Data SGP is a free and open software application designed to analyze and visualize student growth percentiles and teacher effectiveness scores from Renaissance Star assessments. This tool enables districts to compare their students’ performance relative to academic peers across the state while educators use this resource to identify those not making sufficient academic progress who may require extra support within their classrooms.
Educators should leverage SGP data to recognize students’ remarkable growth, particularly if they are close to or have reached grade-level proficiency. Furthermore, it should be communicated clearly with stakeholders regarding what this measure measures and its calculations; unfortunately SGPs only measure test score data and do not capture other forms of student development such as social-emotional skills or creativity.
Research supports the validity and utility of Student Growth Profiles (SGPs), but there has also been some discussion surrounding their effects on teachers and schools. Critics contend that SGP models are flawed and may discriminate against low-income communities or students with disabilities, while supporters have said it provides useful, timely data that informs instructional decisions.
While opinions differ greatly on the value of SGPs, there are certain facts we know for certain:
The SGP Model is a sophisticated statistical analysis tool used by educators to monitor student progress towards mastery of grade-level standards. The model utilizes up to two years of MCAS data, and uses quantile regression – a statistical process which groups together academic peers who scored similarly on an assessment before using a mathematical formula to calculate growth percentiles for individual students.
An SGP score of 63 indicates that their performance has placed them in the 63rd percentile in terms of academic growth, relative to their peers. This measurement can provide valuable information both individually and school systems as it allows teachers and administrators to identify students not making enough progress and offer targeted instruction designed to close any gaps.
There are various steps that must be completed in order to run SGP analyses with data sgp:
Preparing data for Student Growth Percentile calculations begins by creating a file containing student information and percentile growth for every assessment administered over the past year, in its proper format and including 7 required variables such as VALID_CASE, CONTENT_AREA, YEAR, ID, SCALE_SCORE GRADE LEVEL ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL. Furthermore, an instructor lookup file (sgpData_INSTRUCTOR_NUMBER) is associated with each student record in this file.
