The Power of Two:The Power of Two:

Achievement and ProgressAchievement and Progress

The Achievement LensThe Achievement Lens• Provides a measure of what students

know and are able to do relative to the Ohio standards, benchmarks and grade level indicators.

• Achievement tests are an important measure of the academic learning students have accumulated since birth.

• Creates a set of criteria for a statewide accountability system.

• Provides a measure of what students know and are able to do relative to the Ohio standards, benchmarks and grade level indicators.

• Achievement tests are an important measure of the academic learning students have accumulated since birth.

• Creates a set of criteria for a statewide accountability system.

The Fit between Achievement Measures

and Accountability Criteria is Critical

The Fit between Achievement Measures

and Accountability Criteria is Critical

Coleman ReportColeman Report

“[S]chools bring little influence to bear upon a child’s achievement that is independent of his background and general social context” (Coleman et al., 1966, p. 325)

“[S]chools bring little influence to bear upon a child’s achievement that is independent of his background and general social context” (Coleman et al., 1966, p. 325)

Issues that arise as we connect Achievement and

Accountability

Issues that arise as we connect Achievement and

Accountability • Different starting points require different growth rates.• A judgment of school quality is flawed if it is

based solely on the achievement levels of its students.

• Problematic diagnostic value• What part of academic achievement is due to

SES and what part is due to the school?

• Achievement Targets tend to motivate students and teachers who are within reach of those targets.

• Different starting points require different growth rates.• A judgment of school quality is flawed if it is

based solely on the achievement levels of its students.

• Problematic diagnostic value• What part of academic achievement is due to

SES and what part is due to the school?

• Achievement Targets tend to motivate students and teachers who are within reach of those targets.

Proficiency Bar — 75% passage rate

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Grade Levels

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

High SES school

Low SES school

The Progress LensThe Progress Lens• Uses existing achievement

measures to do the analysis.• Reliable measure of student

academic growth from one test to the next, i.e., spring to spring.

• Substantial diagnostic value as well as accountability value.

• Uses existing achievement measures to do the analysis.

• Reliable measure of student academic growth from one test to the next, i.e., spring to spring.

• Substantial diagnostic value as well as accountability value.

Information provided by Progress Measures

Information provided by Progress Measures

• The average progress of students in each subject and grade level.

• The average progress of students at different prior achievement levels.

• Comparisons of progress across curricular areas.

• Individual student progress relative to the state and federal benchmarks.

• The average progress of students in each subject and grade level.

• The average progress of students at different prior achievement levels.

• Comparisons of progress across curricular areas.

• Individual student progress relative to the state and federal benchmarks.

What has been learned from research using progress measures.

What has been learned from research using progress measures.

Research NuggetsResearch NuggetsTeachers matter• The difference between having a high and

a low quality teacher 3 years in a row is roughly 50 percentile points.

• Differences within schools are typically greater than differences across schools.

• Only the most effective teachers - the top 20 per cent – are providing instruction that produces adequate gain in high-achieving students, while students in the lower achievement levels profit from all but the least effective teachers.

Teachers matter• The difference between having a high and

a low quality teacher 3 years in a row is roughly 50 percentile points.

• Differences within schools are typically greater than differences across schools.

• Only the most effective teachers - the top 20 per cent – are providing instruction that produces adequate gain in high-achieving students, while students in the lower achievement levels profit from all but the least effective teachers.

Research Nuggets (cont.)

Research Nuggets (cont.)

• Low achieving students are the first to benefit from improvements in teacher effectiveness.

• Students of different ethnicities respond equivalently within the same quintile of teacher effectiveness.

• Having a high quality teacher throughout elementary school can substantially offset or even eliminate the disadvantage of low socio-economic background.

• Low achieving students are the first to benefit from improvements in teacher effectiveness.

• Students of different ethnicities respond equivalently within the same quintile of teacher effectiveness.

• Having a high quality teacher throughout elementary school can substantially offset or even eliminate the disadvantage of low socio-economic background.

Measurement of Learning TypesAchievement Status Achievement Gain

Often use Standardized Test Scores

Reflect School Quality

Both are important to parents, teachers, and community

Is the ultimate metric for student post-secondary opportunities

Compares year to year performances of unlike cohorts on School Report Card

Is significantly related to student family background

Simply put, achievement status conveys the degree to which a student or cohort demonstrates performance mastery

Much of the foundational research using this form reported discouraging school influence on student achievement

Measures the progress students make between two points in time

Is largely unrelated to student background factors

Though the calculations require involved data structures, capacity, and statistical technology, the concept is straightforward – student progress

The more recent research using this metric found the school’s / teacher’s influence to be paramount for facilitating student academic progress

A usable gauge for measuring school program effectiveness for anyway that students are grouped