DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 1

Digital Assessment Project

Jordan Wallace

Coastal Carolina University

EDIT 677
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 2

Introduction

Over my years of teaching, I have noticed that students struggle with basic math fact

fluency skills. This year, my school adopted another math program called Reflex. This math

program is game based to help students with their fact fluency in addition, subtraction,

multiplication, and division. Since I teach third grade gifted and talented, this program was

perfect for my students. When these gifted and talented third graders come to me, they are

expected to already know their multiplication facts and make an easy transition to division. Just

because they are gifted students, does not always mean they are gifted when it comes to math, so

I wanted to see if using Reflex would help my students. According to my students, they love

playing Reflex because it is game based. With Reflex, I can assign the students to specific facts.

Twice a week Reflex is assigned for homework for 15 minutes. Every Friday, during computer

lab, the students play on Reflex for 30 minutes. This allows the students to have a full hour per

week on Reflex. Since this program is new this year, my specific research question that I have

conducted and answered is: Does Reflex improve student’s mastery of fact fluency? To help

conduct my research, I used my 20 third grade gifted and talented students. Since we did not

have the program last year, I was very interested in the outcome.

Review of Literature

Before I begin my study, I reviewed studies of literature that was related to my topic.

Since there was not any specific articles on Reflex, I reviewed studies of literature on online and

digital math games. I specifically researched achievement in the classroom with online math

games.
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 3

Previous studies have examine the effects of achievement from mathematical games on

the iPad. Carr (2012) conducted a study that consisted of 104 fifth grade students that was taken

place over a nine week period. The students were placed in two equal groups with one group

using mathematical games on the iPad, the experimental group, and the other just using the

teacher instructions for math, the control group. The students took the same pretest and posttest

to see if the data would result in change (Carr, 2012). The results showed that both groups

showed an increase of growth, but the experimental group, the group that used mathematical

games on the iPad, showed a slight growth.

Other studies have examined how effective digital-based fact fluency programs were in

students with math difficulties. Cozad & Riccomini (2016) conducted a study based on eight

different studies in elementary students that struggled with math. There were a total of 749

students that participated (Cozad & Riccomini, 2016). The results of the study were that the use

of digital-based fact fluency programs successfully helped increased the student’s fact fluency in

math.

Other studies examined were to contribute to how particular types of online games

support learning and engagement in the classroom. Gresalfi, Rittle-Johnson, Loehr, & Nichols

(2018) conducted a study to focus on third graders using an online game app about fractions for

an hour during math time (Gresalfi, Rittle-Johnson, Loehr, & Nichols, 2018). The results showed

the students performed equally well on the paper assessment, but preferred the games way better.

The students seemed to enjoy math more when they were playing the mathematical games.

Previous studies have examined to see how the implementation of digital gaming tools

would affect student’s mathematical skills. O’Rourke, Main, & Hill (2017) conducted a study

over a 10 year span in 10 different classes across seven different schools starting with four year
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 4

olds (O’Rourke, Main, & Hill, 2017). The results were that the digital gaming tool helped show a

significant increase in student learning of mental math.

A previous study examined was to analyze the relationship between playing online

mathematical games and learning basic math skills. Sayan (2015) conducted a study of 44 fifth

grade students, which were split evenly into two separate groups. One group was taught

mathematical skills by playing games online and the other group was taught mathematical skills

by a normal classroom teacher. The way the results were concluded was that the students were

given a 25 question pretest that was used again as a posttest to see the results (Sayan, 2015). The

results showed that both groups improved significantly from the pre-test to post-test and the

group that was taught by playing games online showed a slight growth over the group that was

taught mathematical skills by a normal classroom teacher.

After reviewing the studies of literature, the information I found was helpful. Playing

online math games does increase student’s mastery. I did find research that mentioned a longer

period of study would have been more helpful to increase results, but do to certain

circumstances, I was unable to change my time frame of three weeks per study.

Methodology

To help conduct my research, I used my 20 third grade gifted and talented students. Each

students was given a pre-test on multiplication and division facts ranging from 0-10 online. At

the end of three weeks of playing Reflex for multiplication and division facts ranging from 0-10,

students were assessed with a post-test using the same facts as their pre-test to see if any growth

had occurred. In order to gather more data, the students were assigned another pre-test on

multiplication and division facts ranging from 0-12 online. At the end of three weeks of playing
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 5

Reflex for multiplication and division facts ranging from 0-12, students were given a post-test

using the same facts as their pre-test. The results of both fact fluency ranging 0-10 and ranging 0-

12 are shown below.

