MAP Test Practice 9th Grade

Algebra, geometry, close reading, grammar and high school science for ninth graders, sorted by MAP Growth's instructional areas.

More science for high school: MAP science, grades 9–12.

Solve for x: 5x − 7 = 3x + 9

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with NWEA, which publishes MAP Growth. Bank checked October 8, 2026.

The real tests: MAP Growth, grade 9

Tests at this grade
Math 6+, Reading 6+, Language 2+ and Science 9–12, each a separate test. A school chooses which it gives.
Course tests
Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Integrated Mathematics 1, 2 and 3, and Biology/Life Science, for students enrolled in those courses.
Length
40 to 43 questions a test. NWEA calls the number approximate, because the test adapts to the student.
Time
Untimed. NWEA's summary gives about 45 to 60 minutes a test.
Scores
A RIT score for the subject and for each instructional area.
How often
Up to four times in a school year; a course test up to three.

Checked October 8, 2026 against the MAP Growth Test Description and Test Descriptions Summary of the MAP Help Center, the MAP Growth Features page and the MAP Growth: Instructional Areas documents of July 2023, NWEA. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

NWEA's page about MAP Growth

Next step More MAP science for grades 9 to 12More MAP math for grade 6 and up

Math: all 20 questions

Operations and Algebraic Thinking 5

  • A colony starts with 500 bacteria and doubles every hour. Which function gives the number of bacteria after t hours? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Use Functions to Model Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard HSF.LE.A.2
  • A function is defined by f(x) = 2x² − 3x + 4. What is f(−3)? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Use Functions to Model Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard HSF.IF.A.2
  • A phone plan costs $25 a month plus $0.10 for each text. Kai can spend at most $40 a month. Which inequality gives the number of texts, t, he can send? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Expressions and Equations), NWEA; Common Core standard HSA.CED.A.1
Show all 20 questions (17 more)

Operations and Algebraic Thinking, continued

  • Solve for x: 5x − 7 = 3x + 9 MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Expressions and Equations), NWEA; Common Core standard HSA.REI.B.3
  • What are the solutions of x² − 5x − 14 = 0? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Operations and Algebraic Thinking (Expressions and Equations), NWEA; Common Core standard HSA.REI.B.4

The Real and Complex Number Systems 5

  • A laptop priced at $800 is marked down 15%. Sales tax of 8% is then added to the sale price. What is the final cost? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area The Real and Complex Number Systems (Ratios and Proportional Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard 7.RP.A.3
  • A train travels at 108 kilometers per hour. What is its speed in meters per second? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area The Real and Complex Number Systems (Ratios and Proportional Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard HSN.Q.A.1
  • What is the value of 16^(3/4)? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area The Real and Complex Number Systems (Extend and Use Properties), NWEA; Common Core standard HSN.RN.A.2
  • Which expression is equal to √50 + √18? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area The Real and Complex Number Systems (Perform Operations), NWEA; Common Core standard HSN.RN.A.2
  • Which of these sums cannot be written as a fraction of two whole numbers? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area The Real and Complex Number Systems (Extend and Use Properties), NWEA; Common Core standard HSN.RN.B.3

Geometry 5

  • A 12-foot ladder leans against a wall and makes a 30° angle with the ground. Given that sin 30° = 0.5, how high up the wall does the ladder reach? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Geometry (Congruence, Similarity, Right Triangles, & Trig), NWEA; Common Core standard HSG.SRT.C.8
  • A fence post 5 feet tall casts a shadow 3 feet long. At the same moment a flagpole casts a shadow 18 feet long. How tall is the flagpole? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Geometry (Congruence, Similarity, Right Triangles, & Trig), NWEA; Common Core standard HSG.SRT.B.5
  • A line has the equation y = 2x + 3. What is the slope of any line perpendicular to it? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Geometry (Geometric Measurement and Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard HSG.GPE.B.5
  • A sphere has a radius of 6 cm. What is its volume in terms of π? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Geometry (Geometric Measurement and Relationships), NWEA; Common Core standard HSG.GMD.A.3
  • An isosceles triangle has a vertex angle of 52°. What is the measure of each base angle? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Geometry (Congruence, Similarity, Right Triangles, & Trig), NWEA; Common Core standard HSG.CO.C.10

