Assessment Application and Analysis Report

ELED 3420 Walker, Kristy

*All names and locations have been changed to protect student privacy.

ABC Elementary School Contextual Factors

ABC Elementary School (ABC) is located in ABC and it contains grades K-5. ABC has a pledge that every student repeats each morning. The pledge is, I am a ABC Eagle. I will work hard and be nice, be respectful, honest and helpful, allow others to learn, do things that will help and not hurt, do my best to feel success, and prepare myself to go to college... NO EXCUSES! ABC has adopted the No Excuses University Network program of Damien Lopez, and the school supports his beliefs that every student can be proficient or advanced in reading, writing, and math. Every classroom has a different university as its mascot, and the school motto is, Do your best, be your best, feel success! And prepare to go to college The school philosophy is that every student can succeed and there are No Excuses for students not progressing and succeeding in school (ABC Elementary School, 2012). ABC is a Title I school receiving extra funding because of the socioeconomic status (SES) of the majority of its students. Because of the extra funding, the school has been able to implement many new programs and get more resources to help the attending students. The school has been able to lower class sizes considerably. Additionally the school has implemented extra programs including Reading Recovery, Optional Extended day Kindergarten (OEK), Success Maker computer program, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI), and preschool for qualifying 4 year olds. ABC also has a Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) with established goals for each grade level and defined steps they will take in order to reach their goals (ABC Elementary Schools, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: Gender Enrollment

473 247 226

Total Students

Male

Female

Table 1.0

Table 1.0 shows that ABC Elementary school has 473 students. Of that 473-student population, 247 are males and 226 are females (ABC County School District, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: Enrollement by Grade

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Total School Enrollment Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade

Table 1.1 As seen in Table 1.1 the kindergarten class, at 103 students, has more students enrolled than any other grade level. The second grade class has the least amount, at 71 students, followed

by fourth grade, at 72 students. First and third grade both have 89 students enrolled, and fifth grade has 82 students (ABC County School District, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: Free and Reduced Lunch

500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 473

233

65 Total Students Free Lunch Reduced Lunch

Table 1.2 As stated before, ABC Elementary School is a Title I school, meaning that over half of the student population comes from low-income families. Table 1.2 shows how many students qualify for free and reduced lunch. A total of 298 students receive free and reduced lunch; that is 69% of the total student population who are considered economically disadvantaged (ABC County School District, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: Student Status

Number of Students 500 400 300 200 100 0 Total Students Homeless Disadvantaged Minority 7 83 473

Table 1.3 Table 1.3 indicates that ABC also has 83 students who are considered a disadvantage minority and 7 students who are homeless (ABC County School District, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: English Language Learners

6% 10% Total Students ELL ELL Fluent 84%

Table 1.4

Table 1.4 shows the percentage of English Language Learners (ELL) enrolled in ABC. Of the total 473 students, 59 students are ELL. In addition to those 59 students, 31 students are

English as a Second Language (ESL), but they are fluent in English. WIDA levels were not available. ABC has one student who is a first year immigrant, and four students who are immigrants that have lived in the United States for one or more years (ABC County School District, 2012).
Native American 1%

ABC Elementary School: Ethnicity

Pacific Islander 1%

African American 1% Asian 0%

Hispanic 16%

Caucasian 81%

Table 1.5

Table 1.5 demonstrates that ABC Elementary School (ABC) has predominately Caucasian students, totaling 81%. The second largest ethnic group at ABC is Hispanic with 16% of the total student population. Pacific Islander, Native American, and African American students together only make up 3% of the school, and there is one Asian student (ABC County School District, 2012).

ABC Elementary School: GATE Students

200 150 100 50 0 4th and 5th Grade total students 4th and 5th grade split GATE class

Table 1.6 ABC Elementary School offers a unique fourth and fifth grade split class for the high ability learners. Table 1.6 shows that the fourth and fifth grade class combined has 154 students, 22 of those students are in the fourth and fifth grade split class. That is 14.2% of the fourth and fifth grades combined who are considered GATE students. The school does not offer specific classes for GATE students in the lower grades, but teachers do differentiate to meet the needs of all learners (ABC Elementary School, 2012).

ABCElementary School: Special Education

Total Student Population Self-Contained 9% 3% Resources for reading, writing, and math

88%

Table 1.7

Table 1.7 shows that 9% of the total student population, or 46 students, goes to resources for reading, writing, and math. Three percent of the total student population, or 19 students, are self-contained, meaning they receive all of their academic instruction in a controlled setting with a special education teacher. All 65 students, self-contained and resource, have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) that the teachers follow to ensure academic improvement for students with disabilities. CRT scores were not available for ABC Elementary school for this school year or last year.

