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Choosing Indicator Students

What Are Indicator Students?

Indicator students, as used within the myImpact trials process, are a selection of student from a teacher’s classroom roster that represent the widest range of characteristics for the classroom population. The myImpact trials process seeks to balance confidence in the indications of change based on a small sample size with the difficulties of collecting observations from an entire class of students.

Teachers who have used the trials process find collecting observations on five to seven students manageable and report feeling confident about the data they are analyzing.

Choosing Students

Indicator students should represent the variability of students teachers encounter each year in the classroom. Teachers choose a single class as the source of their indicator students and observations. Teachers should choose the widest range of students that they have in their class along academic proficiency, race/ethnicity, IEP/no IEP status, and gender. 

Proficiency level can be state test results, local data like STAR, MAP, or iReady testing, or, if a teacher doesn't have access to standardized data, teachers should use their professional judgment. Being limited by the availability of state or local testing data shouldn't prevent a teacher from choosing a particular student as an indicator student.

Race and ethnicity should come directly from the school's student information system, when possible. Judgments about a student based on how they appear could be different than how a student self-identifies as recorded in the student information system.

Demographic details can be added at any time. myImpact’s automatic analysis functions will start desegregating by student demographic categories once information is added.

Tracking these students’ response to the learning design choices made in the classroom enables teams to gauge the impact of implementing a chosen strategy on ALL learners.

Research Supporting Small Sample Size as an Indicator of Effect

Lot Sampling Plans in the Measure of Quality of Care Indicators

Small Samples: Does Size Matter? Anderson and Vingrys

How to Use Stratified Random Sampling in 2022 Qualtrics