Statistics and Probability 5

  • A fair coin is flipped and a spinner with five equal sections, numbered 1 to 5, is spun. What is the probability of tails and an odd number? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Statistics and Probability (Using Sampling and Probability to Make Decisions), NWEA; Common Core standard HSS.CP.A.2
  • Across one summer, a town's weekly ice cream sales and its weekly sunburn cases rise and fall together. What is the most reasonable conclusion? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Statistics and Probability (Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data), NWEA; Common Core standard HSS.ID.C.9
  • Five houses on one street sold for $210,000, $220,000, $225,000, $230,000 and $915,000. Which measure best describes a typical sale price? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Statistics and Probability (Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data), NWEA; Common Core standard HSS.ID.A.3
  • In a class of 30 students, 18 take Spanish, 12 take art and 5 take both. One student is chosen at random. What is the probability that the student takes Spanish or art? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Statistics and Probability (Using Sampling and Probability to Make Decisions), NWEA; Common Core standard HSS.CP.B.7
  • Two classes have the same mean test score, 75. The standard deviation is 4 in class A and 12 in class B. What does this show? MAP Growth Math 6+ instructional area Statistics and Probability (Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data), NWEA; Common Core standard HSS.ID.A.2

How this list was compiled: Outline: NWEA, MAP Growth, https://www.nwea.org/map-growth/; MAP Growth Test Description (MAP Help Center), https://teach.mapnwea.org/impl/maphelp/Content/AboutMAP/MAPTestDescription.htm; MAP Growth: Instructional Areas, CCSS, dated July 12, 2023, https://cdn.nwea.org/state-information/CCSS_STANDARDS_2023.pdf, all read 2026-10-08. Each question names the Common Core standard it practices, https://www.thecorestandards.org/Math/, read 2026-10-08. Each answer was worked out twice. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a MAP Growth test, from a sample or practice item of NWEA, or from another practice test.

Reading: all 12 questions

Literary Text 4

  • A story opens with Sam at a finish line, a medal in his hand. The next scene goes back two years, to the morning a doctor told him he might never run again. What is the effect of ordering the events this way? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Literary Text (Analyze Point of View, Features, and Structure), NWEA; Common Core standard RL.9-10.5
  • "For thirty years Mr. Okoro wound the village clock, though nobody thanked him and few looked up. The week after he retired, the hands stopped at ten past four, and the square filled with people asking who had kept it running." Which theme does the passage develop? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Literary Text (Analyze Theme and Literary Elements; Summarize), NWEA; Common Core standard RL.9-10.2
  • "Imani had practiced the solo for months. When the director offered it to her, she glanced at Ruth, whose mother had driven three hours to hear her sing. 'Give it to Ruth,' Imani said. 'I have a cold.' She did not have a cold." Which two motives pull Imani in different directions? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Literary Text (Analyze Theme and Literary Elements; Summarize), NWEA; Common Core standard RL.9-10.3
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Literary Text, continued

  • "The letter was brief. It thanked her for her interest, regretted that the position had been filled internally, and wished her every success elsewhere." What tone do the letter's stock phrases create? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Literary Text (Analyze Point of View, Features, and Structure), NWEA; Common Core standard RL.9-10.4

Informational Text 4

  • An article on groundwater opens with one family whose well ran dry. It then gives statewide figures on falling water tables and ends with three proposed laws. Why would the author begin with the family? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Informational Text (Analyze Central Idea, Concepts, and Events; Summarize), NWEA; Common Core standard RI.9-10.3
  • "The school should not adopt the new reading program. The teacher who proposed it has been here only a year and still gets lost on the way to the gym." What is the flaw in this argument? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Informational Text (Analyze Point of View, Purpose, Features, and Structure), NWEA; Common Core standard RI.9-10.8
  • "We ask our nurses to work twelve-hour shifts. We ask them to skip meals. We ask them to stay when the next shift is short. And then we ask why they leave." How does the repeated phrase "We ask" serve the author's purpose? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Informational Text (Analyze Point of View, Purpose, Features, and Structure), NWEA; Common Core standard RI.9-10.6
  • "When the town of Halden cut its main street from four lanes to two and added a bike lane, shop owners predicted ruin. Two years later, crashes on the street had fallen by a third, and sales in its shops had risen." What is the central idea? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Informational Text (Analyze Central Idea, Concepts, and Events; Summarize), NWEA; Common Core standard RI.9-10.2

