The data sgp tool is a free software application that allows districts to analyze their longitudinal student assessment data using the R statistical programming language. The application is designed to provide educational leadership, teacher and staff with an analytical tool to identify areas for improvement and support the achievement of all students. It also serves as a powerful teaching and learning resource for students and educators.
SGP analyses utilize a combination of student and teacher covariates to isolate the effect of students’ prior test scores on their current performance, avoiding the problems associated with correlations between teacher and student characteristics and student assessment results. This approach provides insight that can be used to improve instructional practices, support educator evaluative systems and contribute to broader research initiatives.
An SGP places a student’s score growth in the context of other students with similar prior test scores. For example, Simon’s sixth grade test scores are compared to the performance of other students who had fifth grade test scores that were similar to his. This process is repeated for each of the five grades for which data are available.
The resulting growth percentages help educators gain a more complete picture of each student’s progress, allowing them to pinpoint areas for improvement more accurately than traditional metrics such as mean, median and mode scores do. These new insights can help educators focus their instruction on the most pressing needs, differentiate classroom instruction for high-performing students and monitor the progress of struggling students.
In addition, by identifying how much each student must grow in order to meet an achievement target SGPs can assist teachers in setting effective goals for students. In turn, this can allow for more accurate assessments of educator effectiveness by identifying those teachers who are making the most positive impact on student achievement.
As an added benefit, SGPs can serve as a powerful tool for demonstrating student learning to parents. SGPs can be shared with parents during meetings and conferences, enabling educators to communicate clearly and concisely how each student is progressing toward achieving academic goals. Additionally, the information provided by SGPs can be incorporated into educator Student Learning Objectives to support district and school improvement efforts. Lastly, SGPs can provide insight to administrators when making budget decisions. They can help identify cost-effective ways to deliver quality education while increasing student performance. This can ultimately lead to higher state and district performance. By helping all students succeed, SGPs are an important tool for preparing them for the future.