Maggie Ferguson ELED 533

Student Analysis Assignment Class Context There are 22 students in my first grade practicum class, 13 boys and 9 girls. The class is about 75% Caucasian and 25% Hispanic or other ethnicity. We have 5 students who receive help from a resource teacher for about 1 hour a day in the morning during reading because of their learning disabilities. In addition, there is 1 student who receives Title One services. The majority of my class receives free and reduced lunch and my teacher has expressed to me the low level of parent involvement. The class is primarily on the lower end of the first grade at my school, with most students scoring below grade level on the reading and math assessments given at the beginning of the year. We recently added 2 boys to our classroom from other first grade classrooms whose teachers were unable to handle them because of behavior issues. These additions have at times caused some interference with instruction but the classroom works primarily in groups so the distraction is minimal. One of these students has attendance issues and misses class a lot because his mother doesnt always want to wake him up to bring him to school. Furthermore, we have a student who is new to the school that had brain cancer. Unfortunately, he has had to miss class a lot because of surgeries and deals with a lot of emotional stress that sometimes impacts his learning in school. Students are in groups for reading, I/E, math and science/social studies. There are rarely any whole class lessons, therefore each student is able to have individual/small group teaching which is vital when working with a class of all levels and needs. The groups are based on level and need, with three reading groups, three I/E groups, four math groups and three science/social studies groups.

Pre-Assessment After discussing with my teacher what students would be learning in math and observing and teaching students during math groups, we decided that doing a pre-assessment on students

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knowledge of addition would be appropriate. Addition is one of the concepts that students learn in first grade and this assessment was given during the first week of students work with addition. The focus of this assessment is on the addition aspect of the SOLs which is italicized.
SOL 1.5: The student will recall basic addition facts with sums to 18 or less and the corresponding subtraction facts. SOL 1.6: The student will create and solve one-step story and picture problems using basic addition facts with sums to 18 or less and the corresponding subtraction facts.

I chose to have 2 addition problems, one that added up to a sum below 10 and one that added up to a sum in between 10 and 18. I also had a subtraction problem to see if students were aware of the plus symbol and what that entailed. Furthermore, I included 2 word problems that were modeled off of math resources that my teacher plans to use. One of the word problems required students to write an addition fact, while the other one asked for students to show their mathematical thinking by drawing. The problem that asked for the addition fact had space for students to fill in (_____ + _____ = _______) to help students. The word problem that asked for a picture had a blank space underneath. I did not provide any modeling for this because I wanted to see how the students would go about the problem. The pre-assessment consisted of only 5 questions because students are unable to read, so in order to do word problems I had to read them out to the students in groups. Furthermore, I wanted to make sure students understood exactly what they were doing so I wanted to have time to explain everything in order to accurately measure how much they each knew. Although I realize this might affect my ability to group because there is a lack of range of questions, I believed it was the best thing for my students in order to keep their frustration levels to a minimum.

Results Students were given 5 questions- 2 addition facts, 1 subtraction fact and 2 word problems. I have compiled the results into the following table to represent how each student performed in these three areas. The number represents the amount the student got right in that area. One student was absent on the day the pre-assessment was given.

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Student

2 Addition Facts 1

1 Subtraction Fact 0

2 Word Problems 0

Comments

Grade

This student does not have a clear understanding of addition or subtraction facts. Although the student answered one addition fact correctly, they wrote the number backwards. This suggests the student still needs more time to work with numbers and counting in addition to learning about addition. This student shows understanding of addition facts and was able to add up to a sum of 16. They also wrote out the addition fact that corresponded to the word problem correctly as well as underlined or circled the numbers that were in the addition word problems. The student added the numbers in the subtraction problem which suggests no knowledge of a minus sign and its meaning. This student demonstrates understanding of addition facts and was able to add up to a sum of 16. The student initially added the subtraction problem, but then seems to have noticed that it did not have a plus sign and erased her answer and wrote a different one. Although not correct, this shows acknowledgement of the minus sign. They wrote out the addition fact correctly for one word problem, but were unable to connect picture with addition fact in the second word problem. This student shows an understanding of addition facts up to a sum of 16. They also wrote the addition fact that corresponded to both word problems with correct symbols (+, =). The student added

