Testing Tips for MAP Growth

Give your best effort on this test. It is a chance to show how much you know. Your teacher can use the test to help determine the areas they can help you with the most. This is not a timed test, so it’s important to take your time to understand each question before answering. Some questions will be easy, and others will be more difficult. It’s okay not to know all of the answers. If you are not sure how to answer a question, then ask yourself which answers are definitely wrong, and choose from the other answers. Read every question and try your best.

Before you finish a question, you may change your mind and pick a different answer. But, once you move to the next question, your answer is locked, and you cannot go back to the question you have already answered.

I’m here to help if there is a problem with the test. If something is missing or if the test tells you to slow down, then raise your hand.

On some (but not all) test questions, a calculator tool appears at the top. You can click the calculator picture to open an on-screen calculator that helps you answer the question.

If you are not sure about a word in a question, raise your hand for help. I can pronounce the word for you, but I cannot tell you what the word means or explain any math symbols.

If a reading passage is too long to fit on the screen, use the scroll bar on the right side of the passage to scroll down and display the rest of the passage and questions about it.

Sometimes a passage appears again and again, but look carefully, because you will see different questions for the same passage.

The student's status must be Awaiting Student in order to appear. On your Proctor console, select an action depending on the Status: 

• Confirmed: Choose Select Action > Do Not Confirm (you will confirm again later)
• Testing: Choose Select Action > Suspend
  • Once suspended, choose Select Action > Test Again
• Suspended: Choose Select Action > Test Again

Ask the student to log in again, and then confirm as usual.

1. Select the student and click Select Action.

2. If the status is To Be Confirmed, choose Do Not Confirm.

   —or—

3. If the status is Testing, choose either Suspend or Terminate:

   Use Suspend if the student might need to take the test later this term.

   Use Terminate if you know the student will not need the test later this term. Caution: Terminate removes all responses and potentially blocks students from joining that test for the rest of the term.

4. Click Select Action > Test Again.

5. When the status changes to Awaiting Student, assign the correct test.
6. Have the student sign in again.

Because of district settings, you cannot test the students (usually because the test was restricted to Once Per Term). Consult your school leaders, who can make any needed adjustments to test restrictions.

The options you have include:

• Resume Test: Continues a suspended test.

• Start Test Over: Starts the test over from the first question and terminates the original test, discarding any answers given. Use caution because it could also block the student from testing if the test has the Once Per Term restriction.

• Do Not Confirm: Terminates the original test and restricts the student from taking the test again this term.
• Cancel: Will close this prompt and you still cannot confirm the student for testing.

On the student testing device, select Reset. On desktops, you can also use the keyboard command:

1. On your Proctor console, with a student selected, choose Select Action > Suspend.

2. On the student testing device, close the testing browser.

   PC or Mac: Select the X at top

   iPad: Use the Home button

   Chromebook: Select the X or Shift+Alt+K

3. On your Proctor console, select the student again and choose Select Action > Test Again.

4. On the student testing device, restart the testing browser and join the test again. The test continues where the student left it.

1. On the Proctor console, with the student selected, choose Select Action > Pause.
2. Select the student again and then choose Select Action > Resume.
3. After the student chooses Resume, a new question appears.

1. On your Proctor console, obtain the Proctor PIN (upper right).

2. On the student testing device, select: Ctrl+Shift+P (or Ctrl+Shift+L).
3. In the window that appears, enter the PIN code.

4. Describe the problem you're having with the test question.
   Note: You do not need to include the test name or question number.

5. Select Resume Test.
   The MAP system sends the report to NWEA to be addressed (a “problem item report”), and the test resumes with the next question.

By helping students stay engaged with their test, you help ensure the assessment will better represent the areas you can help with the most. Before testing, clarify with students the purpose of MAP Growth and the importance of taking time on every test question. During testing, check the rapid-guessing alerts on the Proctor console.

A rapid guess means the student answered well below the average response time measured by NWEA for each test question. The response is so fast that the student could not have viewed the question completely.

Rapid guessing is not connected to total test duration. A student can finish quickly but still answer within the average time per question, and so not trigger the rapid-guessing alert.

Demo of rapid guessing:

When a student rapid-guesses multiple times, the test automatically pauses, and an alert soon appears on the Proctor console. The best way to help students reengage will vary for each student:

1. For convenience, obtain or memorize the Proctor PIN for this testing session.

2. Approach quietly and encourage the student to take the time to think of the best answer for every question.

   Avoid helping the student answer the test questions.

3. When the student is ready, enter the PIN on the student’s testing device—the test resumes with the next question.

4. Or, for multiple students, use controls on your console (select the alert box, select names, and choose Resume).

If a student continues to rapid-guess multiple times, the test will pause again. Short tests like Screening have a total of 2 pauses and longer tests like MAP Growth have a total of 3 pauses, with the final pause at the rapid‑guessing threshold (30% of questions possible on the test). Follow these best practices:

• As soon as possible, decide whether to continue the student’s test another day, when the student is able to reengage. If so, then Suspend the test.

  

• Before ending the testing session, select Download Session Progress to keep track of the student’s rapid guesses:

• For excessive rapid guessing, discuss with school leaders whether to start the test over (a retest).

• When you continue testing or if you retest, select Find Students to Test, open the Test History Search tab, and use the applicable search filters:

  

• If a student reached the rapid-guessing threshold and if your leaders agreed to retest, then choose Start Test Over at the confirmation prompt. Otherwise, choose Resume.

  Note: Do not expect to see last question number or rapid-guessing count listed with the student.

See also How to Retest Students within a Term.

1. With the testing session still open, select the students with Suspended status.
2. Choose Select Action and select Test Again.

If you know most of the same students in your testing session will return, you could save the session and reopen it later. Under Manage Testing Sessions, select the session you saved and then Test Now.

The Status for everyone will be Awaiting Student, meaning they can now sign in to the session. The session password will be new while the session name will remain the same. When prompted, select Resume Test and then Submit.

In a new make-up session, you can include a mix of students, those who need to finish testing and those who have not yet tested.

1. Under Manage Test Sessions, select Find Students to Test.

2. Open the Test History Search tab.

3. Select School, Test, and other search filters.

4. Choose Search and then, from the pop-up list, choose Add Students.

   To help find students, you can sort by the Test Event Start Date column.

5. Important: Select students and choose Assign Test and, if needed, Assign Accommodations.

   Even though you searched by test, the text is not automatically assigned to the student.

6. Select Test Now.

   Note: The status will change to Awaiting Student for everyone, meaning they can now sign into the session. The question numbers will also be blank.

7. While confirming students, choose Resume Test when prompted.