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ELMP 6005 Statistical Methods
ACADEMIC YEAR 200 5 -200 6 Seton Hall University
Practical Exercise # 3
Name: ____________________ Date: _____________
The following data represents the Language Arts Literacy scores of eight New
Jersey eighth grade students on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA):
- Calculate the mode, median, mean, variance and standard deviation of this
sample.
- Now determine the “so what?” of these statistics. Refer to your attached handout.
DISCUSSION: How can such statistics help in educational administration decisions or
policy?
To help you better understand the benefits of the GEPA and your child’s score, the New Jersey Department
of Education is providing the answers to the most frequently asked questions. See next two pages.
Your child’s scale score on each content area. Scale scores range from a low of 100 to a high of 300.
Based on your child’s test scores, his or her performance is characterized as “Partially Proficient”, “Proficient”, or “Advanced Proficient.”
Indicates if your child was identified as a student with limited English proficiency (LEP); a special education student (SE); exempt from testing based on an individual education plan (IEP); or receiving Title I services (Title I).
Two content areas were assessed on the 1999 GEPA: language arts literacy and mathematics.
The GEPA language arts literacy components contain two content clusters* (above the dotted line) and two skill clusters* (below the dotted line).
Indicates the number of points your child earned out of the total number of points possible for the cluster.* For example, this student earned 20 of the possible 36 points in Reading.
The “Just Proficient Mean” is the average number of points earned by students who were just proficient (i.e., scored
- in this content area.
A 4 indicates that your child scored higher on this cluster* than the average for students who were “just proficient” in this area.
The GEPA mathematics components contain four content clusters* (above the dotted line) and two skills clusters* (below the dotted line).
Defines “Partially Proficient”, “Proficient”, or “Advanced Proficient.”
The GEPA language arts literacy and mathematics
scores are reported as scale scores with a range of
100 to 300. Scores at or above 250 indicate “Advanced
Proficient.” Scores from 200 to 249 indicate “Proficient.”
If your child is in the “Advanced Proficient” or
“Proficient” level, he/she has met the state standards for
that content area. Scores below 200 indicate your child
performed at the “Partially Proficient” level and has not
met the state’s minimum level of proficiency, based on
this test administration, and may need some type of
additional instructional support.
Your child’s report is available only to parents,
guardians, and authorized school officials. If you have
any questions about the report, you should contact
your child’s teacher or principal. He or she can help
you interpret the information on the score report and
explain what the instructional staff is doing and what
you can do to help your child master the skills measured
on the test. Special programs and related services will
be provided for the child after the parent and school
staff determine his/her needs.
How to read your child’s test results
_A cluster is a group of items that measure similar skills. The skills in a given cluster are typically taught together to allow students to make appropriate connections._*
