NWEA MAP Growth Test for 3rd Grade Online Preparation: Free Practice Questions & Helpful Tips – 2025 Study Guide

What Is the 3rd Grade MAP Growth Test?

The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth Test is a standardized test that students in grades K-12 take three times per year to track their academic progress. However, the MAP exam is unlike any other standardized test your student will take because it is a computer-based adaptive exam.

If your child answers a question correctly, the next question will be slightly more difficult. On the other hand, if your child answers a question incorrectly, the next question will be easier. This format allows for accurate scoring so you and your child’s teacher can better understand where your child is excelling and where they may be struggling.

The MAP test is also unique because it is untimed, so your child can take as long as they need to answer a single question. However, the catch is that they are not allowed to return to a question once they have submitted an answer.

What Are the 3rd Grade MAP Sections?

Students in the 3rd grade have a slight advantage compared to their previous year because they will take the same MAP Growth Test sections as they did in the 2nd grade. This means they should already know what to expect, which will help ease their nerves and give them a good idea of what to practice to do well on the exam.

The three sections on the 3rd grade MAP test are Reading, Math, and Language Use. Though the sections are the same as the previous year, the content will not be.

The topics covered on these exams will be based on the common core curriculum taught that year. This means that the difficulty of the exam will be grade-appropriate, and the questions will be more challenging than the previous year. For example, your child should expect their 3rd grade Fall test to be as difficult as their 2nd grade Spring test.

Reading Questions

The MAP Reading Test will consist of 40 to 43 questions. There will be three main subsections in this exam:

• Informational texts: In the informational text section, students must demonstrate their understanding of text structure and the passage’s main idea.
• Word recognition and vocabulary: The questions in this section will focus on word meanings, word relationships, and recognizing word structures.
• Literature: The literature section will ask about structures and ideas within a literary text. Students must demonstrate the ability to analyze the purpose and key crafts within a passage.

You may notice some similarities between the 3rd grade reading topics and the 2nd grade reading topics from the previous year. This is because the tests build on each other each year. A student who learns what persuasive writing is one year should be able to recognize it in a passage the following year.

Math Questions

Like the reading section, the Math section will build on the material your child learned in the 2nd grade. The Math test consists of 47 to 53 questions and will cover the following topic areas:

• Numbers and Operations: Though the third grade won’t introduce new operations, the students will work on using mental math to make calculations and solve problems.
• Algebra: Students will be introduced to algebraic concepts and need to solve equations with missing information.
• Geometry: 3rd graders will learn basic geometric concepts such as symmetry and parallel lines.
• Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Students will apply the operations they know to fractions and decimals.

Because of the focus on performing mental math, students will not receive a calculator for every question. However, an on-screen calculator will appear for more difficult questions, and students will have pencils and scratch paper to use throughout the exam.

Language Use Questions

The Language Use section will have 50 to 53 questions. Students in this year are starting to learn more about proper grammar use and language conventions. Here are the topics your student can expect to encounter on the Language Use test:

• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Capitalization
• Accurately applying grammar conventions
• Planning writing
• Organizing writing

How to Read the MAP Growth Test Scores?

It is easy to track a student’s growth and progress throughout the year using the Rasch unIT (RIT) scale that the MAP Growth Test provides. These standardized units allow for comparison to students’ past tests and with other students their age.

It is essential to pay attention to your student’s scores so you can see where they are doing well and where they might need some extra help. For example, if their Reading score in the Spring is the same as their score in the Fall, your child has not absorbed the information they learned this year.

The score is also a way to see where your student needs to be challenged. If your child’s math score is significantly higher than the rest of the students in their class, they may be able to work on higher-level material than what is currently being offered.

Because the test is computer-based, scores will be available immediately after they have completed the exam. Their score report will have two sections for each subject. The first will be a graph showing their individual progress in that grade from their past tests. This graph will also show the mean scores for students at that grade level, how an average student will likely progress, and the predicted future growth for your child.

The following section will be a table. This will show your child’s raw RIT score, the growth from the previous test, and their projection of growth for future tests.

The below table shows the average scores of a 3rd grader in the MAP Test sections throughout the year. Keep in mind that your child’s score will not be considered “failing” if they do not meet this score. The MAP Test does not have passing or failing grades. The below benchmarks are just the average score you can expect children in the 3rd grade to achieve.

MAP Growth Test Tips for 3rd Graders

Standardized tests can be stressful for children. Here are a few tips to help your child succeed and do well on the MAP Growth Test:

• Read everything carefully. Depending on the version your child took of the 2nd grade exam, this may be their first time reading instructions and taking the test independently. It is essential to read all passages, questions, and answer choices carefully so they understand what is being asked and can answer the question correctly.
• Take your time. The good thing about the test is that it is untimed. Therefore, your child can take as long as they need to read that paragraph or work out that math problem. The only catch is that they cannot return to a question once they’ve answered it.
• Plug math answers into the problems. An excellent tip for math equations is to plug and play. This means that if your child is having trouble solving for a missing value, they can try plugging in the different answer choices and seeing what makes sense.
• Remember that commas indicate a pause. The 3rd grade language test heavily focuses on proper grammar usage since students are building their writing foundations at this age. If your child is having trouble remembering how to use commas, remind them that a comma indicates a pause. They should read the sentence in their head, and if the pauses do not sound natural, the commas are in the incorrect places.
• Practice throughout the year. Standardized tests can be stressful because students often wait until the test to do any preparation. However, practicing throughout the year is the key to getting a high score on the MAP Test. Gradual preparation will break up the studying, making it less stressful, and will ensure that your child has the best understanding possible of the concepts.
• Trust yourself. A child who has been doing their classwork and practicing at home will have no problem doing well on the exam. If your child is nervous about the test, tell them to breathe and remember that they know the material presented. Any questions they answer incorrectly are just topics they haven’t learned yet, but they will before the next exam. This isn’t a pass-or-fail exam, so it is unnecessary to be stressed over it.

How to Prepare for the 3rd Grade MAP Growth Assessment?

Practice and preparation are crucial to success on the MAP Growth Test. The best way to practice for the exam at home is to use free online resources such as practice tests and study guides.

Practice tests are one of the most valuable tools for test preparation. These tests will present sample questions similar to the ones on the exam and solutions to understand the correct answer. Working through these tests will give your child confidence that they know what to expect on the exam, reduce their anxiety, and increase their chances of answering a question correctly.

Study guides are also a great prep tool. These will explain what kinds of questions you can expect to see, what topics they will cover, and how to approach answering each one. Understanding what will be covered on the 3rd Grade exam will allow you to tailor your child’s study plan to the specific areas they need to work on.

Students who prepare for the MAP Growth Test show steady growth throughout the years. Therefore, it is essential to instill good study habits and help your child adequately prepare for the exam.