Cell definitions for the student nonresponse adjustment vary by public and private schools. The public school samples formed initial student nonresponse cells using the following nesting cell structure:
The highest level variable in the cell structure separates students who were classified either as with disabilities (SD) or as English language learners (ELL) from those who are neither, since SD or ELL students tend to score lower on assessment tests than those without these limitations. In addition, the SD/ELL categories are further broken down by subject since rules for excluding students from the assessment differ by subject. Non-SD/ELL students are not broken down by subject because the exclusion rules do not apply to them.
Private school samples formed initial student nonresponse cells hierarchically as follows:
The structure for private school cells for student nonresponse is slightly different from public school cells. SD/ELL status is not included in the private school cell structure because very few students (less than 5%) in private schools were classified as SD/ELL.
1 Older students are those born before September 1, 1993 for the arts assessment.