20%

80%

60%

80%

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the subtraction problem (correctly) which suggests no knowledge of a minus sign and its meaning. This student displays significant knowledge of not only addition problems up to sums of 16, but also what it means to subtract. They wrote addition facts for each of the word problems and solved them correctly. This student displays significant knowledge of not only addition problems up to sums of 16, but also what it means to subtract. They also show use of the touch point strategy for addition when they did the word problem and were able to write correct addition facts for both word problems. This student demonstrates some knowledge of addition, but was not able to solve problems that had a sum of more than 9. They show use of the strategy of touch point math on one addition problem (which she got correct). In addition, some of the numbers were written backwards, which suggests they could benefit from more instruction in numbers. This student shows an understanding of addition problems, but is unable to solve problems that have a sum of more than 9. The student added the subtraction problem which suggests they have no acknowledgement of what a minus sign represents. The student was able to write an addition fact to correspond to one word problem and drew a correct corresponding picture for the other problem. This student demonstrates great understanding of addition facts with sums up to 16. The student was

100%

100%

60%

60%

80%

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10

11

12

13

able to write correct addition facts and draw a corresponding picture for one word problem. For the subtraction fact, the student added the two numbers together, suggesting no acknowledgement of the minus symbol. This student shows knowledge of addition facts up to a sum of 16. The student did write one number backwards, which does lead me to think they need more practice writing numbers. The student added the subtraction problem, which suggests they have no understanding of the minus symbol. The student was able to write addition facts for both word problems and drew a correct corresponding picture. This student displays significant knowledge of not only addition facts with sums up to 16, but also the use of a minus sign. In addition, the student drew a corresponding picture for one word problem that demonstrates the students knowledge of what the problem was asking. This student shows knowledge of addition facts up to a sum of 16. They also were able to write a correct addition fact for one word problem, but were unable to solve the other word problem. The student also got the subtraction problem correct, which shows knowledge of the minus sign. This student demonstrates knowledge of addition facts up to a sum of 9. They were able to write correct addition facts for both word problems and included correct symbols (+,=). The student added the subtraction problem, which

80%

100%

80%

60%

Maggie Ferguson ELED 533

14

15

16

17

18

suggests they have no acknowledgement of the minus sign. This student shows knowledge of addition facts up to a sum of 16. They underlined the numbers in the word problems, which suggests they understand the word problems. The student added the subtraction problem, suggesting they were unaware of the minus symbol and what it represents. This student displays some knowledge of addition facts. Their work suggests the student can add up to a sum of 9 and that they have no understanding of a minus symbol. This student shows knowledge of addition facts with sums up to 9. They added the subtraction problem, which suggests no recognition of the minus symbol. The student attempted to write an addition fact for the last word problem and did it correctly except for a missing =. This student shows significant knowledge of addition and subtraction. The student missed one addition problem by one, which leads me to believe they lost count when adding. The student shows understanding of writing the three numbers in an addition fact, but is missing the correct symbols (+,=) for the last word problem. This student shows some understanding of addition with sums up to 7. The student did get the subtraction problem correct, which shows the recognition of the subtraction sign and what it represents.

80%

40%

60%

80%

60%

Maggie Ferguson ELED 533

19

20

21

This student displays some 40% understanding of addition with sums up to 9. The student was one off on two of the addition problems, which suggests they are still learning to count/add on. The student added the subtraction problem, which shows no recognition of the minus sign. This student demonstrates some 40% knowledge of addition problems, but is unable to work with double digit numbers. They were able to add up to a sum of 9 for two of the problems. This student demonstrates no 0% understanding of addition or subtraction.

Criterion-Referenced Graph and Interpretations

Criterion Referenced Data

SOL 1.6 14

SOL

Addition Subtraction SOL 1.5 10 6

10 Number of Students

15

20

For the upcoming unit, the whole class will be learning basic addition facts with sums of 18 or less and solving one-step story problems using basic addition facts with sums of 18 or less. Since my assessment did ask students one subtraction problem, I included that in the