After reviewing the studies of literature, I came to the conclusion that my pre and post-

tests needed to be the same for both multiplication and division facts ranging from 0-10 and 0-

12. In order to conduct my quantitative data, I used a pre and post-test. I created a Google Form

with multiplication and division facts for the students to be able to complete online. Both the pre

and post-test consisted of the same questions, but in a different order. For example, number one

on my pre-test was number 6 on my post-test. For both facts fluency pre and post-tests there was

a total of 50 questions and all students completed the tests on their chromebooks. I administered

the first pre-test of fact fluency multiplication and division 0-10. After three weeks, I

administered the post-test of fact fluency multiplication and division 0-10. The following week,

which was completed at home due certain circumstances, I gave the pre-test of fact fluency

multiplication and division 0-12. After three weeks, I gave the post-test of fact fluency

multiplication and division 0-12.

For my qualitative data, I conducted observations and interviews with my students

throughout the first fact fluency of multiplication and division 0-10. I specifically focused on

who was engaged when working on Reflex and who was showing the most growth by getting the

most fact fluency percentage. In order to determine if a student was fully engaged, I observed if a

student was focused during the full thirty minutes of Reflex time during the school day and their

progress report to see if the student was actually progressing with knowing their facts. Since

Reflex was assigned for homework twice a week, I looked to see if the students actually logged

in to Reflex and spend the appropriate amount of time they were supposed to at home. I also
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 6

looked to see if progress was made with knowing their facts. For the second fact fluency of

multiplication and division 0-12, I had to conduct interviews online and was unable to get

physical observations, but was able to see their progress online. The data I used for online

observations was to see how long students were actually on Reflex each week. The minimum

requirement I assigned for students was to play on Reflex for at least one hour a week. I recorded

who played for an hour, more than an hour, less than an hour, and did not even login to Reflex to

help determine my data for observations. For the interviews, I used Google Meet to meet with

small groups of three and focused on specific questions. The questions I asked my students were:

Are you able to complete Reflex for at least an hour a week? Are you engaged when using

Reflex? Do you feel like Reflex is helping you with your math homework? At the end of the

study, I asked students two final questions: Has playing Reflex helped you with your math facts?

Do you enjoy playing Reflex?

Analysis

After collecting all the data for both studies, I analyzed the results from both qualitative

and quantitative data. Both of the data supported that Reflex helps improve student’s mastery fact

fluency. To showcase the results, I chose to input data from the pre and post-tests for both fact

fluency of multiplication and division ranging from 0-10 and 0-12 into two separate bar graphs

to show improvement. I took the average of all 21 of my students for both the pre and post-tests.

After students took their pre-test on multiplication and division ranging from 0-10, the

average grade was 34 percent. After spending three weeks on Reflex for at least an hour a week,

student’s average grade was 89 percent.

DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 7

Multiplication and Division 0-10

89

34

Pre- Test Post- Test

After students took their pre-test on multiplication and division ranging from 0-12, the

average grade was 28 percent. After spending three weeks on Reflex for at least an hour a week,

student’s average grade was 75 percent.

Multiplication and Division 0-12

75

28

Pre- Test Post- Test

In the classroom, I was able to conduct teacher observations. During computer lab, I

would monitor the students to see who was engaged and who was distracted during the 30

minutes of Reflex time. Students had to be fully engaged and making progress in order for the

student to be considered engaged. Through my observations over three weeks, 89 percent of the

students were fully engaged on Reflex and 11 percent of students would get distracted or try to

do something else besides Reflex. I created a pie chart to showcase the results of observations in

the classroom.
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 8

Observations in the Classroom

11% Engaged
Distracted

89%

In the classroom, I conducted interviews with the students about Reflex. I gave the

students three statements and the students had to pick the statement that best fit them. The

statements were: “I enjoy playing Reflex, I do not enjoy playing Reflex, or I would rather learn

my facts with flash cards.” 74 percent of students enjoyed playing Reflex, 12 percent did not

enjoy playing Reflex, and 14 percent would rather learn their facts using flash cards. I created a

pie chart to showcase the student’s responses.

Views on Reflex

Enjoy Playing
14%
Do Not Enjoy Playing
12% Would Rather Learn with
Flash Cards

74%

Due to circumstances, I was not able to conduct in class observations of the students on

Reflex. However, I was able to see who was on Reflex at home and how long they spend on

Reflex each week. The first week I did not have any students not login to Reflex. I had 10 percent
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 9

of students work on Reflex for less than an hour. I had 56 percent of students complete an hour

on Reflex and I had 34 percent of students go beyond an hour on Reflex. The second week I still

did not have any students not login to Reflex. I had 12 percent of students work on Reflex for less

than an hour. I had 56 percent of students complete an hour on Reflex and I had 32 percent of

students go beyond an hour on Reflex. The third week I had 4 percent of students not login to

Reflex at all and 21 percent of students complete less than an hour on Reflex. I had 63 percent of

students complete an hour on Reflex and 12 percent of students go beyond an hour on Reflex. I

chose to showcase the results of the time spend on Reflex over the course of three weeks with a

category bar graph.

