as her MAP score.

Your school should be able to test your DD on a new profile. I do question their explanation because at a score of 262, I doubt that your DD has even hit the extremely difficult questions yet.