How to Interpret the AP Teacher Report

The Top of the Report This is what you will see at the top of the report. This section provides multiple years of data score information (if applicable). This is the number that will go on the VAM/data score portion of the summative evaluation.

Body of the Report (Full-Year Student) Full-year student - Refers to whether or not the student is considered to have been a full year student. Only full-year students are included in the VAM/data score calculation, indicated with a ‘Y’. Full-year student rule (determined by the state DOE) - A student needs to be in the same school during survey period 2 (October) and survey period 3 (February). Please note that the rule doesn’t state that the student needs to have the same teacher for both surveys, rather that they need to be in the same school. The same full-year student rule is used for state- generated VAM, district-generated data scores and school grades.

Full-Year Student Example

Prior FCAT Prior FCAT rule - We provide the prior FCAT level in the report to provide teachers information on the extent to which, if at all, the prior FCAT level was taken into account in the calculation. Please consult the formula for your specific type of test for more information. The weighting is as follows: The weighting provides protection for the teacher. The use of previous FCAT attempts to level the playing field between teachers whose students may have done less well on the FCAT and those whose students tended to score in the higher levels. The vast majority of courses use the most recent previous reading FCAT score for the student. Mathematics-based courses use the most recently available math FCAT. If a student does not have a previous FCAT score, he or she is not used in the calculation.

Attendance Rate Attendance Rate - The attendance rate is the percentage of time that the student was in school. We do not use number of days; rather the percentage of days the student was present. 170 out of 180 days = 94% or .94 We provide the attendance rate in the report to provide teachers information on the extent to which, if at all, the rate was taken into account in the calculation. Please consult the formula for your specific type of test for more information. Incorporating the attendance rate provides protection for the teacher. The use of the attendance rate attempts to level the playing field between teachers whose students tend to be absent more often and those whose students tend to have better attendance.

Weighting Factor The weighting factor is the combination of the prior FCAT level with the attendance rate. Weighting Factor = Weighting x Attendance Rate Please consult the formula for your specific type of test for more information. The weighting factor combines the various variables used in the formula into one number.

AP Result The AP result column lets you know whether or not the student passed the AP exam. Please consult the formula for your specific type of test for more information.

I see an “X” in some boxes. What does that mean? If a student has an X in a box, that means that a piece of information for that student was not available. If a student has an X in the box for any column, he or she is not included in the calculation of the data score. X in the Prior FCAT column - There was no prior FCAT information available. Example - Student moved here from Georgia. If a student has an X in this column, he or she is not included in the calculation of the data score. X in the Weighting Factor column- Since a previous FCAT level was not available, no weighting factor could be calculated. If a student has an X in this column, he or she is not included in the calculation of the data score. X in the DDA Result column- There is no DDA result on file for the student. If a student has an X in this column, he or she is not included in the calculation of the data score.