What is Data SGP?
Data sgp is a collection of resources to help with analyzing data associated with student growth percentiles (SGP). Data SGP analyses are designed to be straightforward and easy. Analyses conducted by our team and the statewide community all follow a two step process: 1) Data preparation and 2) Data analysis. Any errors that arise during the analyses generally revert back to issues related to data preparation. Therefore, we encourage districts to spend significant time on data preparation before beginning any operational SGP analyses.
SGP data are generated from MCAS results and provide information about students’ performance relative to their academic peers statewide on a given test section of the MCAS. They are intended to supplement existing reports for teachers and administrators, and provide a more comprehensive picture of students’ learning. These reports are based on statistical models and comparisons of student performance to previous assessment administrations. They provide information about a student’s achievement level and the extent to which they are growing.
A student may have different SGPs for different content areas, and for the same or different MCAS assessments. This is due to the fact that students are compared to their academic peers with similar score histories, and relative performance is determined by comparing a student’s current assessment result to their achievement levels on previous MCAS tests in the same subject area.
For example, a student with a score of 400 on the MCAS test in English language arts (ELA) this year would have an SGP of 60 because they were compared to their academic peers who achieved scores of 400 in ELA on previous MCAS exams and their progress was determined by the difference between those two results.
A common question we hear from schools is how to interpret the data and what it means for a particular student. We have created a series of guides that are meant to help with reading and interpreting the data, and understanding the differences between traditional achievement reports and SGPs.
The first guide explains what the SGP report means for a student and how it can be used to inform decision making. The other guides are intended to help educators and school leaders use their SGP reports to identify student growth opportunities and guide continuous improvement efforts.
We have also created a number of data tools that help with SGP analysis and visualization. The tools can be accessed by navigating to the “Data” tab on the BAA secure site and selecting the appropriate tool. We also have podcasts that are available to walk you through the process of using the data tools.