How to Help Your Child Improve Their MAP Math Scores

Many parents ask me how they can help their child perform better on the NWEA MAP assessment. Some are concerned because their child seems capable in class but doesn’t score as well as expected. Others simply want to understand what the test measures and whether they should prepare for it at all.

Recently, I was delighted to see two of my tutoring students improve from around the 60th percentile to above the 90th percentile on the math portion of the MAP assessment. While every student is different and no tutor can guarantee particular results, these improvements made me reflect on what had contributed to their success.

The answer wasn’t months of intensive test preparation or teaching test-taking tricks. Instead, the students had developed stronger mathematical understanding, greater confidence, and spent a few focused sessions becoming familiar with the MAP assessment itself and its topics.

While improving MAP scores is never the primary goal of my tutoring, strong results often reflect growing mathematical understanding and increasing confidence. In my experience, two to four focused preparation sessions before the assessment can help students demonstrate more of what they truly know.

The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessment is an adaptive, computer-based standardized test developed by NWEA to measure student learning and academic growth. More than 14 million students in over 140 countries take MAP assessments each year in mathematics, reading, language usage, and science.

Unlike a traditional grade-level test, the MAP assessment adjusts its difficulty based on each student’s responses. As students answer questions correctly, the questions become more challenging. If they struggle, the questions become easier. This allows the assessment to estimate each student’s current level of achievement regardless of whether they are working above or below grade level.

MAP assessments are widely used throughout the United States and at many international schools around the world. Some schools administer the assessment once a year, while others test students in both the fall and spring to monitor academic growth over time.

The short answer is both yes and no.

Especially for younger students, we don’t want to place too much emphasis on any single assessment. A student’s score can be influenced by many factors, including their mathematical understanding, motivation, concentration, sleep, or simply having an off day. MAP scores should always be viewed as one piece of a much larger picture.

At the same time, MAP assessments can provide valuable information. In many international schools, students receive relatively few objective measures that compare their performance with students beyond their own classroom. When viewed over several years, MAP results can help parents and teachers better understand a student’s academic growth.

For parents, MAP results can:

• Provide objective information about how your child is performing compared with students of the same age.
• Track academic growth over time.
• Highlight strengths and areas that may need additional support.
• Help identify topics that would benefit from further review.
• Provide standardized assessment data that may be useful when applying to other schools, particularly during international relocations.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that test-taking is itself an important academic skill. Throughout school, and later in university and professional life, students will encounter assessments where understanding the format, managing time, and reading questions carefully all contribute to success.

One observation I’ve made while tutoring students from international schools is that many simply have very little experience with standardized testing.

As one parent recently shared with me:

“I think one issue in American-style schools is that students don’t do many standardized tests, so multiple-choice questions feel unfamiliar. [Student name] often guessed rather than thinking carefully. Her teachers felt the MAP results didn’t accurately reflect what she knew because she didn’t know how to approach the test.”

This reflects what I see with many students. They often understand more mathematics than their scores suggest, but they need support learning how to demonstrate that knowledge within a standardized testing environment.

Improving MAP scores is never the primary goal of my tutoring. My focus is always on developing deeper mathematical understanding and greater confidence. However, when students strengthen those skills while also becoming familiar with the MAP assessment, improved scores often follow naturally.

For the two students I mentioned earlier, the goal was never simply to increase a percentile ranking. Instead, we focused on strengthening mathematical understanding, reviewing important concepts from previous grades, and ensuring they felt comfortable with the assessment itself. The improved MAP math scores were a welcome outcome of that broader work.

I typically focus on two key areas.

One challenge of the MAP assessment is that it assesses mathematics from many different domains. While a fifth-grade, Common Core classroom may spend months studying fractions, the MAP assessment may also include geometry, graphing, measurement, probability, data analysis, or algebraic thinking – topics students may not have studied for months.

Even if students understood these concepts previously, they may not remember them well enough to answer questions confidently during the assessment.

After spending hours studying the MAP framework, released materials, and question types, I’ve developed review sessions that focus on the concepts students are most likely to encounter. Rather than trying to review everything, we spend our limited preparation time refreshing the knowledge that is most valuable.

For example, in fourth grade, it is essential that students study and prepare for the following topics:

• Place value concepts
• Prime and composite numbers
• Multiplication and division of whole numbers
• Factors and factor pairs
• Ordering fractions
• Adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers
• Comparing fractions
• Lines of symmetry
• Measuring angles
• Converting units
• Area
• Parallel and perpendicular lines
• Triangle types

Focus topics are different at each grade level, so it is essential to have a strong understanding of the topics in order to help students prepare.

Students also benefit from understanding the different question formats, carefully reading word problems, using the digital tools available during the assessment, and avoiding common mistakes. I help students become comfortable with the style of questions they will encounter so they can accurately demonstrate what they already know.

For younger students especially, simply becoming familiar with multiple-choice questions and learning to slow down and think carefully can make a significant difference.

This article isn’t intended to suggest that families should spend months preparing for the MAP assessment or place unnecessary pressure on their children. The MAP is just one measure of learning, and no single test can fully capture a student’s abilities.

The two students I mentioned at the beginning of this article didn’t spend months preparing for the MAP assessment. Instead, they participated in a small number of focused preparation sessions alongside their regular mathematics tutoring. By refreshing key concepts, becoming familiar with the assessment format, and approaching the test with greater confidence, both students improved from around the 60th percentile to above the 90th percentile in mathematics.

While every child is different and results will naturally vary, I’ve found that this balanced approach consistently helps students demonstrate more of what they truly know.

If you have questions about your child’s mathematics learning, whether related to MAP assessments or more broadly, I’d be happy to help. After more than 20 years working in international schools, I now provide individualized mathematics tutoring and bespoke educational support for students in Tokyo and around the world. If you’d like an experienced educator’s perspective on your child’s learning, please get in touch.

[email protected]

Matt is the founder and lead educator at Tokyo Learning Lab. He studied at Phillips Academy Andover, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania and holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

Matt’s career spans more than two decades at leading schools in four countries. An award-winning educator, he has served as a teacher, teacher-leader, and Director of Learning at leading international schools including the American School in Japan, the American School in London, and Singapore American School.