Time Spent on Reflex at Home

63
56 56

34 32
21
10 0 12 0 12
4
Week #1 Week #2 Week #3

More Than 1 Hour 1 Hour Less Than 1 Hour Did Not Login

Due to circumstances, I was unable to conduct in class interviews on how students were

feeling about Reflex. Instead, I conducted interviews through Google Meets with small groups of

three. I asked each students three yes or no questions. The questions I asked were: “Are you able

to complete Reflex for at least an hour a week, are you engaged when using Reflex, and do you

feel like Reflex is helping you with your math homework?” 72 percent of students were able to

complete Reflex for at least an hour a week and 28 percent said they were not able to. 64 percent

of students said they are engaged when playing Reflex and 36 percent said they are not engaged.
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 10

89 percent of students said that Reflex was helping them with their math homework and 11

percent of students said that Reflex was not helping them. I chose to showcase the results using a

bar graph.

Interview Results from Google Meet

89
72
64

36
28
11
Able to Complete 1 Hour Engaged Helping with Math Homework

Yes No

At the end of the study, I asked my students on Google Meets two final questions about

Reflex. The two yes or no questions I asked were: “Has playing Reflex helped you with your

math facts and do you enjoy playing Reflex?” 89 percent of students stated that playing Reflex

helped them with their math fact fluency and 11 percent of students stated Reflex did not help

them. 83 percent of students stated that they enjoy playing Reflex and 17 percent of students

stated they do not enjoy playing Reflex. I chose to showcase the student’s responses in a bar

graph.

Final Questions About Reflex

89
83

17
11
Helped with Math Facts Enjoy Playing

Yes No
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 11

Findings

After conducting my study, it is clear that Reflex helps improve student’s fact fluency.

There is a dramatic difference from the pre-test to the post-test for both multiplication and

division ranging 0-10 and ranging 0-12. I was very surprised to see a huge outcome from this

program. I was worried when we moved to e-Learning that students would not play Reflex or

think it was a waste of time. I did have several of my students play Reflex longer than the allotted

time for the week, which clearly showed in their post-test. I was also surprised to see the

difference from my students about their feelings towards playing Reflex. Many of my students

now enjoy playing Reflex more because they are seeing that by playing Reflex it is helping them

with their math homework. The results from this study supports that I need to continue to use

Reflex in my classroom. I also need to continue to have students play on Reflex at least an hour a

week.

All studies of literature I reviewed before conducting my research correlate with my

research that online math games like Reflex increase student’s growth in math. The research I

conducted was specifically for fact fluency to help in math. After conducting the research, my

findings correlate with the results I reviewed from previous researchers.

Based on my research, I saw that many of my students are easily distracted at home while

playing Reflex. I decided to make a Keep Me On Task board to help students stay focused when

they are at home. I have also decided to make an incentive for students who complete their hour

of Reflex each week as well as a bigger incentive for students who complete more than an hour

of Reflex each week. This should help motivate students to play Reflex. I would like to continue
DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 12

the incentives for next year as well to help motivate students as well as see results. In the future,

I would like to try this study over a longer course of time and have the students play on Reflex

for longer than an hour a week to see if there will be more growth. Overall, I was very pleased

with the results I found with using Reflex.

DIGITAL ASSESSMENT PROJECT Page 13

References

Carr, J.M. (2012). Does Math Achievement “h’APP’en” when iPads and Game-Based Learning

Are Incorporated into Fifth-Grade Mathematics Instruction? Journal of Information

Technology Education: Research, 11, 269-286.

Cozad, L.E., & Riccomini, P.J. (2016). Effects of Digital-Based Math Fluency Interventions on

Learners with Math Difficulties: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Special

Education Apprenticeship, 5(2).

Gresalfi, M.S., Rittle-Johnson, B., Loehr, A., & Nichols, I. (2018). Design Matters: Explorations

of Content and Design in Fraction Games. Educational Technology Research and

Development, 66(3), 579-596.

O’Rourke, J., Main, S., & Hill, S.M. (2017). Commercially Available Digital Game Technology

in the Classroom: Improving Automaticity in Mental-Maths in Primary-Aged Students.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(10), 50-70.

Sayan, H. (2015). The Effects of Computer Games on the Achievement of Basic Mathematical

Skills. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(22), 2846-2853.