Mrs. Teachers Classroom Contextual Factors

Mrs. Teachers third grade class at ABC Elementary School consists of a diverse group of individuals all with unique needs. Mrs. Teacher teaches 22 of the 89 third graders in ABC.

Gender
14 12 10

8
6 4 2 0
Girls Boys

Table 2.0

Of the twenty-two students, 13 are boys and 9 are girls, as table 2.0 reflects. Of the 12 boys, 4 have behavior problems and are often disrupting the class. One boy has been isolated and sits in the very back of the classroom by himself. Mrs. Teachers classroom is set up in two L shapes facing each other with a row of four desks in front, and the one boy mentioned earlier in the back of the classroom. Mrs. Teacher has two tables for small groups and a class library with a couch and a big selection of books. Mrs. Teachers class is equipped with great technology. She has a Smart Board, an Elmo, and Smart Response Clickers. She also has three classroom computers for student use. She often uses the Smart Board, or the Elmo, for whole class instruction, and she uses the computers for centers or as a reward when students finish their work early.

Mrs. Teacher's Class: Math and Reading Levels

14 12 9

Number of Students

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Math Above Grade Level On Grade Level Reading Below Grade Level 5 3 8

Table 2.1 Table 2.1 shows how many students are above, on, or below grade level in math and reading. In math, eight students are below grade level, nine students are on grade level, and five students are above grade level. In reading, twelve students are below grade level, seven students

10

are on grade level, and three students are above grade level. Mrs. Teacher has twelve out of twenty-two students struggling with reading. That is 54% of her class. Four of those students are receiving help with special education services, and the rest are being given Tier II instruction and interventions during small groups in the classroom. For the student above grade level, Mrs. Teacher keeps books in her classroom from a variety of different reading levels, and she has file folder games for students who complete their work early. She differentiates her instruction during small groups to give richer, more in-depth, assignments to her higher ability learners, and to target problem areas for her lower level learners.

Mrs. Teacher's Class: English Language Learners

2 Non-ELL ELLs 20

Table 2.2

Out of Mrs. Teachers twenty-two students, only two students are English Language Learners (ELLs), as table 2.2 indicates. One ELL student, a female is at a World-class Instructional Design Assessment (WIDA) level four (Expanding), and the other students WIDA level is not yet determined because he is new to the school this year. However, he does read,

11

speak, and write in English fluently. Both students are pulled out for ELL services. She also has one other student that was considered an ELL student last year, but his parents did not want him in the ELL program this year. He does not speak Spanish, but his mother does in the home, and he can understand her most of the time.

Mrs. Teacher's Class: IEPs, Resources, and Special Eduaction

1 1 2

Students without IEP IEP reading, writing, and math Resources for reading only Severe Special Education with an IEP

18

Table 2.3 Mrs. Teacher has four students who receive extra support and help through special education services, as table 2.3 represents. I will refer to them as student A, B, C, and D. Student A is in the severe special education program. He is diagnosed with autism. He only joins the class occasionally to be among his peers. He usually joins his classmates at recess, but he does not interact with them often. When he comes to class, he is defiant and will not do anything he is asked to do. He sits at his desk and colors. Most of the time, he will not respond to people who try to talk to him.

12

Student B and C go to resources 3 times a day for 30 minutes each time, four days a week. They receive extra help with reading, writing, and math. Student B is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Bipolar disorder and is on medication for both. He is defiant as well, but he will try if given extra help and support. He also has a behavior plan and goals in his IEP. He is often under his desk or wandering around the classroom. Student C is diagnosed with ADHD and is on medication. She is very well behaved, and she participates often in the classroom. She goes to resources for academic help only. Student D is well behaved also, and she is only receiving special education services for reading. CRT scores are not available for third graders because they are not tested at the end of 2nd grade. They will be tested at the end of the year. Additionally, none of Mrs. Teachers students has been tested to see if they qualify for the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program, but she considers one girl to be higher-level ability because she sees things in ways that the other students do not.

Free or Reduced Lunch

Not on Free or Reduced Lunch On Free or Reduced Lunch

45% 55%

Table 2.4

13

Approximately 8-10 of Mrs. Teachers students are on free or reduced lunch. That is, 45% of her students are receiving free or reduced lunch, as table 2.4 indicates. Her class is below the schools standard of 69% of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch. Mrs. Teachers class rules are treat others with respect, respect others space and property, follow directions the first time, listen when someone else is talking, and raise your hand. When students enter the classroom, they know that they are to start their bell work. Mrs. Teacher has a helper for the week at each table. She asks the helpers to get the lunch count, and the class adds the numbers together on the white board each morning. To get the students attention, Mrs. Teacher uses their college mascot hand signal and waits for students to respond back by making the same hand signal back to her. To go to lunch students line up in ABC order. Mrs. Teacher is also implementing a reward system to motivate her students to do their best work and be on their best behavior. Mrs. Teacher gives out numbered tickets during the day for good behavior. For misbehavior, Mrs. Teacher writes names on the board. If a student does not have his/her name on the board, the student can put his/her earned ticket(s) into the drawing to win a prize. Mrs. Teacher picks out a ticket at the end of the day, and the winner gets to pick a prize out of the treasure box.