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corresponding SOL 1.5. The SOL 1.6 bar represents the number of students who got both word problems correct. The SOL 1.5 bar represents the number of students who got both addition problems correct (blue) and the one subtraction problem correct (red). I chose to display my data this way because I wanted to see the amount of students who had full understanding of that content, meaning they answered more than just one right for the addition problems and word problems. Overall, I think the class did pretty well for the areas of the SOLs they were assessed on. Over half the class was able to correctly answer addition word problems with sums of 18 or less. This was surprising to me since only a little less than half the class was able to do the addition problems with sums of 18 or less. This suggests that students are able to comprehend the word problems and the use of concrete subjects (such as soup in bowls) helps them add. Furthermore, only 4 students out of the 10 who got both addition problems right got the subtraction problem correct as well. Considering students have barely begun addition this year, I think they are in a great spot to learn more. Norm-Referenced Graph and Interpretations

Student's Total Scores

8 7 Number of Students 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Percentage Correct

Mean: 64.76% Median: 60% Mode: 80%

Maggie Ferguson ELED 533

Students Scores (Addition)

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0% 25% 50% Percentage Correct 75% 100% Number of Students

Mean: 73.81% Median: 75% Mode: 100%

The first chart displays the students overall scores on the pre-assessment while the second chart displays scores on just the addition problems on the pre-assessment. I chose to separate out the data on just the addition because I was curious how many students understood the addition and it was the subtraction that brought their scores down. I am very surprised at the amount of students who scored 100% on just the addition. This is interesting to me because the majority of my class did not score on grade level for the assessments given at the beginning of the year in math. Although I have not seen any addition in my time in the classroom, this data makes me wonder if students are getting some addition practice while I am not there or while they are working with the resource teachers. These graphs tell me that the majority of my students understand addition problems with sums of 18 or less. In addition, they also tell me that 3 students understand the minus sign and what it represents. By putting the data into graphs, I think that the representation is much more powerful and positive than just studying the students work. Since I counted problems correctly if students wrote the number backwards, that allowed for the numbers to represent the understanding of addition, not their ability to write numbers correctly. This data also represents the range of ability present in my classroom. Although this data will be helpful for grouping, it is important to remember that students were only asked 5 questions, which does not necessarily give us a complete picture of the students knowledge.

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Grouping After scoring the pre-assessment and organizing and analyzing the data I have chosen to group the students based on their need. When grouping I looked at the students work in order to place students in groups with other students who have needs in the same area. Although some of the students were borderline between groups, I think that my final decision on grouping is what is best for each student based off their work. Group 1: Students 5, 6 and 11 These students have been grouped together because they not only got the addition problems and word problems correct, but correctly answered the subtraction problem. Furthermore, two of the three wrote their own addition fact for the last word problem and the other student drew a corresponding picture that showed his thinking. The next thing I would do with this group is begin subtraction problems by working with corresponding addition problems. For example, the students answered that 10 + 6 = 16 so we would look at the problem 16 6 = ? I think this would be appropriate for these students because they would still be working with addition problems (with sums up to 20) while making the connections with the meaning of subtraction. I think it is important for students to see that relationship and using manipulatives and explicitly working with related addition and subtraction facts will be beneficial to them. Group 1 Objectives: Students will apply their knowledge of addition facts with sums of 18 or less to subtraction problems. Students will draw conclusions about the relationship between addition and subtraction facts. Group 2: Students 2, 4, 9, 10 and 14 These students have been grouped together because they all got the addition problems and word problems correct but they added the subtraction problem and got the correct answer if it had been an addition problem (so, 12 3 = 15). I think that this was important to note because the students were able to add up to a sum of 15 which shows their ability to add. But, since the students did not recognize the fact that the problem did not have a plus sign, this is where I would begin my next instruction with students. After doing a few addition problems with sums

Maggie Ferguson ELED 533 up to 20, I would introduce the minus sign in a problem (such as 10 3 = 7) and see if students could tell me what they think the minus sign represents. I would want to have a discussion on what the minus sign means before really getting into subtraction problems because I think it is important for them to make that connection. Group 2 Objective: Students will analyze the minus sign and draw conclusions about how the minus sign and plus sign relate. Group 3: Students 3, 8, 12, 16 and 17 I chose to group these students together because 4 of the 6 got the double digit addition problem wrong and the 2 students who got that one right did not get one of the word problems correct. These students stood out to me as needed just a little more practice with addition problems that have sums higher than 10, which would involve adding with a double digit number. This is where I would begin my instruction with these students. I would have students working with manipulatives to aid in their work with the double digit numbers because it can get a little tricky once you are adding so much together. Furthermore, I would have students work with the strategy of counting on. For example, we would put 10 unifix cubes in a pile and start our counting at 10 and add in 4 more. So students would say 10 (pointing to the group of 10 cubes) 11, 12, 13,14 (adding in 4 more cubes). Group 3 Objective: Students will solve addition problems and word problems with sums between 10 and 18. Group 4: Students 13, 15, 18 and 19 These students are very similar to group 3, but I believed the two groups should be separated so I did my best to separate by really analyzing what they wrote down. It was really hard for me to figure out, but I think the way I have grouped them will be most beneficial to the students. These students were put into a group together because 3 of the 4 added the subtraction problem (correctly added) and the other got the subtraction problem correct. But, all students were unable to do the double digit addition problem. Furthermore, these students showed use of the addition fact layout (____ + ____ =____) although not all put in the correct symbols. With

