Assignment Part 1

Assignment #1: Data Analysis & Curriculum Design-Part 1

by

Ana Hernandez

EDL 0702

Standards Based Curriculum and Assessment

Nova Southeastern University

November 2, 2019

1

Assignment #1

School

Bowman Ashe/Doolin K-8 School is a public school that received a grade of a B for the

2018-2019 school year. The school is in the West Kendall area of Miami Dade County. The

neighborhood is predominantly Hispanic, and the student population is largely English Language

Learners (ELL). The area has changed since the school opened as a middle school in 1997. At

the time of its inception, it was the only middle school in the area. Since then, new housing

developments have been erected and many new additions have come to the area. It has

transformed in the past 20 years. Just recently, there are several new commercial plazas with new

restaurants, stores, and hospitals. There are approximately 36,000 residents.

In the target school, there are two separate campuses; one that houses the elementary

grades (Pre-K-5) and one that houses the middle grades (6-8). The elementary grades are housed

in what is known as the Lower Academy, while the middle grades are housed in what is known

as the Upper Academy. There are three administrators on staff that include a principal, and two

assistant principals; a teaching staff of 62, six paraprofessionals, two counselors, two nurses,

three clerical staff, and 10 janitorial staff. The student population is made up of 949 multi-ethnic

students, 94.2% are Hispanic, 3% are White, and 2% are Asian. According to the federal

government, 79.9% of the students are considered economically disadvantaged. Additionally,

37.5% are classified as English Language Learners (ELL), 12.9% of students are Students with

Disabilities (SWD) and 10% of students are in the gifted program. The administration, faculty

and staff are representative of the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity reflective of the school’s

student population. All the teachers at this school are trained and have earned, at minimum, a

Bachelor’s Degree in Education.

2

Topic

“Quality classroom assessment produces accurate information that is used effectively to

both report and support student learning” (Chappius & Stiggins, p. 15, 2017). Therefore, the

focus of this paper will be on iReady data for Reading for an 8th grade class of 19 students. The

data from the i-Ready portal will provide an in-depth understanding of the students’ needs. The

tools used to analyze data was the iReady Diagnostic Test, as well as reports from iReady. This

data was extracted from https://login.i-ready.com/educator/dashboard/reading. These will

provide goals for improved student achievement.

Table 1

iReady Diagnostic Results for Overall Placement-Middle School Level

In this K-8 Academy, 319 students at the middle school level participated in the iReady

Diagnostic Test for reading in August 2019. The iReady Diagnostic Test is one “assessment

(that) focuses attention on student achievement on an interim basis, typically across classrooms”

3

(Chappius & Stiggins, p. 37, 2017). The results show 40% of the students on or above grade

level, 22% are one grade level below and 38% are two or more grade levels below, as seen in

Table 1 above. An in-depth look at the subgroup of one 8th grade class of 19 students shows 53%

are on or above grade level, 16% are one grade level below and 6% are two or more grade levels

below, as seen in Table 2 below. After further analyzing the data, the area of concern for this

class centers on Comprehension of Informational Text.

Table 2

iReady Diagnostic Results for Overall Placement-Individual Class

Rationale

As an administrator, identifying areas of concern are important in order to generate

practical strategies for teachers to use in the classroom. Teachers use “assessment information as

a feedback loop to determine learning successes and needs during the learning” (Chappius &

Stiggins, p. 37, 2017). This begins with deconstructing the standards into learning targets.

“Learning targets define academic success-they state what we want students to know and be able

4

to do” (Chappius & Stiggins, p. 42, 2017). Based on the information from the diagnostic, the

main area of concern for this subgroup is the Comprehension of Informational Text. Table 3

below shows 14 out of the 19 students in the class are one or more grade levels below on

Comprehension of Informational Text. In the Language Arts Florida Standards (LAFS), this falls

under the Strand: Reading Standards for Informational Text. The standards that need

improvement under this strand are Cluster 1: Key Ideas and Details and Cluster 2: Craft and

Structure.

Table 3

Indepth Look at iReady Diagnostic Results for the Individual Class

Student #

Grade VOCABULARY COMPREHENSION

: Literature

COMPREHENSION : Informational

Text

iReady Diagnostic Overall

Placement August 2019

1 8 671

Late 8 619

Grade 7 601

Grade 7 Early 8

2 8 644

Mid 8 604

Grade 7 596

Grade 7 Grade 7

3 8 690

Grade 9 583

Grade 6 583

Grade 6 Early 8

4 8 562

Grade 4 578

Grade 5 611

Grade 7 Grade 5

5 8 672

Late 8 618

Grade 7 649

Mid 8 Mid 8

6 8 594

Grade 7 564

Grade 5 500

Grade 3 Grade 4

7 8 599

Grade 7 661

Mid 8 618

Grade 7 Early 8

8 8 632

Early 8 649

Mid 8 625

Early 8 Early 8

9 8 601

Grade 7 677

Late 8 644

Mid 8 Early 8

10 8 611

Grade 7 655

Mid 8 622

Early 8 Early 8

11 8 583

Grade 6 597

Grade 7 532

Grade 3 Grade 5

12 8 593

Grade 6 618

Grade 7 599

Grade 7 Grade 7

13 8 600 567 539 Grade 5

5

Grade 7 Grade 5 Grade 3

14 8 677

Late 8 624

Early 8 631

Early 8 Mid 8

15 8 628

Early 8 653

Mid 8 582

Grade 5 Early 8

16 8 678

Late 8 622

Early 8 615

Grade 7 Early 8

17 8 599

Grade 7 593

Grade 6 616

Grade 7 Grade 7

18 8 610

Grade 7 581

Grade 5 559

Grade 4 Grade 5

19 8 585

Grade 6 588

Grade 6 600

Grade 7 Grade 6

(Green=on grade level; Yellow=one grade level below; Red=two or more grade levels below)

Based on the data, the indicators of students’ learning gaps were evident in the grade

level scored for each area (i.e. Vocabulary, Comprehension: Literature, Comprehension:

Informational Text). Most of the students did not score on grade level for Comprehension of

Informational Text. In particular, the students’ learning gap for this class was the inability to

determine the main/central idea in a variety of informational genres. The standards that address

the learning gaps are the following:

Cluster 1: Key Ideas and Details-Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development

over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective

summary of the text (LAFS.8.RI.1.2); Cluster 2: Craft and Structure-Determine an author's point

of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to

conflicting evidence or viewpoints (LAFS.8.RI.2.6).

Examining the curriculum and standards will help teachers improve their lesson plans to

include strategies to address the deficiencies. Teachers will be able to assess their teaching

approaches and provide formative assessments to gauge students’ knowledge and understanding.

The SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented /relevant, time bound) goal to

address these issues is:

6

By the last iReady Diagnostic window (i.e. May 4-June 2, 2020), 70 % of the students in

this class will increase their score by one grade level as measured by the iReady

Diagnostic Assessment.

7

References:

Chappius, J., and Stiggins, R.J. (2017). An Introduction to Student Involved Assessment for

Learning (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Course.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H. and Johnson, D.E. (2013). Management of Organizational

Behavior: Leading Human Resources (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.