Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary …



Slide 1

[pic]

Welcome to Using MCAS Growth Reports, Scatter Plots.

Slide 2

[pic]

In this video you will learn the structure and function of the Scatter Plot growth reports and the types of questions that can be answered through the interpretation of the data in the Scatter Plot reports.

Slide 3

[pic]

Let’s look at some of the Growth Scatter Plot reports. This Student Growth Scatter Plot shows the distribution of student growth percentiles in ELA from 2008 (grade 5) to 2009 (grade 6) for a specific population – in this case, all Grade 6 students throughout the district. It is important to note that regardless of what the students bring with them from 5th grade, this report represents the amount of growth that can be attributed to learning during their 6th grade experience.

The vertical axis represents student achievement in scaled score on the grade 6 MCAS ELA test, and the horizontal axis represents student growth from the grade 5 MCAS ELA test to the grade 6 MCAS ELA test in SGPs. Each dot on the graph represents the intersection of an individual student’s SGP and their scaled MCAS test score.

Slide 4

[pic]

Students whose SGP places them in the upper right quadrant of the graph demonstrated higher growth and higher achievement than their peers with similar score histories. Students toward the lower left demonstrated lower growth and lower achievement than their peers with similar MCAS test score histories. You can “mouse over” any point on the graph to identify the individual student who is represented by that dot in the display.

This student is not only achieving at a high level but is also demonstrating significant growth from grade 5 to grade 6.

This student is achieving at a low level but is demonstrating relative high growth.

In this example the scatter plot was customized to compare the growth of low income and not low income students. The green (darker) dots represent students with low-income status, while the yellow (lighter) dots indicate students without low-income status. Examination of the distribution of the two sets of color dots shows the difference in growth pattern for these two sub-populations of students.

Slide 5

[pic]

The interactivity of the EDW provides the flexibility to also disaggregate the data by subgroups such as: school, grade level, gender, LEP status, race/ethnicity, special education status and combinations of these subgroups.

Slide 6

[pic]

Let’s examine the data displayed in this scatter plot.

 

One question we might ask is, what was the performance distribution of my 6th grade students on the 2009 MCAS ELA test?

 

Observing the scatter plot data shows us that more students in grade 6 are above Proficient than below Proficient at the school.

 

We might also wish to consider, is there a relationship between low income status and achievement?

 

In this case, there appears to be little correlation between low income status and achievement.

Slide 7

[pic]

This is an example of a District scatter plot. This report is similar in basic structure to the student scatter plot report that displays the distribution of growth for individual students; however, the growth of individuals is replaced by the median growth of populations.

Since the median SGP is the appropriate statistic to use to compare growth across populations it replaces the SGP that appeared on the x-axis in the individual growth scatter plot. Scaled Score is also replaced as a performance measure by the percent of students in the population who scored at the proficient or advanced level on the most recent MCAS test (in this example, the 2009 MCAS ELA).

The performance (achievement and growth) of the subpopulation can be compared to expected performance as represented by the statewide benchmarks. The “X” which appears on the scatter plot is at the intersection of the percent of students, statewide, who scored proficient or advanced on the most recent MCAS ELA test and the statewide median student growth percentile which is, by definition, the 50th percentile.

As with the individual Student Growth Scatter Plot Report, the achievement and growth relationship for schools (or other subpopulations) can be determined by identifying the quadrant that the school’s dot falls into. The “X” on the display that represents statewide achievement and growth can be used as a benchmark.

The table in this report provides important information about the size of the subpopulations and their actual achievement and growth values.

Note also that “reprompt options” are provided at the top of the report. The current parameters that delivered our report are shown. The “reprompt” function allows you to quickly rerun this report to look at other populations by adjusting this internal prompt page and clicking on “Submit.”

Slide 8

[pic]

Let's take a look some of the questions this Scatter Plot Report can help us answer.

 

For example, what was the distribution of aggregate achievement across the schools in the district?

 

Here we can see that School C was the highest achieving middle school in the district on the 2009 grade 8 ELA MCAS test. School A had only a slightly smaller percentage of proficient students and both schools achieved at a slightly higher level than students statewide.

 

We may also ask, what was the distribution of median student growth percentiles across the schools in the district?

 

In this case, School B had the lowest median growth percentile of the three middle schools; however, the growth was within the “moderate growth” range of 40-60. Schools A and C both grew at rates slightly above the “moderate” range.

 

Finally, what was the relationship between achievement and growth across the schools in the district?

 

We can see that School B was the lowest achieving middle school in the district in grade 8 ELA and also had the lowest median growth percentile. Conversely, schools A and C were high achieving and grew at a slightly higher than “moderate” rate.

Slide 9

[pic]

There are many resources in the Education Data Warehouse that are designed to help you effectively use student growth and achievement data to improve teaching and learning in your school and district. In addition to this video, there two other videos to help you understand student growth percentiles and how to interpret growth reports in the Education Data Warehouse.

Additionally, DW203 Using MCAS Student Growth Percentiles is a new course to the existing data warehouse curriculum. Other resources that specifically address the growth data are available on the ESE’s website.

Slide 10

[pic]

During this video we discussed the structure and function of the Scatter Plot growth reports and the types of questions that can be answered through the interpretation of the data in the Scatter Plot reports.

Now it’s important for you to take action using your new capabilities and understanding. Take a few minutes to answer the questions in the “Now What” section. Your responses will help guide your next steps toward building a culture of data use in your school and/or district.

Slide 11

[pic]

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download