Growth-to-standard models evaluate student growth against the growth needed to reach a future standard or target of interest, such as proficiency. A common growth-to-standard model involves comparing the popular Student Growth Percentile (SGP) to Adequate Growth Percentiles (AGPs). AGPs follow from an involved process based on fitting a series of…

We examined summary indices of high school performance (coursework, grades, and test scores) based on the graded response model (GRM). The indices varied by inclusion of ACT test scores and whether high school courses were constrained to have the same difficulty and discrimination across groups of schools. The indices were examined with respect to…

The Growth Model Pilot Program (GMPP) was introduced as a response to criticism of the reliance of No Child Left Behind on status-based indicators. Although incorporating a growth component appears to be a step in the right direction, it adds a level of complexity that brings to the fore new concerns. Three of the four papers in this special issue…

States participating in the Growth Model Pilot Program reference individual student growth against "proficiency" cut scores that conform with the original No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Although achievement results from conventional NCLB models are also cut-score dependent, the functional relationships between cut-score location and…

A key intent of the NCLB growth pilot is to reward low-status schools who are closing the gap to proficiency. In this article, we demonstrate that the capability of proposed models to identify those schools depends on how the growth model is incorporated into accountability decisions. Six pilot-approved growth models were applied to vertically…

Annual student achievement data derived from state assessment programs have led to widespread enthusiasm for statistical models suitable for longitudinal analysis. The current policy environment's adherence to high stakes accountability vis-a-vis No Child Left Behind (NCLB)'s universal proficiency mandate has fostered an impoverished view of what…

Most growth models implicitly assume that test scores have been vertically scaled. What may not be widely appreciated are the different choices that must be made when creating a vertical score scale. In this paper empirical patterns of growth in student achievement are compared as a function of different approaches to creating a vertical scale.…

This paper describes a comprehensive model of alignment that provides a foundation for meaningful reporting of students' academic progress over time. The model includes both horizontal and vertical alignment as integral parts of the development of content standards, test blueprints, items, item pools, instruments, performance level descriptors,…

Proposed an accountably model that addresses the challenges of allowing school districts to choose the specific strategies they use to measure student performance and evaluated this model using data from multiple sources for all school districts in Florida. Findings identify three strategies that would be useful for this type of accountability…