StudentMAPScores

StudentMAPtestingresultsarereportedinRITscores(shortforRaschUnit).ARITscoreisanestimationofastudent’sinstructionallevelandalsomeasuresstudentprogressorgrowthinschool.Youmayhaveachartinyourhomeonwhichyou markyourchild’sheightatcertaintimes,suchasonhisorherbirthday.Thisisagrowthcharttoshowhowmuchheorshehasgrownfromoneyeartothenext.MAPassessmentsdothesamesortofthing,excepttheymeasureyourstudent’sgrowthinmathe-matics,reading,andlanguageusage.TheRITscaleisanequal-intervalscalemuchlikefeetandinchesonayardstick.Itisusedtochartyourchild’sacademicgrowthfromyeartoyear.Thistypeofscoreincreasesthevalueofthetestsasatooltoimprovestudentlearningbecauseitenablesteacherstopinpointwhatstudentshavelearnedandwhatstu-dents are ready tolearn.

UnderstandingtheRITScore

ThechartsontheinsideofthisbrochureshownationalmedianRITscoresforgradesK-10inatypicalschooldistrict.Youmayusethesechartstohelpdetermineifyourstudentisperformingat,above,orbelowgradelevelcompared tostudentsacrossthenation. ItisimportanttounderstandthattheMAPtestisonetestatonepointintime.Itdoesnotmeasureintelligenceorastudent’scapacityforlearning.Whenmakingimportantdecisionsaboutstudents,schoolstaffwillconsidertheMAPtestresultsalongwithotherdatasuchasclassroomperformance,other testscores, andinputfromparentsandteachers.

GrowthOverTime

WeexpectRITscorestoincreaseovertime.Typically,youngerstudentsshowmoregrowthinoneyearthanolderstudents.Studentswhotestabovegradeleveloftenshowlessgrowth.SometimesRITscoresmaydeclinefromonetesttothenext.Onelowtestscoreisnotcauseforimmediateconcern.Likeadults,studentshavegoodandbaddaysandtheirtestresultsdonotalwaysindicatewhattheyknow.Students’atti-tudestowardthetestcanalsoaffecttheirscore.Therefore,growthovertimeis a bettermeasure ofstudentlearning.

Parentsandguardiansshouldbecomecomfortablewiththeunderstandingthatindividualswillgrowatdifferentrates.Anticipatedgrowthratesforeachstudentarebasedonnationalnormsandshouldbeviewedas“typical”growth,notexpectedgrowth.TeachersandprincipalshaveparticipatedintrainingtolearnwhattheMAPtestresultsmeanandhowtobestutilizetheresults.Ourgoalisforteacherstousethedatatodifferentiateandadjustinstructionsothatallstudentsgrowatlevelsappropriatefor eachindividual.

Ifyouhaveimmediatequestions,pleasecontactyourstudent’sclass-oomteacher(elementary)ormathorEnglishteacher(middleandhighschool)or your buildingprincipal.

WHAT TESTS ARE GIVEN?
Grade / Reading / Math / Science
K-10 / X / X / Optional
58 / X / X / X
WHEN ARE TESTS GIVEN?
FALL
Sept/Oct
S
September / WINTER
Dec/Jan / SPRING
May
HOW ARE TESTS GIVEN?
  • On the computer under adult supervision in the school setting
  • Adjusts to a student’s skill level so that each student takes an individualized test. (They may see questions they are not familiar with and that’s OK.)