The Importance of Updated Norms
Moving forward from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most crucial steps educational companies can take is to update the national percentile ranks (NPRs or norms) used in their testing.
Edmentum has made this essential update from 2019-20 to 2023-24 data to ensure that the benchmarks we use to assess student performance are accurate and reflective of the current educational landscape.
Additionally, Edmentum is introducing seasonal norms to better reflect student performances at different times of the year.
Exact Path Norms Reflect Current Student Performance
Edmentum strives to ensure that our assessments accurately reflect the abilities of students today rather than continue to reflect outcomes from before COVID. Exact Path’s 23-24 norms will allow educators to better understand which students need support and the appropriate level of intensity required for an impactful intervention.
Updated norms may mask pandemic learning loss as the drop in student performance can paradoxically increase NPRs. The way we calculate Exact Path diagnostic scale scores haven’t changed, so while the diagnostic scale scores continue to accurately show the skills students can perform, based on old norms a student’s NPR would be lower. With Exact Path’s updated norms, educators are able to accurately identify struggling students and plan for increased support.
For example, a 6th grade reading student scoring an 1138 in the spring would have been at the 50th percentile of the 19-20 data. With the updated data, the score is at the 60th NPR. The increase of 10 percentile points between the old and new NPR does not reflect improved learning but rather that more students are performing worse.
Higher Accuracy with Exact Path’s Seasonal Norms
Introducing seasonal norms further clarifies student outcomes at different times of the year.
As one might expect, average student scores increase as the year progresses with more students scoring lower at the beginning of the year and then increasing their scores.
To better reflect this moving target, Edmentum has introduced seasonal norms that adjust over the year to follow student progress.
Supporting Equity and Fairness
The pandemic has highlighted and, in many cases, exacerbated educational inequities.
Updated percentile ranks can help us address these disparities by providing a clear picture of how different student populations have been affected. This ensures that all students are assessed fairly and that those who have faced greater challenges receive the support they need to catch up.
Accurate and updated norms are essential for identifying students who need additional support, thereby promoting equity and fairness in education¹.
Informing Instruction and Intervention
Accurate and current percentile ranks are invaluable for informing instructional strategies and interventions. With up-to-date data, educators can identify students who need additional support and tailor their teaching methods accordingly.
This allows for more effective, targeted interventions that can help close learning gaps and promote student success. The Institute of Educational Sciences recommends using the 40th percentile to designate students as requiring additional support².
Using seasonal updated norms reduces the over-identification of students below the 40th percentile.
Guiding Policy and Decision Making
Policymakers and educational leaders also rely on this data to make informed decisions about resource allocation, funding, and program development.
Updated national percentile ranks provide a solid foundation for these decisions, ensuring that policies and initiatives are based on the most current and relevant information available.
Engaging Parents and Communities
Finally, updated percentile ranks help educators communicate more effectively with parents and communities.
Providing a clear and accurate picture of student performance fosters transparency and trust, encouraging collaborative efforts to support student learning both in and out of the classroom.
In conclusion, updating national percentile ranks is a critical step toward ensuring that our educational assessments are fair, accurate, and reflective of the current state of student learning. By using updated norms, educators can better support our students, meaningfully inform teaching practices, and make data-driven decisions that benefit the entire educational community.
Learn more about scaling up interventions and accelerating growth with Exact Path.
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¹ Darling-Hammond, L., Schachner, A., & Edgerton, A. K. (2020). Restarting and Reinventing School: Learning in the Time of COVID and Beyond. Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved from [Learning Policy Institute]
² Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C. M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W. D. (2009). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide (Report No. NCEE 2009-4045). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.