Strategic StudentWhat does this score report really say?
MAP, iReady, STAR and friends all print the same two numbers: an achievement percentile and, if you're lucky, a growth percentile. Enter them below and get three translations, one for you, one for the family, one for the student. No PII. No login. Everything runs in your browser.
Enter what's printed on the report
No PIIHonest scope: this tool reads the percentiles printed on the report. It does not convert raw scale scores like RIT into percentiles, because that takes each publisher's copyrighted norm tables. Grab the percentile off the report, it's always there, usually right next to the scale score.
Your translation will appear here
Enter an achievement percentile from 1 to 99 above. Add the growth percentile if the report shows one, and we'll translate both.
The two numbers, decoded
Live, updates as you type or tapRIT / scale score
The publisher's measuring stick. It grows with the student and uses the same scale across grades, so a student can watch their own number climb year over year. This tool doesn't convert it. Use the percentile printed beside it.
Achievement percentile
Where the score landed among grade-level peers nationally. The 60th percentile means the score beat about 60 of 100 peers. It is not percent correct, and it never was.
Growth percentile
How this year's growth compares with students across the country who started at the same score. The 70th means this student grew faster than about 70 of 100 true peers. It's the number effort can move.
Norm group
Who "peers" really means: the big national sample the publisher tested to set the scale. When the publisher updates its norms, percentiles can shift a little even if the student didn't change at all.
How this works
Tests come in two flavors. Criterion-referenced tests ask "did you clear the bar?" and answer in proficient or not. Norm-referenced reports, the kind MAP, iReady, and STAR print, ask "where do you stand in the crowd?" and answer in percentiles. This tool translates the second kind.
A percentile is a position, not a grade. The 45th percentile does not mean 45 percent correct. It means the score beat about 45 of every 100 grade-level students in the national norm group. For growth we follow the standard student growth percentile convention: 1st to 34th is low, 35th to 65th is typical, 66th to 99th is high. Achievement and growth answer different questions, where the student stands versus how fast they're moving, and neither replaces the other.
The wording here follows how the publishers and researchers explain these numbers themselves. Sources: NWEA, What does RIT stand for in MAP testing, and RAND, Student Growth Percentiles 101.
One test is one snapshot on one day. Put it next to classwork, attendance, and what you know about the student before it means anything.