0. Connecting Principal Evaluation to Student Academic Progress
Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs)
A major component of the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Principals is the inclusion of a standard that focuses on student academic progress. Standard 7 of the Uniform Performance Standards focuses on student academic progress. This presentation will specifically address student growth percentiles as they relate to principal performance evaluation.

1. Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Model
What should we know when including student growth percentiles in a principal’s performance evaluation?
In addressing Standard 7: Student Academic Progress, there is an essential question that will be the focus of this presentation. What should we know when including student growth percentiles in a principal’s performance evaluation?

2. Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Characteristics
Percentiles express the percentage of students that fall below a certain score
SGPs are reported between 1 and 99.
Higher numbers represent higher growth and lower numbers represent lower growth.
Uncorrelated with prior achievement
Low achieving students can show high growth.
High achieving students can show low growth.
SGPs are percentiles. Percentiles express the percentage of cases that fall below a certain score. SGPs are reported between 1 and 99. Higher numbers represent higher growth and lower numbers represent lower growth.
Student growth percentiles are uncorrelated with prior achievement. Low achieving students can show high growth, and high achieving students can show low growth.

3. What Do Percentiles Mean?
99th Percentile
99% of students with a similar achievement history scored lower
Percentiles express the percentage of students that fall below a certain score
50th Percentile
50% of students with a similar achievement history scored lower
Review this slide:
Percentiles express the percentage of students that fall below a certain score.
At the 99th percentile, 99 percent of students with a similar achievement history scored lower.
At the 50th percentile, 50 percent of students with a similar achievement history scored lower.
At the 1st percentile, one percent of students with a similar achievement history scored lower.
1% of students with a similar achievement history scored lower
1st Percentile

4. Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Levels
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Moderate
High
Low
To help interpret Student Growth Percentiles, the Virginia Department of Education established categorical growth levels of low, moderate, and high. These data are reported with the growth data for your division or school.
Low growth: represents students with SGPs of 1 to 34.
Moderate growth: includes students with SGPs of 35 to 65.
High growth: represents students with SGPs of 66 to 99.
To help interpret Student Growth Percentiles, the Virginia Department of Education established categorical growth levels of low, moderate, and high. These data are reported with the SGP data for the division or school.
Low growth represents students with SGPs of 1 to 34.
Moderate growth includes students with SGPs of 35 to 65.
High growth represents students with SGPs of 66 to 99.

5. Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Considerations
Before using the median SGP as 20 percent of a principal’s evaluation, it is important to determine whether sufficient student growth percentile data are available to apply to the evaluation. Minimum requirement for sufficient data are:
Data from at least 40 students are available, possibly
from multiple years;
Data from students are representative of students in the
school; and
Data from at least two years are available; three years
should be reviewed whenever possible.
Before using the median SGP as 20 percent of a principal’s evaluation, it is important to determine whether sufficient SGP data are available to apply to the evaluation. Minimum requirements for sufficient data are:
Data from at least 40 students are available, possibly from multiple years;
Data from students are representative of students in the school; and
Data from at least two years are available; three years should be reviewed
whenever possible.

6. Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Considerations
When there are insufficient SGPs to be representative of students in the school, it may still be appropriate to use SGPs as one component of the evaluation of student academic progress but at a lower percentage. In such cases, other validated quantitative measures of growth should be incorporated.
Additionally, when there are insufficient SGPs to be representative of students in the school, it may still be appropriate to use SGPs as one component of the evaluation of student academic progress but at a lower percentage. In such cases, other validated quantitative measures of growth should be incorporated.
When 90 percent of SGP data are available there is a level of confidence that the data reflect the student population being analyzed for student academic progress. When between 70 and 80 percent of SGP data are available decision makers need to be somewhat cautious in using SGP data as a significant portion of a principal’s rating on Standard 7 − Student Academic Progress. However, SGP data may still be used as a data point used as a part of the preponderance of evidence for rating a principal’s performance on Standard 7 − Student Academic Progress.

