The MAP tests are used as an academic screener at specific grade levels in FCPS. As an academic screener, the MAP tests give teachers information about strengths and needs in students’ foundational mathematics and reading skills. Gaps in foundational skills are the root of many later learning difficulties. Early detection and intervention in these gaps can help students reach their potential and succeed in coursework. As an academic screener, MAP tests completed in the fall provide a first look at areas in which students may need extra support. Teachers may collect more information using diagnostic assessments. 

MAP Math - Elementary, Middle, and High School, Grades 1-12

The MAP  Math test serves as an academic screener in for all students in elementary and middle school grades 1-8 and for students in selected high school courses. A listing of participating high school courses is available under "High School (9-12) Screening and Growth" on the Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage . 

MAP Reading - High School Grades 9-12

The MAP Reading test serves as academic screener in identified high school courses. A listing of participating courses is available under "High School (9-12) Screening and Growth" on the Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage . 

The MAP tests are used as a growth measure in FCPS to ensure students are developing at the expected rate and are making progress to close any learning gaps from previous years. As a growth measure, the MAP tests give teachers information about student progress in developing the content knowledge and skills defined in grade level, course, and/or state standards.  

MAP Math - Elementary and Middle School, Grades 1-8

The MAP Math test measures student growth across the year and from year to year for all students in grades 1-8. Additionally, MAP Math tests are approved as a SOL-aligned growth measure under the Virginia Assessment Program. The growth measure is used three times per year for students enrolled in Math 1 through Math 7, Prealgebra, and Algebra 1 courses. 

MAP Math and Reading - High School, Grades 9-12

In high school, MAP Math and Reading tests are used in the identified courses as a growth measure within the FCPS Strategic Plan. MAP tests are used 1-3 times per year to monitor learning. 

Unlike paper-and-pencil tests, where all students are asked the same questions and spend a fixed amount of time taking the test, MAP is a computer-adaptive test. That means every student gets a unique set of test questions based on responses to previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions get harder. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions get easier. By the end of the test, most students will have answered about half the questions correctly, as is common on adaptive tests. The purpose of MAP assessments are to help educators understand where a student is on their academic journey, if they are growing over time, and where a student’s strengths and opportunity areas are. You can learn about the MAP tests by viewing the vendor’s  Family Toolkit .

FCPS has testing windows to give MAP tests to students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Participation guidelines differ by grade-level and course as well as depending on how student’s score.

Most students take around 45 to 55 minutes to complete a MAP test. However, the MAP test is not timed, and students may take as much time as they need to complete it. Students will encounter questions with content that they may have not yet been exposed to so students should be advised to take their best guess.

When we talk about high-stakes tests, we are usually talking about a test designed to measure what students already know, based on what is expected at their grade level. High-stakes tests are also often used as a way to measure grade-level proficiency. MAP tests are designed to measure student achievement in the moment and growth over time, regardless of grade level, so it is quite different.

MAP is not a standardized test because it doesn’t give all students the same, standard set of questions every time it’s administered. Instead, it adapts based on a student’s answer, asking a more difficult question when they answer correctly and an easier question when they don’t. Students are expected to answer questions correctly only about 50% of the time.

MAP is also a formative assessment, that is, it is given periodically during the school year, so that teachers and families can see a student’s growth over time.

Calculators 

Calculators are embedded within the online assessment when the test item is assessing a student's ability to perform math skills that do not involve computation. Calculators are notprovided when the item is specifically assessing a student's ability to perform a calculation or make an estimation.

Handheld calculators or Desmos online calculators should not be provided during parts of the assessment that are not intended for calculator use. This allows the MAP assessment to be a true screener and growth measure, giving us baseline data and progress data throughout the year. 

Calculators with additional functions (large key, braille, talking) are only permitted for students with disabilities who cannot access the embedded Desmos calculator and have a documented accommodation on the IEP. Calculators with additional functions should only be accessed on questions for which the embedded calculator is provided within the online test.  

Formulas

Formulas are embedded within the online assessment when the test item is not assessing the student’s knowledge of the formula. Formulas are notprovided when the item is assessing the student’s ability to know which formula to use and apply it to solve the problem. 

The MAP tests include multiple choice, drag and drop, and other types of questions. You can access some  short sample tests to get an idea of what MAP questions look like.

Your child’s teacher will help with any pre-test instructions to explain the test to the students. Just like on any school day, make sure your child is well-rested and fed. Encourage them to do their best. There are also currently two secondary videos to support students in learning more about the assessment:  What is the Math MAP Assessment  and  Understanding RIT Scores . T here is also an Introduction to MAP video for elementary students. 

