Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, appraisal systems in Texas, whether the state-recommended system or a locally developed system, will need to include a measure of student growth at the individual teacher level. Student growth measures how much a student progresses academically during his or her time with a particular teacher. It takes into consideration a student's entering skill level when measuring how much the student grew over time, and, as opposed to measuring student proficiency on an assessment, student growth isn't concerned with whether or not a student passes a particular test or reaches a predetermined and uniform benchmark. It considers equally students who enter behind grade level, on grade level, and beyond grade level, tailoring growth expectations to each student's context. By measuring growth, a teacher develops a better understanding about the academic impact of his or her instructional choices. In a formative appraisal process like the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support (T-TESS), feedback derived from student growth acts as a complimentary piece to the feedback derived from the appraisal rubric. Whereas the rubric captures how the teacher's practice impacts students holistically, student growth captures how the teacher's practice impacts students academically.