NWEA

Texas Provisionally Approves NWEA MAP Growth for 2027-28 Testing

Boston – November 05, 2026 -- The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has provisionally approved NWEA's MAP Growth for use by Texas districts under House Bill 8, the law that sets up a new statewide assessment system from the 2027-28 school year. TEA also approved MAP Reading Fluency and MAP Growth under House Bill 2, which directs funding and resources to K-3 foundational literacy and numeracy, NWEA said.

HB 8 replaces STAAR with the Student Success Tool

HB 8 ends the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and moves the state to a through-year assessment model under the new Student Success Tool. Districts may select TEA-approved alternative assessments for beginning-of-year and middle-of-year testing.

NWEA Study: Texas School Doubles National Growth Average via Coherent Instruction

Boston – – October 06, 2026 -- Students at one Texas elementary school achieved nearly twice the national average in academic growth in both reading and science during the 2024–25 school year, according to a new research brief from NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization.

Researchers identify three interconnected practices driving the growth

The study, titled "The Power of Connectedness: A Case for a Coherent Instruction System for Reading and Science Improvement," attributes the results not to a single initiative but to a coherent instructional system combining a shared instructional vision, aligned professional learning, and regular coaching and feedback. The school was identified using national MAP Growth data as a statistical outlier.

NWEA Launches Free College-Matching Tool Tied to MAP Growth Scores

Boston – – September 22, 2026 -- NWEA has released an enhanced free online tool that lets students as young as sixth grade convert their MAP Growth assessment scores into projected ACT and SAT scores and matching college admissions data.

Tool converts middle-school test scores into projected SAT and ACT results

The NWEA College Explorer allows students to enter current MAP Growth scores and see estimated performance on the ACT and SAT, then generates a list of post-secondary institutions that have historically admitted students with similar scores. The organization cited one example: a seventh grader scoring 222 on the fall MAP Growth math assessment is projected to meet the SAT math benchmark expected at most colleges and universities, but fall short of the comparable ACT math benchmark.