NWEA MAP Assessment

Similar to other assessments your child participates in, this is one piece of data that makes up their complete data profile.  It is important to understand that the NWEA MAP is one test at one point in time and does not measure intelligence or a student’s capacity for learning. When making important decisions about students, the NWEA MAP test is only one piece of data that is considered.

Unlike the Missouri MAP assessment, which is a fixed-form assessment, the NWEA MAP assessment is computer adaptive. This means that the difficulty of each question is based on the student’s answers on previous questions. A correct answer will lead to a more difficult question, and an incorrect answer will lead to an easier question but more difficult than the last correctly answered question. The assessment takes approximately 30 minutes for second-fifth-graders and 60 minutes for sixth-eighth-graders and uses approximately 50 questions to determine a student’s score called a RIT. RIT stands for Rausch Unit. The RIT scale is and equal-interval measurement scale (much like feet and inches on a yardstick) independent of a student's grade or age. Each RIT score falls in a 10-point RIT band that relates directly to learning objectives.

"(In a fixed-form test), low-ability students are going to get questions that are too difficult, and they're going to be frustrated. (With an adaptive test), everybody will be equally challenged." - David J Weiss, Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

The RIT Reference Chart is helpful for understanding the RIT scale and how it is used to measure student growth over time in relationship to math concepts. For more specific information about the learning statements within each RIT band, you can reference the DesCartes Learning Continuum Statements below.

RIT Reference Chart K-1

RIT Reference Chart 2-5

RIT Reference Chart 6-8

Using Learning Continuum statements, you can see what students performing at a given RIT level are typically ready to learn. Learning statements for a RIT band are divided into three columns.

Left-Hand Column: Skills and Concepts to Enhance

• Skills on which the student is closer to approaching mastery
• The left-hand column includes skills and concepts related to questions your child answered correctly 73 percent of the time. These are skills and concepts students may need reinforced to build consistent proficiency and confidence.

Middle Column: Skills and Concepts to Develop

• Where the student's RIT score falls
• Represents the student's Instructional Level, the skills he or she should be working on right now.
• The middle column includes skills and concepts related to questions your child answered correctly 50 percent of the time. These are skills and concepts your child is ready to learn.

Right Column: Skills and Concepts to Introduce

• Skills to work toward
• Use for goal setting and future instructional planning
• The column on the right includes skills and concepts related to questions your child answered correctly 27 percent of the time. These are skills and concepts in which your child may be ready to be introduced.

To use the Learning Continuum, reference the page that shows the RIT band in which your child's score fell for each subject area. For example, if your child is in fourth grade and his/her RIT Range for the goal performance area of Geometry is 216-228, you would open the Geometry document below under Grades 2-5 and turn to the page where the RIT band 211-220 or 221-230 is in the center column.

Learning Continuum Statements

• Grades K-1: Goal Area Descriptions
• Grades 2-5: Goal Area Description
• Grades 6-12: Goal Area Description

Primary Grades Learning Continuum

• Geometry - Grades K-1 and 2-5
• Measurement & Data - Grades K-1 and 2-5
• Numbers & Operations - Grades K-1 and 2-5
• Operations & Algebraic Thinking - Grades K-1 and 2-5
• Vocabulary - Grades K-1 and 2-5

Secondary Grades Learning Continuum

• Geometry - Grades 6-12
• Statistics & Probability - Grades 6-12
• Real & Complex Number System - Grades 6-12
• Operations & Algebraic Thinking - Grades 6-12

• Grades K-1 - RIT to Khan Academy
• Grades 2-5 - RIT to Khan Academy
• Grades 6+ - RIT to Khan Academy