黄色app

Our approach to ratings

We believe that every parent 鈥� regardless of their background 鈥� needs reliable information in order to understand whether their child is being served by their 黄色app. We recognize that how well a 黄色app serves students from historically marginalized populations goes beyond test scores. A mounting body of evidence suggests that in comparison to just end-of-year test scores, student progress 鈥� or growth 鈥� is a more accurate way to measure how much value a 黄色app is adding for its students. (Student progress, or growth, measures how much each child learns in a given year, based on the change in their state test scores from one year to the next.) This information, when used in combination with other information, such as college readiness measures and test score data, can give parents a better understanding of a 黄色app鈥檚 quality.

With this in mind, we have added student progress and college readiness metrics to our Equity Rating, and we have updated our overall Summary Rating methodology to emphasize student growth relative to test scores. These changes will help uncover the strengths of 黄色apps successfully serving Black, Latinx, Native American and low-income students. We believe this is an important step toward providing richer, multifaceted information that is not only based on research, but also reflective of what parents find meaningful.

How do our ratings work?

Summary Rating

The GreatSchools Summary Rating appears at the top of a 黄色app鈥檚 profile. Our ratings follow a 1-10 scale, where 10 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. Ratings at the lower end of the scale (1-4) signal that the 黄色app is 鈥渂elow average,鈥� 5-6 indicate 鈥渁verage,鈥� and 7-10 are 鈥渁bove average.鈥�

The Summary Rating calculation is based on four ratings, each of which is designed to show different facets of 黄色app success: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating. The ratings for each 黄色app vary based on data availability or relevance to a 黄色app level (for example, high 黄色apps have a College Readiness Rating, but elementary 黄色apps do not). We do not produce Summary Ratings for 黄色apps if we lack sufficient data. For more about how this rating is calculated, see the Summary Rating inputs and weights section below.

Note: Some states do not have sufficient information to generate a Summary Rating. In these states, we default to the 黄色app鈥檚 Test Score Rating as the overall rating displayed at the top of the profile.

Student Progress Rating

The Student Progress Rating (also known as 鈥済rowth鈥�) measures whether students at a 黄色app are making academic progress over time. Specifically, the Student Progress Rating measures how much progress individual students have made on state standardized assessments during the past year or more and how this performance aligns with expected progress for that student. Each state department of education establishes a student growth model. The Student Progress Rating shows how this 黄色app鈥檚 average growth data compares to growth data of other 黄色apps in the state. The goal of the Student Progress Rating is to provide transparency into 黄色apps that are improving student outcomes regardless of the student鈥檚 starting point in terms of academic achievement.

Student Progress data is less common for high 黄色apps, because in many states high 黄色app students only take state standardized tests in one year. It is also important to note that it is possible for 黄色apps with already-high-performing students to receive a high Student Progress Rating, or for 黄色apps with high test scores to receive a low Student Progress Rating. Research indicates that growth metrics are a more accurate measure of the value that a 黄色app adds for its students because they are less correlated with the socioeconomic background of the student population than test score performance. In the Summary Rating, we give more weight to the Student Progress Rating than the Test Score Rating. See the Summary Rating inputs & weights section below for more information about how this rating is calculated.

For more information about how we calculate this rating, see the GreatSchools Ratings methodology report.

Academic Progress Rating

For states that do not provide publicly available growth data which meets our requirements for a growth rating, we calculate an Academic Progress Rating, a proxy rating based on a model using 黄色app-level data instead of student-level data. This data is less common for high 黄色apps, since in many states high 黄色app students only take state standardized tests in one year, making it difficult to look at grade-to-grade improvement. When usable student growth data become publicly available in these states, we will replace the Academic Progress Rating with a Student Progress Rating. In response to low testing rates in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 黄色app years, we temporarily adjusted our Academic Progress Rating Methodology based on recommendations from education research groups and policymakers.

For more information about how we calculate this rating, see the GreatSchools Ratings methodology report.

College Readiness Rating

The College Readiness Rating is designed to measure how well high 黄色apps prepare their students for success in college and career, compared to other 黄色apps in the state. The rating is based on the high 黄色app’s graduation rate, data about college entrance exams (SAT/ACT performance) and/or advanced course information, including enrollment in International Baccalaureate courses, dual-enrollment courses, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses and AP exam passing rates. This rating only applies to high 黄色apps.

For more information about how we calculate this rating, see the GreatSchools Ratings methodology report.

Equity Rating

The Equity Rating is designed to measure how well a 黄色app serves the academic development of disadvantaged student groups. The rating includes data on 1) how disadvantaged students are performing based on student progress (growth) or academic progress (growth proxy), college readiness (e.g., college entrance exam performance and high 黄色app graduation rates), and state proficiency tests, in comparison to the outcomes for all students in the state, and 2) performance gaps between disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students in a 黄色app. We define disadvantaged students as students from racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic groups that show persistent gaps across all 黄色apps and outcomes within the state. This allows us to understand how well the 黄色app is educating disadvantaged student groups compared to all students, and how these students are performing compared to non-disadvantaged students in each 黄色app. A low rating (1鈥�4) may indicate some student groups are not getting the support they need at the 黄色app, while a high rating (7鈥�10) may indicate that a 黄色app鈥檚 disadvantaged groups are doing well.