14

Assessment #1

Assessment: Integrated Health and Literacy Study Group: Student 1 and Student 2 Date: October 9, 2012 Place: ABC Elementary School

15

Introduction to Assessment #1
Type of Assessment The first test I administered consisted of three short answer questions and a self-scoring rubric attached to the assessment. To teach the students how to take the test I put four steps to follow on the board and had students read the steps aloud with me. The steps were: 1) Answer the questions as best as you can 2) Write in complete sentences 3) Use neat handwriting 4) Do not share with your neighbor. I want to know what you know! After reading the steps aloud with the class, I read each question aloud to the group and let students ask questions if they needed to clarify anything. I guided the students thinking by telling them to think about the story we just read and the things they discussed with their partner. Once students were done with the short answer response, I explained the self-scoring rubric. There were nine statements on the rubric with a smiley face next to each statement. The nine statements were grouped into three groups, three statements for number 1, three statements for number 2, and three statements for number 3 on the assessment they just took. I told students to color in the smiley face next to the statement if the statement was true. Additionally, the rubric had typed instructions as well stating, Color in the smiley face if the statement is TRUE." (See Appendix A) Purpose of the Assessment I taught an integrated health/ literacy lesson to Mrs. Teachers third grade class. The students learned about finding the main idea in a text by listening for clues and showing

16

supporting evidence for the theme they chose. The students also learned how to improve their diets and compared their own diet to the recommendations of the USDA My Plate.

Assessment #1 Questions 1) What is the main idea of the book Janey Junkfoods Fresh Adventure? 2) Give two examples from the story that support your main idea. 3) Tell me three ways you could improve your diet to make it more balanced. Table 3.0
The purpose of the assessment was to determine if the students met their learning goals. Table 3.0 shows question number 1 measures the students ability to identify a main idea in the text read aloud. Question number 2 measures the students ability to give specific examples from the story that support their main ideas. Question number 3 measures the students ability to identify three specific ways in which their diets can be improved and more balanced. The self-assessment rubric was provided for students to measure their own quality of work. As stated earlier, for each statement that was true the student colored in a corresponding smiley face. For example, question number two asked the students to give two examples from the story that supports their main idea. On the self-scoring rubric, the statements for number two are as followed: I gave two examples from the story that support my main idea. I used complete sentences. My handwriting is neat. I included I used complete sentences, and my handwriting is neat under each question answered to show the students that their quality of work is important, and also because in the directions for the assessment I explicitly told students to do their best work using complete sentences and neat handwriting.

17

Environment of the Assessment I gave this assessment to Mrs. Teachers third grade class at 10:20 in the morning on October 9, 2012. Seventeen out of twenty-two students were present for the test. Four students were pulled to the back of the class for reading help with a Leveled Literacy Instruction (LLI) teacher, and one student was in the severe special education classroom. The assessment was administered in Mrs. Teachers classroom and students were seated at desks in their regular learning environment. The lesson preceding the assessment had a great deal of student interaction. The students do not normally collaborate, and they do not normally have as many opportunities for discussion with each other. For students who finished the assessment early, a paper plate was available to draw a balanced meal on the plate while quietly waiting for their classmates to finish the test. The majority of the students were at ease with this assessment and enjoyed writing their individual responses. There were a few students, however, who rushed through the assessment to color their balanced meal on a paper plate.

18

Assessment # 1 analysis- Whole class

As stated before, the assessment consisted of three short answer questions to measure the students knowledge of finding a main idea in a text read aloud and ways to improve one's diet. In addition to the assessment measuring the students content knowledge, students assessed their own quality of work with a self-scoring rubric. I compared the self-scoring rubric with their actual score that I gave them based on my own grading criteria.

Mrs. Teacher's Class: Assessment Scores

100% 90%

Score on Assessment

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

7
5 3 2
Number of students

Table 3.0 As the table 3.0 indicates above, seven students got 100% on the assessment--that is only 41% of the class. Five students got between 66% and 77%, three students got 55%, and two students got between 33% and 44%. On this assessment, 65% of the class was able to identify correctly the main idea in the book, and 58% was able to show evidence of the main idea by giving examples from the book. 100% of the class was able to list ways to be healthier and a have a more balanced diet, but 41%

19

did not write in complete sentences and with nice handwriting, which was a requirement of this assessment.

