Data sgp is a database with various information about students’ academic performance, which teachers can use to determine how well their students are doing and how much they need to grow. Its usefulness for educators cannot be overstated, as it can help them identify areas that need improvement and provide them with the necessary tools to make their classrooms more effective.
The SGP package includes a set of classes, functions and data that allow users to calculate student growth percentiles and growth projections/trajectories using large scale, longitudinal education assessment data. This is accomplished through the use of quantile regression to estimate the conditional density associated with each individual student’s achievement history and then utilizing the derived coefficient matrix to produce percentile growth projections/trajectories.
In order to run SGP analyses, the user must have access to a computer running R, which is free software that can be downloaded for Windows, OSX and Linux. This requires some familiarity with the program as well as some time to learn how to properly prepare educational assessment data for analysis. However, if done correctly, SGP analyses are fairly straightforward and any errors that may arise tend to revert back to data preparation issues rather than analysis itself.
SGPs are calculated from longitudinal, standardized test score data to provide a more accurate picture of a student’s growth than unadjusted scores alone. SGPs compare a student to their academic peers, which are defined as all students in the same grade and assessment subject who have similar previous assessment score paths. Thus, a student’s growth percentage represents how much they grew relative to their academic peers.
It is important to note that SGPs do not take into account student characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status and special education needs. As a result, SGPs should be viewed as only one part of a holistic assessment system and not used as the sole measure of a student’s progress.
For this reason, it is important to consider other factors when evaluating student performance such as teacher practice and the learning environment. Additionally, it is essential to consider the validity and reliability of the assessments being used when analyzing SGPs.
The SGP package has been designed to be flexible and is compatible with a variety of educational assessment systems. In addition to its primary function of calculating student growth percentiles, the SGP package contains additional functionality that allows users to examine the data underpinning their projections/trajectories as well as conduct multiple comparisons between groups of students.
To learn more about the SGP package, its features and functionality, please visit the SGP homepage. This page also contains links to many examples of uses for the SGP package. If you have questions about the SGP package, feel free to contact us at sgp@cti.edu. We are happy to help!