1. Using the WV Growth Model to Measure Student Achievement Nate Hixson Assistant Director, Office of Research

2. WV Growth Model 1.Background 2.Partnership with NCIEA 3.Status vs. growth 4.Key questions addressed by the model 5.Limitations 6.Using school growth data Introductory paper available at: http://tinyurl.com/WVgrowthmodel

3. Background – Why do we even care about student growth? » Federal landscape » Answering new questions about student performance » Research and evaluation » Making testing information more accessible and useful

4. Overview of Partnership with NCIEA – National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment (NCIEA) » Mission is to help increase student achievement through improving assessment and accountability. » Works with states to refine policy and practice around assessment. – Who is Dr. Damian Betebenner? » Senior Associate at NCIEA » Architect of the Colorado Growth Model » Methodological consultant for WV Growth Model

5. Features of the WV Model – Status vs. growth – Key questions addressed by model – Limitations – Uses of data

6. Status vs. Growth – Status: A snapshot of student performance on a single day. Answers the question: “Is the student proficient?” – Growth: A longitudinal view of student performance over time. Answers the questions: “How much did the student gain when compared with her/his academic peers?” and “Is it sufficient for her/him to reach or maintain proficiency?”

7. Status and Growth A Balanced Approach Low GrowthHigh Growth Quadrant 2 Is believed not to require improvement because declining student growth is not recognized under status model Quadrant 3 Does not require improvement and is a potential site of interest for best practices Quadrant 1 Legitimately requires improvement Quadrant 4 Is believed to require improvement because high rates of growth are not recognized under the current status model. May be a potential site of interest for best practices. High Performing (Status) Low Performing (Status)

8. Two Key Questions Addressed by the Model What level of academic growth do individual students in WV exhibit? (Normative Component) Is the amount of individual growth exhibited, adequate for a student to achieve or maintain mastery of the state’s CSOs within a reasonable period of time? (Criterion Component)

9. How Much Growth? – Question 1... » What level of academic growth do individual students in WV exhibit? Step 1 – Build cohorts of students with similar academic histories. » Look at all prior test data » No demographic data are used

10. How Much Growth? Step 2 – calculate SGPs for students in each cohort » Tells us about the likelihood of a student’s growth given the performance of other members of her/his cohort » Outputs a percentile rank for each student in each content area (i.e., RLA/Math) » The growth of a group of students (e.g., school, subgroup, etc.) can be summarized using the median SGP

11. Is it Enough? – Question 2... » Is the amount of individual growth exhibited adequate for a student to achieve or maintain mastery of the state’s CSOs within a reasonable period of time? Step 1 – Apply the SGP forward » If growth is sustained at its current level what will be the outcome for the student? » What level of growth is necessary to reach proficiency or beyond? – What’s the target?

12. Is it Enough? If the student is currently proficient… and the SGP indicates s/he will maintain mastery Keeping Up and the SGP indicates s/he will decline below mastery Falling Behind and the SGP indicates s/he will reach above mastery or distinguished Moving Up If the student is not currently proficient… and the SGP indicates s/he will reach mastery Catching Up and the SGP indicates s/he will stay below mastery? Stay Behind

13. Limitations of the Model – Not a panacea or magic bullet » Has to operate in context of accountability and SIG requirements. – For whom can we calculate growth? » Only students in grades 4 – 11, in tested subjects » Students must have at least 2 consecutive scores » We are starting with only RLA and Math Vertically articulated content is relatively smooth across grade levels » Model relies on standardized assessment data

14. Using School Growth Data – School Improvement – Research and Evaluation – Accountability – Informing Instructional Decisions – Informing Stakeholders

15. Thank You Nate Hixson (nhixson@access.k12.wv.us)nhixson@access.k12.wv.us Assistant Director Office of Research