We provide the flexibility for each school or district to determine the optimal cut scores for their institution(s). Default cut scores focused on national averages are not useful for all schools or districts.
The color categories provide an easy-to-read framework for determining how students are progressing and helping see how students may be grouped for differentiated instruction. The default cut scores may work well for many schools. But there are three categories of schools that should consider modifying the cut scores for their students:
High-achieving schools: These schools will often have only students in the green and blue categories. The cut scores can be increased to differentiate the instructional groups better and to identify better students who are falling behind their peer group.
Schools with a high percentage of scores below the national average: These schools may have mostly scores in the red and yellow categories. The cut scores can be decreased to differentiate the instructional groups better and better identify students who are falling behind their peer group.
Schools with predetermined cut scores: Some schools already have cut scores for defining "at-risk" or "borderline." Other schools may know the cut score for passing end-of-year state assessments. In these cases, the Track My Progress settings can be modified to use these predetermined cut scores.
You can learn how to change the cut scores for your school's performance categories by consulting How do I set the cut scores for the performance categories?