Using Diagnostic and Achievement Tests Result in English

as Teacher’s Tool for More Effective Teaching

in Grade One Students of Manila Cathedral School

Submitted by:

Irene M. Cabato
Faculty

March 25, 2019

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I. INTRODUCTION:

Teachers play vital roles in the lives of the students in their classrooms. Teachers
are best known for the role of educating the students that are placed in their care. The
most common role a teacher plays in the classroom is to teach knowledge to children.
Teachers are given a curriculum they must follow that meets standards. This curriculum
is followed by the teacher so that throughout the year, all pertinent knowledge is
dispensed to the students.

To meet the needs of the students’ learning, teachers need a wide range of
methods to reach all students. Educators need to develop a wide variety of strategies to
respond to student needs. They need to plan, monitor, and respond to each student in
order to promote academic growth.

II. SITUATION:

A diagnostic/achievement test covers all of the topics based on Department of

Education curriculum which a student will be studying during a school year. While taking
the diagnostic test at the beginning of a school year, students are not expected to know
the answers to all of the questions; however, they should be expected to utilize previous
knowledge to predict rational answers. When taking the same test called an
achievement test at the end of a school year, students should be expected to answer
more questions correctly based on an increase knowledge and understanding. An
achievement test is designed to assess what a person has already learned. These tests
are designed to assess current performance in an academic area. Because achievement
is viewed as an indicator of previous learning, it is often used to predict future academic
success.

Manila Cathedral School administers a yearly diagnostic and achievement test in

English. A comparison of results of these tests provides teachers an opportunity to
track the students’ academic growth.
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 Using the test results, teachers can identify the most/least mastered
skills/competencies which can be utilized to improve teaching.  In addition to measuring
how much students have improved in one school year, the diagnostic/achievement test
can be a valuable diagnostic tool for more effective teaching.

III. PROBLEM:

What are the factors affecting the performance of grade one students in diagnostic
and achievement tests?

How can a diagnostic and achievement test result be used as a teacher’s tool for
more effective teaching?

IV. POSSIBLE CAUSES:

An evaluation of the diagnostic/achievement test result was conducted to

determine the area of learning and focus of learning among the students. Based on the
observation and analysis of diagnostic and achievement test of grade one students, here
are some factors affecting their performance:
a. Days allotted to teach every lessons
b. Different extra - curricular activities that hinders the meeting of teachers
and students
c. Interest of the students to the lesson
d. Ability of the students to read and understand the lesson

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V. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT:

The teacher used the data gathered from the Excelandia Diagnostic and
Achievement Test presented last March, 2019.

DIAGNOSTIC AND ACHIEVEMENT CONTENT STANDARDS LEVEL PROGRESS IN ENGLISH

CONTENT DIAGNOSTIC ACHIEVEMENT
CORRECT % AND CORRECT % AND
STANDARDS LEVEL STANDARDS LEVEL
PROGRESSIN
Grammar 39% 58% PROGRESSING
G
PROGRESSIN
Vocabulary Development 48% 61% COMPETENT
G
PROGRESSIN
Phonological Awareness 44% 46% PROGRESSING
G
Oral Language 60% COMPETENT 70% COMPETENT
PROGRESSIN
Reading Comprehension 4%2 56% PROGRESSING
G

It can be seen from the table above that there is a gradual change in the result of
Diagnostic and Achievement Test taken by the grade one students. It shows that the
solutions to address the problems are effective in nurturing every child’s need.

VI.  PLAN OF ACTION

Based from the result of this study and observations of the teachers, here are
some of the ways on how to address the problems:
a. Allot more time/day to teach the lessons that the students find hard to
understand
b. Revise the flow of the lessons per quarter
c. Conduct an intervention in teaching every lesson
d. Provide activities that can awake the students level of interest for the lesson

From the solution mentioned above, it can help to improve student’s progress in
taking the Diagnostic and Achievement Test in English.

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VII. ANALYSIS

This study would somehow help the teachers to evaluate students' level of
academic achievement and learning potential and can sometimes lead to additional
assessments if warranted by students' responses, to determine students' level of prior
knowledge. Using this study, it can help instructors plan differentiated instruction,
lesson plans, teaching strategies, and other classroom techniques to help all students in
the classroom achieve their academic potential. It is useful because it can tell them
where their students are with respect to what they are planning to teach them.

VIII. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
A diagnostic/achievement test functions as a teacher diagnostic tool in the
following five ways:
1. It identifies the very weak students in a class
2. It identifies the strongest students in a class
3. It identifies topics which the students already know
4. It identifies topics which the students don't know
5. It identifies topics which the students have not learned

Here are some recommendations of the teacher for more effective teaching based
on the result of the diagnostic/achievement test of grade one students:

1. Weak Students Should Be Given Remedial Instruction:

After the diagnostic test identifies the weak students in a class, it is the teacher's
responsibility to give extra remedial instruction. A dedicated teacher would then find
time during his lunch hour or breaks during the day to give extra individual help to the
student. The teacher would also encourage the student's parents to assist with remedial
tutoring.

2. The Strong or Gifted Students Must Be Given Extra Challenging Materials:

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 After the strong or gifted and talented students are identified through a diagnostic
test, it is the teacher's duty to give these students extra challenging materials. All
students, even the ones with special education needs, are streamlined into one class.
This being the case, it is even more important for the teacher to make sure the student
works up to his or her ability.

3. Curriculum Map/Learning Plans Should Be Revised:

Teachers prepared a curriculum map/learning plan for the whole school year. The
diagnostic test, however, is not given until the first month of class. If the results of the
diagnostic test indicate that most students know a topic of instruction very well, a good
teacher will be flexible and revise his curriculum map/learning plan. The teacher would
probably arrange to spend less time on the topic known very well, and he would most
certainly arrange to spend more time on a topic which the students have no knowledge
or understanding. If the achievement test for a previous class showed that most
students did not learn a topic, a wise teacher would revise his teaching method and
perhaps use different teaching materials for the next class he teaches.