Quantitative Evidence
Overview of Assessment
Camino Nuevo Charter Academy utilizes the teacher created Fluency assessment to track students' mastery of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) throughout the school year. The assessment is divided into three sections which mirror the three instructional units in 6th-grade integrated science. Section 1 is Systems and Subsystems in Earth and Life Science, section 2 is Causes and Effects of Regional Climate, and section 3 Effects of Global Warming on Living Systems; each section is composed of 9-11 questions. The test is computerized and students are administered the assessment through Illuminate.
Students are administered the exam at two points during the school year. The assessment is administered after the first instructional unit is completed and it serves as a cumulative and diagnostic test. Section 1 is cumulative of instructional unit 1. Sections 2 and 3 are diagnostic, data from the assessment is used to inform instruction and build off of students' pre-existing knowledge and experiences. Students are assessed a second time in May serving as a cumulative exam that covers content from the entire year. Students have three periods (150 minutes) to complete the exam which mirrors the format of the California Science Test (CAST) which is taken in May of students' 8th-grade year.
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Tracking Progress and Mastery
Students are assessed frequently, approximately two chapter assessments a month. These assessments are smaller than the Fluency exam, but the questions have similar levels of rigor and prepare students to take the Fluency exam. Data from these assessments are used to determine students' level of mastery of NGSS. Chapter assessments consist of three parts multiple choice, free response, and extended response which are split into days of assessment. The multiple-choice is computerized and students have one class period to complete it. The free response and extended response are paper assessments, students have one class period to complete both sections. After every chapter assessment, I create a graph that shows the grade distribution for the assessment and displays the class average. This promotes growth for both my students and I. Sharing assessment data allows us as a class to track progress from one chapter assessment to another.
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This is a PDF copy of my students' computerized Fluency assessment. A completed student work sample is not possible due to the format of the assessment. The test is divided into three sections that align with the 6th-grade integrated science instructional units. The test is administered over three instructional days. The assessment includes a variety of question types and includes high order thinking questions that mirror the CAST.
This PDF is a chapter assessment. There are approximately 8 chapters per unit. Student performance on chapter assessment is tracked and data is utilized to modify instruction. The chapter assessment contains three sections multiple-choice, free response, and extended response. As the year has progressed my students' overall performance on chapter assessments has increased. See the data analysis section for more details about the growth my students have experienced.
This artifact is assessment data from my first period. Sharing data with my students serves as a talking point for a discussion about performance. I show each class their performance compared to my other classes and we discuss factors that led to the differences in the class average. This has pushed my students to increase accountability over their grade as well as the class average. Note the low-class average with almost half of the class earning an F on the first assessment.
Macro-Level Data Analysis
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The data presented is from the 2019-2020 school year from my 6th-grade science class. My students will take the Fluency assessment for the second time in May. Based on my experience in the classroom, student feedback, chapter assessment data, and Fluency assessment data I will be projecting the growth that my students will have made by the end of the year.
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Since the beginning of the school year, my students have experienced dramatic academic growth. The average score on the first four assessment was a 63%, this data shows that a majority of my students were not mastery chapter content and meetings success on their exam. However, the data shows that as the year progresses students average scores begin to increase.
The slope from all three trendlines (periods) is positive; my students on average increased their percent correct by 1.58% per exam. The increase in student performance is a result of increased effort from my students and myself. If the class average was below 75% I spent additional time in the chapter doing extension activities before moving to the next chapter. My students began to regularly attend test corrections and providing after school tutoring. In class, I implemented new instructional strategies Cornell notes, vocabulary wall, increased laboratory activities, and explicit instruction on test-taking strategies.
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This scatter plot graph illustrates my students' class's average percent correct on the chapter assessment by period across the 15 chapter assessments that we have taken this year. The data is trending upwards.
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A poignant macro-level highlight is my period 3 overall performance on chapter assessments and the fluency exam as compared to my other periods. Period 3 has consistently earned a higher testing average throughout all chapters assessment starting with chapter 1 (period 1 48%, period 2 51%, period 3 67%) their average chapter assessment score is 82.7%. An additional macro-level highlight is the performance of my period 2. My period 2 class is comprised of 31 students with a large cluster of students with IEPs (11/31students). Despite the large cluster of students with IEPs the class has been performing similarly to my other classes and at times scoring higher than my period 1. Based on this data I am projecting that when my students take the Fluency Assessment in May, it will follow the trend of the chapter assessment scores and increase from 76.2% (section 1) to an overall 80% across sections 1,2, and 3.
Based on this data I am projecting that 1) my students will continue to increase their performance on their chapter assessment 2) my students will average 80% or higher on the Fluency Assessment in May. Averaging an 80% on the fluency assessment would require period 1 to increase their average score by 41%, period 2 by 39%, and period 3 by 30%. The results are possible and plausible and would demonstrate that my students experienced dramatic academic growth and increased their overall score on their Fluency assessment by 30%. Compare my students' first assessment average score of 54% to their last chapter assessment average which was 76% a 22% growth. My students' performance is trending upward as they have increased their average assessment scores throughout the year, this trend will follow through when my students take the Fluency assessment.
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Micro-Level Data Analysis
Overall my students experienced growth during this school year with me. However, examining the data from the macro-level fails to demonstrate the significant progress some students have made. This section will highlight the growth of two students who have grown considerably more than their classmates.
The first student I would like to highlight is an English Langauge Learner classified as level one who moved here last year. This student struggled with assessments and classwork, the language difference was a large barrier preventing success. On the first chapter assessment, the student earned 27% and this trend continued on assessments two and three. Following assessment three I requested an after school meeting with the student, during this meeting I highlighted the resources I have available to English Langauge Learners, and we completed test corrections for chapter assessments 1,2, and 3 together. Additionally, I match paired the student with a bilingual student to promote peer to peer tutoring. These additional supports pushed the student and made her significantly more motivated in my class. On the chapter 4 assessment, she earned a 71% her first passing score on a chapter assessment. She continued this trend and attended after school tutoring regularly, on the Fluency assessment she earned 73% which is an incredible amount of growth since chapter 1 assessment. This student learned to utilize the supports around her and experienced dramatic academic growth showing that language is a barrier that can be overcome with teacher and student support.
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The second student I am highlighting is a student in special education. This student has ADHD and is on the spectrum, he particularly struggles with text comprehension. On the first chapter assessment, the student earned 31% and chapter 2 35%. I provided the student with a fidget spinner to provide stimulation and keep his hands busy, he has utilized this tool in other classes as well to help him focus. During test corrections, I worked one on one with the student practicing test-taking strategies and reading comprehension strategies to target his areas of needs. On the third chapter assessment, he improved his score by 26% from chapter 2. His performance on the Fluency assessment shows tremendous growth, he earned a 66%. The fluency assessment is more reading heavy than the chapter assessment, however, he preserved and used his strategies. He was 4% away from passing as compared to his 31% on chapter 1. I am projecting that he will continue to grow and will earn a 75% or higher when he takes the Fluency Assessment in May.
This bar graph contains the data from the Fluency Assessment. The data is split up by period and section. This assessment was administered in November after I finished teaching instructional unit 1 which aligns with section 1 of the Fluency assessment. The content on section 1 was cumulative while the content on sections 2 and 3 was diagnostic. Performance in section 1 of the fluency exam was overall impressive, especially considering the performance on the first five chapter assessments. The average score from all three periods was 76.2% which is above my mastery target of 75%. Student performance in sections 2 and 3 was expected because that content has not been covered yet.