NWEA Spark Community

Is anyone seeing signs of the more advanced grade 2 students reaching a ceiling in MAP for Primary Grades? That is, once these students switch to MAP 2-5 and get used to the no-audio format, do their scores shoot up?

We offer MAP K-11 and have stuck with giving 2-5 starting in 2nd grade. the complex reports and lack of growth targets that erupt when we mis MPG and MAP in the same year wasn't worth it to us.

All of these comments are helpful. After meeting with the Kindergarten, 1,2 and 3rd grade teachers today we decided that we would continue to test 2nd graders with the 2-5 survery with the expectation that the scores may drop significantly due to testing delivery change. We look at the score more as a starting point, rather than a comparison from the previous Spring. We compare our NWEA with DIBELS and find comparisons across the board.

Up to now, we've used the primary grades assessment with our 2nd graders fall, winter and spring. Because we're emphasizing growth, we want to keep the assessment they take to remain constant. The correlation between our students' California State Test and their RIT projections appears to be still pretty strong as well, even though we use the primary test exclusively. I'm hoping that, as our kindergarteners and 1st graders move up into 2nd grade with greater computer experience, we can begin to move earlier into the 2-5 version with our 2nd graders.

Good comments.

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This is the first year we have tested MAP Primary district wide.  We have 15 elementary schools.  In the past, grade 2 was tested using 2-5 version in Spring to prepare for grade 3 testing.  This year grade 2 took MAP PRI in fall and winter, and switched to 2-5 version in spring. 

We did some comparisons along the way and felt that the PRI was correlating to 2-5 results.  However, now that we are at the end of the year, we are seeing some oddities in the growth data.  Across the district, the growth index for all grades in Math and Reading is positive at both district level and school level - EXCEPT for grade 2.  Grade 2 summary data is negative for GI at both district level and at school level.  When looking at the district reports, this stands out like a sore thumb.

We are now second guessing at when the most appropriate time may be to switch from PRI to 2-5.

This question came up at the Summer Conference this year.  It has caused many questions here at our Private Montessori School.

Our school also notices a drop in test scores when changing over from the Primary Grades tests to the 2-5 tests.  The test goes from having audio support and resembling a video game to a text only test.  Some students went from loving the MAP testing to being less enthused.  This year we had most of our second graders take the 2-5 test at the beginning of the school year (their test scores dropped somewhat, and we explained this to the parents).  We should be able to notice growth in Winter with thest students.  However, students who seem to be reading below grade level and/or have challenges took the Primary test in Fall and will transition in to the 2-5 in Winter.

I think the choice is up to each school and/or teacher.  It can be very confusing for the parents and our teachers.  I hope that NWEA can come up with a way to better address this partiuclar issue.  Has anyone created any material for parents or teachers that explains this transition?

We gave our second graders the 2-5 tests for math and reading, but one of the teachers felt the scores were unreasonably low and that the test was unfair to her students. I attended a MAP Matters conference the next week and learned that some schools give the Primary Grades tests at the beginning of second grade and then transition to the 2-5 tests during the winter session. The reasoning is that beginning second graders are really late first graders, just coming back from summer break. I returned from the conference and re-tested the second graders, this time with MAP for Primary Grades. The results were strange. Some students had higher scores on the Primary Grades tests, but some students had higher scores on the 2-5 tests. I'm not sure I could say that one test was "better" than the other at the beginning second grade level.

That said, the decision at our school is to give MAP for Primary Grades in the fall of second grade, but to make sure the students are ready to read independently  for MAP 2 -5 by the winter session. The teachers in our school feel most comfortable with that.

I wish you the best! MAP testing is a major part of our school. I hope it is as beneficial for you as it has been for us!

We have also noticed a difference but have attributed it to the difference between how the two tests are taken.  Because our incoming second graders  have to read the test as opposed to hearing it, our struggling readers' scores seem to be significantly lower.  The better readers don't seem to have as much of a discrepancy.