After looking over the data for the 11 assignments the students have completed, two

things pop out at me: my high achievers and my low achievers. My high achievers include Cho

and Draco, both students almost got 100% on all assignments. Out of all 11 assignments Cho

scored a 96/100 and Draco scored 91/100. Whereas my low achievers, Goyle and Pansy,

struggled with assignments. Goyle ended up with a 45/100 for all assignments and Pansy ended

up with a 72/100. Although Pansy did considerably better than Goyle, she still struggled with a

majority of the assignments.

Goyle is the first student that really concerned me. On the first assignment, an

introduction worksheet, he scored a 2/5 where his peers scored a 4 or higher. This leads me to

believe that he may not have background knowledge about this math topic like the other

students. His scores moving forward continued to reflect that he was struggling with the topic,

he scored 0 on three assignments (homework, classwork, and a quiz). However he did

considerably better on a mini project the students completed and received a 6/10. In order to

help Goyle bridge the gap between himself and his peers I would pull him for a one-on-one mini

lesson or small reteach. Working one-on-one with him might allow me to see where hes

struggling to grasp concepts. Taking into account that he did well on the mini project, which was

a creative assignment the students completed, I would try and implement more assignments like

this instead of worksheets. It is still a formative assessment that allows me to see how Goyle is

progressing. Pansy on the other hand, started out strong with a 4/5 on the introduction worksheet

but her grades continued to bounce up and down as we went through the topic and were not

consistent. In order to help Pansy, I would continue to watch the grades she receives on each

assignment and for each one she struggles with I would pull her for a small group reteach. My

concern with my two high achievers is that I am not challenging them enough. Both students,
Cho and Draco, consistently received 100% on assignments or missed a single point. In order to

ensure they are being challenged I would provide enrichment activities for the students to

complete or even offer them the role of peer tutor to help struggling students like Pansy, while I

am working one-on-one with Goyle. I would also take a look at their cumulative files, perhaps

these two students have been identified as gifted but are not currently receiving the proper gifted

services.

As far as assignments go, two assignments concern me but for different reasons. The

homework assignment is a concern for me because 4 out of the 5 students received 5/5 points.

Whereas Goyle received a 0/5. This assignment required the students to survey their

neighborhood and collect data for an in class assignment. However, I didnt take into account

that my students might not live in a neighborhood that is safe for them to be walking around to

collect such data. Or that their parents might not have the time to help them so theyre not

walking around by themselves. Because of this I feel that any student that is unable to complete

the task is being set up for failure when it comes to the in class assignment. I would consider

removing this homework assignment and just giving the students random neighborhood data to

plot.

The second assignment that I would consider changing or removing would be the group

survey project. Out of all the students, none of them received a 100% on this task, not even my

high achievers. In fact one of my high achievers, Draco, actually received a 20/25 on this task.

Thats the same score my low achiever Goyle received. This leads me to believe that perhaps the

task might be a bit difficult. If I didnt remove it all together, I might adapt it to be a

cooperative-small group assignment. I would create small groups mixed with high and low
achievers to complete the task. Studies show that cooperative learning fosters achievement,

active learning, collaboration/student discussions, confidence and motivation (Unknown, 2014).

After reviewing this student data I am better able to reflect upon how I can alter my

instruction to better meet the needs of my students not only for this math topic but for future

lessons as well. Some strategies and ideas I plan on incorporating include: check as I go, mini

lessons/reteaches, and exit tickets. Check as I go is a strategy where teachers are continually

monitoring student progress using formative assessments, anecdotal notes, and exit tickets. This

helps the teacher decide who might need extra practice, a small reteach, or perhaps the class as a

whole needs a quick refresher. Its an excellent intervention tool (Green & Johnson, 2010, pp.

362-363). The exit ticket goes hand in hand with this strategy, after every lesson I would hand

out a small slip of paper that asks the students to rate from 1-10 how well they understand the

content (1 being I didnt understand it all and 10 being I could teach someone else this content).

I would also provide a space where they could give me feedback on my teaching techniques, if I

am going too fast, too slow, etc. This would of course be an anonymous task so students felt safe

enough to give their honest opinion. This provides instant data I can use to determine if I am

able to move forward with the content or if I need to review (Alber, 2015).

For this content specifically, I would begin to pull Goyle for one-on-one instruction

during the classs silent reading time. I would begin at the beginning of the topic since hes

struggled from the very first assignment. I would also help him complete the in class assignment

that required the students to collect data from their neighborhood with random data I have

provided him with. This practice could help strengthen his math skills so he does well on the

upcoming test. I would provide the entire class with a refresher lesson plan and some additional

worksheets/activities for them to practice. I would partner students into cooperative learning
teams or groups to complete assignments together. I would then attempt another review game

and see if the scores of my low achieving students have gone up or remained the same.