Student Learning Analysis

MaryJo Dunn

In order to assess my Spanish 2 students' understanding of stem changing verbs, I created

an entrance ticket for students to fill out. Students had the verb and the subject provided to them.
Students were to conjugate the verbs appropriately in the present tense. Each verb in this
formative assessment was a stem changing verb. The verbs were a mix of stem changers they
had learned in the past. As well as, verbs that they learned as vocabulary in the unit they were
working on. All students have seen the verbs conjugated with the stem change multiple times in
context before this formative assessment. Once I had reviewed the data of student responses
from the entrance ticket, I had a clear understanding of where students were at with their
understanding of stem changing verbs. The formative assessment categorized student responses
into students that: did not understand present tense endings (example here), did not make
spelling change with prior knowledge verbs (example here), and did not make spelling change
with verbs learned in the current unit (example here). Utilizing this data I adjusted my instruction
in order to be able to properly guide students to understanding stem changing verbs. After the
modified lesson, students had multiple opportunities in and out of class to practice the patterns of
stem changing verbs through games, activities, and homework assignments before the
summative assessment of a quiz on the stem changing verbs.

Foreign Language Standards:

Comparing Languages: 4.1.N.b Identify basic differences and similarities in grammatical
structures between one’s own language and the target. In Spanish there are verbs that have
spelling changes within the stem of the verb. Similar to how English words have irregular
spelling changes depending on the usage (plural and singular / present and past tense), Spanish
changes the spelling for the stem of the verb for different conjugations. In order for students to
gain mastery of this grammatical structure, they must know what the spelling change is in the
stem of the verb, what specific conjugations of the verb have the spelling change, and properly
conjugate the verb endings to the proper subject.

Analysis of Data and Student Understanding:

The graph above showcases

all student responses
together. The top results show the cumber of students that had proficiency and errors with
conjugating verbs in the present tense out of the total number of students in the class. Sixty six
percent of students were proficient in conjugating verbs in the present tense and thirty four
percent of students were not. The middle results show the number of students that had
proficiency and errors in conjugating stem changing verbs from prior knowledge. Thirty eight
percent of students were proficient in conjugating prior knowledge verbs, and sixty two percent
were not. The bottom results show students that had proficiency and errors in conjugating stem
changing verbs from the current unit. Seven percent of students were proficient in conjugating
verbs learned in the current unit and ninety three percent of students were not proficient.

Subsequent Instruction Following Analysis:

After reviewing the initial assessment data I adjusted my further instruction to remediate
the learning needs of my students. Utilizing the student results from the initial assessment of
stem changing verbs, I made informed decisions for modifying lessons, activities, and
summative assessments. My first adjustment to instruction was to review the present tense
ending of verbs as thirty four percent of students conjugated using the past tense endings or
mixed up the endings of the present tense. My next adjustment was to activate student prior
knowledge with the spelling change with verbs they learned in previous units. Sixty two percent
of students failed to conjugate stem changing verbs previously learned in other units correctly.
Further adjustments was to clearly outline what the specific spelling change for each verb is and
what subjects receive the change and which do not. Ninety three percent of students failed to
conjugate stem changing verbs specific to the unit we were currently covering in this unit
correctly. Furthermore, my instruction was adjusted to incorporate many opportunities for
students to practice conjugating the stem changing verbs through games, activities, and
homework assignments. Lastly, I adjusted the summative quiz from the one that the curriculum
provided to be more focused on student’s abilities to make the correct spelling changes and
conjugations, than the original which was more focused on being able to identify the correct
vocabulary for the sentence.

Post Assessment Analysis Determining Student Growth:

The graph below showcases all student responses together. The top results show the
number of students that had proficiency and errors with conjugating verbs in the present tense
out of the total number of students in the class. Ninety four percent of students were proficient in
conjugating verbs in the present tense and six percent of students were not (example here). The
middle results show the number of students that had proficiency and errors in conjugating stem
changing verbs from prior knowledge. 83 percent of students were proficient in conjugating prior
knowledge verbs, and 17 percent were not (example here). The bottom results show students that
had proficiency and errors in conjugating stem changing verbs from the current unit. Ninety four
percent of students were proficient in conjugating verbs learned in the current unit and six
percent of students were not proficient (example here).
Comparison of Results:
The graph below compares initial data with post data to see full student growth in each
area. The top result of the graph shows the difference between the initial results of sixty six
percent of students being proficient in conjugating present tense verbs to the post results being
ninety four percent of students being proficient. The middle results shows the difference between
the initial results of thirty eight percent of students being proficient to eighty three percent being
proficient. Lastly, the bottom result compares the initial results of only seven percent of students
being proficient in conjugating the stem changing verbs in the unit to the post result of ninety
four percent of students being proficient.