The Track My Progress diagnostic can also help you determine the nature of difficulties that the student or class might have, which, if undiagnosed, could limit engagement or progress in new learning. The Track My Progress profile view also provides you with a beginning point for developing a suitable intervention plan for your at-risk students.
Learning gap
The first step in identifying learning gaps in student diagnostic data is defining the size of a meaningful gap in terms of scale score points. For example, if a grade two student scores 670 for Geometry and 660 for Operations, is that difference in domain scores a meaningful difference? In other words, should we be concerned that one score is 10 scale score points lower than another?
Track My Progress uses the following criteria to define a meaningful learning gap between the highest-scoring and lowest-scoring domains:
A learning gap that is at least 1/3 of a year's learning is classified as borderline.
A learning gap that is at least 1/2 of a year's learning is classified as at-risk.
The average scale score progress for a school year varies by grade level. You can use the table below to determine the yearly progress for each grade level.
For the example above, we do not classify the 10-point scale score difference between Geometry and Operations domain scores as a difference of concern. For grade 2, the borderline classification requires a 27-scale score difference. When a statistically meaningful learning gap is identified, you can review previous test events to see if the learning gap can be confirmed with additional data points.
Profile data at the group level
The School Administrator interface provides a diagnostic view at the grade level. This allows you to analyze the Common Core Math and Reading strengths and weaknesses for all students in a grade. In the example below, we see the diagnostic graph for all grade four students in a school and can also see that there are no major learning gaps at this level of analysis. The largest gap is 20 scale score points between Operations and Base Ten. If we did find a specific domain that was meaningfully lower than the other domains, we could examine our curriculum, pacing guides, and professional development to see if students are receiving enough support in that area.
Below is an example of a profile view of classroom data. Here, the diagnostic clearly indicates that there is a domain that is well below the other domains and subject. The Base Ten domain is 72 scale score points below the Geometry domain. The Base Ten domain is also well below all of the reading domains. This suggests that the students in this class need additional instruction and practice with the Base Ten domain. This is particularly important with Common Core math instruction as each domain depends on proficiency with the other domains.
When comparing math and reading scores, it is important to recognize that these are separate test events from separate days. For example, it is possible the math test was given first thing on a Tuesday morning while the reading test was administered on a Friday afternoon. When possible, it is best to confirm between-domain and between-subject differences over multiple data points.
Profile data at the student level
Track My Progress diagnostic data at the student level can serve several purposes. For all students, the profile data provides a quick overview of the student's current status with the Common Core Standards for ELA and Math. In a team meeting or a parent-teacher conference, the profile view for a student provides everyone with a quick overview of how the student has been progressing. Additionally, the data can be viewed over time by clicking through the progression of testing windows at the top of the graph to see how the profile changes and responds to interventions.
