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About the reports
Use this report to review gains for your school, as measured by Reading Progress Indicator (RPI), our integrated assessment tool. RPI assessments help measure the impact of Fast ForWord intervention. To learn about the assessments in this report see About Reading Progress Indicator (RPI).
Only school managers and district managers can access this report.
How to use RPI assessments to evaluate students
When using assessments to evaluate students, it's important to note that assessment scores only represent a partial snapshot of a student's performance at a given time, which can be influenced by the student's psychological or physical state at the time of testing. As such, assessment tools can be subject to errors. Scientific Learning recommends using both a pattern of test performance over time and multiple assessment tools to provide a more accurate measure of a student's true performance.
Additionally, please note that an assessment is considered to be at or below chance if the student scored below 30% on the assessment. Assessment scores below 30% correct cannot be distinguished from random guessing, and therefore are not a good basis for a valid evaluation. When reviewing RPI scores for your students, consider whether unexpectedly low scores seem reasonable for those students. If not, you may choose to void the RPI assessment and have the student complete a new assessment.
See RPI assessments for information on managing RPI assessments for your students. The Reading Progress Indicator FAQ is also a great resource, providing answers to frequently asked questions about RPI, scoring, and other important facts.
Which results are included?
Based on which RPI report you’re viewing, the report includes the following assessments:
- The RPI Auto report only uses assessments administered by the Auto RPI feature. This includes initial assessments for any product (Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant Plus), and follow-up assessments for the Fast ForWord product. To calculate results, the report compares the students’ initial assessments to the latest follow-up assessments completed within the selected date range. The initial assessments may be outside the date range, but the follow-up assessments must be within the date range or the gains results for those student will not be included. If none of the students have completed a follow-up assessment within the date range, no results will appear in the report.
- The RPI All report uses assessments administered for any product—Fast ForWord or Reading Assistant Plus. To calculate results, the report uses the first and last assessments completed within the selected date range. If none of the students have completed at least two assessments within the date range, no results will appear in the report.
If you don’t see results in the report, your students may not have completed the required assessments within the selected date range. Try changing the date range, or wait until the students have completed their next assessment.
To learn how Reading Progress Indicator assesses gains throughout the report, see About RPI gains results.
School Reading Level Gains graph
This bar graph displays the average reading level gain score for the school compared to the length of time the students spent using the Fast ForWord products, as measured between each student's assessments. It appears next to the Reading Level Gain Distribution graph to let you also see the distribution of actual student scores across four gains levels.
To view the number of students measured in this graph, hold your cursor over a bar.
Gains. This bar represents the average reading level gain score for the school after Fast ForWord product use. mySciLEARN calculates this score by subtracting the average reading level on the initial assessments from the average reading level on the follow-up assessments. A numerical gain score appears at the end of the bar, in years and months. To learn more see Gain scores.
Days of Use. This bar represents the average number of days the students worked on the Fast ForWord product, as measured between the assessments. This number is generally lower than the number of calendar days due to weekends, holidays, and absences. The actual number of participation days appears at the end of the bar.
Calendar Days. This bar represents the average number of calendar days that have elapsed since the students first started the Fast ForWord product, as measured between the assessments. The actual number of calendar days appears at the end of the bar.
In the gains reports, reading level gain scores are the same as grade equivalent gain scores.
School Reading Level Gain Distribution graph
This graph maps the students in the school across four categories of reading level gain scores, as measured between each student's assessments. It appears next to the Reading Level Gains graph to let you also see the average reading level gain score for the school.
Each student with a gain score appears in one of the following four categories. Each category also displays the percentage of students who fall in that category. To view the actual number of students in each category, hold your cursor over that category. To learn more see Gain scores.
Up to 0.5 Year (cyan)
0.6 to 1.0 Year (green)
1.1 to 1.5 Years (dark blue)
Greater than 1.5 Years (light blue)
In the gains reports, reading level gain scores are the same as grade equivalent gain scores.
School Reading Percentile Scores graph
This graph presents the average reading level percentile scores before and after Fast ForWord product use, as measured by each student's assessments. The scores reflect the school's performance compared to students across the nation. It appears next to the Proficiency Level Changes graph to let you also see the distribution of the students by reading proficiency level.
To learn more about percentiles see National percentile scores.
Before (red). The average national percentile score before Fast ForWord product use, as measured by the initial assessments.
After (green). The average national percentile score after Fast ForWord product use, as measured by the follow-up assessments.
School Proficiency Level Changes graph
This graph maps the students in the school across four proficiency levels—both before and after Fast ForWord product use—to illustrate improvements in reading proficiency level. It appears next to the Reading Percentiles score graph to let you also see the average percentile scores for the school before and after Fast ForWord product use.
The left side of the graph (red) maps the proficiency levels on the initial assessments and the right side of the graph (green) maps the proficiency levels on the latest follow-up assessments completed within the date range. Proficiency levels are based on percentile scores and reflect how each student compares with his or her peers across the nation. Each bar in the graph also displays the number of students whose scores fall in that proficiency level. Note that students can make dramatic gains without changing performance levels; for example, a student could move from the 55th percentile to the 75th percentile but still be within the Proficient level. To learn more see Reading proficiency levels.
- Struggling. 1st to 29th percentile
- Emerging. 30th to 54th percentile
- Proficient. 55th to 79th percentile
- Advanced. 80th to 99th percentile
By default, the graph includes all information. You can choose which data to include in the graph by clicking that item (in blue) in the legend at the top right of the graph.
Gains by Group table
This table presents gains results for each group in the school, as measured between each student's assessments. It lets you easily compare gains results across groups. It includes the following assessments, based on your view:
- RPI (Auto) includes each student’s initial assessment completed within the date range, including those taken for Reading Assistant placement (Reading Assistant only), and all follow-up assessments completed within the date range. If a student's follow-up assessment is included in the report, the student's initial assessment is also included, even it was completed outside the date range. This lets you can compare results between the two assessments.
- RPI (All) includes the first and last assessments completed within the date range.
To sort the table, click the Group column header.
Group. The groups in which students have taken a assessment. Click a group name to view results for that group.
Pre Tested. The number of students in the group who have taken an assessment, including those for Reading Assistant Plus placement.
Post Tested. The number of students in the group who have taken a follow-up assessment within the date range.
Grade Equivalent Gains (Y.Mo). The average RPI grade equivalent gain score (or reading level gain score) after Fast ForWord product use. The first digit in this score represents the number of years gained and the second digit represents the number of months gained. The grade equivalent score is based on an academic school year of ten months, so a score of 2.4 represents a gain of two academic years and four months. To learn more see Gain scores.
Percentile Gains. The average reading level percentile gains after Fast ForWord product use. To learn more see National percentile scores.
The last three columns show results for the Fast ForWord component.
- FFW Products Completed. The average number of Fast ForWord components completed to date; that is, components in which the students earned a Switch or Complete status. To learn more see About report status updates and alerts.
- Days of Use. The average number of days that the students used (but not necessarily completed) the Fast ForWord components, as measured between the assessments. This number is generally lower than the number of calendar days due to weekends, holidays, and absences.
- Calendar Days. The average number of calendar days that have elapsed since the students first started the Fast ForWord components, as measured between the assessments.
Tip: If a group does not have any students with a follow-up assessment in the date range (Auto view) or at least two assessments within the date range (All view), no gains results will appear in the table—only the School and # Pre Tested columns will show information. For these schools, if you view the group and student reports, you may need to change the date range to see results. To learn more see About report date ranges.
If you export this report with All Students selected under Filter by My Groups, the exported report also includes student IDs for each student in the report.