Mrs. Teacher's Class: Self-Assessment Scores

7 6

Number of Students

5 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 6 4 3 2

Students Self-Score

Table 3.1 As stated earlier, the students completed a self-assessment by coloring a smiley face with a corresponding statement if the statement was true. There were nine total statements and students added the smiley faces to give them a score out of nine. Table 3.1 shows the points students gave themselves, 9 being 100%. Four students gave themselves a nine, one student gave himself an eight, three students gave themselves a six, 2 students gave themselves a 4, 6 students gave themselves a 3, and 1 student gave himself a 2. Based off this information, one can tell that the majority of the students misunderstood how to complete the self-assessment. Because many of the students colored in three smiley faces, one for each question, it is safe to assume that the students thought they could only choose one per question. I chose to analyze in more depth Student 1 and Student 2s assessments because each of

20

their tests spoke to me about my own teaching, and their assessments helped me to reflect on how this assessment looked and sounded to the students.

Assessment #1 Analysis- Student 1

I taught the lesson preceding this assessment, and I administered this assessment; therefore, I am basing all data off the assessments turned in and what I observed in the class. Student 1 received a grade of 7 out of 9. He mixed up question #1 and #2. He gave an answer more suitable for question #1 on question #2. Question #1 asks for the main idea of the text and he wrote, Janey wants to make it in the team, but if she going to eat junk food, she will not make to the team. Question #2 asks for two examples from the text to support the main idea. Student 1 wrote down, Eat healthy, stay healthy. on #2. The answer he gave for question #1 would be more suitable on question #2 and vise versa. Student 1 did show that he is able to identify the main idea of the text and give an example to support his main idea, but his answers were written on the wrong questions. Student 1 was also able to demonstrate that he understands how to make a diet more healthy and balanced, but he did not write in complete sentences, which was a requirement for this assessment. On the self-assessment, Student 1 gave himself a score of 4 out of 9. He did not give himself credit for writing down the main idea, giving two examples from the story that support his main idea, and using complete sentences on both question #2 and question #3, and using nice handwriting on question #3. Student 1 scored himself much lower than I did.

Assessment # 1 Synthesize- Student 1

21

According to the analysis, Student 1 mixed up his answers on question one and two. For further instruction, I would address this issue and show him an example. Ideally, if I could go back in time, I would show an example before I asked the students to begin the assessment. When teaching Student 1, or any student, in the future I will be sure to show a visual example of correct work to help him, and others, understand. I also think by showing him how his answer for question #1 fit better with question #2 and explaining why, he would greatly benefit, and hopefully he would understand it better. I also think if I could teach this lesson over again, and if I were given more time, I would model how I find the main idea in a book. I think modeling is a great way to teach students. I would model my thinking and ideas that help me generate a main idea and show supporting evidence in the text. I know this would help Student 1, and the rest of the class, understand more in-depth what a main idea of a text is, and how to figure it out. In addition, I would read more stories and have students identify the main idea or the theme of the book. I think with reoccurring practice, Student 1 could identify in more depth what the main idea is and with more understanding. On question #3, Student 1 failed to write in complete sentences, which was a requirement of this assessment. I know that Student 1 knows how because of the answer he gave me on question #1. To help Student 1, and other students get better at this I would require full sentences for most of their work. I would probably start the school year giving sentence starters and gradually pull the supporting sentence starters away. For question #3, I should have given a sentence starter similar to, I can make my diet more balanced by___. As stated earlier, I handed out paper plates for the students to draw a balanced meal on when they completed the assessment. This was a big distraction for students who were still

22

working. They wanted to be doing the fun art activity and therefore they rushed through their work. I know that this distracted Student 1 because he wanted to color his balanced meal on a paper plate. I witnessed him rushing through the assessment to do what the fast kids were doing. In addition, his handwriting is very nice and neat until question # 3 when he just wanted to be done. If I could do it over again, I would have the students quietly read at their desks when they are finished and save the art project for another time. On the self-assessment, Student 1 scored himself very low compared to how I scored his test. As stated in the analysis he did not give himself credit for writing down the main idea, giving two examples from the story that support his main idea, and using complete sentences on both question #2 and question #3, and using nice handwriting on question #3. He did write down the main idea and gave two examples, and he used nice handwriting in all of the questions except #3. I think he scored himself so low because he did not understand what I wanted him to do. If I could do it over again, I would have modeled in front of the whole class how to complete the self-evaluation rubric. I would have read each statement aloud and modeled my thinking while completing the self-assessing rubric. I think modeling how to do the self-evaluation would have benefited the whole class, and I plan to do that next time.

Assessment #1 Analysis- Student 2

I taught the lesson preceding this assessment, and I administered this assessment; therefore, I am basing all data off the assessments turned in and what I observed in the class.

