VAISD to Implement MAP Growth Assessment for 2026-27 School Year

Beginning this school year, Van Alstyne ISD will implement MAP Growth assessments to help our teachers better understand where students are in their learning and how they grow throughout the school year.

We know the word “assessment” can sometimes sound like another standardized test, so we want to be clear about what MAP Growth is — and what it is not.

MAP Growth is not a pass/fail test, and it is not tied to student promotion. Instead, it is an instructional tool designed to help teachers identify each student’s current level of understanding, plan instruction and measure academic growth over time.

Students will take MAP Growth assessments three times during the school year:

• September: Establishes a beginning-of-year baseline and helps guide instructional planning
• January: Measures progress during the first half of the school year
• May: Measures growth across the school year

MAP Growth is also different from a traditional standardized assessment because it is adaptive. As a student answers questions, the assessment adjusts the difficulty of future questions based on those responses. This allows each student to be assessed at an appropriate level and gives teachers a more individualized picture of what that student knows and is ready to learn next.

Because MAP Growth is designed to measure a student’s current level of understanding, there is no studying or special preparation required. We simply want students to come to school ready to do their best.

The assessment is completed entirely on a computer, which allows it to adapt to each student while also supporting applicable student accommodations.

Research has also shown a relationship between growth and achievement measured through MAP Growth and performance on assessments such as STAAR. However, the purpose of MAP Growth is different: MAP Growth is a tool for instruction and growth, not another pass/fail standardized test.

Ultimately, MAP Growth will give our teachers another tool to meet students where they are. By understanding where students begin the year and monitoring their progress along the way, teachers can make more informed instructional decisions and better support each student’s individual growth.

We’ve put together a video explaining MAP Growth, how the assessment works and what families can expect this school year. We encourage you to watch to learn more.

Community Introduction to MAP Growth Assessment

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jamie Martinez explains what the MAP Growth Assessment is, what it covers and how it differs from a traditional standardized test. Key points include: NO Pass/Fail - There is no "passing criteria" for the MAP Growth Assessment Sets a baseline for instruction Measures student growth throughout the year Some studies have shown that MAP Growth can positively impact outcomes on actual standardized tests

Show Transcript

hi I'm Dr Jaime Martinez assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction here at Van Alstyne ISD I want to take a few minutes to walk you through something new to Van Alstyne this year map growth testing some of you may be familiar with it from a previous District but to many of you it may be brand new my goal today isn't to overwhelm you with numbers or statistics or studies is to give you a clear simple picture of what this assessment is why we use it and what to expect this is map growth developed by nwea it's an assessment our teachers can use to get a clear picture of where each student is at the very beginning of the year so they can plan instruction that meets the students where the they are so why do we use map growth a few reasons first it's a universal screener meaning every student takes it so we catch all needs early second it directly informs instruction teachers can use the results to plan lessons not just to grade students third it measures growth over the course of the year not just a single score on a single day in the spring and forth it helps us project how students are trending towards those data assessments like star in later the act and sat I also want to share why this matters at vaisd specifically this test gives our teachers a Norms reliable starting point at the beginning of the year so they can guide instructional decisions from day 1 and then track growth all the way through it also fulfills a few important roles for us it's 1 of the ways some of our teachers growth measures will be calculated under the state's Tia evaluation system it serves as our required reading and math assessment for kindergarten through third grade and as our District's dyslexia screener so this 1 assessment does a lot of important require and required work for your child and their teacher 1 of the things that makes map growth different from a traditional test or assessment is that its computer adaptive that means the test adjusts to your child as they go when they answer a question correctly the next question gets a little bit harder when they are incorrectly the next 1 gets a little bit easier every student ends up with a set of questions that you need to them climbing and dipping along the way as the test zeroes in on exactly what they know I want to be really clear about something here this is not a pass or fail test every child no matter how advanced or how much they're still growing get some questions right and some questions wrong that's the test working exactly as it's designed too there's no reason for you or your child to feel anxious about missing any questions here's what that back and forth actually matters every learner has 3 zones what they already know what they're not ready for yet and right in between what they can do with just the right amount of Challenge and support we call that the zone of proximal development map growth is built to keep finding that middle zone for your child it's not trying to trip them up and it's not trying to make things too easy it's searching for That Sweet Spot Will real Learning Happens so your child's teacher knows exactly where to aim instruction next after your child finishes the test they get a score on What's called the RIT scale think of the RIT scale like a yard stick it's an equal interval scale meaning the distance between each point measures the same thing no matter where you are on it and unlike a lot of school measures it's not tied to a grade level a RIT score means the same thing whether your child is in second grade or eighth grade which is what lets us track their growth accurately from 1 year to the next instead of just comparing them to a single grade level bar this chart shows what the growth looks like across grade levels as students move from 1 grade to the next their RIT scores climb and that dotted line marks the 50th percent right in the middle of the pack nationally the bands around it show the full range of scores at each grade I share this because it helps answer a question I hear a lot is my child's score a good 1 RIT score only really means anything next to 2 things the national range for their grade and their own score from the last time they tested that's what lets us talk about growth instead of just a single number in isolation here's what this actually looks like for students at Van Austin ISD every student in kindergarten through 12th grade takes map growth in Reading language art and reading and language arts and in math starting in second grade through bio technology students also take the science portion and from second through 12th grade students take a language usage piece which measures writing conventions like grammar and mechanics not creative writing itself I want to call out 1 piece specific lie for our kindergarten through third grade families those students also take a reading fluency assessment this is the piece that required by the state as the reading language arts and math measurements and it also serves as our dyslexia screener here's the simplest way I can put it the map growth score shows us where a student is in their reading in the reading fluency portion will tell us why so if a child needs extra support we're not just seeing that they need it we're starting to understand exactly what kind of support helps them the most 1 question I've already gotten is how does this connect to star or does it nwea has done extensive research linking map growth performance to Star outcomes and many districts across Texas are already using this system and they have found that these projections are accurate about 90% of the time that means map growth gives your child's teacher an early reliable signal well before STAR testing season enough time to adjust instruction and support your child before the state test while that is a great tool for predicting State assessment achievement levels most importantly it allows our teachers to have reliable valid data to inform everyday instruction so what happens next your child's teacher shares results with you through a parent report after each testing window if you have any questions at all about your child's results or about map growth in general I encourage you to reach out to your child's campus they're your best resource and are always happy to help thank you for taking the time to learn more about this alongside us we're looking forward to a great year