7. Options for Using SGP Data in Principal Performance Evaluation
School divisions may consider using
SGP data in principal performance
evaluation by calculating the following:
Median Student Growth Percentiles; and/or
Percentages of Low-, Moderate-,and High-growth Scores.
There are options for using SGP data in principal performance evaluation. School
divisions may want to consider using SGP data in principal performance evaluation by
calculating the following:
Median student growth percentiles; and/or
Percentages of low-, moderate-, and high-growth scores.

8. Decision Rules for SGPs (This is a suggested rubric for school divisions to consider using or adjusting.)
Rating on Standard 7 – Student Academic Progress
Exemplary
Proficient
Developing/ Needs Improvement
Unacceptable
Median Score of SGP*
Median score in high growth range
(≥ 66%tile)
Median score in upper portion of moderate- growth range
(45–65%tile)
Median score in lower portion of moderate- growth range
(35–44%tile)
Median score in low-growth range
(≤ 34%tile)
Percentage Distribution of SGP
≥ 50% of SGP scores in the high growth range
≤ 15% in low growth range
70% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
51%-69% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
≤ 50% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
Here is a decision rules rubric for SGPs that school divisions may consider using or adjusting to suit their purposes. The rubric defines the requirements for each of the four rating levels – Exemplary, Proficient, Developing/Needs Improvement, and Unacceptable as they pertain to a median SGP score and a low-, moderate-, and high-growth distribution. When making summative decisions on a rating performance standard, multiple measures should always be used. Other measures to consider may include quantitative measures already available in the school that are validated and provide measures of growth.
*Recommend using median score when data are representative of the group being tabulated.

9. SGP Median* Score
School division aggregates the SGP data at the school level to determine a progress measure (median SGP). The median SGP represents the midpoint in the distribution of student growth percentiles ─ half of students earned higher SGPs and half earned lower SGPs.
When using an SGP median score, the school division aggregates the SGP data at the school level to determine a progress measure. The median SGP represents the midpoint in the distribution of student growth percentiles – half of students earned higher SGPs and half earned lower SGPs. Median SGP scores are recommended for use when data are representative of the group being tabulated. Further, a check for the distribution pattern of data before using median score is recommended. If a distribution is bimodal, meaning scores are positioned high and low rather than positioned in a normal distribution, the median score will not be an accurate gauge of student academic progress. When this occurs, it is recommended to use the low-, moderate-, and high-growth distribution decision rules.
* Recommend using median score when data are representative of the group being tabulated; recommend checking for distribution pattern of data before using median score (e.g., bimodal)

10. Bimodal Distribution 50th Percentile 16, 18, 22, 27, 32
This is a bimodal distribution with median. The scores are predominantly in the lower and higher ranges. In this example, the median is not an accurate statistic to use for rating Standard 7: Student Academic Progress.
16, 18, 22, 27, 32
68, 79, 85, 92, 95

11. Applying Decision Rules for SGPs
48th Percentile
Yourtown Elementary School Mathematics Median Score of 48
This is a normal distribution with median. It is appropriate to use the median score in a normal distribution. In this example, the median score of 48 in mathematics at Yourtown Elementary School is representative of the group being tabulated.

12. Student Growth Percentile Levels
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Student Growth Percentile Levels
Moderate
High
Low
Yourtown Elementary School Mathematics Median SGP Score of 48
This is another way to depict the median score of 48. As can be seen, the score falls within the moderate range of the student growth percentile levels.

13. Decision Rules for SGPs (This is a suggested rubric for school divisions to consider using or adjusting.)
Median Score
Rating on Standard 7 – Student Academic Progress
Exemplary
Proficient
Developing/ Needs Improvement
Unacceptable
Median Score of SGP*
Median score in high growth range
(≥ 66%tile)
Median score in upper portion of moderate-growth range
(45–65%tile)
Median score in lower portion of moderate-growth range
(35–44%tile)
Median score in low-growth range
(≤ 34%tile)
The Yourtown Elementary School mathematics SGP median score is 48 percent. The rating for this data point would therefore be: _____________
When the score of 48 is compared to the decision rules for SGPs for a median score, it falls within the upper portion of the moderate-growth range (45-65 percentile). This results in a rating of “Proficient” on the mathematics goal set by the principal of Yourtown Elementary School. This result provides one data point to be used in the preponderance of evidence when rating the principal’s performance on Standard 7 − Student Academic Progress. This one data point would be considered along with other measures of student progress before determining a rating for Standard 7 – Student Academic Progress.
Proficient
* Recommend using median score when data are representative of the group being tabulated; recommend checking for distribution pattern of data before using median score (e.g., bimodal)

