Score reporting for the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) has always provided valuable insights into student learning and progress over time. However, fully illustrating student growth has been a challenge. Two students could see the same increases in scores across the same period, but if they have different starting scores, it’s hard to say that both students are growing at the same rate. Because of this, CTP users have long been asking for a simple way to understand student growth and to make peer-to-peer comparisons within each year.
To meet this demand, ERB has introduced a new feature to score reporting on 360 Access called Growth Percentiles. While the CTP has always measured students longitudinally, Growth Percentiles now provide a convenient and effective way to interpret student progress. Educators will now be able to understand student growth percentiles on a scale from 1-99, with interpretations of how much growth these values represent in terms of a year’s worth of learning.
Growth Percentiles assist schools in the following ways:
- Measure growth for students with different starting and ending points, at different grade levels, and on different subtests.
- Interpret growth relative to years of learning: How much should this student be expected to grow in a given year, and how much have they actually grown?
- Quantify growth on a scale from 1-99, enabling educators to easily understand and compare different levels of growth across students.
- View a scatter plot that compares CTP norms and student growth percentiles for each student, helping educators interpret their students’ growth in the context of their learning achievement.
- Identify students who need support or enrichment and those who are on track.
What are Growth Percentiles?
Growth Percentiles measure approximately how much a student has grown academically compared to their peers with similar previous scores. They’re scored from 1 to 99, with higher percentiles indicating greater growth. Included with Growth Percentiles is an interpretation of how much growth each student has experienced since their last test in terms of years: less than a year of growth, a year, or more than a year.
How are Growth Percentiles Reported?
On ERB’s 360 Access platform, you’ll find a new option labeled “Student Growth”. This section provides an interactive roster of Growth Percentile results, allowing educators to filter, sort, and download student lists. You can also click on individual students to view their complete Growth Percentile history.
Additionally, educators can visualize each student’s Growth Percentiles on a scatter plot that compares student progress side-by-side with their learning achievement.
For Which ERB Tests Are Growth Percentiles Available?
Growth Percentiles are available for every CTP subtest for any student who has tested in consecutive years.
What Data Were Used to Calculate Growth Percentiles?
Growth Percentiles were calculated using longitudinal data from multiple cohorts of CTP test takers. With these extensive datasets, ERB was able to accurately estimate growth percentiles for every score trajectory.
What’s the Benefit of Using Growth Percentiles to Track Student Progress?
Growth Percentiles provide a clear picture of growth for students with different starting and ending points. They help educators identify students who may need additional support, those who could benefit from enrichment, and those who are on track.
How Should I Use Growth Percentiles?
Educators should incorporate Growth Percentiles with other student growth and learning indicators to determine the best ways to support individual students or groups. Focusing on students who are not achieving at least a year’s worth of growth is especially important. We recommend analyzing their content mastery scores and item performance to identify specific gaps in learning. Additionally, ERB’s Check-In Survey and SelfWise inventory can provide insights into well-being and social-emotional factors that may influence their growth trajectory.
What’s Coming Next?
In the future, ERB plans to provide growth percentiles for Milestones test takers alongside our CTP growth percentiles, enabling educators to chart progress at multiple points throughout the academic year.
Join the webinar
Insights in Action – New Reporting Tools in 360 Access for CTP
Thursday, December 17, 2024 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT
ERB is hosting a webinar to introduce member schools to the new Student Growth section of 360 Access and show them how to leverage Growth Percentiles when building their curriculum and making decisions.
With Student Growth Percentiles, ERB offers educators a powerful tool that captures the nuances of growth over time, taking into account each student’s unique starting and ending point. This allows schools to not only recognize individual achievement but also strategically identify students who could benefit from more support. With Growth Percentiles, educators gain a clear picture of student development, allowing for more informed decisions that help unlock each student’s potential.
Learn more about how your school can use CTP and Milestones to gather data and inform your curriculum and decision-making.
