This document provides information about Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments created by Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). It includes frequently asked questions about MAP tests, how teachers use the test scores, and tips for parents. It also describes The Lexile Framework, which uses reading metrics to match students with books at an appropriate difficulty level. The document aims to help parents understand NWEA assessments and support their child's learning.
Meetup #15: In the passionate pursuit of great ideas, dazzling presentations, and awesome products, some start-up entrepreneurs overlook how their businesses will make money. There are many business models but they all boil down to answering the question, “What do you do and why will someone pay you for it?” We explored the challenges of choosing a business model for a tech start-up, the notion of early stage business models versus those for mature businesses, and the proven familiar models versus some creative and innovative models.
Hai preso una multa o una cartella esattoriale?
Ecco il metodo migliore, veloce, professionale e più efficare per contestare una multa o una cartella esattoriale.
Un team di esperti nel settore ti seguirà passo passo dandoti una consulenza gratuita.
Sportiek is een wintersportspecialist en helpt graag iedereen die op zoek is naar hun ideale wintersportvakantie.
Sportiek onderscheidt zich door:
• het aanbieden van Nederlandse skileraren tijdens de schoolvakantieweken voor kinderen van ca. 5 tot 10 jaar. En de gehele winter Nederlandstalige reisleiding die diverse activiteiten organiseert zoals een rodelavond met glühwein, een sneew-BBQ en nog veel meer activiteiten.
• het unieke persoonlijke contact wat zij heeft meer haar gasten. Het Sportiek-personeel is ervaren en adviseert / offreert geheel vrijblijvend.
• Zeer scherpe prijzen door lage overheadkosten en het uitsluiten van tussenschakels zoals de reisbureaus
• al ruim 25 jaar haar expertise heeft kunnen uitdiepen en zich nu een “Les Sybelles-specialist” mag noemen.
• Sportiek lid is van Respect the Mountains en informeert haar bergsporters over het behoud van de natuur en leefomgeving in de bergen.
Wintersportbestemmingen Frankrijk:
SKIGEBIED : SKIDORP :
Les Sybelles (310 km): -Saint Jean d’Arves
-Saint Sorlin d’Arves
-La Toussuire
-Le Corbier
Grand Rousses (250 km) : -Oz-en-Oisans
Le Grand Domaine (165 km) : -Saint Francois Longchamp
Valcenis Vanoise (125 km) : -Val Cenis
Galibier Thabor (150 km) : -Valloire
Espace Diamant (185 km) : -Notre Dame de Bellecombe
La Norma (172 km) : -La Norma
Wintersportbesemmingen Italië :
SKIGEBIED : SKIDORP :
Paganella Dolomiti (150 km) : -Andalo
-Fai della Paganella
Brenta Dolomieten (150 km) : -Pinzolo
Meetup #15: In the passionate pursuit of great ideas, dazzling presentations, and awesome products, some start-up entrepreneurs overlook how their businesses will make money. There are many business models but they all boil down to answering the question, “What do you do and why will someone pay you for it?” We explored the challenges of choosing a business model for a tech start-up, the notion of early stage business models versus those for mature businesses, and the proven familiar models versus some creative and innovative models.
Hai preso una multa o una cartella esattoriale?
Ecco il metodo migliore, veloce, professionale e più efficare per contestare una multa o una cartella esattoriale.
Un team di esperti nel settore ti seguirà passo passo dandoti una consulenza gratuita.
Sportiek is een wintersportspecialist en helpt graag iedereen die op zoek is naar hun ideale wintersportvakantie.
Sportiek onderscheidt zich door:
• het aanbieden van Nederlandse skileraren tijdens de schoolvakantieweken voor kinderen van ca. 5 tot 10 jaar. En de gehele winter Nederlandstalige reisleiding die diverse activiteiten organiseert zoals een rodelavond met glühwein, een sneew-BBQ en nog veel meer activiteiten.
• het unieke persoonlijke contact wat zij heeft meer haar gasten. Het Sportiek-personeel is ervaren en adviseert / offreert geheel vrijblijvend.
• Zeer scherpe prijzen door lage overheadkosten en het uitsluiten van tussenschakels zoals de reisbureaus
• al ruim 25 jaar haar expertise heeft kunnen uitdiepen en zich nu een “Les Sybelles-specialist” mag noemen.
• Sportiek lid is van Respect the Mountains en informeert haar bergsporters over het behoud van de natuur en leefomgeving in de bergen.
