6 familiar tools you can lean on during school closures

There is a lot coming at all of us these days. The last thing any of us wants is more change.

As you execute your distance learning plans, why not lean into the instructional products you already have and ensure you’re making the most of them? Doing so can save you the time of learning something new. It can also help you differentiate instruction more effectively in this brave new world of teaching online, where it can be harder to keep track of how students are progressing.

Many products will let you link assessment data to your instructional resources so you can identify students’ levels of readiness and reach them where they are. Some work hand in hand with MAP® Growth™ data.

Save time with MAP Growth–friendly instructional partners

If you’re an NWEA® partner, you probably already know we collaborate with many instructional partners, like Khan Academy and Learning A–Z. We do this to help you get more from tried and true tools you’re already using. All our instructional partners are vetted by us on content quality, support for differentiating instruction, accessibility, and ease of use.

The following partners can help you adjust instruction in response to coronavirus school closures by connecting MAP Growth data to online curricula.

1. Achieve3000, 2–12 reading. Integrate MAP Growth results with the differentiated online instruction found in KidBiz3000, TeenBiz3000, and Empower3000 to create informed learning paths for students and get recommendations for differentiated instruction. Achieve3000 is providing assistance with remote learning during school closures.
2. DreamBox, K–8 math. Manually enter MAP Growth results to create math assignments that meet students where they are with DreamBox. It’s also available free for 90 days to parents if they sign up by April 30.
3. Edgenuity, K–8 math and ELA. Edgenuity is offering a no-cost, teacher-led online solution so schools can use their online curriculum to provide instruction to students during closures. You can share MAP Growth data with MyPath and Pathblazer products.
4. Edmentum, K–12 math, ELA, science, and social studies. Upload MAP Growth data to create learning paths based on RIT scores with ExactPath and Study Island. Edmentum is offering some free services to schools shut down by coronavirus and have free printable worksheets on their site.
5. Khan Academy, K–12 math, science, social studies, and more. Khan Academy, co-developer of MAP® Accelerator™ (available in Sept 2020), is known for their high-quality math content. You can correlate MAP Growth sub-goals and RIT ranges to Khan Academy exercises. As always, Khan Academy content is free.
6. Learning A-Z, K–5 reading. Learning A-Z is offering free virtual resources through the end of the school year. You can use MAP Growth results with Raz-Plus and Reading A-Z’s literacy-focused curriculum resources to create differentiated reading instruction.

More resources

For additional tips and tools for teaching during school closures, take a look at these recent Teach. Learn. Grow. posts:

• “6 ways to support students with disabilities during COVID-19 school closures”
• “Build your virtual teaching toolkit with free professional learning during COVID-19 school closures”
• “3 digital tools I love—especially now that my school’s closed”
• “4 valuable sites for teaching during coronavirus school closures”
• “16 free digital resources for reading, math, and MAP Growth to use at home during the COVID-19 crisis”