NWEA
NWEA is a global not-for-profit educational services organization located in Portland, Oregon. NWEA partners with over 3,500 educational organizations worldwide to provide research-based adaptive assessments, professional development, and research services. NWEA's mission is partnering to help all kids learn. As a result of NWEA tests, educators can make informed decisions to promote academic growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different NWEA assessments?
The NWEA assessments are:
- Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) – These computerized tests are adaptive and offered in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics. When taking a MAP test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. In an optimal test, a student answers approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score is an estimate of the student’s achievement level.
- MAP for Science – This computerized adaptive test provides useful information about where a student is learning in two areas of science - General Science and Concepts & Processes.
How long does it take to complete a test?
Although the tests are not timed, it usually takes students about one hour to complete each MAP test.
When will my child be tested and how often?
SAA tests students in grades 2-8 in the fall, and students in grades 1-8 in the spring. Students in 1st grade take a shorter test than the other grades; our goal for the first graders is to give them some experience taking the test and provide our teachers with some assessment results.
Do all students in the same grade take the same test?
No. MAP assessments are designed to target a student’s academic performance in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science. These tests are tailored to an individual’s current achievement level. This gives each student a fair opportunity to show what he or she knows and can do.
What are NWEA assessments used for?
MAP assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. You may have a chart in your home on which you mark your child’s height at certain times, such as on his or her birthday. This is a growth chart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP assessments do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s growth in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science skills. The scale used to measure your child’s progress is called the RIT scale (Rasch unIT). The RIT scale is an equal-interval scale much like feet and inches on a yardstick. It is used to chart your child’s academic growth from year to year.
Can parents discuss assessment data directly with NWEA?
Unfortunately, due to privacy laws regarding student information (specifically stemming from the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA), we are unable to discuss any student information, test results, or district assessment programs directly with parents.
In addition, each district implementation of MAP assessments is unique based on decisions made by the district, such as which tests to administer, when students will be tested, and so on. Because each district’s implementation is unique, parents will need to direct specific questions and concerns to their local school district resources.
Commonly Used Terms
Here are some terms you will hear and use as you are talking with teachers and your children about MAP scores and reports.
District Average - the average RIT score for all students in the school district in the same grade who were tested at the same time as your child.
Norm Group Average - the average score of students who were in the same grade and tested in the same term as observed in the latest NWEA norming study.
Percentile Range - percentiles are used to compare one student’s performance to that of the norm group. Percentile means the student scored as well as, or better than, that percent of students taking the test in his/her grade. There is about a 68 percent chance that a student’s percentile ranking would fall within this range if the student tested again relatively soon.
Percentile Rank - the percentile rank is a normative statistic that indicates how well a student performed in comparison to the students in the norm group. The most recent NWEA norm sample was a group of over 2.8 million students from across the United States. A student’s percentile rank indicates that the student scored as well as, or better than, the percent of students in the norm group. In other words, a student with a percentile rank of 72 scored as well as, or better than 72 percent of the students in the norm group.
RIT - tests developed by NWEA use a scale called RIT to measure student achievement and growth. RIT stands for Rasch UnIT, which is a measurement scale developed to simplify the interpretation of test scores. The RIT score relates directly to the curriculum scale in each subject area. It is an equal-interval scale, like feet and inches, so scores can be added together to calculate accurate class or school averages. RIT scores range from about 100 to 300. Students typically start at the 180 to 200 level in the third grade and progress to the 220 to 260 level by high school. RIT scores make it possible to follow a student’s educational growth from year to year.
RIT to Reading Range or Reading Range - the RIT to Reading Range or Reading Range is a score (displayed as a 150 point range) resulting from a correlation between NWEA's RIT score and the MetaMetrics Lexile scale. It can be used to find text of appropriate difficulty. The RIT to Reading Range or Reading Range is included on several MAP reports and allows educators and parents to find appropriately challenging books, periodicals, and other reading material for students.
The RIT to Reading Range or Reading Range represents a level of reading difficulty that leaves readers neither frustrated nor bored. Text in this range should stimulate a student to new learning while rewarding their current reading abilities.
Standards - standards are statements, developed by states or districts, of what students should know and be able to do, related to specific academic areas.
Looking for more information? Download the NWEA Parent Toolkit.