NWEA MAP Testing
Understand how to interpret your child's NWEA MAP results
NWEA Coffee Morning Slides
Here at HIS, we implement and make use of a set of standardized assessments called the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). Two times a year, each of our students from Grades 2 through to Grade 9 are assessed in Reading, Mathematics, and Language Usage. The MAP assessments are administered by a company called NWEA (North West Evaluation Association) who are based in Oregon, in the U.S. They have been in the assessment business for the past 40 years and have developed "norms" for students at each grade level, which are based on the performance of millions of students, over many years. The MAP Assessments are used by many International Schools across the world.
HIS Cover Letter to Parents for NWEA MAP Results (English)
HIS Cover Letter to Parents for NWEA MAP Results (Chinese)
NWEA Frequently Asked Questions Guide
NWEA Family Guide to MAP (Available in Multiple Languages)
- Family Guide in Arabic (عربى)
- Family Guide in Chinese (中文)
- Family Guide in English
- Family Guide in Japanese (日本の)
- Family Guide in Korean (한국어)
- Family Guide in Spanish (Español)
Additional Resources
- NWEA Family Toolkit
- Khan Academy Mappers (View Sample Questions and Access Skill Practice)
- Lexile (Strategies for Reading and Vocabulary)
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find my child's NWEA scores?
NWEA score reports are located in the Portfolio section of ManageBac.
What do the colors mean in the line graph?
The blue line shows your child’s performance from previous test(s) until now and the dotted line is a growth projection of the next upcoming test. Tests are held in the Fall and Spring of each school year.
The orange line shows how the average student performed at the Shanghai Community International School District, which is made up of students from Shanghai Community International School (SCIS) Hongqiao, SCIS Pudong, and Hangzhou International School.
The yellow line shows how the average student performed in the same grade level in the United States.
How is everything connected?
The “Goals Performance” section at the bottom of the report shows how your child did against students from the United States grade level norm. The range is Low, Low Average (LoAvg), Average (Avg), High Average (HiAvg), and High. The range comes from the Percentile Range on the right. The “Percentile Range” number in bold is your child’s percentile (where 50% is the middle). The line graph comes from the Term/Year RIT scores on the right. A RIT score measures achievement for all students irrespective of grade level.
The “Lexile Range” is an estimated level that helps students choose books at their independent level. The website https://lexile.com/parents-students/ can help students and parents find books and determine if a specific book in hand is at an appropriate level for independent reading.
If my child is Low Average or Low in a particular area, what does this mean? Is my child performing below grade level expectations?
Sometimes, student results do show a dip, or an inconsistent sign of progress. This is perfectly normal. At times, the testing situation may not have worked for a student on that particular day, they may have lost focus or have had other things on their mind. We understand that many factors may impact performance. The test is just one measure of how your student is doing. What we are looking for, is growth overall, over many testing periods.
How can I help my child?
At HIS, faculty use more detailed breakdowns of scores to target your child's needs. We encourage you to speak to your child’s teacher to determine progress and areas in need of further development. At home, you can also log onto Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org) and input the MAP scores, which can offer personalized skill practice.
After reviewing your child's MAP scores and progress over time, you may want to discuss results with your child’s teacher and/or advisor.
If you have concerns about your child’s performance over time, please do not hesitate to contact the school either by phone (+571 8669 0045) or by e-mail aaronayers@hisdragons.org.cn to make an appointment. We want to make the best use of this important data to help your child grow and progress.