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Understanding the Data
Overview of "Relative Progress" and "Achievement"
This report enables you to assess trends in relative progress and achievement in the districts that you have access to.
Relative Progress is the difference between students' entering and exiting achievement. You have two options for how to display relative progress data, and you can view both at once, if you prefer.
- The relative progress indicator is the color-coded bar that plots the relative progress index in the context of expected relative progress.
- The columns of Relative Progress data include key metrics related to students' relative progress, such as the relative progress measure, its standard error, and the relative progress 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 relative progress 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 relative progress and achievement, see Concept of Relative Progress.
Relative Progress IndicatorEach relative progress index is plotted on a color-coded relative progress indicator bar to indicate the amount of statistical evidence we have that the district meets, exceeds, or falls short of Expected Relative Progress. Expected Relative ProgressExpected Relative progress indicates the amount of relative progress the group of students must make to maintain their entering achievement. For more information, see Understanding Relative Progress.
| Figure: Sample report. The colors might be different in your reports.
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Definitions of Column Headings
Relative Progress Columns
Use relative progress 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 relative progress columns and links to more in-depth information.
| Column Name | Glossary Definition | Where to Find More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Progress Index | An indicator of the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected relative progress. | Understanding the Relative Progress Index |
| Relative Progress Measure | A conservative estimate of the relative progress that students made, on average, in a grade and subject or course. | Relative Progress Measures And Standard Errors |
| Standard Error | A measurement that establishes a confidence band around the relative progress measure and describes the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected relative progress. | Relative Progress Measures And Standard Errors |
| Distribution of Relative Progress Measure | A value that represents where the relative progress measure for the group of students falls in the distribution for this assessment. | Understanding the Relative Progress Measure Distribution |
| Student Count | The number of students included in the analysis. | Understanding the Student Count |
Achievement Columns
Use achievement data to:
- Observe shifts in entering achievement for different groups of students over the years
- Identify patterns of effectiveness with students at differing levels of entering 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Entering Achievement and Exiting Achievement | Depending on the assessment, achievement is reported in Normal Curve Equivalents (NCEs) or scale scores.
| Understanding Entering Achievement and Exiting Achievement |
| Entering Achievement Percentile | The entering achievement for the group of students relative to the overall distribution for this assessment. | Understanding Entering Achievement Percentile |
| Student Count | The number of students included in the analysis. | Understanding the Student Count |
How the Colors Are Assigned
The model generates relative progress measures and standard errors. You can see rounded versions of these numbers by selecting the Relative Progress Measure and Standard Error columns under Data to Display. We calculate each relative progress index by dividing the unrounded relative progress measure by the unrounded standard error. We assign colors to relative progress indexes based on how far the indexes are from expected relative progress.
| Color | Relative Progress Index Compared to Expected Relative Progress | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Well Above | At least 2 standard errors above | Significant evidence that the students made more relative progress than expected. |
| Above | Between 1 and 2 standard errors above | Moderate evidence that the students made more relative progress than expected. |
| Meets | Between 1 standard error above and 1 standard error below | Evidence that the students made relative progress as expected. |
| Below | Between 1 and 2 standard errors below | Moderate evidence that the students made less relative progress than expected. |
| Well Below | More than 2 standard errors below | Significant evidence that the students made less relative progress than expected. |