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this group I would focus next on continuing their work with addition problems. I would still have them work with problems that have sums below 10, but would begin adding in larger sum problems. In order to do this, I would have students use manipulatives and, again, like group 3 work with the strategy of counting on. I think these students would benefit from more time with addition problems that have sums lower than 10 before moving on which is why they are grouped together. Group 4 Objective: Students will solve addition problems with sums of 18 or less.

Group 5: Students 1, 7, 20 and 21 These students were grouped together because 2 of them showed no real knowledge of addition and the other two students showed other misunderstandings that I think need to be addressed before they can move on and be successful in doing addition problems. These students showed poor number representation (backwards, ineligible) and each had problems with the double digit addition problem and the subtraction problem and were far off from the correct answer which suggests they had trouble counting/adding them together. I almost put student 7 in another group, but decided against it since their number representation was poor with more than 1 number backwards. I felt this was an important skill for students to have before moving on to really working with those numbers and manipulating them. I would begin instruction with this group with a discussion on what it means to add something together. After students grasped that idea of addition, we would move into basic addition problems. Their work would be highly interactive and students would be writing down numbers on blank addition problems (____ + _____ = _____). I would have students working with manipulatives and adding groups together. I think that the two students who were able to answer a few of the addition problems correctly will be able to help their other group members as well. Group 5 Objectives: Students will apply the term addition to different situations. Students will solve addition problems with sums less than 10.

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Reflection I found this assignment to be very eye opening and helpful to my growth as a teacher. The grouping was a real struggle for me, but one that I am glad I got to experience before having to do it for real. I found that it was really hard to group students based on what they needed towards the end because many students needed different things. This is where not knowing the students names really made a difference, I think. I was not using pre-judgments or what I had heard from my teacher/how she had grouped to make any decisions. I was purely looking at the students work and trying to figure out what they knew and what they needed from me. After grouping and then going back and looking at which papers corresponded with which students (by number), there were many surprises for me. For example, I placed Student 9 in the second highest group but in the classroom he is in the lower group. This made me really think about expectations that teachers have. If we do not expect a student to be able to do something, we may count them doing well as a fluke. I think that it is important to put children in groups that will be beneficial to them and those groups should be flexible because students grow and progress at different rates. Another one that I found interesting was Student 7 who I really struggled with trying to decide where to put them. I went back and forth with the importance of representing numbers correctly and in the end decided that it was vital to the students success. Once I looked at the students name, I was proud of myself for making that decision because I really do think that student needs that instruction. Lastly, Student 1 was an interesting discovery. This student is one of our newer students and they are placed in a high math group because they are on that level and I have seen some of their work. This tells me that this student did not put any effort into this assessment. Although frustrating, it is a good learning experience for me to see that because assessments can only tell so much about a student. That is why it is important to be constantly observing and informally assessing students all the time. One last thing that I took away from this assignment was the importance of data collection. After reading my context, it might surprise you how well my students did on this assessment- it surprised me as well. But, in looking back at the Kindergarten SOLs, this makes sense. According to the SOL, students learn basic addition up to sums of 10. Many of my students had no problem with those problems, but when it came to double digit problems they

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struggled. This makes perfect sense in looking at what their prior knowledge should be. In addition, students were assessed at the beginning of the school year, after summer when many of the students probably did do any thinking about school. Now that students have been in school for a while, some of their prior math knowledge may be coming back to them as they work on different math concepts. Furthermore, some students are just great at math. Just because we may have very low level readers does not mean we will also have low level math students.