ERIC Number: ED583565
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 78
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Comparisons of Student Growth by District Performance and Poverty. ACT Research Report Series 2017-8
Dougherty, Chrys; Shaw, Teresa
ACT, Inc.
This report looks at student growth in Arkansas school districts disaggregated by district poverty and by the district's value-added performance relative to other districts. We estimated district value-added performance statistics by subject and grade level (8 and 11-12) for longitudinal student cohorts, using statistical models that adjusted for district demographics, the percentage of students in the analysis, and prior student scores. We found that differences in these value-added statistics across districts at each poverty level were large enough to be of practical importance to educators and policymakers. In addition to value-added statistics, we also calculated unadjusted descriptive statistics related to changes in student achievement over time--such the percentage of students at a given achievement level in an earlier year who reached the On-Track level in the current year--for districts classified as above or below average based on the value-added statistics. At all poverty levels, we found substantial differences in these statistics between districts identified as above and below average in the models. However, even in above-average districts, the great majority of Off-Track students were not reaching On-Track benchmarks for college and career readiness in English, mathematics, reading, and science. No group of high-poverty districts was able to catch up at least a third of their Off-Track students or more than 11% of their Far-Off-Track students in any subject. This is reason to pay increased attention to promising but sometimes underemphasized long-term strategies for improving student outcomes.
Descriptors: Poverty, Value Added Models, School Districts, Instructional Program Divisions, Demography, Scores, Statistical Analysis, Academic Achievement, Socioeconomic Influences, College Readiness, Career Readiness, Benchmarking, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12, Reading Achievement, Science Achievement, Mathematics Achievement, Standardized Tests, State Standards
ACT, Inc. 500 ACT Drive, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243-0168. Tel: 319-337-1270; Web site: http://www.act.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: ACT, Inc.
Identifiers - Location: Arkansas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A