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Understanding the Student Count

The student count reflects how much assessment data is included in the growth measures. This represents the number of assessments included in the analysis and not necessarily the number of students. Shifts in student counts over time might indicate changes in student populations or course placement procedures.

Analysis	Students Included
Assessments analyzed with the Growth standard methodology	All students whose assessment scores can be used.
Assessments analyzed with the Predictive methodology	All students who have three prior usable assessment scores from any subject. Because students who lack sufficient prior data are excluded, the number of students listed here might be less than the number of students served or tested.

Depending on the report or model, the student count might be different from the number of students enrolled in a course because students are excluded from the analysis when:

They don't have assessment scores
They don't meet membership or attendance rules
Their scores are outliers
They are new to the state or reference group
They don't have enough prior assessment data

Some of these exclusion rules might not apply to all subjects. Statistical Models and Business Rules describes various conditions that can cause a student to be excluded from the analysis.

PVAAS uses PDE's Data Attribution Rules to determine how to assign students to schools. A minimum of 11 students is required to generate a district or school value-added report for a tested grade and subject or Keystone content area.

Students who are identified in the state assessment booklet as one or more of the following are excluded from the value-added analyses.

Not enrolled for a full academic year (by Oct 1)
First year of English language

In addition, students who took the Pennsylvania Alternate Assessment (PASA) or who previously performed at a proficient or advanced level on the same Keystone content area are excluded.