Vocabulary 4

  • "After the verdict was read, a deafening silence filled the courtroom." Which figure of speech is "deafening silence"? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Vocabulary (Vocabulary), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.5.a; term read at Wiktionary, "oxymoron"
  • "The archivist was meticulous: she logged every letter by date, sender and condition before filing it." What does "meticulous" mean? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Vocabulary (Vocabulary), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.4.a; meaning read at Wiktionary, "meticulous"
  • Which word correctly completes the sentence? "The committee reached its ____ after two hours of debate." MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Vocabulary (Vocabulary), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.4.b
  • The words "malfunction," "malnourished" and "malodor" share the prefix "mal-." What does the prefix mean? MAP Growth Reading 6+ instructional area Vocabulary (Vocabulary), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.4.b; meaning read at Wiktionary, "mal-"

How this list was compiled: Outline: NWEA, MAP Growth, https://www.nwea.org/map-growth/; MAP Growth Test Description (MAP Help Center), https://teach.mapnwea.org/impl/maphelp/Content/AboutMAP/MAPTestDescription.htm; MAP Growth: Instructional Areas, CCSS, dated July 12, 2023, https://cdn.nwea.org/state-information/CCSS_STANDARDS_2023.pdf, all read 2026-10-08. Each question names the Common Core standard it practices, https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/, read 2026-10-08. Word meanings were read at Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/, 2026-10-08. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a MAP Growth test, from a sample or practice item of NWEA, or from another practice test.

Language usage: all 12 questions

Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience 4

  • A student argues that the city should close Main Street to cars on weekends. Which sentence acknowledges a counterclaim? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience (Provide Support; Develop Topics; Conduct Research), NWEA; Common Core standard W.9-10.1.b
  • A student copies two sentences word for word from an article into a report. What must the student do to avoid plagiarism? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience (Provide Support; Develop Topics; Conduct Research), NWEA; Common Core standard W.9-10.8
  • Which revision replaces the vague wording with precise language? "The storm did a lot of damage to things in town." MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience (Establish and Maintain Style; Use Precise Language), NWEA; Common Core standard W.9-10.2.d
Show all 12 questions (9 more)

Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience, continued

  • Which transition best fills the blank? "The vaccine trial enrolled 4,000 volunteers. ____, only 300 of them were over the age of sixty." MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Writing: Write, Revise Texts for Purpose and Audience (Plan, Organize; Create Cohesion, Use Transitions), NWEA; Common Core standard W.9-10.2.c

Language: Understand, Edit for Grammar, Usage 4

  • In the sentence "The decision was unexpectedly swift," which word is an adverb? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Grammar, Usage (Parts of Speech), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.1
  • Which sentence contains a relative clause? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Grammar, Usage (Phrases, Clauses, Agreement, Sentences), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.1.b
  • Which sentence keeps the items of its list in parallel form? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Grammar, Usage (Phrases, Clauses, Agreement, Sentences), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.1.a
  • Which verb correctly completes the sentence? "Each of the reports ____ a summary." MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Grammar, Usage (Phrases, Clauses, Agreement, Sentences), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.1

Language: Understand, Edit for Mechanics 4

  • In which sentence is the semicolon used correctly? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Mechanics (Punctuation), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.2.a
  • Which sentence uses a colon correctly to introduce a list? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Mechanics (Punctuation), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.2.b
  • Which sentence uses capital letters correctly? MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Mechanics (Capitalization), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.2
  • Which spelling correctly completes the sentence? "She is a ____ worker who checks every figure twice." MAP Growth Language 2+ instructional area Language: Understand, Edit for Mechanics (Spelling), NWEA; Common Core standard L.9-10.2.c; spelling checked at Wiktionary, "conscientious"

How this list was compiled: Outline: NWEA, MAP Growth, https://www.nwea.org/map-growth/; MAP Growth Test Description (MAP Help Center), https://teach.mapnwea.org/impl/maphelp/Content/AboutMAP/MAPTestDescription.htm; MAP Growth: Instructional Areas, CCSS, dated July 12, 2023, https://cdn.nwea.org/state-information/CCSS_STANDARDS_2023.pdf, all read 2026-10-08. Each question names the Common Core standard it practices, https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/, read 2026-10-08. One spelling was checked at Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/, 2026-10-08. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a MAP Growth test, from a sample or practice item of NWEA, or from another practice test.

