How can MAP assessment data help teachers with implementing RtI?
Data-based decision making is the essence of good RTI practice; it is essential for the other three components of RtI: screening, progress monitoring, and multi-leveled instruction. The more information we have about what skills and concepts a student has mastered, and what needs to be learned next, the more specifically we can address student needs at the appropriate instructional level. The MAP universal screening can assist educators with collecting baseline data, making informed decisions about instruction, and monitoring student growth.
Powered by Data:
The underlying MAP data driving the assessment ensures remarkable accuracy, based on over 24 million assessments given over 30+ years. The equal-interval RIT scale increases the stability, providing grade-independent analysis of a child's learning.
- For educators, it means at last having timely information that, used well, can change the course of a student's school year — and life. The data can:
- Determine precisely which concepts a student has mastered, and which areas to focus on for academic growth.
- Compare academic progress with other children in the class, grade, district, and nation.
- Track academic growth over a school year or over several years - even if the student changes schools within a district.
- Provide evidence about the effectiveness of instructional programs from year to year.
MAP Tests Provide Students’ Instructional Levels:
MAP tests are based on a continuum (Des Cartes) of skills in Mathematics, Reading, and Language Usage. MAP assessments are not tests that determine mastery. Rather, MAP assessments provide teachers with the instructional level of the student. They provide teachers with a “road map”, so to speak, for determining where each student is performing in relation to local or state standards, curriculum, or other criteria. MAP data provides information to help inform instructional decisions.
The DesCartes Continuum:
DesCartes is a learning continuum resource from NWEA aligned to the Common Core Curriculum. It is designed to help translate the raw data from students' assessments into actionable plans for instruction, grouping and more.
DesCartes orders specific skills in reading, language usage, and math by achievement level. Reading, language and math are further aligned to goal structures underlying the assessments. Because it is designed around achievement level, educators can use it as a way to gauge gaps between what a student is ready to learn, and what the curriculum is presenting. Armed with this knowledge, educators can develop goals and design instruction to help close the gaps.
DesCartes provides a common framework that teachers, parents, students and administrators can use to move forward. With this resource, teachers can personalize instruction, select appropriate topics and skills to address, and maintain a strong growth trajectory for every student.
Teachers can also use DesCartes to create co-learning experiences, share resources across grade levels and ensure that each student has a firm foundation transitioning to the next grade.
DesCartes orders specific skills in reading, language usage, and math by achievement level. Reading, language and math are further aligned to goal structures underlying the assessments. Because it is designed around achievement level, educators can use it as a way to gauge gaps between what a student is ready to learn, and what the curriculum is presenting. Armed with this knowledge, educators can develop goals and design instruction to help close the gaps.
DesCartes provides a common framework that teachers, parents, students and administrators can use to move forward. With this resource, teachers can personalize instruction, select appropriate topics and skills to address, and maintain a strong growth trajectory for every student.
Teachers can also use DesCartes to create co-learning experiences, share resources across grade levels and ensure that each student has a firm foundation transitioning to the next grade.
The RIT Scale:
The RIT Scale is a curriculum scale that uses individual item difficulty values to estimate student achievement. An advantage of the RIT scale is that it can relate the numbers on the scale directly to the difficulty of items on the tests. In addition, the RIT scale is an equal interval scale. Equal interval means that the difference between scores is the same regardless of whether a student is at the top, bottom, or middle of the RIT scale, and it has the same meaning regardless of grade level.
RIT scales, like scales underlying most educational tests, are built from data about the performance of individual examinees on individual items. The theory governing scale construction is called Item Response Theory (IRT). NWEA uses a specific IRT model conceived by Danish mathematician, George Rasch, (1901-1980).
Characteristics of the RIT Scale include:
Ten Ways to Use MAP data to make informed instructional decisions:
1. Use the Class Breakdown by Overall RIT Report to see a visual picture of general performance of a class.
2. Use the Class breakdown by Goal Report to identify strengths and weaknesses in particular strands.
3. Set classroom goals.
4. Obtain program-specific information.
5. Create flexible groups for specific skill instruction.
6. Identify student groupings for differentiated instruction.
7. Share information with other grade-level teachers for intra- and inter- grade-level grouping.
8. Use of the DesCartes continuum for instructional planning.
9. Select appropriate materials for instruction.
10. Compare class growth with a visual snapshot from fall to spring.
RIT scales, like scales underlying most educational tests, are built from data about the performance of individual examinees on individual items. The theory governing scale construction is called Item Response Theory (IRT). NWEA uses a specific IRT model conceived by Danish mathematician, George Rasch, (1901-1980).
Characteristics of the RIT Scale include:
- It is an achievement scale.
- It is an accurate scale.
- It is an equal interval scale.
- It helps to measure growth over time.
- It has the same meaning regardless of grade or age of the student.
Ten Ways to Use MAP data to make informed instructional decisions:
1. Use the Class Breakdown by Overall RIT Report to see a visual picture of general performance of a class.
2. Use the Class breakdown by Goal Report to identify strengths and weaknesses in particular strands.
3. Set classroom goals.
4. Obtain program-specific information.
5. Create flexible groups for specific skill instruction.
6. Identify student groupings for differentiated instruction.
7. Share information with other grade-level teachers for intra- and inter- grade-level grouping.
8. Use of the DesCartes continuum for instructional planning.
9. Select appropriate materials for instruction.
10. Compare class growth with a visual snapshot from fall to spring.
Student Goal Setting:
After each testing window, teachers can help students identify their strengths and areas of concern by sharing overall RIT scores and goal score information found on the Teacher Report as well as the Student Goal Setting Worksheet provided through the Dynamic Reporting Suite. Both The Dynamic Reporting Suite, as well as the Student Progress Report, give mean growth targets based upon the latest NWEA norms study. Each of these reports is available within 24-48 hours of a successful test event. Assisting students to see where they are, what their growth potential looks like, and how to achieve that growth is an effective use of NWEA data.
In addition to RIT score information, teachers can use Class by RIT reports and/or DesCartes information to link their students' RIT scores to the specific skills and concepts which those scores represent. In this way, teachers can convey to their students the skills and concepts that they may be ready to learn, based upon their NWEA assessment scores. When teachers use the Class by RIT charts to employ flexible grouping strategies, students are able to relate to the content assigned to their groups when they have seen the skills and concepts that are indicative of their instructional level.
In addition to RIT score information, teachers can use Class by RIT reports and/or DesCartes information to link their students' RIT scores to the specific skills and concepts which those scores represent. In this way, teachers can convey to their students the skills and concepts that they may be ready to learn, based upon their NWEA assessment scores. When teachers use the Class by RIT charts to employ flexible grouping strategies, students are able to relate to the content assigned to their groups when they have seen the skills and concepts that are indicative of their instructional level.