Havilah Jones Western Governors University Task 603.2.

3-05

Analysis of Assessment Data- Whole Class For my teacher work sample, I taught a math unit on fractions. I completed this two-week unit in my Demonstration Teaching 3rd grade classroom. There are 27 students in this class, including 14 boys and 13 girls. I chose to give the students the same pre- and post-assessment so that I could get the most accurate data about what the students were able to learn throughout the unit. As I planned this unit, I decided that in order for the students to be proficient in the concepts I was teaching, they would need to score at least 75% on the post-assessment. The pre-assessment data and the post-assessment data are included in the table below.
Students Pre-Assessment Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 2% 19% 29% 12% 18% 25% 2% 21% 21% 32% 21% 29% 8% Post-Assessment Total 37% 63% 82% 59% 79% 67% 75% 88% 76% 77% 59% 100% 52% 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Class Avg. 21% 20% 21% 25% 12% 13% 29% 7% 6% 48% 27% 25% 29% 55% 21% 71% 55% 40% 68% 57% 41% 85% 84% 58% 75% 88% 77% 100% 88% 70%

As you can see from the table above, the class as a whole did not meet my goal of 75% on the post-assessment. There were 14 students that did receive scores above 75%. When I first looked at this data, I felt a little bit discouraged. But when I looked at the whole picture, I was pretty happy with the results. At the beginning of the unit, it was clear that the students did not have much prior knowledge of fractions. The class average on the pre-assessment was only 21%. There was only one student who scored above 50%. On the post-assessment only 3 students scored below 50%. After looking at this, I decided to feel good about the fact that all of my students improved their scores. Not only did I feel that it was important to analyze the scores as a whole, I also felt it was important to look at each of my four learning goals individually. This way I could see where the students were proficient and where they might require more instruction. I had four learning goals for my unit. The first learning goal was that the students would be able to read and write fractions that name a part of a whole or set. The second learning goal was that students would be able to plot points that represent fractions on a number line. The third learning goal was that students would be able to model equivalent fractions and the fourth learning goal was that the students would be able to compare fractions. The chart below shows my results from the pre-assessment and post-assessment for each learning goal.
Student PreAssessment LG #1 7% 50% 64% 21% 21% 50% 7% 7% 36% 79% 7% 64% 7% 36% 29% PreAssessment LG #2 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% PreAssessment LG #3 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% PreAssessment LG #4 0% 25% 50% 25% 50% 50% 0% 75% 50% 50% 75% 50% 25% 50% 50% PostAssessment LG #1 64% 100% 86% 86% 64% 93% 100% 100% 79% 100% 86% 100% 57% 86% 71% PostAssessment LG #2 0% 0% 100% 0% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 0% 0% 100% PostAssessment LG #3 33% 100% 67% 100% 100% 0% 0% 100% 100% 33% 0% 100% 100% 100% 0% PostAssessment LG #4 50% 50% 75% 50% 50% 75% 100% 50% 25% 75% 50% 100% 50% 100% 50%

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15

#16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 Class Average

36% 50% 25% 0% 64% 14% 0% 43% 57% 50% 64% 71% 36%

0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 100% 7%

0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

50% 50% 25% 50% 50% 13% 25% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 42%

86% 64% 79% 71% 100% 86% 57% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 86%

0% 100% 0% 0% 100% 100% 0% 0% 100% 100% 100% 100% 63%

0% 33% 100% 67% 67% 100% 100% 100% 100% 33% 100% 100% 68%

75% 75% 50% 25% 75% 50% 75% 100% 50% 75% 100% 50% 65%

From the results of the pre-assessment, I could easily see that the students had very little prior knowledge of any of the learning goals. It was clear that I would need to spend a large amount of time on each of them. The students were the least proficient in learning goals two and three (fractions on a number line and equivalent fractions). The table showed me that all of the students but two had no knowledge of these two learning goals. This knowledge helped me to understand that I would be introducing these concepts to the students for the first time. While I kept my expectations high for their learning, I recognized that any gain between the pre- and post-assessments would be wonderful. I created a bar graph in order to compare the class average pre- and post-assessment scores in a more visual way. This graph clearly

Class Average Pre-/PostAssessment Score

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Pre- Assessment Post- Assessment Class Average Score

shows that there were large gains of over 40% in the class average total score from the pre-assessment to the postassessment. Once I was able to see the overall gains, I wanted to look at the each individual learning goal. I was curious to see how the class did as a

whole in each of the learning goals I had for them. This next graph shows that there were, in fact, very large gains with the students

Average Pre-/Post Test Scores by Learning Goal Number

100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% LG1 LG2 LG3 LG4

scores from the pre-assessment and the post-assessment in each of the learning goals. The largest gain was in the third

Pre-Assessment Post-Assessment

learning goal. The students went from 0% proficiency to 68% proficiency. Looking at these charts, it is easy to see

that while the class did not meet my set goal for proficiency (75%), it was clear that they did make great progress in their understanding of fractions.

