This page provides guidance and business rules for the measures included in the SUNY Charter Schools Institute’s (“the Institute’s”) analysis framework for schools that administer the NWEA MAP and/or i-Ready assessments.  Each measure below applies to both English language arts (“ELA”) and mathematics for 3^rd – 8^th grades.  Please review this guidance and direct any questions or concerns to Sinnjinn Bucknell, the Institute’s Director of Performance and Systems ([email protected]).

Absolute measure: Each year, 75 percent of 3^rd through 8^th grade students who are enrolled in at least their second year will perform at or above the equivalent of grade level standards.

In order to account for the effect of the school’s program on individual achievement, students who have only recently enrolled at the school are not included in the analysis; only students who are enrolled in at least their second year at the school are considered. Students are deemed to be enrolled in at least their second year if they were enrolled at the school on BEDS Day, the first Wednesday in October, of the previous school year.

NWEA MAP: Each year, 75% of 3^rd through 8^th grade students enrolled in at least their second year at the school will meet or exceed the RIT score proficiency equivalent according to the most recent linking study comparing NWEA Growth to New York State standards.

In order to best approximate grade-level standards for the NWEA Map, the Institute uses the RIT score proficiency equivalents available in the most recent linking available from the test publisher.  Schools should refer to pages 15-16, tables 3.5 and 3.6.  Students whose end-of-year RIT score is above the corresponding grade-level equivalent for scoring Level 3 or higher will be considered to have met or exceeded the proficiency equivalent. The cut scores are as follows:

Curriculum Associates I-Ready: Each year, 75% of 3^rd through 8^th grade students enrolled in at least their second year at the school will score at the mid on-grade level or above scale score for the year-end assessment.

In order to best approximate grade-level standards for the i-Ready, the Institute uses the end-of-year relative placement levels. Students whose end-of-year relative placement score is mid on grade level or above will be considered to have met or exceeded the proficiency equivalent. For reference, the possible placement levels include:

• On grade level, mid, late, or above
• On grade level, early
• One grade level below
• Two grade levels below
• Three or more grade levels below

Growth measure: Each year, students grow at the normed rate according to the beginning of year baseline score.

Schools should demonstrate that students make the typical within-year growth compared to similar students, i.e. the normed rate.  Instead of looking at the average growth, the Institute requests that schools report the median growth across all tested students in order to account for extreme values in the data set.  In contrast to the absolute measure, the growth and gap closing measures look at the entire tested student group and not just students enrolled in at least their second year.

NWEA MAP: Each year, the school’s median growth percentile of all 3^rd through 8^th grade students will be greater than 50.

The MAP exam reports student growth in the form of a percentile from zero to 100.  The Institute will compare the schools’ median conditional growth percentile from the end-of-year administration to the target of 50.

Curriculum Associates i-Ready: Each year, the school’s median percent of Annual Typical Growth of all 3^rd through 8^th grade students will be equal to or greater than 100%.

The i-ready exam reports two types of growth targets: annual typical growth and stretch growth. For purposes of this analysis framework, the Institute will look at the school’s median percent progress to annual typical growth on the end-of-year administration, which is a percentage that can exceed 100%.

Gap closing measure 1: Each year, the median growth of students with low initial absolute achievement is greater than the target.

Students “with low initial absolute achievement” refers to students whose beginning-of-year fall baseline score did not meet criteria that best approximates New York State grade level standards.  Schools should demonstrate that those students make even greater than typical within-year growth.  The Institute set higher growth targets for this subgroup due to the importance of catching students up to grade level standards.  Instead of looking at the average growth, the Institute requests that schools report the median growth across all tested students in order to account for extreme values in the data set.

NWEA MAP: Each year, the school’s median growth percentile of all 3^rd through 8^th grade students whose achievement did not meet or exceed the RIT score proficiency equivalent in the fall will meet or exceed 55 in the spring administration.

The RIT score proficiency equivalents are available in the most recent linking study from the test publisher found here.  Schools should refer to pages 15-16, tables 3.5 and 3.6.  Students whose beginning-of-year RIT score is below the corresponding grade-level equivalent for scoring Level 3 will be considered to have not met or exceeded the proficiency equivalent in the fall. The cut scores for the fall are as follows:

The Institute compares the end-of-year median conditional growth percentile of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade students whose fall RIT score was below the fall grade-level cut score to the target of 55.

Curriculum Associates I-Ready: Each year, the school’s median percent progress to Annual Typical Growth of all 3^rd through 8^th grade students who were two or more grade levels below grade level in the fall will be equal to or greater than 110%.

The i-Ready exam produces relative placement levels for each student based on their achievement.  Possible relative placement levels include:

• On grade level, mid, late, or above
• On grade level, early
• One grade level below
• Two grade levels below
• Three or more grade levels below

The Institute compares the end-of-year median percent progress to annual typical growth of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade students whose initial relative placement from the fall was “two grade levels below” or “three or more grade levels below” to the target of 110%.

Gap Closing measure 2: Each year, the median growth of students with disabilities, English language learners, and/or other disadvantaged student groups is greater than the median growth of the school’s general education students.

Schools should demonstrate that students with disabilities grew at or above the rate of the general education students at the school.  Schools may elect to report the aggregated data for a different subpopulation of students if the total tested number of students with disabilities is five or fewer, or if the school’s mission aligns to serving a different specific subpopulation.  For schools that choose a different subpopulation (e.g. English language learners, students experiencing housing insecurity, etc.), justify the decision in the narrative section of the APPR template.  The target should reflect the median growth percentile for all general education students.  In the case that the school elects to measure the achievement of a different subpopulation, the target should reflect the median growth percentile of all students at the school not included in that subpopulation.  Instead of looking at the average growth, the Institute requests that schools report the median growth across all tested students in order to account for extreme values in the data set.

NWEA MAP: Each year, the median growth percentile of 3^rd through 8^th grade students with disabilities at the school will be equal to or greater than the median growth of 3^rd through 8^th grade general education students at the school.

The Institute compares the median conditional growth percentile of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade students with disabilities to the median conditional growth percentile of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade general education students on the end-of-year administration.

Curriculum Associates I-Ready: Each year, the median percent progress to Annual Typical Growth of 3^rd through 8^th grade students with disabilities at the school will be equal to or greater than the median percent progress to Annual Typical Growth of 3^rd through 8^th grade general education students at the school.

The Institute compares the median percent progress to annual typical growth of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade students with disabilities to the median percent progress to annual typical growth of all tested 3^rd through 8^th grade general education students on the end-of-year administration.