Scatterplots

Building a Scatterplot

When you select Scatterplots from the Reports menu, you will be prompted to choose:

• Population
• Base Year
• Base Test and Subject

When plotting assessments analyzed with the gain model, select Across Grades to see combined measures across all grades for each district and school you include on the graph.

Once you've made these selections, the scatterplot will automatically populate with the data that are attributed to those selections. The Population and Base Year, Test, and Subject can be changed by clicking Scatterplot Configurations button in the main panel.

Choose the Axes

Growth Index: The growth index indicates how strong the evidence is that the group of students in the district or school exceeded, met, or did not meet expected growth in the selected subject. The growth index is calculated by dividing the growth measure by its standard error. Because the growth index takes the standard error into account, it is a fair way to compare different members of the selected population.

Growth Measure: This value is the growth measure from the district or school value-added report for the selected grade and subject or course.

Achievement: This value represents the achievement of students in the district or school in the currently selected year, subject, or course. For assessments analyzed with the gain model, the achievement is the average of the most recent prior year available and current year scores for students in the district, school, or teacher's class and is expressed in state NCEs. For assessments analyzed with the predictive model, the entering achievement is the average of the expected score for students in the district or school, expressed in scale scores. In the 2020-21 reporting, entering achievement for both models is based on the average expected score for the group of students.

Demographic Options: The percentages represent the proportion of students tested in the selected grades who are identified as belonging to that demographic category.

Compare By Selector

By default, the Compare By Selector in the main panel is set to None. Selecting one of the comparison options available will add a Compare By bar above the graph with available comparators listed. For example, if you select Year, other years available for the particular Base Test and Subject will be made available. The Base Year chosen in the Scatterplot Configurations menu will display by default and will be highlighted with a cog icon. Clicking on another year will switch the data points on the graph to the data from that year.

Graph Data Table

Highlight data points from the selected population

Data Navigator: This tab lists entities included in the scatterplot, starting with districts. Hovering over a district will temporarily highlight the data points associated with it on the graph. Clicking on the district will make the highlight persist and narrow the Data Navigator to only display the data points attached to that district. If the selected population focuses on schools, the individual schools can also be highlighted. Click All Districts to reset the graph and the Data Navigator list to the default view.

Raw Data Table: This tab shows a table of all entities available on the scatterplot along with their data points for the selected axes.

Search for an entity: Use this drop-down menu to search for a specific entity to highlight on the scatterplot. Narrow down the options listed by typing in the name of the chosen entity.

Graph Legend

Total Data Points: The total amount of data points included on the graph based on the selections made in the Scatterplot Configurations is listed here.

Data Points: The data points are represented by two different colors. Purple data points have additional information available or are in focus. If a particular entity is in focus, the name of the entity will be listed in the legend next to the purple dot. Gray data points are considered background data, and they represent data that does not have additional information or are not currently highlighted.

Show Background Data: This toggle enables or disables displaying any background data points on the graph.

Downloading Scatterplots

Scatterplots can be saved as an Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx format) by clicking on the Download Report button in the upper right corner of the report. A window opens where the file name can be determined. Click Download Report to save the report to your computer. The resulting spreadsheet will include data based on the population and axes selected in the main panel.