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About the 2002-2003 Report Card This section provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning the 2002-2003 Report Card. The user should find answers regarding content of the report card, sources of data, definitions and rules for reporting, how data was disaggregated, etc. If you should have a question that is not answered here, please contact the webmaster at Office of Student Achievement.
Data Sources, Rules and Definitions:
What is included under "Georgia Tests?" This section provides student performance results from Georgia tests based on the state’s Quality Core Curriculum (QCC). The 2002-2003 Report Card includes results from the Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program - Revised (GKAP-R), the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT), the Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA), the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT), and the Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT). What is included under "Indicators?" This section provides information on the following school performance indicators for the 2002-2003 school year; percentage of students taking the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA), student attendance rates, school dropout rates, and school graduation rates. What is included under "Demographics?" This section of the report card includes fall and spring enrollment, fall enrollment by race/ethnicity, percentage of students with disabilities, percentage of students with limited English proficiency, percentage of economically disadvantage students, and percentage of migrant students. What is included under "National Tests?" This section includes SAT and ACT test results as well as the most recent test results from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). SAT and ACT information is available at the school, the system, and the state levels. NAEP results are only available at the state level since the NAEP is sampled at the state level. Data Sources, Rules and Definitions: What is meant by "All Students?" "All Students" refers to all students who were tested. This does not mean all students at a school. However, there is one exception to this rule. "All Students" on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) and the Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT) refers to all 11th-grade first-time test takers. Why do I see "Too Few to Report?" OSA does not report on fewer than 10 students for confidentiality and statistical soundness reasons.
What is meant by "No Data Available?" "No Data Available" appears when a school or system is missing information.
Why can’t I always get 100 when I sum percents? Figures do not always add to 100 percent due to rounding. However, the sum will always be either 99, 100, or 101. OSA is provided K-12 data from the Georgia Department of Education. For the 2002-2003 school year, the Georgia Department of Education analyzed the test results according to specifications provided by OSA in order that the state report cards meet compliance with both federal and state laws. What is the source of the percentage of economically disadvantaged students? This percentage is calculated by dividing the number of students eligible to receive free- or reduced-price meals (as reported to the Department of Education in October 2002) by the total school enrollment (as reported by the October 2002 FTE count). What is the data source for the percentage of students with disabilities? The percentage of students with disabilities is based on the December FTE (full-time equivalency) count divided by the total enrollment from the Fall FTE count. The December FTE has been declared the official count of students with disabilities (special education) since that data collection is used to determine federal funding. What is the data source for the percentage of students with limited English proficiency? The percentage of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) is based on the 2003 Student Record. OSA calculates this percentage from the count of students identified as LEP divided by the count of students identified at that school, system, or state anytime during the academic year according to the Student Record. What is the data source for enrollment figures? Enrollment graphs show both Fall and Spring counts for an academic year. The Georgia Department of Education collects enrollment counts from school systems periodically throughout the year. These collections are known as FTE (full-time equivalency) counts. Fall enrollment figures are based on the October FTE count and the Spring enrollment figures are based on the March FTE count. The enrollment figure presented at the top of each page for a School, System, or the State reflects the October 2002 FTE. How is the graduation rate calculated? To comply with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Georgia has defined a graduate as a student who leaves high school with a regular diploma (this does not include Certificates of Attendance or Special Education diplomas) in the standard time (i.e., 4 years). In prior years, Georgia has reported a completion rate that allowed the inclusion of students receiving a certificate of performance or a special education diploma. Because of the NCLB timeline for reporting information, the graduation rate is calculated on using information in the relevant Student Records. The actual calculation is a proxy calculation; in other words, the lack of unique statewide student identifiers does not allow for tracking of individual students across the four high school years. The graduation rate reflects the percentage of students who entered ninth grade in a given year and were in the graduating class four years later. The 2002-2003 report card provides both the 2002 and the 2003 graduation rates. A brief description of how the graduation rate for 2003 is calculated follows:
How is the dropout rate calculated? To comply with No Child Left Behind’s timeline for reporting information to the public, the process for identifying dropouts had to be adjusted to rely solely on the Student Record collection. The National Center for Education Statistics requires that both a 7-12 grade and a 9-12 grade dropout be reported. Students are reported as dropouts if they leave school for one of the following reasons: Marriage, Expelled, Financial Hardship/Job, Incarcerated/Under Jurisdiction of Juvenile or Criminal Justice Authority, Low Grades/School Failure, Military, Adult Education/Postsecondary, Pregnant/Parent, Removed for Lack of Attendance, Serious Illness/Accident, and Unknown. The dropout rate calculation is the number of students with a withdrawal code corresponding to a dropout divided by the number of students that attended the school. Number of students that attended the school is based on any student reported in the Student Record and excludes no-shows. What disaggregated data is included in the Report Card? OSA disaggregates data (when available) on the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, disability, and English proficiency. For the Georgia tests, student results are reported by fifteen (15) categories:
These categories are used for reporting indicator data as well. For some test results (e.g., SAT and ACT), results by disability and limited English proficiency were not available, and race categories may slightly differ. How is OSA able to disaggregate student performance data and school-level indicators? Beginning with the 2001-2002 Report Card, OSA’s Report Card reflects the merging of Georgia test files with the Student Record for purposes of standardizing the identification of students by various group factors. The Student Record contains information on the race/ethnicity, gender, English proficiency, disability status, and migrant status on every student enrolled in a Georgia public school during any period of an academic year. Test results on years prior to 2001-2002 based on the student self-reported coding on the test answer documents. Results on the SAT, ACT, and NAEP are reported by using the race/ethnic categories and other student demographic information from the actual answer documents, and therefore the student groupings may differ slightly. No Child Left Behind distinguishes between the requirements for AYP purposes and Report Cards. The differences in reporting occur because of the following:
As of the 2001-2002 academic year, the official source of student demographic information is the Department of Education’s Student Record. Test publishers rely on student self-report information on answer documents. OSA’s process of reporting requires that the test documents be matched to the Student Record. When test records have erroneous or missing student identifiers, then no match can be made to the Student Record, and thus there is no available demographic information for that student and his/her test record. Demographic coding on test records often do not agree with the official student information in the Student Record. For this reason, the Student Record was been mandated as the official source of student demographic information in May 2002 and has been used for reporting tests by grouping factors in both 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 Report Cards. Results on previous years are based on the student self-coding on test answer documents. How are students designated as "with disabilities?" "Students with Disabilities" refers to those students who were coded with a state required code corresponding to a specific exceptionality or disability on the 2002 Student Record. GHSGT test performances are reported on the 2002-2003 Report Card as three discrete categories: Fail, Pass, and Pass-Plus. This is slightly different from actual reports received by schools and systems in which the Pass category also included Pass-Plus. This means that the sum of the three score categories will approximate 100 percent (+ or -1 due to rounding). Why does OSA present the SAT results by University System of Georgia (USG) institution type? The graph entitled "Percent of High School Seniors Scoring At or Above the Average Total SAT Score of 1st-Time College Freshmen Entering Board of Regents Higher Education Institutions in the Fall" shows how seniors who took the SAT performed as compared to the average scores for college freshmen at the various types of University System of Georgia (USG) institutions. For example, the state level summary for 2003 shows 16% for Research Universities within USG. This means that 16% of the high school seniors in 2002-2003 across the state had a SAT score at or above the average SAT of 1199 for college freshmen entering Research Universities in fall 2002. USG institutions use multiple criteria including high school course selection, grade point average, and SAT/ACT scores for college admission. While the university system has set minimum SAT requirements, individual institutions may set higher admissions standards. The average SAT score by type of institution better represents the typical freshmen class at those colleges. The average SAT score showed an increase in each sector for the entering freshmen in 2000 and 2001. For example, the average SAT for freshmen at State Universities in fall 2000 was 986, in fall 2001 the average was 1000, and in fall 2002 the average was 1005. For 2002, the average SAT also increased in all sectors except for the State College tier that experienced a slight drop in the average SAT of entering freshmen in fall 2002. The average SAT for the State College tier was 912 in fall 2000, 935 in fall 2001, and 919 in fall 2002. It should also be noted that these percentages are based on duplicated counts and should not be summed. For example, a student with a SAT score at or above the average (1199) for a Research University is also counted among those students scoring at or above the averages for the other types of institutions. For more details on USG admission requirements, visit http://www.usg.edu. What is the University System of Georgia (USG)? The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is the governing body of 34 institutions of higher learning. These 34 institutions are divided into 5 types: research universities, regional universities, state universities, state colleges, and two-year colleges. For more information about the Board of Regents and the University System of Georgia, access http://www.usg.edu. What is the Georgia Kindergarten Assessment Program - Revised (GKAP-R)? The GKAP-R is a performance-based measure used to determine the readiness of students entering first grade. Throughout the year, teachers assess kindergarten students on a variety of assessment activities in the domain areas of literacy, mathematics, and social/emotional development. By spring, teachers have rated each student on 32 activities according to state standards. On individual student reports, students receive one of three overall readiness ratings: Not Ready for First Grade (for scale scores below 148), Needs Extra Instructional Assistance in First Grade (for scale scores from 148 to 160), and Ready for First Grade (for scale scores of 161 and above). What are the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT)? CRCT assessments are state-mandated end-of-year assessments. These tests are designed to measure how well students have mastered the content and skills that are unique to Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) in the areas of reading, English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies at grades 1 through 8. The CRCT item format is selected-response. Based on performance, students are classified as:
What is the Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA)? In grade 8, the MGWA is administered in winter. Students demonstrate their writing ability by responding to a state-selected topic. Student papers are scored at the state level in accordance with scoring guidelines at one of three stages of mastery: Below Target (for scale scores from 300 to 348), On Target (for scale scores from 349 to 367), or Exceeding Target (for scale scores 368 to 400). What are the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT)? Currently DOE administers the GHSGT to evaluate student performance at the high school level. The tests include assessments in the areas of English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Current high school diploma requirements mandate that a student must achieve a passing score in each subtest of the GHSGT as well as the Georgia High School Writing Test. If a student does not pass a subject’s test, then he/she is retested in that subject area. A student has multiple opportunities to take each subject’s test. The four core subject tests are scored Fail, Pass, and Pass Plus. The actual scale scores used for the levels of performance vary by subject. The following chart shows the scales.
What is the Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT)? Currently DOE administers the GHSWT to evaluate a student’’s writing performance at the high school level. Current high school diploma requirements mandate that a student must achieve a passing score on the GHSWT as well as on each subject area test of the Georgia High School Graduation Tests. If a student does not pass a subject’s test, then he/she is retested in that subject area. A student has multiple opportunities to take each subject’s test. The writing test is scored Fail (for scales scores between 400 and 499) or Pass (for scale scores of 500 and above). What is the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA)? The Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) is to be used when the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team decides that a student should not participate in the state-mandated assessments even with accommodations. The GAA is to be used for those students who currently participate in an alternate, functional curriculum and who do not receive instruction in the essential knowledge and skills of the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC). The GAA requires that a student be assessed in the area of Communication and four of the other 7 curriculum categories (Daily Living/Personal Management, Motor, Cognitive/Functional Academics, Social/Emotional, Community, Vocational, Recreation/Leisure, and IEP Objectives. A student’s progress is assigned one of four scoring levels/ratings (initial, emerging, progressing, functional) in each category assessed. The IEP team determines for each student which additional curriculum categories in addition to Domain 1 (Communication) will be assessed. The GAA is not an alternate for the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) or the Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT) in terms of leading to a high-school diploma, but is an alternate for purposes of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). In order to ensure that all students are annually assessed as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, students who were enrolled in eleventh-grade during the 2002-2003 were to be assessed either by the GHSGT or the GAA for purposes of determining if schools, systems, and the state met the 95% test participation component of AYP. The SAT is a college admissions test developed by The College Board Entrance Examination Board and Educational Testing Service. The SAT has a verbal component and a math component. Scores range from 200 to 800 on each section; when the two scores are combined for a total score, the range is from 400 to 1600. Many students take the SAT multiple times. The College Board releases SAT scores annually by reporting on the scores for seniors from their most recent administration. Some colleges, however, may take into consideration for college admission, a student’s highest verbal and highest math score regardless of the administration. OSA presents SAT results in both ways. Only school, system, and state scores based on the most recent administration can be compared to the national scores. It should also be noted that the national scores released by The College Board include both private as well as public school students. The ACT is a college admissions test developed by The American College Testing Program. ACT results are presented at the state summary level only. The ACT results are based on student scores from their most recent administration so that they are comparable to the national averages released by The American College Testing Program. OSA’s report includes the composite scores from 2003 graduating seniors who took the ACT Assessment as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. An ACT composite score is a combination of the subtest scores in the areas of English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. Scores on the composites as well as each subtest range from 1 to 36. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments are administered to representative samples of students at the national and state levels for those states that want to participate. Georgia has participated in the NAEP reading assessments since 1992; in mathematics since 1990; in science since 1996; and in writing beginning in 2002. The most recent NAEP results for Georgia are included in the 2002-2003 Report Card. The report includes:
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