Under the 2025 MAP Growth norms, the same reading RIT score can rank higher in achievement percentile due to national declines in achievement¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoreticalr2·q1
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q1 i? Because national reading achievement declined post-COVID, the same RIT score yields a higher achievement percentile under the 2025 norms than under prior norms. → Hashim 2026
Evidence¶
Hashim 2026¶
Hashim, A. K. (2026). How post-COVID norm shifts change the meaning of MAP Growth metrics for school accountability. NWEA White Paper. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/how-post%e2%80%91covid-norm-shifts-change-the-meaning-of-map-growth-metrics-for-school-accountability/
q1 · i? · theoretical · r2
The paper's Table 2 summary of how metrics shift under the 2025 norms states for reading that the "Same RIT score can rank higher due to national declines in achievement." No effect size is printed; this is a descriptive norms-comparison statement.
"Same RIT score can rank higher due to national declines in achievement."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Under the 2025 norms, higher math growth expectations lower conditional growth percentiles for higher-growth students — related
- Norm shifts can raise achievement percentiles for schools serving struggling students even when RIT gains and projected proficiency do not improve — a broader claim this one bears on
- Norm shifts can change teacher evaluation CGP outcomes independently of instructional quality — related
- Static percentile screening cut points carried across norm sets can under-identify students who remain below grade level — a broader claim this one bears on
- The study operationalized high achievement as scoring at or above the 90th percentile on the NWEA assessment — related
- The published norms allow normative interpretation of both status and fall-to-spring growth, e.g., an Algebra 1 student at the 55th fall percentile has an expected gain of 8 RIT with growth SD of 9, and an 11-RIT gain places the student at the 62nd growth percentile. — related
- The dashboard reports median achievement percentiles normed to a nationally representative pre-COVID sample and projected proficiency against state cut scores — related
- Updated 2025 MAP Growth screening thresholds are set at the 35th percentile with adjustments for the Enhanced Item-Selection Algorithm — related
- Post-COVID norm shifts and NWEA's enhanced item selection algorithm change the interpretation of MAP Growth metrics for school accountability — a broader claim this one bears on
- After eight months of eSpark usage in first-grade ELA classrooms, NWEA reading percentile scores showed no pattern of increasing achievement — related
- The 2025 MAP Growth Norms are based on national test samples from 2022–23 and 2023–24, and dashboard results are not comparable to reports using 2020 norms — related
- The 2020 norms report states the MAP Growth scale remains stable while status patterns shifted relative to the 2015 norms — related
- Removing high-scoring students lowered Test 1 and Test 3 correlations contrary to the ease hypothesis — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
2025-norms-raise-reading-achievement-percentiles |
title |
Under the 2025 MAP Growth norms, the same reading RIT score can rank higher in achievement percentile due to national declines in achievement |
description |
Under the 2025 MAP Growth norms, the same reading RIT score can rank higher in achievement percentile due to national declines in achievement |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2026 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — hashim-2026 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.