Wintersportbestemmingen Frankrijk:
SKIGEBIED : SKIDORP :
Les Sybelles (310 km): -Saint Jean d’Arves
-Saint Sorlin d’Arves
-La Toussuire
-Le Corbier
Grand Rousses (250 km) : -Oz-en-Oisans
Le Grand Domaine (165 km) : -Saint Francois Longchamp
Valcenis Vanoise (125 km) : -Val Cenis
Galibier Thabor (150 km) : -Valloire
Espace Diamant (185 km) : -Notre Dame de Bellecombe
La Norma (172 km) : -La Norma
Wintersportbesemmingen Italië :
SKIGEBIED : SKIDORP :
Paganella Dolomiti (150 km) : -Andalo
-Fai della Paganella
Brenta Dolomieten (150 km) : -Pinzolo
842014 I come not to bury summative assessments but to prais.docxevonnehoggarth79783
8/4/2014 I come not to bury summative assessments but to praise them | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/common-core-watch/2012/i-come-not-to-bury-summative-assessments-but-to-praise-them.html# 1/3
I come not to bury summative assessments but to
praise them
Kathleen Porter-Magee (/about-us/fordham-staff/kathleen-porter-magee)
February 10, 2012
The Northwest Evaluation Association recently surveyed parents and teachers
(http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/PressReleaseAssessmentPerceptions.pdf) to
gauge their support for various types of
assessm ent. The
results (http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/08/21tests.h31.html) indicated that just a quarter of
teachers find sum m ative
assessm ents “‘extrem ely’ or ‘very’ valuable for determ ining whether students
have a deep understanding of content.” By contrast, 67 percent of teachers (and
85 percent of parents) found form ative and interim assessm ents extrem ely or
very valuable.
I can understand why teachers would find form ative and
interim assessm ents appealing. After all, teachers generally either create those
assessm ents them selves, or are at least intim ately involved with their
creation. And they are, therefore, m ore flexible tools that can be tweaked
depending on, for instance, the pace of classroom instruction.
But, while form ative and interim assessm ents are
critically im portant and should be used to guide instruction and planning, they
cannot and should not be used to replace sum m ative assessm ents, which play an
equally critical role in a standards-driven system .
http://edexcellence.net/blog-types/common-core-watch
http://edexcellence.net/about-us/fordham-staff/kathleen-porter-magee
http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/PressReleaseAssessmentPerceptions.pdf
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/02/08/21tests.h31.html
8/4/2014 I come not to bury summative assessments but to praise them | The Thomas B. Fordham Institute
http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/common-core-watch/2012/i-come-not-to-bury-summative-assessments-but-to-praise-them.html# 2/3
Formative and
interim assessments
cannot and should
not be used to
replace summative
assessments.
Everyone has a
Sum m ative assessm ents are designed to evaluate whether
students have m astered knowledge and skills at a particular point in tim e. For
instance, a teacher m ight give a sum m ative assessm ent at the end of a unit to
determ ine whether students have learned what they needed to in order to m ove
forward.
Sim ilarly, and end-of-course or end-of-year sum m ative assessm ent can help
determ ine whether students m astered the content and skills outlined in a
state’s standards for that grade.
If you believe that we need standards to ensure that all
students—regardless of their zip code or socioeconom ic status—need to learn
the
sam e essential content and be held to the sam e .
Visual Maths Worksheets and Maths resources online and easy to follow. Our printable maths worksheets are helpful resources for teachers, parents and tutors.
Project for the African Lexile Framework Kickstarter.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lexiles4africa/a-for-africa-reading-at-the-right-level-improves-literacy
Loading...
Folder Access and HelpSign In
Folder
PreferencesLanguagesEnglishDeutschEspañolΕλληνικάFrançaisItalianoMagyarPolskiPortuguêsРусскийTürkçeعربي简体中文繁體中文日本語한국어ภาษาไทยHrvatskiČeštinaBahasa IndonesiaעִבְרִיתRomânăSlovenskiSlovenčinaNederlandsSvenskaفارسیSuomiDanskNorskAsk a LibrarianHelp
Help
Exit
Browse Resources toolbar
New Search
Thesaurus
Indexes
citation_instruction
Accessibility Information and ToolsAccessibility Information and Tips Revised Date: 07/2015Request Document Optimized for ScreenreaderHiring and Retaining Great Independent School Teachers
University Library
Search
Searching:
ERIC
Choose Databases
Please enter search term(s).
