Free practice · Grades 2–9
The MAP Growth test
What it is, which schools use it, how it differs from the SSAT — and a free adaptive practice test at the bottom of the page.
What MAP Growth is
MAP Growth is a computer test made by NWEA, a U.S. testing organization. It covers Reading, Language Usage and Math (some schools add Science) for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
It is adaptive: when a student answers correctly the next question gets harder, and when they miss one it gets easier. So two students in the same room see different questions, and the test quickly finds the level each one is really working at.
There is no pass or fail. The result is a RIT score — a number on one scale that runs across all grades, usually somewhere between 140 and 260. Schools compare it with the average for the student's grade and watch it rise from one sitting to the next. That is where the name comes from: it measures growth.
Where it is used
MAP and the SSAT
| MAP Growth | SSAT | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Shows the level a student is working at and how fast they are growing | Compares applicants to each other for admission |
| Format | Adaptive, untimed, on a computer | Fixed sections with strict time limits |
| Score | RIT score and percentile for the grade | Scaled score and percentile against other applicants |
| Where you take it | Usually at the student's own school | At a test centre or at home online, on set dates |
Vancouver independent schools
Most Vancouver independent schools ask for the SSAT or run their own entrance assessment. Collingwood School is one that accepts MAP: applicants to Grades 4–11 who live outside the area and cannot attend Collingwood's in-house entry assessment may send a recent SSAT or MAP score report instead. Local applicants sit the school's own assessment.
Requirements change every year. Check each school's admissions page, or ask us — we track them for the families we work with.
Free MAP-style practice test
A short version of the real thing, written by Ivy Academy teachers. It adapts as you answer and ends with an estimated score on a RIT-style scale for each section.
The grade only sets the first question. The test adjusts from there.
Before you start: work alone, without a calculator or dictionary, and answer every question — you cannot go back. If you don't know an answer, make your best guess.
Your results
Estimated MAP-style scores
Scores are practice estimates on a RIT-style scale, from a short 10-question section. A real MAP Growth section has about 40–50 questions and gives a more precise score. Grade averages shown are approximate fall averages for U.S. students. This test is written by Ivy Academy teachers and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NWEA.
What the scores mean
MAP scores do not pass or fail. Schools read them to see what level a student is working at and where to place them. A score near the average for the student's grade means typical progress; a score well above it means the student is working ahead.
Ivy Academy teachers can go through these results with you, give a full-length diagnostic, and plan preparation for MAP, the SSAT or a school's own entrance test.