14. SGP Low, Moderate, High Growth Scores
School divisions may aggregate the SGP data at the school level to determine growth groupings. Students are classified into low-, moderate-, or high-growth groups.
School divisions may aggregate the SGP data at the school level to determine growth groupings. Students are classified into low-, moderate-, or high-growth groups. Considering low-, moderate-, and high-growth SGP scores offers a second option in calculating SGP ratings for Standard 7: Student Academic Progress. 16

15. Decision Rules for SGPs (This is a suggested rubric for school divisions to consider using or adjusting.)
Low-, Moderate-, and High-Groupings
Rating on Standard 7 – Student Academic Progress
Exemplary
Proficient
Developing/ Needs Improvement
Unacceptable
Percentage Distribution of SGP
≥ 50% of SGP scores in the high growth range
≤ 15% in low growth range
70% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
51%-69% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
≤ 50% of SGP scores in mid- to high-growth range
Here are the suggested decision rules for these groupings. (Review the rules for each of the rating categories.)

16. SGP High-, Medium-, Low-Groupings Example
Yourtown Elementary School Mathematics SGP Scores
SGP Growth Levels (Percentages)
SOL Proficiency Levels (Percentages)
Mathematics
Low
Moderate
High
Failing Scores
Proficient Scores
Advanced Proficient Scores
Passing Scores (Combined Proficient and Advanced)
Percentage of Total Students *
26%
36%
31% 9%
30%
61%
91%
100% *
22%
40%
35%
28%
56%
16%
72%
Two-Year Average
24%
38%
33%
19%
43%
81%
In this example, Yourtown Elementary School mathematics SGP scores are shown. Review the SGP Growth Levels in the left columns, emphasizing the highlighted “total” scores for each of the three categories.
This table illustrates how data from mathematics assessments for two years may be viewed to support making determinations from SGP data. Total percentages may not always equal 100 percent due to rounding.
* Seven percent of SGP data was missing in and three percent in

17. Applying Low-, Moderate-, and High-Growth Decision Rules to SGP Scores
Yourtown Middle School distribution of SGPs for mathematics:
Low = 24 percent
Moderate = 38 percent
High = 33 percent
Add moderate and high growth
38% + 33% = 71%
Apply this result to the decision rules
Review the information on this slide. When the moderate- and high-growth scores are summed, the answer is 71 percent. Apply this figure to the decision rules found on the following slide – along with the low-growth figure, as needed – to arrive at a rating for this data point.

18. Applying Decision Rules for SGPs (This is a suggested rubric for school divisions to consider using or adjusting.)
Low, Moderate, and High Groupings
Rating on Standard 7 – Student Academic Progress
Exemplary
Proficient
Developing/ Needs Improvement
Unacceptable
Percentage Distribution of SGP
≥ 50% of SGP scores in the high growth range
≤ 15% in low growth range
70% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
51%-69% of SGP scores in moderate to high-growth range
≤ 50% of SGP scores in mid- to high-growth range
Seventy-one percent falls in the Proficient range; therefore, the rating for this data point is Proficient.
Yourtown Middle School distribution of SGPs for mathematics:
Moderate + High = 71%
Low = 24%
Rating for Data Point = Proficient

19. Final Thoughts on Using Student Growth Percentiles
Use SGP data when available and appropriate.
Interpret SGP data in light of missing data.
Base final ratings on two or more years of SGP data, if a final rating is able to be determined.
Use multiple measures of student academic progress for a summative rating on Standard 7.
Base summative rating for Standard 7 upon “preponderance of evidence.”
In summation of our focus on using Student Growth Percentiles in Principal Performance Evaluation:
Use SGP data when available and appropriate.
Interpret SGP data in light of missing data.
Base final ratings on two or more years of SGP data, if a final rating is able to be
determined.
Use multiple measures of student academic progress for a summative rating on
Standard 7.
Base summative rating for Standard 7 upon “preponderance of evidence.”

20. Questions?
Are there any questions?