Basic SearchAdvanced Search
Search History
Result ListRefine SearchResult
1
of
1
Translate Full Text:
Choose Language
الإنجليزية/العربية
английски език/български
英语/简体中文
英語/繁體中文
angličtina/čeština
Engelsk/dansk
Engels/Nederlands
Anglais/Français
Englisch/Deutsch
Αγγλικά/Ελληνικά
English/Hausa
אנגלית/עברית
अंग्रेज़ी/हिंदी
angol/magyar
Inggris/bahasa Indonesia
Inglese/Italiano
英語/日本語
영어/한국어
Engelsk/Norsk
انگليسی/فارسی
angielski/polski
Inglés/Português
English/Pashto
Engleză/română
Английский/Русский
Inglés/Español
English/Serbian
Angleški/Slovenski
Angličtina/Slovenčina
Engelska/svenska
อังกฤษ/ไทย
İngilizce/Türk
Англійська/Українська
انگریزی/اردو
Translation in Progress:
Translations powered by Language Weaver Service
Title: Hiring and Retaining Great Independent School Teachers By: Balossi, Matt, Hernández, Natalie R., Independent School, 01459635, 20161201, Vol. 75, Issue 2Database: ERIC
HTML Full Text
Hiring and Retaining Great Independent School Teachers ListenPauseStop
Select:
American Accent
Australian Accent
British Accent
VolumeSettingsDownload mp3Close Player
Speech-enabled by ReadSpeaker
spotlight on research
The positive impact of great teachers on student learning is undeniable. Independent schools pride themselves on providing a unique educational experience for students -- one that is robust and mission-driven, tailored to low student-to-teacher ratios and more personalized learning with high-quality teachers.
While numerous studies measure teacher effectiveness in public schools, there is little research on teacher quality among independent schools. In fact, the topic of teacher quality in public schools receives widespread media coverage, funding, and special interest. In order to better understand how independent schools describe high-quality teachers and align practices to that description, we partnered with the National Association of Independent Schoo ...
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
3. About Northwest Evaluation Association™ (NWEA™)
NWEA™ is a global not-for-profit educational services organization with over 30 years experience
developing adaptive assessments, professional development, and educational research. Using our
mission of Partnering to help all kids learn™ as a guide, we advocate for a kid-centric education policy
based on highly accurate, reliable data.
This Parent Toolkit was created by NWEA as a resource and guide for parents. It includes Frequently
Asked Questions, The Lexile Framework® for Reading, Tips for Parents, Web Sites for Kids and Parents,
and Commonly Used Terms. NWEA hopes you find this toolkit helpful and invites you to have
conversations with your school district personnel about NWEA’s assessment tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different NWEA™ assessments?
The NWEA assessments are:
Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) – These computerized tests are adaptive and offered in
Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics. When taking a MAP® test, the difficulty of each question is
based on how well a student answers all the previous questions. As the student answers correctly,
questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier. In an
optimal test, a student answers approximately half the items correctly and half incorrectly. The final score
is an estimate of the student’s achievement level.
As an alternative to MAP® tests, NWEA offers paper-pencil tests called Achievement Level Tests (ALT).
These tests are created using the Level Test Design, which allows for individualized testing and reporting
of growth scores.
MAP® for Science – This computerized adaptive test provides useful information about where a student
is learning in two areas of science: General Science and Concepts & Processes.
MAP® for Primary Grades – These computerized tests include Screening (diagnostic) tests, Skills
Checklist (diagnostic) tests, and Survey w/ Goals (adaptive) tests in Reading and Mathematics. These
assessments:
Provide teachers with an efficient way to assess achievement levels of early learners so they can
spend more time teaching and less time administering individual diagnostic tests.
Provide information to guide instruction during the early stages of a student's academic career.
Early learners enter school with a wide variety of educational experiences. Early identification of
achievement levels is foundational for teachers establishing an environment for early academic
success.
Identify the needs of all primary grades students, from struggling to advanced learners.
Utilize engaging test items that encourage student participation for more accurate results.
How long does it take to complete a test?
Although the tests are not timed, it usually takes students about one hour to complete each MAP® test.
MAP® for Primary Grades tests take from about 15 to 30 minutes to complete.
When will my child be tested and how often?
Districts typically test students at the beginning of the school year in fall and at the end of the school year
in spring. Some districts may also choose to test students in winter and summer.
