Table of Contents

Growth Columns

Use growth data to:

  • Make fair comparisons across subjects, grades, courses, and years
  • Find areas of strength and areas that need improvement

The table below gives general information about the growth columns and links to more in-depth information.

Column NameGlossary DefinitionWhere to Find More Information
Growth IndexAn indicator of the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected growth.Understanding the Growth Index
Growth Measure

A conservative estimate of the growth that students made, on average, in a grade and subject or course. This measure is a function of the difference between students' actual and expected Z scores.

Before being submitted to the model, MAP scale scores are converted to Z scores by year, subject, and grade. This conversion standardizes data that are based on different scales, and results in a distribution with an overall mean of zero for each year, subject, and grade. For each student, a Z score is calculated for each year, subject, and grade by taking the difference between the student's actual score and the average score of the entire cohort, and dividing this value by the standard deviation.

For more information on how a Z score is calculated, see the Missouri Growth Model on the login page.

Technical Documentation.

Z Score ValueCorresponding Raw Score
Equal to +11 standard deviation above the overall average score
ZeroEqual to the overall average
NegativeBelow the overall average
Equal to -11 standard deviation below the group mean
Growth Measures And Standard Errors
Standard ErrorA measure that establishes a confidence band around the growth measure and describes the certainty that the group of students met, exceeded, or fell short of expected growth.Growth Measures And Standard Errors
Growth Measure DistributionA percentile ranking that represents where the growth measure for the group of students falls in the LEA's or building's distribution for this assessment. This is not the same percentile ranking used for MSIP 6 accountability.Understanding the Growth Measure Distribution
Student CountThe number of students included in the analysis.Understanding the Student Count