Understanding and Analyzing Program Data

When test results are released, the following reports and data are made available through the approved official at each educator preparation program. These reports and data:

• are for use by educator preparation program faculty and administrators
• provide information about candidates who indicated during registration that the educator preparation program or organization should receive their test results.

The table below and the information that follows describe the reports and data files available to educator preparation programs.

ASCII data files

ASCII data files are made available to educator preparation programs for downloading and importing test results into their software databases or applications, allowing customized formatting and analysis of test scores. A readme file on the secure website facilitates understanding of the data file format.

ResultsAnalyzer™

In addition to the reports and data file provided on the test results release dates, educator preparation programs can see reports and generate custom reports that include up-to-date results for the educator preparation program through the software program that is made available to authorized users of the score-reporting system, ResultsAnalyzer. This score reporting system allows users to:

• view, analyze, reorganize, download, and print reports based on test results data and on background information gathered during test registration; and
• instantly access candidate, test, and program data.

You can use ResultsAnalyzer to:

• create relevant and timely reports on candidate and educator preparation program test results;
• customize data queries to align with program goals and areas of interest;
• aggregate performance data across testing program years;
• export data to Excel or other report software;
• print graphics; and
• analyze candidate and program data for numerous variables (including self-reported data, such as gender and education level).

In addition to accessing individual candidate information available through ResultsAnalzyer, educator preparation programs may find the total test and subarea performance information found in the test level reports valuable for identifying courses or curriculum areas that may need to be adapted to strengthen students' content knowledge. Using the test information, including subarea performance indices, along with the test objective-course alignment information in the Objective-to-Course Matching Chart may give you a broader understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and the curriculum.

Interpretive Cautions

When reviewing the institution data, please keep in mind the interpretive cautions that should be considered. In general, these include:

• Results based on smaller numbers of candidates are typically less stable than those based on larger numbers, and may not provide a reliable indication of how candidates at an educator preparation program typically perform.
• The performance of candidates for a particular test reporting period may not predict the performance of other candidates who take the tests in the future.
• Although candidates do not "pass" or "fail" individual subareas or sections, subarea performance information available to candidates on their Individual Score Reports may be useful in understanding candidates' areas of strength and weakness. This information should be interpreted with caution since subareas and sections contain varying numbers of test items.
• Subarea performance information is based on fewer questions than the total test score and may be less reliable as an indication of performance.
• The individual candidate information contained in the program-level score reports is confidential and must not be disclosed to unauthorized persons or educator preparation programs. Appropriate safeguards must be implemented by all personnel to protect candidates from improper disclosure of information.
• Individual candidate results are intended to be used for the purpose of educator licensure. The test(s) are not designed to be used for other purposes, including but not limited to employment decisions and admission to or completion of an educator preparation program.
• Candidate test results are complete as of the date and time the results are released. Additions or changes to this information may occur after this date. The state maintains an updated file of official results for the purpose of licensure.

Test Results Reported to the State

Following each score reporting date, the state also receives score reports that include:

• ASCII file
• ResultsAnalyzer