23

Student 2 showed mastery at identifying the main idea in the text and giving evidence from the text to support his main idea. Question #1 asks for the main idea of the story and Student 2 clearly identified one main idea from the story. Question #2 asks for two examples from the story to support his main idea. Student 2 gave two clear examples from the story that directly correlate to his main idea. Question #3 asked for three ways he could make his diet more balanced, and Student 2 did a great job writing about how he can improve his diet. Student 2 got 9 out of 9, which is 100% on the assessment. However, Student 2 only gave himself a score of 2 out of 9 on the self-evaluation rubric. As stated before, the self-evaluation rubric had nine statements with corresponding smiley faces to each statement. The students were supposed to color in the smiley face if the statement was true. The only two that Student 2 colored in are, I wrote the main idea, and I used complete sentences, for question #1. Student 2 colored in a few more for question #2, but he then he erased it off the paper before handing it in.

Assessment #1 Synthesis- Student 2

According to the analysis of Student 2s assessment, he mastered the content of the lesson and did very well. However, he scored himself very low on the self-assessment giving him 2 out of 9. It really surprised me that he did not mark that he used nice handwriting because his handwriting was extremely nice and easy to read. It also surprised me that he did not color in the smiley face saying that he gave two examples to support his main idea because he gave the best examples out of the whole class. In addition, he did not mark that he wrote ways to improve his diet, but he gave very good ways to improve ones diet. I contribute this to a misunderstanding of what to do on the self-evaluation. I think that he thought he could only color in a certain amount, or he does not believe he did very well.

24

Moreover, I think that Student 2 did not give himself points on the rest of the selfevaluation because I did not explain it clear enough. It was surprising to see this kind of confusion on such a simple task, but I realized that many of these students have not done this type of self-scoring rubric before. I know that I need to model and explain the instructions more clearly on how to do a self-scoring rubric. I do not think having the students color paper plates when they were finished with the assessment affected Student 2s assessment. However, maybe that is why he did not finish coloring in the smiley faces on his self-evaluation. I will talk to Student 2 and ask him why he did not color in the remainder of the smiley faces to figure out what exactly went wrong. I will explain to Tristan that his work was excellent and, in my opinion, he could have colored every single smiley face because he did all the required steps. When I use a self-assessments again, I will be sure to model how to do the selfassessment, and I will explain the directions in explicit, sequential steps to clarify any misunderstandings. I will also ask the students if they have any questions. Additionally, I will save fun art projects for another time so students who are not done taking the test will not feel rushed. Instead, I will have students quietly read until everyone is finished.

25

Assessment #2

Assessment: Possessive Nouns Study Group: Student 3 and Student 4 Date: October 23, 2012 Place: ABC Elementary School

26

Introduction to Assessment #2
Type of Assessment Assessment number 2 is a five question, multiple-choice test on possessive nouns. To prepare the students for this assessment I taught a lesson on singular and plural possessive nouns. I explained to the students that they would be taking a short multiple-choice quiz on possessive nouns, and I read the questions aloud to the students. During the assessment, I gave a few hints to help the students understand the question and what was being asked of them. On question number 2, I told the students to look where the apostrophe should be. On question number 3, I reminded the students that this was one of our vocabulary words for the lesson. For question number 5, I reminded the students that this question is similar to what they practiced in their small groups. Purpose of the Assessment The purpose of the assessment was to determine if the students mastered the content I taught them during a possessive nouns lesson. During the lesson, the students watched a video clip explaining how and when to form singular and plural possessive nouns. I paused the video several times to discuss with the class the function of singular and plural possessive nouns and how to form them correctly. We practiced forming singular and plural possessive nouns together as a class. Then, the students worked together in small groups to re-write sentences using a possessive noun. The students shared their sentences with the class, and together, we determined if their answers were correct. Finally, the assessment was given with the instructions discussed above.

27

Assessment #2: Itemized Test Questions

1. Grammar: Possessive Nouns Recognize the possessive noun in a sentence 2. Grammar: Possessive Nouns Re-write the sentence using a possessive noun 3. Vocabulary: Possess Identify what the word Possess means 4. Grammar: Possessive Nouns Distinguish the possessive noun 5. Grammar: Possessive Nouns Choose the correct possessive noun to complete the sentence Table 4.0 Table 4.0 illustrates what each question on the assessment measures. As indicated in table 4.0, four out of the five questions on the assessment measure the students understanding of possessive nouns. Question #3 measures the students knowledge of the vocabulary word discussed throughout the lesson. (See Appendix B) Environment of the Assessment I administered this assessment on October 23, 2012 at 10:20 in the morning, to Mrs. Teachers third grade class. Nineteen out of twenty students were present for the assessment. Mrs. Teacher had two students move away a week prior to this assessment, and one student was absent on the day of the assessment. The lesson preceding this assessment was engaging and students had been talking in small groups and discussing as a class. The students were wound up from the small group activity and from presenting their answers to the class. When I mentioned that it was time to take a short quiz, many of the students groaned and complained. However, most of the students did not seem nervous or stressed out by the quiz. While taking the quiz the classroom was very quiet. I read each question aloud and asked students to put their pencil down after they were finished with each question so I would know

28

when to read the next question. Because of the pacing, and reading each question aloud all students finished at the same time and they lined up at the door to go to Success Maker in the computer lab.

