Scatterplots

Building a Scatterplot

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

• Test and subject
• Grade, if applicable
• Year of data

When plotting assessments analyzed with the gain model, select Across Grades to see combined measures across all grades for each LEA 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.

Choose the Axes

Growth Index: The growth index indicates how strong the evidence is that the group of students in the LEA or building 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 LEA or building growth report for the selected grade and subject or course.

Achievement: This value represents the achievement of students in the LEA or building in the currently selected year, subject, or course.

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.

Select Items to Display

Choosing LEAs and Buildings

Next you'll need to choose the LEAs or buildings you'd like to plot on the graph. To do so, you'll work below the graph in the Select Items to Display tab.

Plot: Use this drop-down menu to choose LEAs or buildings. If you choose LEA, each LEA you select will appear as a data point on the graph above. If you choose buildings, each building you select will appear as a data point on the graph.

Roll the cursor over the name of a currently selected LEA or building to locate it.

Filtering by Demographics

Once you have selected LEAs or buildings, you can limit which ones appear by applying demographic filters listed on the right side of the screen. To apply a filter, check the box next to it and enter a range of values. Then click Apply Filters. Only LEAs or buildings that fall within the range you defined for the selected demographic appear. For example, if you choose English Learner and enter a range of 70% to 100%, only LEAs or buildings that have 70-100% of their students identified as English learners are displayed.

You can apply any combination of filters you'd like. To remove a filter, uncheck the box. To remove all filters, click Clear Filters.

On This Graph

This tab lists the LEAs or buildings you have added to the scatterplot. The number of LEAs or buildings currently selected appears in parentheses after the tab's name. The list displays the values for each LEA or building for the variables you've chosen to plot. To see the values for the buildings currently plotted displayed, expand the list by selecting the LEA's name. Roll the cursor over the name of a currently selected LEA or building to locate it on the scatterplot.

To change the symbol for any LEA or building, click the symbol in the Point column. You can change the symbol's size, color, or shape. If you choose Apply to Building, your changes will be applied only to the symbol for that one building in the graph. If you choose Apply to LEA, your changes will be applied to all buildings in the LEA.

Settings

Font Size: Controls the size of the text on the axes and rollovers.

Animations: If you experience performance issues, it can be helpful to turn off the animations.

Rollovers: When enabled, the scatterplot displays the name of each LEA or building when the cursor moves over the data points. If you do not want to see these rollovers, disable this feature.

Graph Line Depth: This setting controls whether the lines appear above or below the data points.

Graph Lines: The lines mark the origin for the data on each axis. To turn off a graph line, uncheck the box. To change the color of the line, click the dash next to the origin label. In the drop-down menu, select a color, and then click Apply.

Additional Graph Options

Just below the scatterplot, you'll see additional options for displaying the data and interacting with the graph.

Zoom: When this option is selected, you can click and drag the cursor over a portion of the graph or double-click on the graph to zoom in.

Move: Once you have zoomed in, you can click and drag to view sections outside the visible area.

Flip: Click this option to switch the x- and y-axis.

Fullscreen: Click this option to enlarge the graph to fill your browser window.

Restore: This button appears after you have chosen at least one of the graph options. Click Restore to return the graph to its default settings.