Science: all 8 questions

Life Science 3

  • A flower color is a recessive trait. A plant carries one recessive allele and one dominant allele for the gene. Does the plant show the recessive color? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Life Science (Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits), NWEA; fact read at National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Recessive Traits and Alleles"
  • A protein is made of one or more long, folded chains. What are the links of those chains? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Life Science (From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes), NWEA; fact read at National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary, "Protein"
  • Phytoplankton are microscopic algae at the base of many ocean food webs. Why do most of them float in the upper part of the ocean? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Life Science (Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics), NWEA; fact read at National Ocean Service, NOAA, "What are phytoplankton?"
Show all 8 questions (5 more)

Physical Science 3

  • A flashlight battery pushes electrons through a wire. Where does the battery's electrical energy come from? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Physical Science (Energy), NWEA; fact read at U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Batteries, circuits, and transformers"
  • A net force of 45 newtons acts on a sled with a mass of 9 kilograms. What is the acceleration of the sled? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Physical Science (Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions), NWEA; fact read at NASA Glenn Research Center, "Newton's Laws of Motion"
  • Light from the Sun crosses empty space to reach Earth, but sound cannot cross it. Why? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Physical Science (Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer), NWEA; fact read at NASA Science, "Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave"

Earth and Space Science 2

  • The Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world. What explains its location? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Earth and Space Science (Earth's Systems), NWEA; fact read at U.S. Geological Survey, "What is the Ring of Fire?"
  • What is a supernova? MAP Growth Science 9-12 instructional area Earth and Space Science (Earth's Place in the Universe), NWEA; fact read at NASA Space Place, "What Is a Supernova?"

How this list was compiled: Outline: NWEA, MAP Growth, https://www.nwea.org/map-growth/; MAP Growth Test Description (MAP Help Center), https://teach.mapnwea.org/impl/maphelp/Content/AboutMAP/MAPTestDescription.htm; MAP Growth: Instructional Areas, NGSS, dated July 12, 2023, https://cdn.nwea.org/state-information/NGSS_STANDARDS_2023.pdf, all read 2026-10-08. Each fact was read on the public page named on its question (National Human Genome Research Institute, NASA, NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Energy Information Administration), all 2026-10-08. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a MAP Growth test, from a sample or practice item of NWEA, or from another practice test.

How it works

A ninth grader's MAP Growth tests are Math 6+, Reading 6+, Language 2+ and Science 9–12. This unofficial page practices all four with its own questions, none from a real test. It is not affiliated with NWEA, MAP Growth's publisher.

Read the full guide

What grade 9 adds

The math set moves past grade 8 into a first high school year: quadratics, exponential growth, radicals and rational exponents, right-triangle trigonometry and the probability rules. Language usage adds parallel structure, semicolons and colons. Science follows the Science 9–12 test in place of Science 6–8.

Why there is no RIT score here

MAP Growth is computer adaptive: the test adjusts to the student as the answers come in, and the result is a RIT score on a scale that does not depend on grade. A fixed set of questions cannot produce one, so the math here simply runs from easier to harder within each area.

Questions and answers

What is on the 9th grade MAP test?

Up to four subjects, as the school chooses: Math 6+, Reading 6+, Language 2+ and Science 9–12. A ninth grader enrolled in Algebra 1, Geometry or Integrated Mathematics may be given that course's own MAP Growth test.

How many questions are on the 9th grade MAP test?

About 40 to 43 on each test. NWEA calls the number approximate because the test adapts to each student, and the figure includes familiarization questions.

Is MAP testing timed in 9th grade?

No. NWEA describes MAP Growth as untimed. Its summary gives about 45 to 60 minutes for one test, plus 10 to 15 minutes for setup and instructions.

What is a good MAP score for a 9th grader?

MAP Growth has no pass mark in NWEA's test descriptions. It reports a RIT score, and NWEA publishes MAP Growth norms for comparing scores.

Do 9th graders take the MAP science test?

Some do. NWEA has a general Science 9–12 test on life, physical, and Earth and space science, and a separate Biology/Life Science course test for grades 9 to 12. The school decides which, if either, it gives.

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