Invalid Tests and Growth Criteria

To make valid comparisons, MAP Growth tests must meet specific criteria. If tests do not fall within the following ranges, they are considered invalid for reporting purposes:  

For invalid tests, retesting could be an option, if appropriate for the student. For details, see How to Retest Students within a Term.

Growth Criteria

Three other criteria control whether a test event is considered part of official growth measures:

  • Test window dates: Tests must fall within the dates designated for testing (“test window”). Test dates are when students started testing, so a student could complete a test outside the test window, and it would still count for growth.
  • Multiple tests: If a student completes the same test multiple times in a term, the test with the lower standard error becomes the growth measure. Any duplicate test scores, even though still valid, are not considered for growth comparisons.
    • Note: If tests have the same standard error, then the test that either is most recent or has the highest RIT score becomes the growth measure.

  • Screening tests: Screening tests and some course-specific tests do not produce a growth measure.

Use caution when making decisions based on tests that do not meet growth criteria. In some cases, you might adjust your test window dates to include tests that were started outside the window. However, the test window has a direct impact on growth calculations, so do not overextend the window. See Complete Your Test Window After Testing.

Another potential action is to exclude a test if there are multiple scores. See Fix Test Event Records.

Appearance on MAP Growth Reports

Invalid tests appear on the Class and Grade reports with a reason code to explain the cause:

Note: Although these tests have no valid score, you might still see a score when you access the Modify Test Event page. That is only a preliminary score and should be ignored.

 

For valid tests that do not meet growth criteria, the Class and Grade reports show results in gray shaded formatting. The same formatting also applies to the Student Progress report, if you choose the All Valid report option. For example:

Note: These tests are excluded from aggregate calculations in the summary section of the reports.

Other reports:

  • Students Without Valid Test Results Report: This operational report includes students if their test is considered invalid.
  • Comprehensive Data File export (see How to Export Data): Tests taken outside the test window will also appear in this export, with FALSE in the GrowthMeasureYN column. These tests will not appear on the Combined Data File export.