Data SGP is an analysis tool for the statistical software environment R. It is open source with extensive online resources to assist newcomers. It requires a computer running Windows or OSX and an internet connection for software download and data input. It can be run from the command line or as a Python script and is designed to support educational assessment data analysis. It is recommended that users familiarize themselves with the resources and documentation available for this tool prior to conducting any analyses.
A student’s academic progress can be assessed using many different measures including standardized test scores and growth percentiles. These growth percentiles indicate a student’s relative performance to their peers. For example, a student with a 75 growth percentage shows that they have performed better than about 75% of their peers on the most recent assessment. These metrics are important for assessing students’ progress and helping teachers and administrators identify areas for improvement. They also provide useful information for evaluating schools/districts and support broader research initiatives.
To calculate a growth percentage, a student’s raw score from a previous year’s assessment is compared to the raw score on this year’s assessment. A higher raw score indicates more achievement, while a lower score indicates less achievement. The relative performance of a student is then compared to the average (median) for the state and the district. This provides educators with a more accurate picture of a student’s performance.
The first column in the sgpData spreadsheet provides each student with a unique ID that is used throughout all of the SGP functions. The next 5 columns (SSS_2013, SSS_2014, SSS_2015, SSS_2016, and SSS_2017) provide the student’s assessment score for each of the five years available. In order to calculate a growth percentage, all of these values must be available.
Lastly, the sgpData_INSTRUCTOR_NUMBER column is used to identify the instructor for each of the students that has a test record. This is used by the lower level function studentGrowthPercentiles and is required for all operational SGP analyses. The higher level wrapper functions studentGrowthProjections and abcSGP also utilize this information to simplify the source code associated with these analyses.
Data sgp is the aggregated set of student performance data collected over time that teachers and administrators use to make decisions about instruction and assessment. It includes individual-level measures like test scores and growth percentiles as well as aggregated data at the school and district levels such as class size and attendance rates. Data sgp helps teachers and administrators identify student learning needs, inform classroom practices, evaluate schools/districts, and support broader research initiatives. Data sgp is the foundation of the Michigan Student Growth Portfolio, a statewide system of student data that is accessible and transparent to parents and educators. It is available for free through the Michigan Department of Education’s website. The Michigan Department of Education has provided a series of short podcasts to help educators understand and use data sgp.