Assessment # 2 Analysis- Whole class

I taught the lesson preceding this assessment, and I administered this assessment; therefore, I am basing all data off the assessments turned in and what I observed in the class. The assessment I administered was to determine students level of mastery of possessive nouns.

Mrs. Teacher's class: Assessment #2 Analysis

120% 8 Students, 100% 100% 6 Students, 80% 80% 4 Students, 60% 60% 40% 1 Student, 20% 20% 0% 8 Students 6 Students 4 Students 1 Student

Table 4.1 Table 4.1 shows how well Mrs. Teachers third grade class did on the possessive noun assessment. Eight students got 100%, seven students got 80%, four students got 60%, and one student got 20%. Because there were only five questions, if a student missed one question that brought their grade down to 80%. The data shows that 73% of the class scored 80% or better on the assessment.

29

Question number 1 was only missed one time. Question number 2 was missed 7 times. Question number 3 was missed five times. Question number 4 was missed 3 times, and question number 5 was missed 2 times. By looking at the data, I can see that students had the hardest time with question number 2. As Table 4.0 shows, Question number two measures the students ability to re-write a sentence by using the correct possessive noun. Next time I teach this lesson, I will make sure to give more examples similar to question number two on the assessment. (See Appendix B). I chose to analyze in more depth Student 3s and Student 4s assessments because each of their tests spoke to me about my own teaching and their assessments helped me reflect on how I can improve my teaching in the future.

Assessment #2 Analysis- Student 3

I taught the lesson preceding this assessment, and I administered this assessment; therefore, I am basing all data off the assessments turned in and what I observed in the class. Student 3 answered three out of five questions correctly. She missed question # 2 and question # 3. She scored 80% on this assessment. As stated previously, question #2 measures the students ability to re-write a sentence using the correct possessive noun. Student 3 demonstrated that she did not understand what a possessive nouns purpose is by circling option D on her assessment, which reads, The singers voices is loud. (See Appendix B) She does not understand that the apostrophe and the s go with the noun to show that the noun possesses something. She thought the apostrophe and the s went with what the noun possesses.

30

Question #3 measures the students understanding of the vocabulary wordpossess. The question read, Which word has the same meaning as possess? Student 3 answered, Steal. She did not understand that possess means to own or have, even though I told the class that five or six times throughout the lesson, it was written on the board, and the students read it aloud and discussed the meaning with a partner.

Assessment #2 Synthesis- Student 3

The analysis of Student 3s assessment shows that she needs more practice and help forming possessive nouns in a sentence, and she needs further instruction on the vocabulary word possess. To further instruction, I would readdress how to form singular and plural possessive nouns with the whole class. As the whole class analysis showed, question #2 was the most missed question on the test. To help my students master this concept, I would demonstrate again how to change a sentence to one with both singular and plural possessive nouns. I would give students simple sentences such as, The boy owns a ball that is flat. The students would be required to work in groups to change the sentence to one that has a possessive noun. Then, I would have students practice individually. I think with more explicit instruction, more practice, and more exposure, students would gain an understanding of how to form a sentence with a possessive noun much better. Additionally, to help Student 3 understand the meaning of the word possess, I would discuss the word and definition with her individually or during small groups. I would give her more examples, and I would show her the difference between possess and steal. I would show her the sentence on the assessment that says, The singers voice is loud, and tell her the singer is the possessive noun. Then I would ask her if she thinks the singer could steal a loud

31

voice. I would reinforce that possess means to have or to own and give her examples such as Ms. Walkers pen. I think by having further instruction on forming possessive nouns, explaining the meaning of possess one more time, and having her write a sentence with the word possess she would master the concept.

Assessment #2 Analysis- Student 4

Student 4 answered three out of five questions correctly. He missed question # 3 and question # 4. He scored 80% on this assessment. Questions # 3 measures the students understanding of the vocabulary word possess. The question asks students to pick which word means the same as possess. Student 4 answered the question by choosing noun as the answer. Question # 4 measures the students ability to distinguish which choice given is a possessive noun. Student 4 chose buses, as the correct choice; however, the correct answer is buss.

