MAP Growth guide

MAP Growth scores, explained

A MAP Growth report gives a RIT score for each subject, a percentile, a score for each goal area and a growth figure. Here is what each one means, and what the average score is for each grade.

RIT score

The main score. RIT stands for Rasch unit. It is one scale that runs from Kindergarten to Grade 12, so a score this fall and a score next spring can be compared directly. NWEA gives its typical range as about 100 to 350.

Percentile

The share of children in the same grade, tested at the same time of year, who scored lower. A percentile of 70 means the score was higher than 70 out of 100 children in NWEA's national sample.

Goal areas

A score for each part of the subject, such as geometry in math or informational text in reading. The report often shows each as a range, and it tells you which part to work on next.

Growth

How far the score moved since the last test, compared with how far children who started at the same score usually move. Growth matters more to NWEA than any single score.

Average MAP scores by grade

These are NWEA's national averages, the score at the 50th percentile. Scores rise through the year, so compare a fall score with the fall column. Many children score well above or below the average, and that is normal.

What is a good MAP score?

A score at the average for the grade and time of year is right on track. What a school calls "good" depends on why it is looking: steady growth from fall to spring matters most to teachers. Some districts use MAP when they choose children for gifted programs, and each sets its own cut-off, usually as a percentile. Ask your school which score it uses. NWEA itself does not recommend using MAP Growth on its own to move a child up a grade.

Do your practice tests give a RIT score?

No. A RIT score comes from NWEA's own questions, each placed on NWEA's scale, and no practice test can give one honestly. Our practice tests show how many questions your child answered correctly and which goal areas to work on, so the next real test holds fewer surprises.