MCAS Student Growth Percentiles

Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) describe a student’s growth on a given assessment compared to students with similar prior test scores. SGP provides information that is valuable to teachers and families, because it is based on a familiar metric of percentiles that are easy for many people to understand.

SGP data is a powerful tool for educators to help them identify specific areas of strength and weakness for individual students. SGP can be used to guide teacher planning for instruction, as well as assessing the effectiveness of a school or district’s curriculum. Additionally, SGP is a valuable tool for data teams to use in their work with educator performance and achievement reports.

SGP information can be accessed by visiting the MCAS Dashboard. Click on a Student’s name in the Dashboard and scroll down to “Reports” to view their growth report. The sgp report shows a student’s SGP for each assessment section and is broken down by subject area and grade level. The sgp report also displays a student’s current scaled score along with their growth rate and the percentage of their prior test scores that they have achieved.

In order to calculate a student’s SGP, the MCAS system uses a comparison model that compares a student’s current scaled score with those of their academic peers who have taken previous versions of the same subject-matter test. The academic peers are identified based on their scores on the WKCE, Forward Exam or MCAS in grades 3-8.

The sgpData_LONG formatted data set is an anonymized, panel data set of 5 years of vertically scaled, assessment data in LONG format. This exemplar data set models the format of the data that is used for operational analyses such as studentGrowthPercentiles and studentGrowthProjections.

Note that this dataset includes the 2014-15 school year. This was the only year that the Badger Exam was administered, and the statewide performance on this assessment differed greatly from both the WKCE and the Forward Exam. Therefore, statewide average SGPs will be lower than those reported for the other two assessments in this sample.

The sgptData_LONG data set is an anonymized, panel data of 8 windows (3 windows annually) of assessment data in LONG format for three content areas (Early Literacy, Mathematics and Reading). This exemplar data set models the format of data that is used for SGP analyses such as studentGrowthPercentiles, studentGrowthProjections and aggregateSGP. There are seven required variables for using this data set: VALID_CASE, CONTENT_AREA, YEAR, ID, SCALE_SCORE, GRADE and ACHIEVEMENT_LEVEL (required for running student growth projections). Additional variable definitions are provided in the SGP package documentation.

A Beginner’s Guide to Roulette

Roulette offers glamour, mystery, and excitement to casino-goers around the world. Despite its relatively simple rules, the game has a surprising level of depth for serious players who want to improve their chances of winning big. It’s important for anyone new to roulette to understand the different bet types and how each translates to odds before placing their chips.

Each roulette table carries a placard that describes the minimum and maximum bets allowed. You should choose a table that fits your budget before you begin betting. Whether you’re looking to play the $5 minimum tables or the $1,000 maximum outside bets, set a specific amount that you will not exceed. This will help prevent you from overextending your bankroll and losing your money.

When you are ready to start betting, purchase a roulette chip from the dealer (or croupier). Then ask the dealer what denomination you want to designate for it. They will mark it with a color to distinguish it from the rest of your chips on the table. Most players get colored chips so that it’s easy to keep track of their stakes during a game. The dealers will also ask you what percentage of your total bet you want to win back if you lose your bet. This is called the La Partage or En Prison rule and it slashes your house edge for red/black and even/odd bets by half, to 2.7% and 1.5% respectively.

To maximize your chances of winning, you should place your chips in the numbered portions of the roulette table. These bets are known as “inside” bets, and they pay out higher than outside bets. The most popular inside bets include straight-up, split, and street. The straight-up bet is placed on a single number; the split bet is placed on two numbers separated by one another; and the street bet is placed on three numbers in a row.

Outside bets are bets that are made on the perimeter of the roulette wheel, away from the numbered sections. These bets pay 2-1 and are a good choice for beginners learning how to play roulette. Alternatively, you can make a Corner bet, which pays 1-1 and covers four adjacent numbers on the wheel.

The most common strategy is the Martingale system, which requires you to double your bet after every loss until you win. This is a risky strategy and requires a large enough bankroll to support this level of risk-taking for an extended period of time. Other strategies, such as doubling your bet after each win or limiting your bets to high-margin bets, can reduce the house edge and increase your odds of winning. However, these strategies require more skill and experience to implement correctly than the Martingale.