Parent Toolkit nwea.org 3
4. Do all students in the same grade take the same test?
No. MAP® assessments are designed to target a student’s academic performance in mathematics, reading,
language usage, and science. These tests are tailored to an individual’s current achievement level. This
gives each student a fair opportunity to show what he or she knows and can do. If a school uses MAP®
assessments, the computer adjusts the difficulty of the questions so that each student takes a unique test. If
a school uses ALT, there may be four or five different levels of tests given in a single classroom.
What are NWEA assessments used for?
MAP® assessments are used to measure your student’s progress or growth in school. You may have a chart
in your home on which you mark your child’s height at certain times, such as on his or her birthday. This
is a growth chart. It shows how much he or she has grown from one year to the next. MAP® assessments
do the same sort of thing, except they measure your child’s growth in mathematics, reading, language
usage, and science skills. The scale used to measure your child’s progress is called the RIT scale (Rasch
unIT). The RIT scale is an equal-interval scale much like feet and inches on a yardstick. It is used to chart
your child’s academic growth from year to year.
How do teachers use the test scores?
MAP® tests are important to teachers because they keep track of progress and growth in basic skills. They
let teachers know where a student’s strengths are and if help is needed in any specific areas. Teachers use
this information to help them guide instruction in the classroom.
Can parents discuss assessment data directly with NWEA?
Unfortunately, due to privacy laws regarding student information (specifically stemming from the Federal
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA), we are unable to discuss any student information, test
results, or district assessment programs directly with parents.
In addition, each district implementation of MAP® assessments is unique based on decisions made by the
district, such as which tests to administer, when students will be tested, and so on. Because each district’s
implementation is unique, parents will need to direct specific questions and concerns to their local school
district resources.
The Lexile Framework® for Reading
NWEA has partnered with MetaMetrics®, Inc., the developer of The Lexile Framework® for Reading. A
Lexile range is a score (displayed as a 150-point range) resulting from a correlation between NWEA’s RIT
score and the Lexile scale that helps identify reading material that is at an appropriate difficulty level for an
individual student. The 150-point Lexile range is included on NWEA’s Individual Student Progress
Reports. It allows educators and parents to find books, periodicals, and other reading material that should
stimulate a student to new learning while rewarding their current reading abilities.
A Lexile measures syntactic complexity–the number of words per sentence. We know that longer
sentences are more complex and require more short-term memory to process. A Lexile also measures
semantic difficulty–a measure of vocabulary. This measure looks at the frequency of words in a text
compared to a body of over 400 million words. This is the largest repository of text in the world and is
quickly approaching 500 million words.
It is very important for parents to keep in mind that Lexile does not evaluate genre, theme, content, or
interest. Even though a student might be able to read books at a certain Lexile, the content or theme of the
text may not be appropriate for that particular student because of his or her age or developmental level.
Also, a student may be able to read more difficult content if it is an area of interest for that child since he
or she may already be familiar with some of the vocabulary necessary to comprehend the text.
Parent Toolkit nwea.org 4
5. Some Examples of Books
Green Eggs and Ham 30L Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 940L
Amelia Bedelia 140L Hatchet 1020L
Clifford, the Big Red Dog 220L Pride and Prejudice 1100L
Bony-Legs 370L The Adventures of Robin Hood 1270L
Curious George 400L Little Women 1300L
Sarah, Plain and Tall 560L Profiles in Courage 1410L
Charlotte’s Web 680L The Good Earth 1530L
Jurassic Park 710L The Principles of Scientific Management 1670L
The Fellowship of the Ring 860L Discourse on the Method and Meditations
on First Philosophy 1720L
Tips for Parents
Ways to help your child prepare for testing
Meet with your child’s teacher as often as needed to discuss his or her progress. Ask the teacher to
suggest activities for you and your child to do at home to help prepare for tests and improve your
child’s understanding of schoolwork. Parents and teachers working together benefits students.
Provide a quiet, comfortable place for studying at home.
Make sure that your child is well rested on school days and especially the day of a test. Children who
are tired are less able to pay attention in class or to handle the demands of a test.
Give your child a well-rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind.
Provide books and magazines for your child to read at home. By reading new materials, a child learns
new words that might appear on a test. Ask your child’s school about a suggested outside reading list
or get suggestions from the public library.
Ways to help your child with language
Talk to your child and encourage him or her to engage in conversation during family activities.
Give a journal or diary as a gift.
Help your child write a letter to a friend or family member. Offer assistance with correct grammar
usage and content.
Have a “word of the week” that is defined every Monday. Encourage your child to use the new word
throughout the week.
Plan a special snack or meal and have your child write the menu.
