Learning Apps & Tools

New Project Ties MAP Growth Assessments and Khan Academy Videos

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 06/10/19

Two education nonprofits are working together to create a new classroom tool that helps teachers integrate personalized learning and assessment. MAP Accelerator, being developed by Khan Academy and assessment provider NWEA, will be piloted in four school districts this fall, according to the organizations.

The idea for the tool is to aid teachers in setting up personalized learning pathways for each student based on their MAP Growth results and guiding them to suggested Khan instructional resources. MAP Growth is a computer-adaptive assessment offered by NWEA that precisely measures what students know and suggests what they're ready to learn next. In those schools where it's used, it's issued three times per year in grades K-12 for math, English language arts and science.

The pilot will be tested during the 2019-2020 school year for grades 3-8 in math for both English- and Spanish-speaking learners. In the following year, English language arts support is expected to be made generally available. The districts participating in the pilot encompass Madera Unified School District, Pajaro Valley Unified School District and Glendale Unified School District in California; and Clark County School District in Nevada.

"If I had to pick between an amazing teacher and amazing technology, I'd pick the teacher every time. That is why we wanted to build a tool that really empowers teachers. Partnering with NWEA takes our tools and resources for teachers to the next level," said Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, in a statement. "We've long heard from teachers who want to use MAP Growth as more than just a benchmark. Now teachers are able to inform personalized practice that integrates with any curriculum so they can help focus student learning on what is needed most. And it is simple and time-saving, which is super important since teachers already have so much on their plates."

"We are optimistic that this tool will help our teachers deeply integrate personalized learning and assessments to accelerate student learning for all our students," added Todd Lile, Madera Unified's superintendent.