Understanding the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) tests at AISM

​MAP is generally considered one of the most trusted assessments for measuring achievement and growth in math, reading, language usage, and science. It provides schools and teachers with accurate, actionable evidence to help inform instructional strategies and to support student growth. MAP is developed by NWEA, an American based company, and is used widely within the US, as well as internationally. 

One of the key features of MAP is that it tracks student progress within and across years, in connection to a variety of subjects. At AISM, we do MAP testing two times a year: Once early in the school year to gather baseline data and once again towards the end of the school year to measure growth.  

MAP is a digital, multiple choice test that is adaptive. The test will adjust to each student’s learning level, providing a unique set of test questions based on their responses to previous questions.To pinpoint where students are in their learning, the goal of the MAP algorithm is to adjust to a point where a student answers 50 percent of the questions correctly. Upon completion of the tests, students are given a “RIT” score (Rasch Unit) which represents the level where a student is equally likely to answer a test item correctly, as incorrectly. 

The MAP test is built on the same learning outcomes we use for teaching and learning at AISM - the AERO Common Core Standards for reading, mathematics and language usage, and the Next Generation Science Standards for Science. Using the same standards on the MAP tests as we use for learning within our classrooms ensures that this assessment tool is coherent and aligned to instruction. 

Unlike assessments in the IB programs, which are criterion referenced, the MAP test is norm referenced. Criterion referenced assessments measure where a student is against a predetermined set of criteria, whereas a norm referenced assessment measures students achievement against the performance of other students in their grade level. The norms we compare our student results to at AISM come from two sources: 1) The NWEA MAP Growth Normative data study from 2020, which takes into account the results of roughly 5.5 million tests at US public schools taken between Fall 2015 and Spring 2018. This is the data set that provides both the achievement and growth percentiles you find on your child’s biannual MAP report. It is important to bear in mind that this normative data was collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2) International norms obtained from the international school community, representing roughly 1.8 million student test results across nine global regions. 

​Click below to read the instructions and then interact with the AISM MAP data. If you would prefer to open the Infographic in a new window, click here.

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