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Getting Started | Customizing Your Scatterplot | Data Details | Comments and Cautions | More
The WINSS Data Analysis section offers scatterplots to help you
- compare WSAS (Wisconsin Student Assessment System) performance of your district/school to other districts/schools in the state, your CESA, or your county, and
- examine possible associations between student performance measures (e.g. WSAS) and other variables
View sample live scatterplot.
Getting Started To access scatterplots for your school or district, click on "How did students perform on state tests at grades 3-8 and 10?". Next click on "Change school or district" (circled link in FIGURE 1) to select your school or district, then click on the "Scatterplot" (circled link in FIGURE 2).
FIGURE 1. "Change School or District" Link.
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FIGURE 2. "Scatterplot" Link.
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FIGURE 3. Sample School Scatterplot
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| FIGURE 4. Scatterplot with Plotting Symbols.
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Note the graphing options above the Sample School Scatterplot in FIGURE 3. By default, "Level: % Advanced + % Proficient" is selected for the Y-axis and "Relate To: %Economically Disadvantaged" is selected for the X-axis. High-performing, high-poverty districts/schools can be found in
the upper right quadrant of the scatterplot. A Sample Scatterplot with Plotting Symbols showing differences in an optional third variable is shown in FIGURE 4.
Each dot or symbol on the scatterplot represents one school or district. An enlarged red symbol is used to identify your school/district.
Customizing Your Scatterplot
To change graph options, click on any link above the scatterplot. Options are shown in FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 5. Graph Options
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- Y-axis: Select the WSAS performance measure of interest from the "Grade," "Subject," and "Level" rows.
- X-axis: Select a second variable from the "Relate To" row.
- Third variable (optional): You may select a third variable from the "Show Differences In" row.
- Location: Select your geographic location of interest.
Note that all Y-axis data (the WSAS performance measure of interest) are for the school year indicated in scatterplot title. All X-axis data and data for the third variable are for that same school year unless these data are not yet available; if not yet available, then the most current data available on WINSS are used.
To share your scatterplot, copy and paste the URL into email or other document.
Using a Third Variable
Differences in the value of the third variable are displayed using plotting symbols as shown in FIGURE 6. Schools/districts with the same plotting symbol are considered "similar" with respect to the third variable. Schools/districts are considered "similar" if their data regarding the variable fall in the same range. The ranges used in defining "similar" for the third variable, are
the same ranges used in the Similar Districts/Schools graphs and tables.
FIGURE 6. Key to Plotting Symbols Used in WINSS Scatterplots.
Four-Level Variables: District Spending, % Limited English Proficient, % Students with Disabilities, % in Racial Ethnic Group
| Five-Level Variables: District Size, % Economically Disadvantaged
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q 0-10% or < $9,500
u 10.01-25% or $9,500.01-$10,500
n 25.01-50% or $10,500.01-$11,500
p 50.01-100% or > $11,500
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q 0-10% or <= 500
u 10.01-25% or 501-1000
n 25.01-50% or 1,001-2,000
p 50.01-75% or 2001-10,000
+ 75.01-100% or > 10,000
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A sample scatterplot using an optional third variable and plotting symbols is shown in FIGURE 4.
This scatterplot and be used to analyze possible associations between WSAS performance, the selected "Relate To" variable, and the "Show Differences In" variable.
Viewing Data Details
To view the data for all districts or schools in the scatterplot, scroll to the table just below the scatterplot. See FIGURE 3 for a sample data table that includes these school and district names and other data in the scatterplot. The district and school names in all WINSS data tables are linked to the district and school home pages for more information.
| Users can download CSV files containing all the information displayed on the scatterplots plus codes and counts that might be useful in combining data across years, topics, categories or groups. Click on "Download Raw Data from This Page" (below the scatterplot table) to request a csv file. See circled link in FIGURE 7. |
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FIGURE 7. Download Raw Data.
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- Scatterplots are considered by many to be one of the best tools for
studying the association between two variables especially when you have a
lot of data. A scatterplot suggests the strength (strong or weak), shape
(linear, curvilinear), and direction (positive, negative) of the
relationship between two variables.
- The more the points in the scatterplot tend to cluster around a
line, the stronger the relationship between the variables. The line may be
straight or curved. If the line runs from lower left to upper right, then
the plot suggests a positive relationship. If the line tends to reun from
upper left to lower right, then the plot suggests a negative relationship.
- Scatterplots may suggest an association between two variables because
they are both associated with a third variable. A strong association does
not mean there is a cause-effect relationship but may suggest possible
explanations for low student performance OR important further questions to
consider.
- Two or three variables cannot sum up the educational task of district
and school communities. Plots of these variables are meant to be discussion
starters as school improvement teams work on identifying possible
explanations for student strengths and needs and ideas for improving student
outcomes.
Cautions about the Data:
- No single test can tell us whether students have learned everything
that is important for students to learn. Statewide test results are the
only available student performance measures for the Y-axis of the WINSS
scatterplot at this time.
- All WKCE performance data are based on results for "All enrolled FAY"
in the school or district. Using percentages based on "All enrolled FAY"
accounts for all students in the school or district for the full prior
academic year, including students not tested during the three week testing
window.
- Demographic data were provided by school districts based on
standardized definitions and are unaudited.
- Per member spending patterns vary across grades. This fact will
affect interpretations of district-level spending differences when comparing
elementary only or high school only districts to K-12 districts.
- Current education cost per member is affected by changes in both cost
and membership (FTE resident enrollment). A relatively small actual change
in membership, particularly in a smaller district, can result in a
significant cost per member change.
For more informaton
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