NSCAS Growth Measures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When educators review NSCAS Growth data for a classroom, a 'median SGP' is often used. What does the median SGP represent?
- The highest growth percentile in the class
- The middle growth percentile when all student SGPs are ranked (Correct answer)
- The average of all student scale score gains
- The growth percentile of the student at grade-level proficiency
Correct answer: The middle growth percentile when all student SGPs are ranked
The median SGP is the middle value of all individual student growth percentiles in a group, making it resistant to extreme outliers.
Question 2: A school's median student growth percentile in ELA is 35. How should this be interpreted?
- 35% of students in the school are proficient in ELA
- The typical student grew less than most academically similar students statewide (Correct answer)
- The school is performing above the state average in ELA growth
- 35% of students improved their ELA scores from last year
Correct answer: The typical student grew less than most academically similar students statewide
A median SGP of 35 means the typical student in that school grew less than 65% of academically similar students statewide, indicating below-average growth.
Question 3: Which factor does the NSCAS Student Growth Percentile model explicitly control for?
- Student demographic characteristics such as race and income
- Prior academic achievement levels (Correct answer)
- Number of days absent from school
- Teacher experience and certification level
Correct answer: Prior academic achievement levels
The SGP model controls for prior achievement by comparing students only to peers who had the same prior-year score history, not demographic factors.
Question 4: A student who scored 'Below Proficient' last year and earns an SGP of 60 this year should be described as:
- Performing below grade level with typical growth
- Performing below grade level with above-average growth (Correct answer)
- Performing at grade level with above-average growth
- Performing above grade level with typical growth
Correct answer: Performing below grade level with above-average growth
The student is still below proficiency (status) but grew more than 60% of similarly-scoring peers, showing above-average growth relative to their starting point.
Question 5: For NSCAS Growth Measures, how many years of test data are needed to calculate a Student Growth Percentile?
- Only the current year's score
- At least two consecutive years of scores in the same subject (Correct answer)
- Three or more years of scores for accuracy
- Four years to establish a reliable trend
Correct answer: At least two consecutive years of scores in the same subject
A minimum of two consecutive years of scores in the same subject are required to calculate growth by comparing prior and current performance.
Question 6: Under NSCAS reporting, which growth category is generally associated with SGPs between 40 and 60?
- High growth
- Low growth
- Typical or average growth (Correct answer)
- Exceptional growth
Correct answer: Typical or average growth
SGPs between 40 and 60 represent typical or average growth, meaning the student grew similarly to most academically similar peers.
Question 7: A teacher notices that most students have high proficiency scores but low growth percentiles. What might this suggest?
- The assessment was too easy and scores are inflated
- High-achieving students have less room to grow and may be coasting (Correct answer)
- The school should switch to a different assessment system
- Growth percentiles are not meaningful for proficient students
Correct answer: High-achieving students have less room to grow and may be coasting
Students who are already high-performing have a ceiling effect and may show lower growth percentiles even with solid academic skills, sometimes indicating a need for more challenging instruction.
NSCAS Growth Measures 3
When educators review NSCAS Growth data for a classroom, a 'median SGP' is often used.
What does the median SGP represent?