The Data SGP Tool can be an invaluable asset to school districts when conducting assessments and reporting processes. It compares student academic performance against similar students’, which helps educators and families determine whether students are progressing as expected and whether extra support may be required; furthermore it allows schools to see whether student achievement has increased or declined over time.
Student growth percentiles (SGPs) are calculated using quantile regression, which uses relationships between student scores and previous ones to predict future performance. This model allows for differentiation based on prior assessments between two students with very different scale score ranges but with identical SGPs; higher SGPs indicate greater progress than 85 percent of peers academic peers.
SGPs can be used to compare student performance over time periods or between schools and districts, and can also serve as an evaluation of overall quality in a district or school. A SGP of 75 or above is considered high, while lower scores indicate either that a student has not improved as rapidly or that their current level falls below what would be expected in their grade level.
Students are assigned an SGP based on a combination of their most recent Star assessment and at least one prior test from another testing window, including either identical or dissimilar tests for them. To generate their most current SGP score, calculate using the best combination of tests, which should allow comparison between their performance now and that of peers.
OSPI provides teachers and administrators with several reports that can help them monitor student growth over time, including SGPs and various reports that can be downloaded in Excel or PDF formats from its website. Excel users can even generate graphs showing SGP changes over time by selecting multiple dates in the data explorer and clicking “Graph SGP” under Charts tab.
SGP reports can be easily organized according to various factors, including percentile ranks for student’s previous year scores and their most recent assessment scores. Furthermore, users can filter by student, school district and state to quickly locate data that fits a particular purpose.
Interpreting SGPs requires keeping in mind that per capita rankings are calculated each year; any variances should be taken with caution when interpreting differences in SGPs between years; for instance, even though one student may have seen their SGP increase or decrease it does not necessarily equate to improvement or decline in their skills; differences of 10 points between years should not be seen as significant; for more detailed information about how to interpret SGPs visit our Student Growth District and School Resources webpage.