Assessment #3 Synthesis- Student 4

As the analysis of Student 4s assessment indicates, Student 4 misunderstood what question # 3 was asking of him (See Appendix B). During the lesson, I said possessive noun frequently. Therefore, I think he chose noun as the best response because he heard me say possessive noun many times. To further instruction, I would ask Student 1 individually to tell me what it means to possess something. If he can explain it to me in person, I would feel confident to move on. However, if he is unsure, I would re-explain possessive nouns and how to use them and what the word possess means. I would give him many examples, and ask him to

32

use the word possess in a sentence. I would then ask him to write me as sentence using the word so I know that he has a clear understanding of the word possess. Student 4 also missed question #4, which asks him to identify the possessive noun. The choices for the question are: bus, buses, buss, and bussed. This question could be confusing because the word bus ends with an s. Student 4 chose the plural noun buses instead of the possessive noun buss. The correct answer, buss, might look funny to someone just learning the rule about possessive nouns. However, I did cover when a noun ends with an s that we still add an apostrophe s, or just an apostrophe, to make the noun possessive in the lesson preceding this assessment. In addition, many students could guess at the right answer because they know that a possessive noun always has an apostrophe, and there is only one option with an apostrophe on that question. Student 4s assessment made me realize that maybe I was not clear enough about possessive nouns and the apostrophe. To further instruction, I would speak to Student 4 about the difference between plural nouns and possessive nouns. I would have him tell me the difference, and I would have him practice identifying the possessive nouns in sentences or in a list. I would provide more visuals, give him more time to process, and clarify any misunderstandings.

33

Assessment #3

Assessment: Possessive Nouns Study Group: Student 5 and Student 6 Date: October 30, 2012 Place: ABC Elementary School

34

Introduction to Assessment #1
Type of Assessment This assessment is an end of unit math assessment given by Mrs. Teacher to her third grade class. I was not present for this assessment; therefore, I am basing all information on an informal interview given on Nov. 20, 2012 with Mrs. Teacher at ABC Elementary School. Prior to the assessment, Mrs. Teacher reviewed with her students for about twenty-five minutes. She then had the students run around the playground one time to get out their wiggles before the test. She explained to her class to do their best work, and she walked around the room while they were taking the test to answer individual questions that the students had. Purpose of the Assessment The students had been learning the beginning aspects of multiplication using arrays. This assessment was used to determine the students level of mastery of beginning multiplication.

Assessment #3: Itemized Test Questions

1. Math: Beginning multiplication Matching picture to story problem 2. Math: Array Matching array to equation 3. Math: Array Identify the false match for a number sentence 6. Math: Multiplication- Story problem Multiply to figure out the answer 7. Math: Multiplication- Array Figure out story problem using arrays or multiplication 8. Math: Multiplication-Missing factor Figure out the missing factor in a number sentence Demonstrating knowledge of beginning multiplication facts ( x1) 9. Math: Multiplication-Missing factor Figure out the missing factor in a number sentence Demonstrate knowledge of beginning multiplication facts. (x0) 10. Math: Multiplication or Addition- Story problem Figure out which group of items would cost more

4. Math: Multiplication and turnaround facts Identify which one is a turnaround multiplication fact 5. Math: Multiplication Matching the number sentence with the corresponding picture

Table 5.0

35

Table 5.0 shows what each question on the math assessment measures. Most of the assessment is measuring the students ability to do beginning multiplication using arrays. Number 6 and number 10 measures the students ability figure out a small story problem using either beginning multiplication, or the students could use addition to find the answer. (See Appendix C) Environment of the Assessment As stated previously, I was not present for the assessment. Mrs. Teacher explained to me, through an informal interview, the environment in which the assessment took place. All twenty students were present for this assessment. The assessment took place on Nov. 15, 2012 at 1:00 PM. For this assessment, Mrs. Teacher allowed the students to scatter around the room. Students used clipboards to work on, and they are allowed to sit anywhere in the class as long as they are visible to Mrs. Teacher. She recalled that she had Student 6 and Afton had to go back to their seats because they were distracting each other. When students were finished with their assessment, Mrs. Teacher allowed them to play file folder games, or work quietly at their desks on other projects. She explained that two students, Student 5 and Destiny, did not finish the assessment and they had to do so during computer time. Mrs. Teacher did not have all of the assessments available for me to analyze because she was having parent-teacher conferences and the assessments were placed in the students portfolios. She made me a copy of two different students assessments to analyze who often struggle in class both academically and behaviorally. She said the class average for this assessment was approximately 80%

36

Assessment #3 Analysis- Student 5

Because I was not present for this test, I am basing all information off the copies of the assessment I received from Mrs. Teacher and through an informal interview with Mrs. Teacher on Nov. 20, 2012. Student 5 got 60% of the questions on this assessment correct. As stated earlier, the class average was approximately 80%. Student 5 did significantly lower that most of her peers. Student 5 missed question # 3, which reads, Which is not a match for the number sentence 3 X 4 = 12? Student 5 answered, 3 rows of 4, but that is a match for the number sentence provided. On question #4, Student 5 shows that she was confused about what was expected of her. She thought the question was asking her to match the multiplication turnaround facts. (See Appendix C) When instead it was asking her to identify which one was a correct multiplication turnaround fact. Question # 5 asked Student 5 to figure out which picture did not represent 4 X 1. Student 5 chose the picture that showed the multiplication image vertically while the others were all horizontal. However, she was supposed to count the balls in each diagram to see if it represented 4 X 1. Student 5 also missed question #10. This question asks students to determine which group of items would cost the most. Student 5 chose the answer with the biggest number as her answer and was incorrect (See Appendix C).