Analysis of Assessment Data Subgroups During my analysis of the data from the pre-assessment and the post-assessment, I chose to compare the scores of the boys against those of the girls. I chose these two subgroups because I had read in many places that boys tend to do better in math. I had heard some reasons to explain why they do better and I was curious to see if they held up in my experience. One reason I read that boys do better in math is because they are able to understand things better if they are able to use a hands-on approach and use manipulatives. I had also read that girls do better with reading and writing because they are better at interpreting and expressing the thoughts and motivations of others and themselves. My lesson plans included a lot of hand-on learning so I predicted that the boys would do better with these concepts than the girls. The particular learning goal I predicted the boys would to better in

was the second learning goal which was to be able to plot fractions on a number line. The lesson I used to teach this concept involved a lot of hands-on practice with using yarn and markers. Here are the results.

Gender Differences Pre/Post Scores

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% LG1- Fractions are LG2- Fractions on a LG3- Equivalent Part of a Whole Number Line Fractions LG4- Comparing Fractions Boys-Pre Girls-Pre Boys-Post Girls-Post

According to these results, my predictions were correct. The boys did outperform the girls by almost 20% on the second learning goal. The girls outperformed the boys in the first learning goal by about 10% and the fourth learning goal by about 15%. The boys and girls both performed about equally for the third learning goal. The lessons I planned for learning goals 1, 2 and 4 were a lot less hands- on. I feel that this data supports the information I read about how boys tend to do better when they are able to take a handson approach to learning. The girls still did very well with the learning goal and improved greatly from their performance on the pre-assessment. They just did not do as well as the boys. The lessons I taught for the first, third and fourth learning goals all included a lot of stories and thinkingnot much in the way of hands-on learning. The one other lesson I used a hands-on approach was when I was teaching

about equivalent fractions (learning goal number 3). This lesson plan was not as hands-on as the one for the second learning goal, but it did give the students a chance to manipulate fraction tiles. It is interesting to see that the only other learning goal where the girls did not outperform the boys was this one. It is so important for teachers to be constantly looking for ways to improve their teaching. Through this exercise, I was able to learn a lot about student learning. I have seen first-hand how boys and girls are able to learn through different types of lessons. I recognize the importance of teaching through stories and writing but I can also see how very important it is to use a hands-on approach in order to benefit those students that can get more understanding through handling manipulatives. It is because of these varying styles of learning that teachers need to consider many different ideas and ways to present new information to her students.

Analysis of Assessment Data Individual Students While it is important to analyze data from the class as a whole, and even subgroups of students, it is also beneficial to the teacher to analyze data from individual students. It is important to understand the learning proficiencies of every student. This information can help the teacher in future planning and implementation of classroom, small group and individual student instruction. I chose to analyze student #15 who struggles in math already and student #12 who usually performs very well in math and often feels unchallenged. Student #15 is very polite and helpful. He does not have any outside factors that might affect his performance at school. This student does, however, have a difficult time with math and other subjects. He has a learning disability and an IEP. He spends time in the resources classroom 3 days a

week in order to receive additional math instruction. Student #15 received a score of 20% on the preassessment and a score of 55% on the post assessment. For this student, it is very important to understand his learning proficiencies not only to aid him in the classroom but to also communicate with the resource teacher and his parents. This student needs extra support and he would not be able to get that without a full understanding of what he is capable of. After analyzing the data, I was able to see that this student made significant gains in the first two learning goals but he remained the same for the second two learning goals. This information would help me to communicate with his resource teacher to let her know that he could really use some extra help with equivalent fractions and comparing fractions.
Student PreAssessment LG #1 29% PreAssessment LG #2 0% PreAssessment LG #3 0% PreAssessment LG #4 50% PostAssessment LG #1 71% PostAssessment LG #2 100% PostAssessment LG #3 0% PostAssessment LG #4 50%

#15

As you can see in this chart, this student went from 29% in learning goal #1 all the way to 71%. With learning goal #2 he went from 0% proficiency to 100%. A gain of 35% on the average score between pre- and post-assessment scores is very wonderful for this student. But looking at the first two learning goals, I can see that this student proficiently learned the information for the first two learning goals. He and I were both very excited about this. The gains are proof that he was putting forth effort and has learned something. Even though he did not reach the 75% proficiency level, he did do very well for his circumstances. Pointing this out to him is important so that he can gain confidence and continue to put forth that effort. Student #12 does well in every subject. He does especially well in math. It is important to understand this students learning proficiencies so that we can continue to offer him a chance to expand

his knowledge. Student #12 received a score of 29% on the pre-assessment and a score of 100% on the post-assessment.
Student PreAssessment LG #1 64% PreAssessment LG #2 0% PreAssessment LG #3 0% PreAssessment LG #4 50% PostAssessment LG #1 100% PostAssessment LG #2 100% PostAssessment LG #3 100% PostAssessment LG #4 100%

#12

I was excited to see his score on the pre-assessment because I had finally found a subject that he didnt already know. Looking at the scores broken down into the learning goals, I could see that he did already have a basic understanding of fractions, how they are written, and that they represent part of a whole. It was also clear that he had no knowledge of fractions on a number line and equivalent fractions. It was these two learning goals that I decided to help him with. Once I taught the lessons, I could see that he understood the concepts. With this knowledge of his proficiencies, I was able to find him some learning activities that allowed him to practice working with fractions at a more advanced level. It not only was a great way to keep him busy, he appreciated the challenge that these extensions offered him. With his score of 100% on the post-assessment, I was able to see that he had, in fact, learned all that I had set out to teach him and more.