NWEA Measures of Academic Progress Testing
Created by educators for educators, Measurement of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments provide detailed, actionable data about where each child is on their unique learning path. Student engagement is essential to any testing experience, Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) works with educators to create test items that interest children and help to capture detail about what they know and what they’re ready to learn. Teachers use the information in the classroom to help every child, every day. At Stamford, students in Kindergarten 2 and above participate in the MAP testing twice each academic year, once in the Fall and again in the Spring. The testing standards used are the widely regarded American Education Reaches Out (AERO) standards. The results are immediately integrated into each student’s individually tailored Learning Plan and allow teachers to identify the precise standards that each student has achieved and the standards yet to be achieved. Students earn a RIT score from each testing which is an average of the overall scores in all of the goal strands that make up the subject test. The record of testing is added to the Student Progress Report, which is cumulative and builds as the student progresses through the grades. Stamford can track progress for each student from Fall to Spring and from year to year, not only by score but also by the standards that relate to the score and have been achieved. MAP testing offers the most comprehensive feedback of any measurement system currently available and allows for:
• Tracking of student score and percentile ranking • Comparison with norms (for all students taking the test and for the school test group) • Measurement of individual student growth over the Fall to Spring interval compared to the expected growth • Tracking of individual student scores in the variety of strands that make up the tests for Mathematics and for Reading • Mapping of standards that a student has achieved, using the DesCartes framework, to identify the next set of standards that the student should achieve • Using information from the testing to support differentiated instruction for each student • Using the standardized testing data to benchmark internal assessment
On average, Stamford students at all grade levels consistently achieve a greater standard in their RIT scores than benchmarks in Math and Reading. This is due to the differentiated curriculum at Stamford and the use of data to support teaching and learning that is focused on individual student needs. As Stamford accepts students across a range of ability, this is an exceptional performance and an indication of Stamford’s dedication to each student achieving more than they believe they can. Reading Mean: Fall ‘12 - Spring ‘13 230 220 195 190
205 199 196
187
190
210 200 186
190
177
180 160
218 212 207
219 215 212
229 225 222 219
229 225 223 221
Fall ’12 - Spring ‘13: Overall School: Growth % Students 2+ Grade Level
200
40% 35%
176
30%
160
154
150 140
173
171 156
170
213 207 205
228 224 220 216
29%
33%
32% 22%
25% 20%
143 KG2
Overall in Math and Reading, during the Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 period, the RIT scores of Stamford students exceeded benchmarks in all categories of achievement and growth. The growth in RIT scores from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 show that the strength of top performing students’ growth indicates that in addition to achieving strong growth overall, high performing students have also significantly extended their learning. This demonstrates that students are being challenged in their studies at the high ability range of the scale. For example, some students in Grade 1 are achieving at a level equivalent to the Spring NWEA benchmark for students in Grade 4.
GR 1
GR 2
GR 3
GR 4
GR 5
Benchmark Spring
Benchmark Fall
GR 6
Stamford Fall
GR 7
GR 8
GR 9
Stamford Spring
15% 10% 5%
In Reading, the average student RIT score at each grade level is consistently greater than the benchmark by an average of one year. For example, the overall mean Spring scores in Reading for Grade 7 of 228 compares to the Spring NWEA benchmark for Grade 9 of only 223, giving an indication of the high standards at Stamford. Comparison across grade levels reflects this pattern of enhanced performance. Math Mean: Fall ‘12 - Spring ‘13 240 220 208
200
192
180
178
179 177
160
159 156
163
194 191
213 203 199
223 213 212 204
233 222 213
231 226 220
238 235 231 226
238 235 230
245 241 236 234
192
178
144
140 KG2
GR 1
Benchmark Fall
GR 2
GR 3
GR 4
Benchmark Spring
GR 5
GR 6
Stamford Fall
GR 7
GR 8
GR 9
Stamford Spring
In Math, the average student RIT score at each grade level is consistently greater than the benchmark by an average of one year. For example, the overall mean Spring scores in Math for Grade 5 of 233 compares to the Spring NWEA benchmark for Grade 7 of only 231, giving an indication of the high standards at Stamford. Comparison across grade levels reflects this pattern of enhanced performance.
0% Reading Fall ‘12
Math Spring ‘13
In both Math and Reading, during the Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 period, the percentage of students at Stamford who performed two years or more above grade level increased. In Reading, the growth was from 29% to 32% and in Math the growth was from 22% to 33%. The even more substantial growth represented in Math is a reflection of the successful introduction of the Math Enrichment Program into Stamford’s curriculum this year.
Math Enrichment is a supplemental mathematics program at Stamford in which students use mathematical skills to solve problems that focus on the American Education Reaches Out (AERO) Mathematical Process Standards of problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication and representation and connections. All students at Stamford participate in the program and are placed into smaller, homogenous groupings based on their scores in the different mathematical strands of the MAP test. Students work together to apply mathematical knowledge to understand material at a conceptual level to find a solution to real-world problems.
www.sais.edu.sg
+65 6602 7247
Stamford American International School CPE Registration Number: 200823594D Period of Registration: August 10, 2010 to August 9, 2014