[NWEA in Kentucky] What to Do Next with Your MAP Growth Assessment Data

In the fall of 2017, districts across Kentucky decided to start using NWEA™ MAP® Growth™ assessments as a universal screener for students in elementary and middle schools (and, sometimes, even in high schools, budgets permitting) to help identify student knowledge gaps.

The MAP Growth assessment is given three times in a school year (during the beginning, middle, and end of year) to gauge if students are on pace with their grade level and make it easier for teachers to pinpoint student needs and create implementation plans based on those results without having to wait for K-PREP tests results. Kentucky administrators and teachers noted that, while K-PREP results were extremely helpful, the data were also several months old by the time they reached the schools, so Kentucky educators wanted to be able to provide a more frequent type of benchmark to students to get immediate results.

So, what’s next for Kentucky educators once they have received MAP Growth results? What if technology tools could help you take NWEA RIT scores and immediately turn them into actionable individualized learning plans for each of your students? This is exactly what Edmentum can help provide via assessment integrations with two of our powerful online programs, Exact Path and Study Island. Here, we’ll take a look at these two options and help provide guidance so that you can make decisions regarding what will best serve your students’ unique set of needs.

NWEA MAP Link + Exact Path

Advantages of Exact Path

• Scaffold learning with high-quality curriculum
• Monitor skill-by-skill performance
• Create data-driven small groups

How does the integration work?

Exact Path is our assessment-driven individualized learning program that supports K–12 reading, language arts, and math instruction and integrates with MAP Growth K–2 and MAP Growth for Math and Reading. Once RIT scores are imported into Exact Path, the scores will act as a placement test within the program, and each student will automatically receive a targeted learning playlist of instruction, practice, and assessment focused on closing specific skill gaps identified by their assessment performance.

What program needs can Exact Path solve?

Exact Path focuses on identifying where students are ready to start learning and provides a self-paced instruction that promotes academic growth. Exact Path is ideal for students in need of that first-time instructional component, whether they are below grade level, above grade level, or on grade level. A dedicated intervention block would benefit from the comprehensive lesson module approach that Exact Path provides to ensure that students are able to correct any misconceptions that arise while learning, are allotted ample time to apply the skills they’re learning in a low-pressure environment, and are ultimately assessed on discrete skill mastery before moving ahead.

NWEA Map Link + Study Island

Advantages of Study Island

• Leverage standards-based practice to fill learning gaps
• Monitor progress in real time
• Reinforce key concepts by using individual student learning path results

How does the integration work?

Study Island is our proven, practice and formative assessment program that supports K–12 math, English language arts, science, and social studies for Kentucky students. For this digital option, the NWEA MAP Link integration can be added to support targeted practices in math for grades 2–11, in reading for grades 2–12, and in science for grades 3–8. Once RIT scores are imported into Study Island, the NWEA MAP Growth performance automatically drives targeted learning pathways for each student so that they can jump right in and start practicing.

What program needs can Study Island solve?

Study Island is built to Kentucky Academic Standards to help drive focused practice that prepares students for K-PREP summative exams and also provides ongoing formative assessment to measure academic proficiency with short, focused topics that provide the standards-based reinforcement students need. This, in turn, helps teachers by allowing for intervention even when schedules are limited and time is in short supply, providing a simple way to review reports and monitor progress and the ability to plan for data-driven instruction and intervention based on results.  

Make sure that your NWEA MAP Growth data is working for you to give students the best chance at achieving academic success. While just one program might be the right fit for some, many Kentucky schools and districts are also finding success combining the instructional strengths of Study Island and Exact Path to achieve both student proficiency and growth, respectively.

For a more in-depth look into how NWEA MAP Growth can integrate with both Exact Path and Study Island, check out this recorded webinar: [NWEA + Edmentum] Answering "What's Next with Your MAP Data?"