Teacher Diagnostic

Interpreting Common Patterns

It's important to reflect on the overall patterns of growth across achievement groups, rather than placing too much emphasis on any one value. The following examples illustrate patterns that are common in these reports.

It's important to rely more heavily on the bar graphs than on the pie graphs as you examine the patterns of growth across achievement groups. The bars offer a better view of the relative growth of students in different achievement groups, while the pies provide insight into the percentage of students in each achievement group.

Pattern 1: Tent

In this pattern, we can see that in the most recent year (blue bars) students in the middle achievement group likely exceeded the growth standard, on average. In contrast, lower-achieving and higher-achieving students lost ground. This pattern occurs when the instructional delivery is focused on students who are average in achievement. This teacher might want to consider new strategies for supporting low achievers, as well as opportunities for challenging high achievers.

Pattern 2: Downhill

In this pattern, we can see that in the most recent year (blue bars), on average, the lowest-achieving students made the most growth. As a group, they exceeded the growth standard. Students in the middle achievement group met the standard, and students in the highest achievement group lost ground, overall. In this case, the teacher might want to explore strategies for helping high-achieving students make appropriate growth, and for assisting average-achieving sudents increase their achievement.

Pattern 3: Uphill

In this example, the pattern of growth across achievement groups in the most recent year is the opposite of what we see in pattern 2. In this case, the highest-achievement group exceeded the growth standard, while the lowest and middle achievement groups fell short of the standard, on average. This teacher might want to consider strategies for better targeting instruction at students who are low achievers and those who are average in achievement.