This year, as part of the Comparative District Analysis, the option to include a Virtual Peer Group as one of the nine comparative districts has been added to the Data Brief. This post explains what a Virtual Peer Group is and why your school district might want to include it in your Comparative District Analysis.
What is a Virtual Peer Group?
A Virtual Peer Group (VPG) is a modern alternative to manually selecting a comparison group of school districts to benchmark performance. Instead of manually establishing a performance benchmark by selecting a group of school districts with similar characteristics, a VPG automatically generates a benchmark based on a district’s values on a wide range of district characteristics.
How are Virtual Peer Groups Created?
VPGs are created by training statistical models via machine learning algorithms on large state-wide data sets. The models learn the relationships that variables have with each other and the impact that variables have on district performance indicators. The algorithms capture what they have learned by encoding knowledge into models that are used to generate VPGs based on any combination of characteristics.
It is important to understand that a VPG is not a comparison to a specific school district or a group of school districts. Rather, it is a district specific model-based benchmark that is unique to the school district. Every school district has a unique VPG that is based on the district’s exact characteristics. The VPG model produces a benchmark for all performance indicators of interest. VPGs in Illinois are based on training models on over 30,000 data points from all school districts across Illinois, including but not limited to:.
- District type (elementary, high school, or unit)
- District enrollment
- Ethnic distributions
- Percentage English Language Learners (ELLs)
- Percentage of low income students
- Student mobility
- Geographic location
- Equalized Assessed Housing Values (EAV)
The model was trained on publicly available data reported by the Illinois State Board of Education.
What are the benefits of using a Virtual Peer Group?
VPGs provide a more efficient and scientific approach to benchmarking district performance than manually selecting peer groups.
- VPGs are more efficient in that they are automatically generated. School districts no longer need to manually search for other school districts that are similar on important variables, which is a cumbersome and imperfect process.
- VPGs are far more scientific as they consider data on a much larger set of district characteristics. Furthermore, the models automatically match the exact values of a local school district with a unique VPG that incorporates all district data from all districts across the state.
How should comparisons to VPGs be interpreted?
Interpreting VPGs should be done by comparing the projected values from the VPG model to the actual values from the school district. The gap between projected and actual performance reveals the degree to which a school district is over performing or underperforming given a school district’s unique set of challenges and opportunities.
Data Briefs are a powerful tool that can transform how school district leaders approach their responsibilities. By distilling complex data into actionable insights, these reports enable leaders to make informed decisions, identify important trends, enhance accountability, and facilitate effective communication. Data Briefs from ECRA Group are an essential resource for driving meaningful improvement and achieving educational excellence.
For more information on how Data Briefs can benefit your district, explore ECRA’s Data Briefs or contact our team to learn more about our comprehensive suite of data and analytics solutions.
