NWEA and Khan Academy Launch MAP® Accelerator™ Following Successful Introduction of Pilot
New classroom tool uses MAP Growth scores to automatically generate a personalized learning plan for each student. Removes the manual work of differentiating instruction while keeping teachers and students at the center of learning.
PORTLAND, Ore. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 4 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Not-for-profit organizations NWEA and Khan Academy announced today the general availability launch of MAP® Accelerator™ — a powerful new classroom tool that integrates MAP Growth assessments and Khan Academy to empower teachers to easily and effectively differentiate instruction for students with diverse academic needs. The new tool, announced in June, is now available for schools for the 2020-2021 school year.
This fall, five school districts launched pilots of MAP Accelerator with 180,000 students. Feedback to date exceeds expectations. The districts are:
- Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Glendale Unified School District in Glendale, California
- Jefferson County School District in Louisville, Kentucky
- Madera Unified School District in Madera, California
- Pajaro Valley Unified School District in Watsonville, California
Developed jointly by NWEA and Khan Academy, MAP Accelerator removes the manual work of differentiating instruction and helps teachers quickly and easily personalize learning for each student. The tool imports MAP Growth scores to automatically generate personalized-learning pathways on Khan Academy. Teachers can then adjust suggested goals in the learning pathways or accept all goals with a single click.
"MAP Accelerator meets the individual needs of each student," said Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy. "Our goal is to encourage every student to own their education while allowing their teachers to adjust learning goals based on what they know about each student."
Clark County School District, the fifth-largest district in the nation, is piloting MAP Accelerator with more than 145,000 students and 3,600 teachers.
"Our partnership with NWEA and Khan Academy is a game changer for our students and teachers. Partnering with two of the nation's best not-for-profits provides impactful tools for teachers to create customized instructional plans for our students," said Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus F. Jara. "It provides teachers with information to leverage data on individual students' learning pathways and gives them the ability to adapt to particular instructional needs so our students can experience academic growth."
Pajaro Valley Unified School District is also implementing MAP Accelerator this fall with 4,000 students. The district has used Khan Academy as a student and teacher resource to support individualized learning for several years. Combining Khan Academy with NWEA's MAP Growth assessment allows Pajaro teachers to identify students who need extra help and inspire students who are ready to move ahead.
"Our participation in this pilot is aligned with our district's vision to support each student to excel academically through personalized instruction," said Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent of Schools for Pajaro Valley Unified School District. "MAP Accelerator is an exciting opportunity to provide access to authentic personalized learning for every student."
MAP Accelerator for math is available for grades 3-8 in English and Spanish, with English-Language Arts support planned for the 2021-2022 school year. Content includes practice problems, real-time feedback, scaffolded help, instructional videos and articles. An intuitive teacher dashboard provides real-time data and reports to track student progress and analyze the impact of MAP Accelerator in the classroom. The easy-to-use tool is compatible with most popular operating systems, browsers, and devices—including iPads® and Chromebooks®.
"We are very excited to officially launch MAP Accelerator to classrooms across the country, furthering our commitment to provide teachers with innovative resources that support their efforts to help their students learn and grow," said Chris Minnich, CEO of NWEA. "We have been truly inspired by the initial feedback from our early adopters, who have embraced the new tool. We look forward to working in partnership with Khan Academy to expand MAP Accelerator to new subjects and grade levels."
MAP Growth provides a precise measurement of a student's academic performance and growth. As a computer-adaptive assessment, it adjusts to each student's responses to provide individual personalized results about what each student knows, and is ready to learn next— whether on, above, or below grade level. MAP Growth assessment is taken three times a year by 11 million students in grades K-12 for Math, English-Language Arts and Science.
Khan Academy's mastery learning system is a trusted online learning resource for teachers, providing access to high-quality, standards-aligned content, teacher tools and reports that help unlock student potential.
To learn more about MAP Accelerator, visit nwea.org/map-accelerator.
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 10,000 schools, districts, and education agencies in 141 countries rely on our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; our reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™; and our new assessment solution that combines growth and proficiency measurement. Visit nwea.org to find out how NWEA can partner with you to help all kids learn.
About Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Our learning system is mastery based, which allows students to master key concepts at a pace that's just right for them before moving on to more challenging content. Khan Academy's platform is free for students and teachers and includes thousands of interactive exercises, videos and articles that cover a range of K–12 subjects. More than 18 million learners use Khan Academy every month in 190 countries and more than 40 languages. More than 200,000 educators use our free teacher tools. As a nonprofit, Khan Academy relies on donations from foundations, corporations and individuals around the world, as well as earned revenue. For more information, visit khanacademy.org, or join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
SOURCE NWEA
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