Using Student Growth Percentiles in Educator Evaluation

The folks at ESE recently released several Implementation Briefs focused on timely questions regarding District Determined Measures and Student Impact Ratings. One of these briefs focuses on the question, "How do districts use median Student Growth Percentile in the evaluation of teachers and administrators?" Many of the questions we have been asking about this use of SGP are addressed in this brief, including clarification about determining which teachers (and administrators) should use SGP as part of their Student Impact Rating determination.

While the median growth score for a group of students is the measure used, it is also very valuable to for an educator to examine the distribution of their students' MCAS growth and performance scores. In Edwin Analytics, we can look at a scatter plot of growth and performance by grade level, but no such report exists at this time for a classroom set of students. Creating this type of plot by hand can be very valuable in helping an educator explore classroom-level growth data in a reflective way.

Here's a link back to the activity (originally posted in August 2012, so the references are to EDW rather than Edwin Analytics) which gives some suggestions for facilitation along with a blank scatter plot and other resources: http://southeastdata.blogspot.com/2012/08/exploring-classroom-growth-data.html. I believe this is a valuable exercise as we talk about SGP in the context of educator evaluation - grounding the overall median score in reflection and explanation!

Exploring Classroom Growth Data

The "Exploring Classroom Growth Data" activity I posted last fall invites educators to engage with student growth and performance data by creating a scatter plot for a given group of students. I've used this activity extensively with teachers throughout the year and I know others out there have done the same. I wanted to post a link back to the activity and accompanying instructions for those who would like to use it this fall to help educators explore and engage with student growth data at the classroom level.

http://southeastdata.blogspot.com/2012/08/exploring-classroom-growth-data.html 

Additional Guidance on District-Determined Measures

As part of the Commonwealth's new educator evaluation system, districts will be required to identify and administer a district-wide set of student performance measures for each grade/subject that "permit a comparison of student learning gains." Where MCAS student growth percentile (SGP) exists, regulations state that it must be used as one of these measures, but it will be up to districts to identify/develop additional measures of student learning gains for many grades and subjects.

(You may recall a previous blog post about an activity designed to help teachers engage with and reflect on classroom-level growth data...I continue to use this activity with very positive responses from teacher teams!)

ESE has recently released a Quick Reference Guide on District-Determined Measures (along with QRG's on other EdEval topics) which summarizes the regulations and timeline related to the implementation of DDM's for all districts in Massachusetts. Additional guidance on the identification and selection of DDM's and related topics is scheduled for release later this Spring.

Exploring Classroom Growth Data

A favorite EDW report of many folks is the GR601 report, the Student Growth Scatter Plot. It displays a dot for each student showing his or her SGP (x-axis) and scaled score (y-axis) for a given MCAS test for an entire grade level. Wouldn't it be great to have this same scatter plot for a single classroom of students? There isn't currently an EDW report like this, but creating one by hand is a fantastic exercise for engaging with student data, particularly since student growth data is a piece of Massachusetts' new Educator Evaluation model.

You'll need a student data set (scaled score and SGP for each student for a given test) and a blank copy of the scatterplot document. I've written out some more detailed guidance for those that are interested, but this could be as formal or informal an activity as you like, as long as the participants have a working knowledge of SGP and how it is determined. Creating this type of graph by hand provides an opportunity for teachers to really engage with the data, student by student, and to reflect on the story the data tells for both individual students as well as groups or classrooms.

The activity I am sharing has evolved over time, and I would like to acknowledge Paula O'Sullivan (Data Specialist, Greater Boston DSAC), Mary Fredrickson (Assessment Specialist, Quincy Public Schools), and the educators at the Marguerite E. Small School in Yarmouth for their contributions to the development and refinement of this activity and related materials. I would love to hear from you (laura.tilton@dsacma.org) if you give this activity a try - feedback is always welcome!