The MAP Reading test used in English 9--11courses evaluates students' skills in three (3) instructional goal areas:

• Literacy Text
• Information Text
• Vocabulary and Word Analysis

The MAP Math general test used in Math 1-7, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra 1 courses evaluates students' skills in five (5) instructional goal areas:

• Number and number sense
• Computation and estimation
• Measurement and geometry
• Probability, statistics, patterns, functions and algebra

The MAP Math Algebra 1 content test used in Algebra Functions and Data Analysis (AFDA) courses evaluates students' skills in three (3) instructional goal areas:

• Expressions and operations
• Equations and inequalities
• Functions and statistics

The MAP Math Geometry content test used in Geometry  courses evaluates students' skills in three (3) instructional goal areas:

• Reasoning, lines and transformations
• Triangles
• Polygons, circles and three-dimensional figures 

The MAP Math Algebra 2 content test used in Algebra 2 courses evaluates students' skills in three (3) instructional goal areas:

• Expressions and operations
• Equations and inequalities
• Functions and statistics

MAP FAMILY GROWTH REPORT, GRADES 1-8                                             Created at __________________

To the Parents/Guardians of: ________________________SID: ________________GRD: ____ 

Your student recently took a Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Mathematics test as part of grade 1-8 academic screening and growth assessments in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). MAP tests give teachers information about a student’s mathematics strengths and needs. The MAP test also helps teachers monitor a student’s progress in learning grade level standards and fulfills a state requirement for through-year growth monitoring in grades 3-8. You can learn more on the Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage ( https://www.fcps.edu/academic-screening-growth-and-diagnostic-tests ), including information about your student’s reading tests.  

The table below displays MAP outcomes for each testing window to help you answer questions about your student’s progress.

• GROWTH: A RIT score is provided for each window your student has tested this year (fall, winter, spring). Watching how the RIT score changes from window to window lets you see how your student’s skills develop over time. These changes represent growth across the school year.
• NATIONAL NORMS: A percentile rank (PR) tells how your student’s performance compares to a national norm group of students at the same grade level. For example, a student who is at the 35th percentile scored as well as, or better than, 35 percent of students in the national norm group.
• GRADE LEVEL SKILLS: You will see your student’s relative performance for the subject overall and for each tested skill. This tells how your student’s score compares for grade level standards. The possible levels are “Low,” “LoAvg,” “Avg,” “HiAvg,” “High.” For example, a student who is LoAvg in Measurement/Geometry performed between the 21st and 40th percentile for that skill.  

How is my student progressing over time? The goal is for your student to make progress in their learning. RIT score changes for each skill show how your student is growing with grade level skills and preparing for more advanced concepts. If your student only has a fall test this year, you can still look for RIT score growth by viewing MAP results from previous years in the Student Information System (SIS) ParentVUE Test History. 

What if my student is performing below expectation? This can happen for many reasons, such as test-day factors like stress or distractions. Teachers use multiple data points to understand student performance and plan how to support or accelerate learning, as needed. More important than a score from a single test is to ensure that your student continues to learn and grow to meet or exceed grade level expectations by the end of the year.

What if my student’s score declined from an earlier test? A lower score does not mean your student did not learn or lost skills. Scores can be affected by things like stress, distraction, or taking the test in a different place. Teachers use multiple data points to understand student growth and to plan instructional support, as needed.

More information on tested skills and how to understand MAP family growth reports can be found on the MAP Test Information webpage ( https://www.fcps.edu/node/50123 ). If you have questions about your student's academic strengths and needs, please contact their teacher. If your student receives Multilingual Learner (ML) services, please note that MAP tests are administered in English. Contact your student's ML teacher for information about their English language development.

Test: MAP MATHEMATICS

MAP FAMILY GROWTH REPORT, GRADES 9-12                                             Created at __________________

To the Parents/Guardians of: ________________________SID: ________________GRD: ____ 

Your student recently took a Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Mathematics and/or Reading test in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). MAP tests help monitor students’ progress in learning grade level standards. You can learn more on the Academic Screening, Growth, and Diagnostic Tests webpage:  https://www.fcps.edu/academic-screening-growth-and-diagnostic-tests .  

The table below displays MAP outcomes for each testing window completed. Note that not all students in high school courses are required to take winter and spring MAP tests.

