Rational Number Assessment

Shannon White

Australian Catholic University

Student Report

Leah shows evidence of understanding the relationship between fractions and division; for
example, Leah could identify what fraction the 3 pizzas should be to divide between 5 girls.
Leah can accurately identify appropriate strategies to compare the size of fractions. For this,
Leah demonstrated her knowledge of the strategy residual thinking (looking at fractions that
are one away from the whole). Leah can also identify appropriate strategies to equally divide
items between groups. Leah demonstrated knowledge of the strategy benchmarking against
fractions (0, ½, 1) as she determined two sets of two fractions that when added together
equal close to one.

When Leah was presented with numbers where the numerator was bigger than dominator
(improper fraction), Leah demonstrated difficulty in understanding the improper fraction’s
value; for example, when asked to put 6/3 on a number line she was unable to identify that
it equated to the number 2. Leah demonstrated limited understanding of equivalent fractions
such as 2/3 and 4/6 and had trouble in making connections with the different ways that
fractions could be presented such as decimals and percentages. Leah displays room for
improvement in decimal knowledge. When Leah was asked to write the number version of 27
thousandths she demonstrated her knowledge of decimal values and could provide a correct
answer. However, she found it difficult to extend her knowledge of decimals to answer the
number version of two tenths.

When asked to identify numbers on a number line Leah’s attempt where very close but were
out by a few decimals. Leah would profit from reviewing number lines and identify the
decimals within it. Leah was challenged when asked to use multiplication and division that
involve decimals, Leah demonstrated the misconception of multiplying always makes a
number bigger. Leah would profit from listening to the details of the question. On two
occasions Leah could not correctly answer the question because she misunderstood what it
was requiring her to do. Leah would profit from focusing on the details of question rather
than assuming what it is asking.

Overall, Leah demonstrates good understanding of fractions and can provide satisfactory
explanations of her working out. I will continue to work with Leah to address any
misconception she may have and extend her knowledge of fractions, decimals, percentages
and number lines.