NWEA Fall Administration
by Michelle Keszler
November 19, 2007
Students in grades 2-11 recently completed the fall administration of the Northwest Evaluation Association’s Measures of Academic Progress (MAPS). Elementary students took math and reading assessments. Students in grades 7-11 were assessed in math, reading, language usage, and science.
MAPS is different from a lot of the other assessments used in our schools. First, it is a computer adaptive test. The questions are determined by how the student answers each question before. For example, the first item for a sixth grader would be an item that a typical sixth grader would know. If he misses the item, the next one is easier. On the other hand, if the student gets an item correct, the next item is slightly more difficult. The computer keeps track of his score and chooses appropriate questions. What we get in the end is a score that tells teachers what skills each student may have and what skills we may teach next.
We also get two other pieces of useful information. The reading test also gives us the reading level of each student. We know how difficult a text can be if we want the student to read it on his own and understand 70% of it. The test also gives each student a percentile score. This tells the student how well he did compared to all of the others at his grade level who took the test. Over 2.5 million students take this test each year and all of them are included in the comparisons.
Two other features make this test unique compared to other achievement tests. The tests are untimed and the students are encouraged to work at their own pace. Secondly, scores are available immediately. We don’t have to wait weeks to see where the kids are.
Student reports were sent home in late November. If you have any questions about the tests or the reports, please call Michelle Keszler at 308 262-1470.
