Kaleigh Allen
Elementary Education
Impact on Student Learning
The purpose of this assignment is to monitor not only the students' growth, but also mine as a teacher, while measuring the specific learning requirements of each of the core curricula areas of Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. For each subject, a pre and post test was administered, graphed, and analyzed to implement further instruction.
Math Data and Analysis:
The chart to your left shows the pre and post test scores for one of the district math tests. They didn't do too well on the pre test, but after the lesson was taught, the scores improved dramatically. It may not show it in the class average, but that is because there were a few students that did not try on the test, which brought down the class average. The class had an average gain of almost 11%. The pullout data is for an ELL that took the test. His score went from a 42% to a 90%, with a gain of 48%.
Math Data Analysis:
The objective of this assessment was for the students to demonstrate their knowledge of making numbers to 100 using tens and ones. The students needed to know how to count by tens using base ten models and ones to count the numbers. They also needed to know all of the different ways to represent a number, and determine which number a model showed. This was important so they could see how two digit numbers are made up of tens and ones. On the pretest, most students had a lot of trouble. They kept getting the tens and ones confused, or just counted by ones with all of them. A few students thought it was just too hard, so they just rushed through it and circled any answer to get it done, which really hurt the class average. After I had administered the pre test, I went through and graded all of them. I then looked over all of the tests to see where most of the problems were. I used that data to see where the problems were, and then I wrote them all down and went over the issues with the class. I created another mock test with similar problems to help them work the problems out. We would work the problems step by step as a class so everyone got experience with how to answer them. We also worked out problems using manipulatives, so they could actually see what the numbers looked like in base ten. We used base ten blocks and ones cubes first, then to make it a little more fun, we used pretzel sticks and marshmallows. Most of them seemed to get the concept after a lot of reteaching. When working with my ELL, I found that most of his issues came from not really understanding what it was asking. I was already reading the questions out loud to the class, but for him, I allowed him to take extra time on the questions, and would go back and read it to him again to make sure he understood what the question was. He is very smart, he just needs a little push and some accommodations to help him succeed. While administering the post test to the class, I wanted to make sure the few students that usually rush, didn't. I made it a rule that they were not allowed to move on until I said they could. I would read the question and give the class time to answer it. If they finished before the others, they were not to move on, and instead they had to check over their answers to makes sure they didn't make any mistakes. I think this method helped a lot. I still had two students that didn't try, but they usually never do because they don't like math. Overall, I was happy with the post test scores. I don't think that I could have taught it any better than I did.
Reading/Language Arts Data and Analysis:
In the graph on the right, I have included pre and post test scores for a reading comprehension and gramar test. The class made an average gain of 32% overall. Considering that these students greatly struggle with reading, these scores are excellent for them and they made tremendous improvements.
Reading/Language Arts Data Analysis:
The objective of this assessment is for students to demonstrate their ability of reading comprehension and grammar. The students were to read the passage and answer the questions that correlated with the text. The grammar portion consisted of filling in the blank with the correct word that made sense, inflectional endings, and verb tense. The students have a very hard time with these tests. Even when they read the passage multiple times, they are not careful and answer the questions incorrectly. We went over ways to pick out the important information in the text. We would practice by reading passages as morning bell work and highlighting the important information. When it came time to answer the questions, they were not allowed to answer it until they found the evidence of that answer in the text. The students needed to read all of the answers to make sure none of the other ones fit also. This helped them pick apart the text and come up with the correct answer. When it came to grammar, there would be a sentence with a blank. There would be four different answers and they had to pick the correct one to go in the sentence. We would have them put their answer in the blank that they thought it was and read it to make sure it made sense. After practicing these strategies with the students, and telling them repeatedly to take their time, which happened to be another issue with them taking the tests, they made great improvement when it came time to take the post test. They still need a lot of practice, but they are making huge improvements. Many of the students struggle with reading to begin with, so it has been a challenge trying to motivate them. It was also harder for me to teach because I think at this point, Math has been my strong suit. So not only do the students need practice with reading, but I need more practice teaching it as well. I think it was a good learning experience for all of us.
Social Studies Data and Analysis:
The graph to the left shows the pre and post test scores of the Social Studies assessment, Me on a Map. The students made a significant gain on their tests after I taught it. There were still a few students that had a little trouble, but overall I was very proud of their scores. They made a 31% gain!
Social Studies Data and Analysis:
For the Social Studies assessment, the students needed to learn where they lived on a map, and had that branch off into a more broad view of where they live in the world. I was very surprised that most of my students were not aware of what state they lived in, let alone country or continent. Most students did poorly on the pre test, which showed me that I really needed time to teach them where they lived. We watched a video called me on my street, which helped the students really see how big the world was. We also read leveled readers that taught them about it. After going over different maps and showing them the different states, countries, and continents, I pulled down a Florida map and had each student point to where they lived on that map. I took their picture of them pointing to their city, and that was going to be included in the post assessment. The post test had to include a picture of them, a drawn picture of their house in their neighborhood, them pointing to their city, a picture of their state, a picture of their state colored in on a map of the country, and their country colored in on a map of the globe. Each page of their booklet needed to be labeled. Although this test took a lot of time, I feel the students learned so much. Their scores went up a lot and in the end they could all tell me and show me where they lived. They really did a great job and seemed interested in learning.
Science Data and Analysis:
The graph to the right shows the class test scores for the Science Water Safety Test. This is the test that they made most improvements on with a class average gain of 35%.
Science Data Analysis and Review:
This science assessment was all about water safety. After analyzing the pre test, I realized that many of them needed a lot of teaching on the subject. I was surprised at the amount of questions that they had gotten wrong. We had to review what was safe and what wasn’t when you are around water. We also watched a safety video to get them more interested and engaged. The reason that I chose this test is because of the lack of information the students had on the topic, and there aren’t too many science assessments that first graders take. After going over the information, the students had to take the post test. They did much better on the post test than the pre test. I learned that when teaching, even though you may think that it is common sense, you cannot assume that the students will automatically know the content. This was one of those instances, so I am very glad that they made this a topic and standard that needed to be taught. It was a very short assessment for them, so it didn’t take too much time to teach.