| School Growth |  |
Understanding the Data
Overview of "Growth" and "Achievement"
This report enables you to assess trends in growth and achievement in the schools that you have access to.
Growth is the difference between students' expected and actual achievement. You have two options for how to display growth data, and you can view both at once, if you prefer.
- The growth indicator is the color-coded bar that plots the growth index in the context of expected growth.
- The columns of Growth data include key metrics related to students' growth, such as the growth measure, its standard error, and the growth index.
Achievement is student performance at a single point in time. Achievement metrics, which are described by columns of achievement data, are helpful when interpreting growth metrics and understanding student learning in context.
Additional information about how these measures are calculated can be found in the Statistical Models and Business Rules. For more information about growth and achievement, see Concept of Growth.
View Data by Year or Cohort
When viewing the Growth Reports for divisions or schools, you have the option to view the data by Year or by Cohort.
When you select Years in the filter panel, the report displays data for all students who took the selected Test and Subject within the selected year.
When you select Cohort in the filter panel, the report displays data for all students who took the selected assessment in the selected year, and all students who took the assessment in the year prior (if prior year testing is available). The cohort view allows you to view growth results over time. Keep in mind there are no adjustments made to growth results in the cohort view even though there might have been accelerated or retained students, or students that might have moved in and out of the school or division.
There is not a cohort view for high schools on the School Growth Report because there is not a typical progression students typically follow like there is from 5th grade, to 6th grade, and so on. If you are trying to view previous years for a high school, we recommend selecting the 2022 option in the Year section of the filter. This will display the 2022 Growth data beside the 2023 Growth data.
A cohort represents the school or division reporting for the group of students that were included in the analysis in that given year. Students might differ slightly over the years due to acceleration, retainment, or other reasons where an assessment was not used in reporting.
- Select Years and 2023
- The Mathematics Growth report displays all students that took the assessment that were used in the analysis connected to that school or division.
- Select Cohorts
- Select 6th Graders in 2023
With the Cohort option selected, for "6th Graders in 2023" this will show the students who took the 6th-grade assessment in that school or division in 2023 and then the students that took the 5th-grade assessment in that school or division in 2022.
Growth IndicatorEach growth index is plotted on a color-coded growth indicator bar to indicate the amount of statistical evidence we have that the School meets, exceeds, or falls short of Expected Growth. Expected GrowthExpected Growth indicates the amount of growth the group of students must make to maintain their expected achievement. For more information, see Understanding Growth.
| Figure: Sample report. The colors might be different in your reports.
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Definitions of Column Headings
Growth Columns
Use growth data to:
- Make fair comparisons across subjects, grades, courses, and years
- Find areas of strength and areas that need improvement
The table below gives general information about the growth columns and links to more in-depth information.
| Column Name | Glossary Definition | Where to Find More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Growth Index | A measurement of the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected growth. | Understanding the Growth Index |
| Growth Measure | A conservative estimate of the growth that students made, on average, in a grade and subject or course. | Growth Measures And Standard Errors |
| Standard Error | A measurement that establishes a confidence band around the VVAAS growth measure and describes the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected growth based on VVAAS calculations. | Growth Measures And Standard Errors |
| Growth Measure Percentile | A value that represents where the growth measure for the group of students falls in the distribution for this assessment. | Understanding the Growth Measure Distribution |
| Student Count | The number of students included in the analysis. The student count is included in the standard error calculations. | Understanding the Student Count |
Achievement Columns
Use achievement data to:
- Observe shifts in expected achievement for different groups of students over the years
- Identify patterns of effectiveness with students at differing levels of expected achievement
- Support vertical conversations with feeder schools or teachers of prerequisite courses
The table below gives general information about the achievement columns and links to more in-depth information.
| Column Name | Glossary Definition | Where to Find More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Expected Achievement and Actual Achievement | Achievement is reported in scale scores.
| Understanding Expected Achievement and Actual Achievement |
| Expected Achievement Percentile | The expected achievement for the group of students relative to the overall distribution for this assessment. | Understanding Expected Achievement Percentile |
| Student Count | The number of students included in the analysis. The student count is included in the standard error calculations. | Understanding the Student Count |
How the Colors Are Assigned
The model generates growth measures and standard errors. You can see rounded versions of these numbers by selecting the Growth Measure and Standard Error columns under Data to Display. We calculate each growth index by dividing the unrounded growth measure by the unrounded standard error. We assign colors to growth indexes based on how far the indexes are from expected growth.
| Color | Growth Index Compared to Expected Growth | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Well Above | At least 2 standard errors above | Significant evidence that the students made more growth than expected. |
| Above | Between 1 and 2 standard errors above | Moderate evidence that the students made more growth than expected. |
| Meets | Between 1 standard error above and 1 standard error below | Evidence that the students made growth as expected. |
| Below | Between 1 and 2 standard errors below | Moderate evidence that the students made less growth than expected. |
| Well Below | More than 2 standard errors below | Significant evidence that the students made less growth than expected. |