Understanding MAP Growth: Helping Parents Support Their Child’s Learning

How does a school know what a child is ready to learn next? And how can parents understand whether their child is making meaningful progress?

Assistant Principal Jennifer Cypra recently hosted a parent session to help elementary families better understand MAP Growth assessments and, most importantly, what the results mean for their children.

MAP Growth is a computer-adaptive assessment that adjusts the difficulty of questions based on how a student responds. Rather than giving every student exactly the same questions, the assessment helps provide a picture of what each child currently knows and is ready to learn.

During the session, Jennifer explained some of the terminology parents may see in their child’s MAP results, including RIT scores, achievement and growth percentiles. A RIT score provides a consistent measure that can be used to track a student’s learning over time, while growth data helps teachers and families see how much progress a student is making between testing periods.

One of the key messages for families was the importance of looking beyond a single score. MAP Growth is designed to help educators understand both where a student is now and how that student is progressing. A child who may not yet be performing at the same level as their peers can still be making strong progress, while a student who is achieving at a high level may still need opportunities to continue growing.

Jennifer also helped parents understand how teachers use MAP information in the classroom. The results can help identify areas of strength, highlight skills that may need additional support and inform instructional decisions so that learning can be appropriately targeted to students’ needs. MAP results are considered alongside classroom evidence, teacher observations and other assessment information rather than being used in isolation.

For elementary students especially, the goal is not simply to achieve a particular number. It is to understand each child’s learning journey and use the information available to help them continue moving forward.

Thank you to Ms. Cypra for helping our families better understand the assessment process and for reinforcing the important partnership between home and school in supporting student learning.