As we shift our focus to help partners plan for the return of school this fall (whatever that may look like),this month’s communication provides important information on MAP Growth updates and enhancements coming in July, including new norms, MAP Growth K-2 scale maintenance, reporting updates and more.

We have also included important school restart information on remote testing and early school start testing guidance along with a preview of August release highlights.

We look forward to helping you prepare for and start the school year strong.

Since you may be the only recipient of this email within your district, we encourage you to forward this email to teachers, technology staff, and others who might benefit from this information. You can also find details of current and past partner updates in our online community [mkto-g0180.com].

The following updates are effective on July 27, 2020.

• The 2020 NWEA MAP Growth norms will be released in July 2020. The 2020 norms describe achievement and growth trends for the U.S. public school student population in language usage, mathematics, reading, and science over the 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18 school years. There are also several key enhancements to the 2020 norms, including norms in new grades/subject areas. Check out the introductory FAQ for more details. [community.nwea.org]
• As a part of the 2020 Norms release, we will also perform scale maintenance on the MAP Growth K-2 test. More specifically, NWEA is updating item calibrations on the MAP Growth K-2 test, which will result in adjustments to K-2 scores starting in July 2020. Read the FAQ for the details you need. [mkto-g0180.com]
• Updated Norms calculator [mkto-g0180.com]
• Course-specific Math norms and reporting updates [mkto-g0180.com]
• Update to subject/course groupings in reports [mkto-g0180.com]
• Spanish testing enhancements [community.nwea.org]
• New data fields coming to the Comprehensive and Combined Data Files (CDF) [mkto-g0180.com]
• New roster file template [community.nwea.org]
• MAP Growth license consolidation [mkto-g0180.com]

Preview: the following updates are planned for the August release effective on August 17, 2020.

• Spanish student resources [mkto-g0180.com]
• Spanish reading user norms refresh [mkto-g0180.com]
• Added reporting flexibility for district/school instructional weeks [community.nwea.org]
• Recovery & Goal-Setting data file [mkto-g0180.com]
• MAP Growth K-2 Scale Maintenance RIT Score Conversion File [mkto-g0180.com]
• MAP Accelerator product release: Translate MAP Growth math scores to personalized learning paths with this additional offering [mkto-g0180.com]

Important planning information:

• Planning for Fall Remote Testing [mkto-g0180.com]
• Early school start testing guidance [mkto-g0180.com]
• New virtual Professional Learning options [community.nwea.org]

Timely tips & reminders:

• Check test versions before fall testing [mkto-g0180.com]
• New Windows Secure Test Browser and iPad app [community.nwea.org]
• New tech recommendations for Back-to-School 2020 [mkto-g0180.com]
  • New: Edge 79+ browser support for student testing
• Reminder—New NWEA IP address: Update your whitelist [mkto-g0180.com]

System maintenance schedule

The System Maintenance calendar [mkto-g0180.com] includes dates for upcoming scheduled maintenance and software updates. To best plan your testing, be sure to check the schedule periodically to ensure no schedule revisions have been made.

We’re here when you need us—contact Partner Support

Need help? If the issue you’re experiencing isn’t urgent, visit our support page in the community, [mkto-g0180.com] where you can open a support case or chat directly with the support team. You can also email us at techsupport@nwea.org [mkto-g0180.com] or call us directly at 877-469-3287.