37

Assessment #3 Synthesis- Student 5

According to the analysis, Student 5 had problems with questions that asked, which is not... To further instruction, I would teach Student 5 test-taking strategies to help with these kinds of problems. I would teach her that when a question asks, which is not... to look for all of the ones that are correct and eliminate those as possibilities because the question is asking for the wrong one. Furthermore, I do not like test questions that ask in this way because it is confusing for students. I will eliminate these types of question on my assessments if it is possible. Furthermore, on question # 4 I would explain to Student 5 what the question is asking her to do. The way that it looks on the test could be confusing because it does look like a question where you match up ones that go together (See Appendix C). However, if she looked closer at the numbers she would see that there is only one correct turnaround fact. I think she was just confused about what the test was asking her to do. If she still has difficulties after explaining what she is supposed to do, I would re-teach multiplication turnaround facts with more visuals and opportunities for her to clarify meaning to anything she does not understand. Finally, question #10 asks student to identify which group of items would cost more. I would ask Student 5 to figure out the cost for each group and show her work. I think she just guessed because she picked the answer with the biggest answer. Mrs. Teacher told me that Student 5 had to miss some of her computer time to finish this exam, so maybe she was feeling rushed and wanted to get down to the computer lab. I think by asking her to tell me what each group costs and to show her work, she would be able to get the right answer and understand what she is suppose to do.

38

Assessment #3 Analysis: Student 6

As stated previously, I was not present for this test, and I am basing all information off the copies of the assessment I received from Mrs. Teacher and through an informal interview with Mrs. Teacher on Nov. 20, 2012. Student 6 got 70% on this assessment. He scored slightly lower than the class average at 80%. Unlike Student 5, Student 6 did well on the questions that ask, Which is not... He also showed his work on more problems so I can see his thinking. Student 6 missed question #1 on this assessment. Question # 1 asks students to match a picture to a story problem. The question asks, How may legs on 3 horses? The question assumes students have background knowledge of what a horse is and how many legs it has. The correct answer is a picture of three boxes, and each box has four lines in the box representing the legs. Student 6 picked the picture that had four boxes and three lines in each box. The one he chose does show the correct number of legs, but the picture does not clearly match the story problem. Student 6 also missed question #2. This problem asks students to identify which array shows 5 X 3. Student 6 chose the array that shows 15 X 1. It does answer the question 5 X 3, but the array represents a different number problem Student 6 also answered question #10 incorrectly. This question asks students to identify which group of items would cost the most. He picked the same answer the Student 5 picked, but he showed his work, so I know that he tried and I can see where he went wrong.

39

Assessment # 3 Synthesis: Student 6

The analysis shows that Student 6 did fairly well on this assessment. On question # 1 and # 2, his answers could be correct for people who think differently. On question # 1, I think the answer he chose could match the story problem of he is thinking that each horse has four legs, so the boxes represent the legs and the lines inside represent the number or horses. I think I would give him credit for this problem if he could explain to me his thinking for this problem in a way that makes sense. I also feel the same way about question # 2. This question asks, Which array shows 5 X 3? The correct response is a group of boxes with five rows and three columns. However, if he already knows the answer to the question, and he thought about which array shows the answer, the one he chose would be applicable. He chose an array with 15 boxes across, which is the answer to the problem. If he could clearly explain to me why he chose that answer, and his thinking is correct, I would give him the points for that problem. On question # 10, Student 6 chose the wrong answer, but he showed his work. Therefore, I can see exactly where he got confused; he miss counted one of the yo-yos. To further instruction, I would ask Student 6 to take a closer look at that problem and try it again. I think that once he tried the problem again he would get it. I would encourage him to take his time and double-check his work.

40

References Utah State Office of Education. (2012). School enrollment. Retrieved from: http://www.schools.utah.gov/data/Educational-Data.aspx ABC County School District. (2012). Current enrollment. Retrieved from: http://www.washk12.org/district/current-enrollment ABC Elementary. (2012). ABC Elementary School. Retrieved from: http://ABC.washk12.org/

41

Appendix A
Assessment #1

42

Appendix B
Assessment #2

43

Appendix C
Assessment #3