The data sgp system provides students, educators and administrators with tools to understand student growth trajectories and to inform instructional and planning efforts. The data sgp system is designed to be simple and straightforward, and most errors associated with SGP analyses stem back to improper or incomplete data preparation. Therefore, before conducting SGP analysis it is important to familiarize yourself with the data sgp documentation and vignettes and to follow the recommended process for data preparation.
SGP scores are reported on a scale of 1-99, indicating relative ranking of students’ growth among their academic peers. Higher numbers indicate that students grew more than, less than or about as much as expected.
Student growth projections are based on historical growth trajectories for all students who take a given Star test, and are calculated using a variety of statistical models including regression analyses and hierarchical linear modeling. The SGP system uses these projections to generate projected scores for each student, identifying the range of possible future achievement levels a student could reach given their current level of performance.
A student’s SGP score is calculated by comparing their performance on the most recent assessment in a particular testing window to their SGP score from an earlier assessment taken in that same window. For this reason, SGP scores are sometimes referred to as “current” SGPs. The most current SGP for a student can be viewed in their Star assessment results by selecting the appropriate time frame from the Timeframe drop-down list.
SGP results are provided for individual students in two formats: Window Specific SGP, which compares a student’s growth across multiple time frames, and Current SGP, which displays the most recent SGP available for a student as a quick check-in on their progression of growth. In the example sgpData_LONG data set below, the first column (ID) provides the unique student identifier and each subsequent column indicates the content area in which a student is assessed, the year of the assessment, and the date of the assessment.
The sgpData_INSTRUCTOR_NUMBER lookup table is also included in this data set and contains instructor details associated with each student’s test record. This is an important element of the SGP system as it enables educators to identify their instructional colleagues and use their SGPs in their SLO development and continuous improvement processes. Educators may also share their students’ SGPs with parents to enrich the picture of their progress. Administrators may utilize SGPs to guide district-wide initiatives. All users are encouraged to review the SGP documentation and vignettes before conducting their own analyses and to contact us for assistance. We are happy to help! SGPs are only as good as the data used to create them, so we look forward to working with you to make sure that your data is of the highest quality. Thank you for your continued support!
