MAP Growth cut scores at the 30th percentile of national norms best identify Grade K-8 students in need of intensive intervention in reading and mathematics¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2024: tool and model accuracy changes quickly

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across 341 classification accuracy analyses per subject, grade, and term, candidate cut scores at the 30th percentile of the 2020 MAP Growth norms performed best for identifying students needing intensive intervention, assuming the bottom 10% on the criterion measure are actually at risk. → He 2021

Evidence¶

He 2021¶

He, W., & Meyer, P. (2021). MAP Growth universal screening benchmarks: Establishing MAP Growth as an effective universal screener. NWEA. https://www.nwea.org

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Classification accuracy analyses in the primary sample of students from five states (Spring 2018) compared 31 candidate MAP Growth cut scores against 11 criterion cut scores per subject, grade, and term. The study reports the 30th-percentile candidates "performed the best" and recommends them as universal screening cut scores.

"the candidate MAP Growth cut scores corresponding to the 30th percentile rank based on the national norms performed the best for identifying students in need of intensive intervention, given that the bottom 10% of the students on the criterion measure are assumed as students actually in need of intensive intervention"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The dashboard reports median achievement percentiles normed to a nationally representative pre-COVID sample and projected proficiency against state cut scores — related
• Static percentile screening cut points carried across norm sets can under-identify students who remain below grade level — related
• Cross-validation in an independent Indiana sample was consistent with the primary-sample classification accuracy results — related
• Classification accuracy of the screening cut scores is lower for Grades K-2 than Grades 3-8, attributed to a 12-36 month lapse between MAP Growth and criterion measures — related
• MAP Growth spring RIT cut scores classify students as proficient or not proficient on the MCA-III Mathematics test with 0.87–0.90 overall accuracy — related
• Recommended MAP Growth screening cut scores yield sensitivity, specificity, and lower-bound AUC of at least 0.8 for most grades and terms — related
• Spanish MAP Growth Reading universal screening cut scores correspond to the 40th percentile of Spanish norms, established by linking to English cut scores — related
• 77% of the lowest 5% achieving schools (spring reading) grow their typical student better than the 30th percentile — related
• Screening classification errors carry asymmetric costs: false positives risk unnecessary intensive placement while false negatives delay early intervention — related