Michigan Department of Education Approves MAP Growth from NWEA as a Statewide Benchmark Assessment for Grades 3-8
PORTLAND, Ore. (PRWEB) May 17, 2018 -- NWEA, the not-for-profit provider of assessment solutions, today announced that its MAP Growth assessment has been awarded a contract with the Michigan Department of Education for the administration, scoring and reporting of a statewide benchmark assessment in grades 3-8. Aligned to Michigan Academic Standards, MAP Growth provides precise, immediate, and actionable data to measure student growth. The contract expands NWEA’s relationship with the Michigan Department of Education and supports the State’s strategic goal to become a “Top 10 Education State in 10 Years.”
The contract award enables all Michigan public school districts and public school academies to select MAP Growth as an approved benchmark assessment for Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA), beginning in the fall of 2018 and continuing for three school years. As part of the contract, NWEA also will provide professional development and training to schools implementing the MAP Growth assessment.
NWEA is a longtime partner of schools and districts in Michigan. Currently, more than 60 percent of public school districts and more than 65 percent of public school academies in Michigan use MAP Growth or MAP Growth K-2 to measure student academic growth. Additionally, MAP Growth K-2 and MAP Growth are on the MDE-approved list for early literacy testing, which is required for all students in grades K-3.
Novi Community School District in the Metropolitan Detroit area uses MAP Growth for its 6,200 students. According to R.J. Webber, assistant superintendent of academic services at Novi Community School District, the district uses MAP Growth data to help uncover each student’s learning gaps and adjust instruction. “MAP Growth always presents the right challenge for each student,” said Webber. “It gives us actionable data that helps us do what we say we want to be doing for our kids.”
“We are pleased to be expanding our successful partnership with Michigan schools as a preferred vendor for benchmark assessments in the state,” said Chris Minnich, CEO of NWEA. “MAP Growth supports MDE’s assessment goals by providing immediate and actionable data that enables educators to make instructional decisions for the current school year and beyond. We look forward to working with more Michigan schools to help them leverage assessment data to support the academic growth of their students.”
Aligned with Michigan Academic Standards, MAP Growth provides a precise measure of a student’s academic achievement and growth. A computer-adaptive assessment, it adjusts to each student’s responses to provide personalized results about what each student knows, is able to do, and is ready to learn next—whether on, above, or below grade level. Teachers receive immediate and actionable information in easy-to-use reports to help differentiate instruction for students in need of remediation and those high performers requiring additional enrichment. Because MAP Growth tracks individual student growth over time, it can help predict each student’s proficiency and college readiness.
MAP Growth is noted for its stable, equal-interval cross-grade scale and the accurate, valid, and reliable data it provides. This interim assessment provides nationally representative norms derived from more than 10 million students in the U.S.
MAP Growth, MAP Skills, and MAP Reading Fluency comprise the MAP Suite from NWEA, a comprehensive assessment system with multiple ways to utilize assessment to improve instruction.
MAP Growth was the sole assessment awarded in the 2017 THE Journal Readers’ Choice Awards best assessment category. The awards recognize the best education technology products and services used by teachers throughout the country. MAP Growth also was named a winner of the Tech & Learning 2017 Awards of Excellence, which recognize the best new and upgraded education tools that help educators in teaching, training and managing with technology.
About NWEA
NWEA® is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency—and provide insights to help tailor instruction. Educators in more than 9,500 schools, districts, and education agencies in 145 countries rely on our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; and our reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™. Visit NWEA.org to find out how NWEA can partner with you to help all kids learn.
Jessica Hahn, NWEA, http://www.nwea.org, 571-970-6440, [email protected]
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