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Root Cause Analysis
Root Cause Analysis
In collaboration with:
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS, CEFR LEVEL TESTING,
& PROGRESS CHECKING
On the following pages you will find a series of tools you can use for the
following purposes:
Note that the English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) have already completed Step 1 on your behalf with the
Training Needs Analysis survey undertaken in 2020.
Student Data
Once you have collected samples of student work, use the writing rubric (appendix 1),
to establish approximately which CEFR level your students are at for writing.
Try to arrange your students into 4 levels according to the writing rubric (Pre-A1, Low
A1, Mid A1, and High A1).
Students who seem to be writing at Mid A1 and High A1 level, are on track to be able
to follow the Year 4 curriculum with limited challenges. These are most likely not
your remedial students.
For students who are Pre-A1 and Low A1, proceed to use the Reading Diagnostic Tools
(see CEFR Level Testing Section) to further drill down into which CEFR level these
students are at.
Use data from the Reading Diagnostic Tool to establish possible root cause(s)
(see CEFR Level Testing Section)
2. Use the information from the Reading Diagnostic Tool to define student’s most
likely CEFR level for reading. If necessary, use the information from the
student’s writing sample to help you decide the most appropriate level.
Use data from the Speaking and Listening Rubrics to establish possible
root cause(s) (appendix 1)
1. Find time to interact with your students on an individual level over the first 2 or
3 weeks of class. Make notes on their speaking and listening using the Speaking
and Listening Rubrics (appendix 1) to guide you.
Step 4: Create and Implement Solutions
Once you have identified the possible causes of low English proficiency for each
student, you will be able to:
Understand what extra support your students need to be able to progress (do they
need support in phonics, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary,
grammar, speaking practice, listening practice, etc.?)
Approximate your student’s CEFR level using all data sources from Step 2
Know which level of activities students should do from the Remedial Instruction
Toolkit
The Remedial Instruction Toolkit was developed using data from ELTC’s Training
Needs Analysis. You will find that solutions and activities for language specific
root causes have been designed to help you support your remedial students.
Whole-school Assessments
Use the mid-year, end of year and any other whole-school assessments to gauge
student progress.
Midline Tool
Use the midline tool to reflect on student progress halfway through the Academic
Year (see Progress Checking Section).
Endline Tool
Use the endline tool at the end of the Academic Year to summarise student
progress and establish effectiveness of your overall solutions, including use of the
Remedial Instruction Toolkit (see Progress Checking Section).
Use these tools for students who did not perform well in the written sample.
These tools will help you understand:
Whether your students can recognise letters (graphemic awareness)
Whether your students are able to recognise sound patterns (phonological awareness)
Whether your students can hear individual letter sounds (phonemic awareness)
Whether your students can understand the main idea, specific information, and details
of short simple texts (reading comprehension)
Note: If a student does not perform well in the first 3 tools (recognising letters,
recognising sound patterns, & hearing individual sounds), there is no need to
attempt the 4th tool (reading comprehension).
2. Sound
Recognition Below 5 5-8 8-10
3. Individual Sound
Recognition Below 5 5-8 8-10
4. Reading
Comprehension Below 3 3-5 6-8
Tool 1: Recognising Letters
Children should be able to quickly identify all letters of the alphabet regardless of
the font used or whether they are capital letters. They should be able to do this
without struggling and without hesitation.
A hesitation shows that the child is not yet fully familiar with the letter, and that
more practice is needed.
A hesitation is when the child spends more than two seconds trying to identify a
letter.
Instructions:
Student reads the full page of letters – capitals, smalls, different fonts, and other writing
symbols (!, ?, etc.)
For marking responses, there are 3 categories for the teacher to choose from as the child
reads – Correct, Incorrect, Hesitant
Tick the appropriate box as the child reads – left to right, row by row – can be done slowly
– no rush
Use this tool to check readiness and confidence e.g., able to decode letters, not confused
by different fonts, able to work out what is in front of them without too many instructions,
etc.
If they do not have confidence in reading this page, these students are at the pre-reading
stage and would need to learn the letters and symbols of reading before proceeding
further.
Record the student’s achievement in the Excel Spreadsheet.
Student Sheet
Student Sheet –
print or show to your student to read
Teacher Answer Sheet
In this section of the Reading Diagnostic Tool, proficient students will get a
minimum of 8 out of 10 correct answers.
Instructions:
Each sentence in the list has two main words – some rhyme, some do not.
Teacher reads the questions about the rhyming words.
Students answer yes or no – they do or do not rhyme.
Teacher takes note of the response in the table.
