Massachusetts has developed a statistically valid method of measuring growth in student, group, school, and district performance over time. The growth model complements the MCAS year-by-year test scores, since it reports change over time rather than grade-level performance results in any one year.
Many folks have asked what resources are available in order to help educate staff, parents, and others on this new way of reporting on student achievement. The folks at ESE have provided a letter to educators from the Commissioner which provides additional details about the growth model. A similar letter for parents will be included in the student MCAS reports this fall.
There is an entire page on the ESE Web site devoted to the Growth Model, including a variety of documents and videos. Additional resources from the ESE will be posted on the Growth page as they are made available.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Save Time! Running Reports in the Background
Many of you have been looking at 2010 preliminary ELA reports in the data warehouse since earlier this summer, and may also have accessed the preliminary roster reports for all subjects from your Security Portal drop boxes.
The Data Warehouse welcome screen informs us that the reports for Math and Science are available as of today. But you're not the only one who's excited and ready to jump in and run reports! Obviously this is a very busy time for Data Warehouse use across the state. Even though upgrades have been made to the Data Warehouse servers over the last year, you may still encounter delays in performance while waiting for reports to run.
The solution? Learn to run reports "in the background" (also sometimes called "batch mode.") In this way, you set your reports up to run, but don't have to watch the hourglass spin on your screen while they do so. Reports are delivered to your My Folders or District Folders area in the desired format (PDF, Excel, or HTML.) This simple instruction sheet (Running Data Warehouse Reports in the Background) will walk you through the process.
The Data Warehouse welcome screen informs us that the reports for Math and Science are available as of today. But you're not the only one who's excited and ready to jump in and run reports! Obviously this is a very busy time for Data Warehouse use across the state. Even though upgrades have been made to the Data Warehouse servers over the last year, you may still encounter delays in performance while waiting for reports to run.
The solution? Learn to run reports "in the background" (also sometimes called "batch mode.") In this way, you set your reports up to run, but don't have to watch the hourglass spin on your screen while they do so. Reports are delivered to your My Folders or District Folders area in the desired format (PDF, Excel, or HTML.) This simple instruction sheet (Running Data Warehouse Reports in the Background) will walk you through the process.
R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster: A Universally Useful Report
I'm often asked, "What reports do you think are most useful?" Of course, the answer depends on the question you are trying to answer with data!
However, one report that is extremely useful and efficient is the R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster report. This report provides a roster of students with information about performance level, scaled score, and the student's individual test item performance (including strand and question type) for a particular test. For 2010, this report also includes the SGP (student growth percentile) for each student.
Hyperlinks within the report allow you to click through to the test item iself as well as additional student detail. If you save the report as PDF, those links will remain in place (although a person would need to have data warehouse access to click through to the student detail reports.)
Note that while other 600-level (student) reports often result in a single page (or more) per student, this report is unique in that it provides efficient access to student data in a roster format.
Also note that even though the data warehouse doesn't provide reports at the classroom level, the roster of students for R-616 can be customized to reflect a single classroom of students. Simply use your mouse to select the students you'd like to include in the report (you'll see this in the second step of running the report) to customize the report for a classroom, intervention group, or other subgroup.
However, one report that is extremely useful and efficient is the R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster report. This report provides a roster of students with information about performance level, scaled score, and the student's individual test item performance (including strand and question type) for a particular test. For 2010, this report also includes the SGP (student growth percentile) for each student.
Hyperlinks within the report allow you to click through to the test item iself as well as additional student detail. If you save the report as PDF, those links will remain in place (although a person would need to have data warehouse access to click through to the student detail reports.)
Note that while other 600-level (student) reports often result in a single page (or more) per student, this report is unique in that it provides efficient access to student data in a roster format.
Also note that even though the data warehouse doesn't provide reports at the classroom level, the roster of students for R-616 can be customized to reflect a single classroom of students. Simply use your mouse to select the students you'd like to include in the report (you'll see this in the second step of running the report) to customize the report for a classroom, intervention group, or other subgroup.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Student Claiming: A Good Idea
I've posted on this topic previously, but wanted to remind folks about student claiming again, as the start of the school year approaches.
By default, the Education Data Warehouse allows schools and districts to access MCAS records for tests they administered only. The student claiming process enables schools and districts to access to ALL historical MCAS data for their enrolled students, regardless of where the test was taken.
This means that Data Warehouse users will be able to view historical data for students who are new to the district OR new to a school. For instance, a middle school principal would (by default) only be able to view test data for students who took the MCAS at the middle school. After the student claiming process has been completed, he or she would be able to access the 5th grade data for students entering from the elementary school as well as data for students who have come in from other districts.
Generally, the student claiming process is handled by the person in your district who manages the SIMS data (who is likely very busy at the start of the school year!) Additional information on the student claiming process can be found at the end of Chapter 3: Basic Access of the EDW User Guide.
By default, the Education Data Warehouse allows schools and districts to access MCAS records for tests they administered only. The student claiming process enables schools and districts to access to ALL historical MCAS data for their enrolled students, regardless of where the test was taken.
This means that Data Warehouse users will be able to view historical data for students who are new to the district OR new to a school. For instance, a middle school principal would (by default) only be able to view test data for students who took the MCAS at the middle school. After the student claiming process has been completed, he or she would be able to access the 5th grade data for students entering from the elementary school as well as data for students who have come in from other districts.
Generally, the student claiming process is handled by the person in your district who manages the SIMS data (who is likely very busy at the start of the school year!) Additional information on the student claiming process can be found at the end of Chapter 3: Basic Access of the EDW User Guide.
Spots available in Data Warehouse Refresher course 8/26 at READS Collaborative
Thursday, August 26
Data Warehouse Refresher
READS Collaborative (8:30-11:30), Middleborough
Registration Contact: Mary Keeler @ READS Collaborative, mkeeler@readscollab.org
This session is intended for staff who have had previous Data Warehouse training (or have explored it independently) but need additional support in the use of this tool. The workshop will provide a structured environment in which to explore data using the pre-defined reports in the Data Warehouse, including the new Growth Model reports. Participants will access their own district or school’s data, get time-saving tips, and will have an opportunity to run and save reports for use in planning for the 2010-2011 school year.
Data Warehouse Refresher
READS Collaborative (8:30-11:30), Middleborough
Registration Contact: Mary Keeler @ READS Collaborative, mkeeler@readscollab.org
This session is intended for staff who have had previous Data Warehouse training (or have explored it independently) but need additional support in the use of this tool. The workshop will provide a structured environment in which to explore data using the pre-defined reports in the Data Warehouse, including the new Growth Model reports. Participants will access their own district or school’s data, get time-saving tips, and will have an opportunity to run and save reports for use in planning for the 2010-2011 school year.
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