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Reading your child's score report

Is my child's MAP growth normal? Typical MAP Growth gains by grade, 2025 norms

How many RIT points the average child gains from fall to winter, winter to spring and fall to spring in every grade from 3rd to 10th, how wide the normal spread is, and why a small drop between two tests is common.

Average MAP math growth by grade

Average RIT gain for each testing interval in NWEA's 2025 student growth norms, with the standard deviation (SD), which measures how spread out children's gains are.

Average MAP reading growth by grade

How to read the spread

Take 5th grade math. The average gain from fall to spring is 10 points and the SD is 8, so anything from 2 to 18 points is within one standard deviation of the average, an ordinary result. In 7th grade reading the average gain from fall to winter is 1 point with an SD of 9, so a child whose score drops a few points between fall and winter is well inside the normal range.

A single test also has its own small margin of error, so one interval on its own says little. Two or three results in a row tell you far more.

Why growth slows with age

In the early grades children learn new skills quickly and the scale shows it. By middle school the average yearly gain in reading is 3 points or fewer, and in 9th and 10th grade it is about 1 point. A small number in the upper grades is what normal looks like.

Things that change the number

• When the tests were taken. NWEA's tables assume the fall test in the 4th week of school, winter in the 20th and spring in the 32nd. A school that tests earlier or later will see different gains.
• The summer. These are within-year figures. Across the summer, scores often stand still or slip: the average 3rd grader ends spring at 199 in math and the average 4th grader starts fall at 197.
• Your child's own target. If the school report shows a growth target or projection for your child, compare against that first and ask the teacher how it was set. The figures here are averages for the whole grade.

When to look closer

• Growth well below average in two or more intervals in a row, in the same subject.
• The same instructional area marked Low or LoAvg on report after report.
• Either is a good reason to ask the teacher what is planned. One low interval on its own usually is not.
• If you want to know exactly which skills sit behind a slow area, Point of Progress is an independent at-home adaptive test in the style of MAP Growth for grades 3 to 10. It names each skill and builds practice from your child's own answers. It is not MAP Growth and is not affiliated with NWEA.

Questions parents ask

My child's RIT went down from fall to winter. Is that bad?

Not on its own. In the middle-school grades the average fall-to-winter gain in reading is 1 or 2 points with a spread of 8 or 9, so a small drop is common. Look at the next result before drawing a conclusion.

Is 10 points of growth good in 5th grade math?

It is exactly the national average from fall to spring for 5th grade math in NWEA's 2025 norms.

Is growth the same as the percentile?

No. The percentile compares your child's score with other children in the same grade and season. Growth is how far your child's own score moved. A child can grow at the average rate and keep the same percentile.

The average scores and score ranges for each grade are on What is a good MAP score?.

Sources and dates

NWEA, 2025 MAP Growth Norms Quick Reference, October 2025: student growth norms (mean and SD) for reading and mathematics, and student achievement norms. Built from 116 million scores of 13.8 million students in 30,000 schools, fall 2022 to spring 2024.

MAP Growth and NWEA are registered trademarks of NWEA. This page is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NWEA. Last reviewed October 2026.