• GROWTH: A RIT score is provided for each window your student has tested this year (fall, winter, spring). Watching how the RIT score changes from window to window lets you see how your student’s skills develop over time. These changes represent growth across the school year.
• NATIONAL NORMS: A percentile rank (PR) tells how your student’s performance compares to a national norm group of students in the same grade or course. For example, a student who is at the 35th percentile scored as well as, or better than, 35 percent of students in the national norm group.
• GRADE LEVEL SKILLS: You will see your student’s relative performance for the subject overall and for each tested skill. This tells how your student’s score compares for grade level standards. The possible levels are “Low,” “LoAvg,” “Avg,” “HiAvg,” “High.” For example, a student who is LoAvg in Measurement/Geometry performed between the 21st and 40th percentile for that skill.  

More information on tested skills and how to understand MAP family growth reports can be found on the MAP Test Information webpage ( https://www.fcps.edu/node/50123 ). This information can help you answer questions about your student’s progress.

Teachers use multiple data points to understand student growth and to plan instructional support, as needed. If you have questions about your student's academic strengths and needs, please contact their teacher. If your student receives Multilingual Learner (ML) services, please note that MAP tests are administered in English. Contact your student's ML teacher for information about their English language development.

Test: MAP SUBJECT

MAP Family Growth Reports provide scores for all testing windows the student has completed for the year. Results are displayed in a table and include the following data points to help families answer questions about student progress.

• GROWTH: A RIT score is provided for each window a student has tested this year (fall, winter, spring). Watching how the RIT score changes from window to window lets families see how a student’s skills develop over time. These changes represent growth across the school year.
• NATIONAL NORMS: A percentile rank (PR) tells how a student’s performance compares to a national norm group of students at the same grade level. For example, a student who is at the 35th percentile scored as well as, or better than, 35 percent of students in the national norm group.
• GRADE LEVEL SKILLS: Families will see a student’s relative performance for the subject overall and for each tested skill. This tells how the student’s score compares for grade level standards. The possible levels are “Low,” “LoAvg,” “Avg,” “HiAvg,” “High.” For example, a student who is LoAvg in Measurement/Geometry performed between the 21st and 40th percentile for that skill.

When a student takes a MAP test in a testing window, families receive a custom score report within 1 month of the close of the window. 

• For families with SIS ParentVUE accounts:The report and guide are posted to the ParentVUE "Documents" section. Schools distribute reports for famlies without ParentVUE access.
• For families without a ParentVUE account:The report and guide are distributed to the family from the school. Schools distribute reports for famlies without ParentVUE access.

When students finish their MAP test, they receive a number called a RIT score for each subject they are tested in: reading and/or math. This score represents a student’s achievement level at any given moment and helps measure their academic growth over time. The RIT scale is a stable scale, like feet and inches, that accurately measures student performance, regardless of age, grades, or grade level. Like marking height on a growth chart and being able to see how tall a child is at various points in time, you can also see how much they have grown between tests.

A percentile rank indicates how well a student performed in comparison to the students in the specific norm group, for example, in the same grade and subject. A student's percentile rank indicates that the student scored as well as, or better than, that percentage of students in the norm group. For example, a student scoring at the 35th percentile scored as well as, or better than, 35 percent of students in the norm group. It also means that 65 percent of the students in the norm group exceeded this score.

The percentile rank is not a percentage of items the student answered correctly.

The MAP Student Progress Report lists the instructional goal areas tested within each content area and gives a descriptive word or phrase to express the strength of a student's performance in that area. The goal areas reported are the same as the instructional goal areas provided under the "Tested Content" section above. 

The possible descriptors are:

• Low (percentile < 21st)
• LoAvg (percentile between 21st and 40th)
• Avg (percentile between 41st and 60th)
• HiAvg (percentile between 61st and 80th)
• High (percentile > 80th)

An asterisk (*) is displayed if the goal score was not calculated.

Just as a doctor has a chart indicating the most common heights and weights of people at certain ages, the vendor has put together charts showing the average RIT scores for students at various grade levels. Researchers examined the scores of millions of students to find the average scores for students in various grades. A student’s percentile score shows how their score compares to students at the same grade-level.

Different reports from the vendor are provided to help schools and teachers use MAP test information. Teachers can see the progress of individual students and of their classes as a whole. Teachers use RIT scores combined with formative assessment to develop classroom-level strategies for equitable instruction that help maximize every student’s learning potential. MAP testes also provide data around the typical growth for students who are in the same grade, are testing in the same subject, and have the same starting achievement level. This data is often used to help students set goals and understand how much they need to learn to achieve their goals. Principals and administrators can use the scores to see the performance and progress of a grade level, school, or entire district.