Increasingly, states are developing, and the U.S. Department of Education is approving, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) plans that incorporate growth model approaches where districts receive credit for demonstrating that specific cohorts of students are demonstrating achievement gains across years. In contrast to the “status model” of No child Left Behind (NCLB), which makes accountability decisions by comparing the percentage of students meeting proficiency targets each year, growth models track individual students’ progress, and can provide a more accurate picture of whether a school is succeeding in helping its students develop essential proficiencies.

For example, the illustration below shows students' growth from one year to the next on the state assessment.

All of the students started out the first year in the lowest performance category, Level 1. A status trend model would show that only Kate grew from one year to the next, because she is the only student who moved from Level 1 to Level 2. However, as can be seen in the illustration, both David and Maria made significant gains within the Level 1 performance category. Additionally, John dropped in his performance from one year to the next.

There is a wide range in the types of longitudinal methods currently used to analyze individual student growth. PCG-CRM offers consulting services on the methodological and statistical modeling requirements of different growth models and how growth and status models can be used with each other.

Our team of statisticians, data analysts, and measurement experts conduct multi-year growth studies and provide user-friendly reports to help educators:

• Use the results to examine program effectiveness
• Identify schools that are more effective in helping improve academic performance
• Target instructional intervention efforts more effectively

Districts with large populations of students at low levels of reading and mathematics literacy are also becoming interested in how growth models can be used to determine if program efforts to improve achievement are resulting in achievement gains for specific student subgroups. PCG-CRM assists districts in selecting and implementing a growth model approach that is most aligned with a district's goals and resources. PCG-CRM also offers consulting services on the use of gains analysis methodologies that provide districts with robust evidence of the progress of students in specific programs, and allow a results-oriented approach to examining instructional effectiveness.