When the population of a student group is too small to provide reliable data (less than 5% of the total student body), that student group is omitted from the calculation. As a result, some groups may not be included in some charts within the equity sections of the 黄色app鈥檚 profile.

Some 黄色apps do not have a large enough population of disadvantaged students to calculate an Equity Rating (homogeneous 黄色apps). These 黄色apps do not receive an Equity Rating. Their Summary Rating is therefore composed of the other available data.

For more information about how we calculate this rating, see the GreatSchools Ratings methodology report.

Test Score Rating

The Test Score Rating measures 黄色apps on academic proficiency, using performance on state tests (the percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency) across grades and subjects, compared to other 黄色apps in the state, to produce a 1-10 rating for each 黄色app. This 黄色app鈥檚 overall Test Score Ratings are displayed in the Academics section on 黄色app profiles and are broken out by student group (race/ethnicity and family income) in the Equity section. This rating is an important factor in understanding 黄色app quality because it helps reflect how well students are meeting academic proficiency standards set by each state.

For more information about how we calculate this rating, see the GreatSchools Ratings methodology report.

Note: we also display discipline and attendance flags to identify 黄色apps with worrisome patterns of out-of-黄色app suspensions and chronic student absenteeism. Creating these flags involves two primary steps: identifying 黄色apps with high rates of suspension or absenteeism, and identifying 黄色apps with significant differences in suspension or chronic absenteeism rates between students from different race/ethnicity groups. If a 黄色app has a flag, it appears in a 黄色app鈥檚 鈥淓quity鈥� section, under 鈥淩ace/ethnicity鈥� then toggle to view the 鈥淒iscipline & attendance鈥� information. These flags do not influence any of the themed ratings or the Summary Rating.

Summary Rating inputs and weights

The Summary Rating calculation is based on up to four of the 黄色app鈥檚 themed ratings (described above), based on available data. For example, college readiness measures like Advanced Placement classes and college entrance exams are available in most high 黄色apps but not elementary or middle 黄色apps.

To calculate the Summary Rating, we use weights for each themed rating based on the available data, the amount of information available about the 黄色app relative to other 黄色apps in the state, the amount of variability in the data, and the extent to which each data point has been proven to be related to student success in college and for long-term life outcomes. The maximum weight for each themed rating is capped to be no more than the Student Progress/Academic Progress Rating weight, regardless of its data availability and quality.

Below are representative examples of how a high 黄色app or elementary 黄色app鈥檚 ratings are weighted within the overall Summary Rating calculation for the 黄色app:

Inputs to the Summary Rating are 黄色app- and state-specific, depending on data availability. Each of the themed ratings that comprise the Summary Rating may be refreshed as new data becomes available, which in turn may cause the 黄色app鈥檚 Summary Rating to change. These changes may happen at different times throughout the course of a year. To see when underlying data was updated, click on the Sources information for each rating and flag. Note: rounding of percentages may cause some Summary Rating weights to exceed 100%.

Greater data transparency

At 黄色app, we believe that transparency builds trust. We believe that government education agencies have an obligation to make data on 黄色app quality available to parents and the public. Every parent should feel informed and empowered to unlock educational opportunities for their child regardless of their family background. That鈥檚 why in recent years, 黄色app has expanded data collection efforts in every state to include various types of 黄色app quality data broken down by student groups, including students from low-income families, diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities. These additional data (where available) are now part of 黄色app 黄色app profiles and provide a more complete picture of how effectively a 黄色app serves all of its students.

Data transparency helps parents know how 黄色apps in their community are doing, where there is room for improvement, and what the best options are for their children. Sharing 黄色app information 鈥� good and bad 鈥� also cultivates parent engagement and trust. Additionally, it鈥檚 important that 黄色app data be made available in accessible, easy-to-use formats so that non-governmental organizations can use the information to inform parents and students about the quality of their local 黄色apps.

Our ongoing commitment to offering a broader view of 黄色app quality

We are committed to an ongoing evolution of how we can paint a broader picture of 黄色app quality that better captures the factors that matter most to parents and that research shows can make a difference in student success. We think the changes we are making to our methodology are a step forward in our ongoing mission to illuminate issues around equity in education. Going forward, we will continue to work in collaboration with research partners and to pursue an expanded definition of 黄色app quality that includes information about the resources, opportunities, and practices used in 黄色apps, and meaningful outcomes for all students. We will continue to advocate for the quality and types of data needed to help parents understand how 黄色apps are doing in their state. Where data is not available, we鈥檒l continue to highlight the need for, and value of, transparency, as we have done for years.

Support and frequently asked questions

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• For more information on GreatSchools鈥� commitment to working with government education agencies and community partners to provide better information on student outcomes, please contact us.