After finishing a chapter in a book or a magazine article, have your child explain his or her favorite
event.
Ways to help your child with reading
Provide many opportunities for your child to read books or other materials. Children learn to read
best when they have books and other reading materials at home and plenty of chances to read. Read
aloud to your child. Research shows that this is the most important activity that parents can do to
increase their child’s chance of reading success. Keep reading aloud even when your child can read
independently.
Make time for the library.
Play games like Scrabble®, Spill and Spell™, Scattergories®, and Balderdash™ together.
Parent Toolkit nwea.org 5
6. Follow your child’s interest–find fiction and nonfiction books that tie into this interest. There are
serveral third-party web site links to generate booklists for students along with some additional
features.
MetaMetrics® Find a Book
Barnes and Noble® Lexile® Booklist Wizard
Scholastic® Teacher Book Wizard
Work crossword puzzles with your child.
Give a magazine subscription for a gift.
Ways to help your child with mathematics
Spend time with kids on simple board games, puzzles, and activities that encourage better attitudes
and stronger mathematics skills. Even everyday activities such as playing with toys in a sandbox or in a
tub at bath time can teach children mathematics concepts such as weight, density, and volume. Check
your television listings for shows that can reinforce mathematics skills in a practical and fun way.
Encourage children to solve problems. Provide assistance, but let them figure it out themselves.
Problem solving is a lifetime skill.
The kitchen is filled with tasty opportunities to teach fractional measurements, such as doubling and
dividing cookie recipes.
Point out ways that people use mathematics every day to pay bills, balance their checkbooks, figure
out their net earnings, make change, and how to tip at restaurants. Involve older children in projects
that incorporate geometric and algebraic concepts such as planting a garden, building a bookshelf, or
figuring how long it will take to drive to your family vacation destination.
Children should learn to read and interpret charts and graphs such as those found in daily
newspapers. Collecting and analyzing data will help your child draw conclusions and become
discriminating readers of numerical information.
Web Sites for Kids and Parents
Mathematics
www.aaamath.com Math practice and activities
www.coolmath.com Interactive math games
www.funbrain.com Great site for kids
www.aplusmath.com A+ Math
www.mathforum.org/dr.math/ Ask Dr. Math
www.mathleague.com/help/help.htm Math League help topics
www.edhelper.com Help for all subjects
Language Arts/Reading
www.funbrain.com Language Arts games and more
www.merriam-webster.com Merriam Webster Word Game of the Day
www.vocabulary.com Vocabulary activities
www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words Vocabulary builders
www.lexile.com Lexile Framework® for Reading
Parent Toolkit nwea.org 6
7. Commonly Used Terms
Here are some terms you will hear and use as you are talking with teachers and your children about MAP
scores and reports.
District Average
The average RIT score for all students in the school district in the same grade who were tested at the same
time as your child.
Norm Group Average
The average score of students who were in the same grade and tested in the same term as observed in the
latest NWEA norming study.
Percentile Range
Percentiles are used to compare one student’s performance to that of the norm group. Percentile means
the student scored as well as, or better than, that percent of students taking the test in his/her grade. There
is about a 68 percent chance that a student’s percentile ranking would fall within this range if the student
tested again relatively soon.
Percentile Rank
This number indicates the percentage of students in the NWEA norm group for this grade that this
student’s score equaled or exceeded.
The percentile rank is a normative statistic that indicates how well a student performed in comparison to
the students in the norm group. A student’s percentile rank indicates that the student scored as well as, or
better than, the percent of students in the norm group. In other words, a student with a percentile rank of
72 scored as well as, or better than 72 percent of the students in the norm group.
RIT
Tests developed by NWEA use a scale called RIT to measure student achievement and growth. RIT stands
for Rasch UnIT, which is a measurement scale developed to simplify the interpretation of test scores. The
RIT score relates directly to the curriculum scale in each subject area. It is an equal-interval scale, like feet
and inches, so scores can be added together to calculate accurate class or school averages. RIT scores range
from about 100 to 300. Students typically start at the 180 to 200 level in the third grade and progress to the
220 to 260 level by high school. RIT scores make it possible to follow a student’s educational growth from
year to year.
Standards
Standards are statements, developed by states or districts, of what students should know and be able to do,
related to specific academic areas.
Sum It Up!
As a parent, you play a critical role in promoting your child’s academic growth and overall well-being.
Thank you for allowing NWEA to help and support you in this effort by fulfilling our mission of
partnering to help all kids learn!
Parent Toolkit nwea.org 7