Measuring Growth

Share / assign

Why it works

Achievement (status) measures, whether a student has reached a proficiency bar at one point in time, can hide the actual learning: a student who grew enormously but started far behind may still look below, and a student who grew little may still look proficient. Measuring growth, how much a student has progressed over time, reveals learning that status scores miss, values progress from every starting point, and gives a fairer picture of teaching impact. Research supports attending to growth alongside achievement. Teachers can look at growth by comparing a student to their own earlier performance, not just to a fixed bar.

The research: Research on growth versus achievement measures.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: look at growth, not just status

Teachers leave looking at growth from starting points, not just the bar.

Take an assessment or measure you use.
Look at how far students have grown from their own starting points, not just whether they hit a bar.
Value and surface progress from every starting point.
Use growth to see learning a status score hides.

How far they have come, not just where they areA proficiency snapshot hides the learning behind it. Measure growth from each starting point to reveal real learning and value progress for everyone.

Facilitator notes

Look at growth from starting points, and value progress for all.
Growth reveals what status hides.
Use both growth and achievement.

A status snapshot hides the learning behind itJudging only whether students hit a bar misses how far they have grown, and penalizes those who started behind. Measure growth alongside achievement.

Adapt it

Elementary: compare to earlier work, value progress.
Secondary: growth over time, from starting points.
All settings: growth from starting points, value progress.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Measuring Growth: how far they have come

Beyond the snapshot: measure growth from each starting point to reveal real learning and value progress.

The assessment or measure I use:
How I look at growth from starting points:
How I value and surface progress for everyone:
The learning a status score hides:
How I use both growth and achievement:

Make it stick

How far they have come:

Look at growth.
Value progress from every start.
Bring a growth view that revealed learning to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't a proficiency score enough?

It shows status at one moment but hides the learning behind it. A student who grew a lot from far behind may still look below; one who grew little may look proficient. Growth reveals the actual learning.

How do I measure growth?

Compare a student to their own earlier performance over time, not just to a fixed bar. This values progress from every starting point and shows the real learning.

Why does growth matter for fairness?

It values and reveals progress from every starting point, giving a fairer picture of learning and teaching impact than a status snapshot that favors where students started.