How are the participation numbers calculated? Two numbers are reported, what do each represent?
The column titled “participants,” showed by grade level, is the number of students whose attempt status were tested, not tested, or absent excused. The column to the right, titled “total”, is the overall participants tested (the sum of all grades), which is the actual denominator used in the calculating the participation rate. However, when viewing the state and district levels, for high school, there is only one column. There is no “total” because there is only one grade level. The numerator of the calculation is not displayed, but can be calculated, and the formula is different for reading and math. For the numerator in both reading and math participation, it includes students who were tested and those who were marked with any of the reasons not tested, but not exempted. The denominator for reading participation includes the numerator plus those who were excused from taking the test. The denominator for math participation includes the numerator plus those who were excused from taking
