- NWEA is an assessment that is based on academic levels and it provides the
instructional level of a student in the tested area. If a student is performing at two
grade levels below the norm grade level, he or she would not put be put back two grade
levels. Instead, teachers would work to remediate in the weak areas. The same holds
true for a student who may be performing at a higher than average level. There is certain
content that requires student learning and exposure, but a teacher may need to
differentiate how the content is delivered. There are standards and content specific to
grade levels that are important to a student. The teacher brings the complexity and rigor
to the classroom. MAP NWEA data is just the springboard for targeted instruction. - NWEA provides a norms chart that shows beginning, middle, and end of year
normative data based on the RIT (Rasch Unit) scale. The norms chart is a document to
show what NWEA has seen as the AVERAGE student performance on the
assessments. NWEA has additional documents including the Michigan Linking Study
and the College and Career Readiness Linking study that show at what student
performance percentile a student needs to be performing at in order to be proficient on
the MEAP or ACT. While the norm chart shows the 50%ile, the Michigan Linking Study
and College and Career Readiness Linking study will show higher percentiles. What is
reported on the norms chart again is the 50%ile at each grade level. For parents who see
that their 4 th grader is performing at a 6 th grade level based on the norms chart, the student
is performing at only an average (50%ile) 6 th grade level. See parent resource link. - NWEA data is used in many districts when making decisions about what instructional program may be most appropriate for students. This document is the“Comparative Data to Inform Instructional Decisions.” The top line represents the 95%for each grade level (see parent resources). Many districts use this percentile as one ofthe many indicators for identifying students for placement in a gifted program. Therounded mean is the 50%ile from the norm document. See parent resource link.
- NWEA is one of multiple assessments used in the Dearborn Public Schools. It isnationally normed and an objective instrument. It should be interpreted and used withcare to provide appropriate and differentiated instruction for students K-8 th grades.Dearborn has provided a grade level equivalent in reading and math on the standardbased report card based on the NWEA 2011 Normative Study.
- NWEA Parent Resources can be found at the following link: https://legacysupport.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/ParentToolkit.pdf