By the Numbers: What Sets Us Apart

Our data tells a compelling story.

With an International Baccalaureate and immersion education, students can master skills in two languages at appropriate ages/grade levels. Our assessment data shows that our students are meeting and exceeding the norms for their age levels across language usage, reading, and math - while in a bilingual immersion school setting.

As shown in our most recent MAP Assessment data (Spring 2025/26) for Grades K3 (Kindergarten) - Grade 10, our students significantly outpace the average student in both public and private schools in language usage, reading, and math at every age.

Our children’s achievements ultimately validate the power and difference of our unique approach to immersion education - which promotes children transferring concepts between languages most strongly. Bottom line? Our education model is effective, and impressive.

Marzia Mauffrey
Asst. Director of Academics

NWEA MAP Scores - Standardized Norm-Referenced Test* (Taken in English):

*Note: The most recent private school norms are shown in our math and reading data (24/25); NWEA has not yet released the data for language usage. When they do so, we will update these graphs with those numbers.

Source: NWEA MAP Growth District Summary, Spring 2025-2026 (mean RIT). National norm: NWEA 2025 school achievement norms, Spring. Private-school mean: NWEA MAP Growth National Trends, Private: All, Spring 2025 (most recent available); no private-school data is published for Grade 9. Y-axis starts at 140 RIT to make grade-level differences readable.

Source: NWEA MAP Growth District Summary, Spring 2025-2026 (mean RIT). National norm: NWEA 2025 school achievement norms, Spring. NWEA does not publish private-school data for Language Usage. Y-axis starts at 180 RIT to make grade-level differences readable.

2026 Data Summary and Highlights

2026 Data Summary and Highlights

Overall Achievement

Math: The students start standardized assessment from Grade 2. Every grade scores between the 94th and 99th percentile nationally, led by G2 and G6 at the 99th. This is the strongest and most consistent result in the report.
Reading: The students start standardized assessment from Grade 1. Every grade from G1 to G9 scores at or above the 93rd percentile, led by G1 at the 99th.
Language Usage: The students start standardized assessment from Grade 3. Every grade from G3 to G9 scores at or above the 93rd percentile, led by G5 and G6 at the 97th.
Bottom line: 100% of reported grades score above the national achievement norm, in every subject.

Growth Highlights

ISDenver is above the NWEA school achievement norm in every reported 2025–26 grade and subject. The District Summary also shows positive Fall-to-Spring movement in every reported grade-level mean. The three-year evidence is strongest in Math; Reading remains strong but is less uniform, and Language Usage shows the most mixed year-over-year pattern.

Conclusion: ISDenver students are not only performing well above national norms, but are also growing at or above expected levels across every grade and subject area.

Watch: Understanding MAP Assessments and Our Data Results

Dive Into Our Series on Data-Driven Instruction

Reporting on Learning at ISDenver: Enhancing Assessment for Student Growth

At ISDenver, our approach to assessment is guided by a commitment to fostering student growth, encouraging self-reflection, and ensuring clear communication among educators, students, and families. The sixth and final part of our assessment framework, Reporting on Learning, plays a crucial role in this process by providing a comprehensive and transparent reflection of student progress. Our reporting system aligns with best practices in international education and supports the continuous development of the whole child.

Measuring Learning in the IB: A Data-Driven Approach

Measuring learning in an IB school extends beyond isolated test scores. By leveraging test scores within a broader data-driven approach, Assistant Director of School for Academics, Marzia Mauffrey, shares how we ensure that assessments serve as tools for growth rather than static labels of achievement.

Assessment Information, Policy, and Philosophy

About MAP Assessments

MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) is a computerized, adaptive assessment that measures students' reading, language usage, and math skills.

Here’s the overview from NWEA for reference:
MAP Growth K–2 Fact Sheet

And for Grades 3–12:
MAP Growth 3–12 Fact Sheet

MAP Growth administered to 13+ millions students US and worldwide.
National norms from 500,000 to 700,000 students; 24,500 public schools in 5,800 districts, spread across all 50 states (reviewed in 2020).
Private schools norm is from Spring 2022.

All students are asked the same number of questions, but the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers the previous questions. As the student answers correctly, questions become more difficult; if answering incorrectly, the questions become easier, and then become progressively more challenging. This enables the assessment to precisely identify the full spectrum of a student’s strengths and weaknesses. MAP assessments are aligned with the national Common Core Standards.

MAP K–2 is adaptive, and the questions can be read aloud to support students at that developmental stage.

MAP Assessments are administered during both the fall and spring of the school year, in order to accurately track students' growth over the course of the year.

NWEA, the organization that administers MAP testing, works with over 50,000 schools across 149 countries - including both public school districts as well as independent schools. Learn more about NWEA here.

ISDenver Assessment Philosophy

Our assessment philosophy at the International School of Denver aligns with the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework. Our assessment focuses on holistic, meaningful evaluations that go beyond numerical scores. This is to say that our assessment model is more than a point-in-time score on an arbitrary day once a year.

Instead, our assessments are continual and carefully designed to:

on student learning in ways that promote inquiry, critical thinking, and self-reflection. This student-centered approach brings awareness to individual student growth. The data therefore tells a story of a student’s growth in context to their ability, fostering a growth mindset and aptitude toward lifelong learning.

What’s more, our assessment informs instruction at an individual, class, grade, and division, and whole-school level. It is both real-time as it is cumulative, allowing us to track trends over time.

ISDenver Assessment Policy

It is central to both the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) goals that thoughtful and effective assessment of student learning impacts the direction of instruction.
It is through the acquisition of subject-specific knowledge and skills, the understanding of concepts, and the development of approaches to learning that develops a comprehensive learner.

The MAP Assessment is one tool we use for assessing our students progress; a variety of assessment strategies are used by teachers to inform their teaching as well as to understand what students have learned. A key component of assessment practices includes both teacher and student reflection and self-assessment in order to provide feedback on the learning process.

Read our full school Assessment Policy here.

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