Educator Portal Working with MCA-II Data

1. Educator PortalWorking with MCA-II Data August 2010

2. WELCOME! Introductions

3. Purpose of This Training • Data on the Educator Portal can be difficult to understand, hard to navigate and a challenge to use. This training is designed to show you how to make the data that is available on the Educator Portal more “User Friendly.” • MCA-II growth data came out to the public quietly in December 2008. Little information has been given to school personnel about that data. This training will explain the growth data so that you are prepared to answer questions that staff and community members have about it.

4. Objectives of Training • Access 2009 MCA-II data from the Educator Portal from MDE • Transfer 2009 MCA-II data from the Educator Portal onto an Excel spreadsheet • Translate Educator Portal data language into familiar assessment terms • Delete superfluous data • Disaggregate data by grade levels & NCLB categories • Create spreadsheets to use for district/school teacher training/professional learning communities • Access 2008-2009 MCA-II growth data from MDE website • Interpret MCA-II growth data

5. Why the need for a Growth Score? Purpose: “…a new tool designed to help parents and educators track overall student progress toward academic proficiency in math and reading. The new Minnesota Growth Model follows students’ progress from year-to-year in order to better determine whether they are gaining and retaining skills.” -education.state.mn.us

6. How is “Growth” determined? The average of the change in scores from the 2007 to 2008 MCA-IIs was used to determine low, medium and high growth. 342 2007 Grade 3 2008 Grade 4

7. Keep in mind… Grade 4 to 5 • Year to year, the level of expected growth varies from one grade level to another • At the proficient range (350, 450, 550, 650) • There is more confidence in the scores • Most test questions center around the proficient vs. non-proficient mark to firmly identify those who are and are not proficient • Error band is smaller at this level • At this time, the state is not using this growth data to rank order one school and/or district to another or to determine AYP status • Growth and proficiency levels are different • Although a student might make high growth, he/she might still not be proficient Grade 3 to 4

8. Interpreting Scores Low, Medium, High growth 31% of students 38% of students 31% of students low high medium This is a hypothetical norm used by the state to determine the amount of students that are likely to fall in each range.

9. State of MN Grades 3-11 27% 42% 31% MN District “ABC” Grades 3-11 25% 43% 33%

10. How can I use MCA-II growth information? • Compare district and school’s low, medium and high growth to the state’s averages • Consider and discuss with teams • grade level growth • growth in sub-groups • Examine similar schools’/districts’ performance of same groups • growth and proficiency • Be prepared to communicate with parents who are aware of the data that was released by MDE in December and when the 2008 to 2009 growth reports are available to the public

11. Accessing the Educator Portal

43. Continue Deleting Red Columns • Click on the letter of the column you would like to delete. If there are multiple columns right next to each other that need to be deleted, click on the letter of the column to be deleted that is farthest to the left. Continue pressing down on the left mouse button and drag the mouse over the other letters stopping at the last letter to be deleted. • Right click on that letter (or the letter that is farthest to the right if multiple columns are being deleted). • Click on “Delete.” • Repeat these steps until all of the red cells have been deleted.

47. Completing “Reading All Students” Spreadsheet • Follow the same directions for “Completing ‘Math All Students’” except click on the rows that have an “R” in Column A and use the “Reading All Students” spreadsheet • Directions are on slides 45-47

48. Completing Grade Level Spreadsheets • Follow the same directions as “Completing Math All Students” except: • Take the data from either the “Math All Students” or “Reading All students” spreadsheets • Click on the rows that have the grade level you want in Column A • Use the grade level and subject area spreadsheet • Delete the grade level instead of the subject area • Note that Grades 3, 10 & 11 do not have a “Prior Score.” To delete the blank cells, click on the first blank cell in column E, continue holding down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to the last blank cell in column E. Then left click on the last blank cell and click on “Delete.” Choose “Shift Cells to left” and then “OK” • Directions are on slides 45-47

49. Adjusting Column Size • Slide your cursor over the letters that label the columns. • You should see an arrow that looks like this: • Move your cursor to the line on the row of column letters that is at the right side of the column you would like to enlarge. You should see the symbol above. Click on that line, hold down the left mouse button and drag the column to the right until it is the size you want and let go of the mouse button.

50. Adding Color to Students’ Data Based on Achievement Level • Select one of the grade level spreadsheets • Click on the arrow that is in the cell labeled “Achieve Lvl, Does Not Meet, Partially Meets, Exceeds” (Each column has an arrow to allow you to sort the spreadsheets in different ways.) • Choose “Sort A to Z” with  • Click on the first number that has a “D” in the “Achieve Lvl” column, continue holding down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to the last row that has a “D”