Record the number of correct answers in the Excel Spreadsheet.
List A
List B
Total
Score
Tool 3: Recognising Individual Letter Sounds
Understanding that words are made up of individual sounds and that each sound
has a corresponding letter is an essential skill for reading proficiency.
In this tool, look out for when children appear to be guessing, or if the child
responds “yes” to every item or “no” to every item. This means that they are not
fully comfortable with letter sound recognition, and you should aim to
discontinue the task.
In this section of the Reading Diagnostic Tool, proficient students will get a
minimum of 8 out of 10 correct answers.
Instructions:
Explain to students that words have sounds in them.
Ask ‘Do you hear the /k/ sound in the word KING? Listen ‘K – K – K – KING’
‘Can you hear the /oo/ sound in TOOK?’
‘Can you hear the /sh/ sound in TOOK?’
‘There is no /sh/ sound in TOOK. But there is in SHOOK.’
Proceed to ask students all questions from list A.
Use List B later in the year when you are checking for progress.
Record the students’ answers in the related table.
Record the number of correct answers in the Excel Spreadsheet.
Prac�ce Items:
Do you hear /v/ in VAN? (Yes)
Do you hear /aw/ in THAW? (Yes)
Do you hear /h/ in GONE? (No)
Being able to understand the main idea of a text is essential for students to be
able to access the curriculum. On top of this, understanding specific information
within texts is a foundational literacy skill that all emerging readers strive for.
Instructions:
Ask the student to read the text to you.
You can help with pronunciation of unknown words.
When the student has finished, point to the questions and ask for verbal answers.
Record the number of correct answers in the Excel Spreadsheet.
FAMILY PORTR
AIT
This is My Family
Hi, I’m Sam. This is my family. I have a small family. We’re very happy
because we do lots of fun things together. We live in Kuala Lumpur, in
Malaysia.
This is my sister. Her name is Aishah and she is 16 years old. She’s a
student in school but she wants to be a doctor. She does a lot of
homework because she needs very good grades.
Use this tool for students who were at the Pre-A1 level at the beginning of the
academic year.
To help you collect data to complete this for each student, you can:
Use this tool for students who were at the Low A1 level at the beginning of the
academic year.
To help you collect data to complete this for each student, you can:
Use this tool for students who were at the Mid A1 level at the beginning of the
academic year.
To help you collect data to complete this for each student, you can:
Writing Rubric
Use this writing rubric to assess your students’ written work. If a student
does very well and scores High A1, this student is not a Remedial Student.
Source: Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah, Bahasa Inggeris, Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan
Pentaksiran, Tahun 1, Tahun 2, Tahun 3, & Tahun 4
Appendix 1: Rubrics
Reading Rubric
The Reading Rubric shows which Reading Diagnostic Tools to use for
students at particular levels. Students who were a High A1 with their
written sample do not need to complete the Reading Diagnostic Tools.
Source: Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah, Bahasa Inggeris, Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan
Pentaksiran, Tahun 1, Tahun 2, Tahun 3, & Tahun 4
Appendix 1: Rubrics
Listening Rubric
Use the Listening and Speaking Rubrics to assess the listening and
speaking levels of your students. You are also able to use Reading
Diagnostic Tools 2 & 3 as they focus on listening skills, too.
Source: Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah, Bahasa Inggeris, Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan
Pentaksiran, Tahun 1, Tahun 2, Tahun 3, & Tahun 4
Appendix 1: Rubrics
Speaking Rubric
Use the Listening and Speaking Rubrics to assess the listening and
speaking levels of your students.
Narrates very
short basic
stories and
events with a lot
of support from
the teacher.
Source: Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah, Bahasa Inggeris, Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan
Pentaksiran, Tahun 1, Tahun 2, Tahun 3, & Tahun 4
References
Gilmore, A., Croft, C., & Reid, N. (1981) Burt Word Reading Test, Burt Books, NZCER Press, [Internet]
Available at: <http://www.burtbooks.com/BURTWORDRECOGNITIONTEST.pdf>
Jemaah Nazir dan Jaminan Kualiti (2017). Standard Kualiti Pendidikan Malaysia Gelombang 2
(SKPMg2). Putrajaya: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: Bahasa Inggeris,
Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran, Tahun 1
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Scheme of Work for Phonics Primary Year 1
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Syllabus Primary Year 1
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: Bahasa Inggeris,
Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran, Tahun 2
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Scheme of Work Primary Year 2
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Syllabus Primary Year 2
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: Bahasa Inggeris,
Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran, Tahun 3
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Scheme of Work Primary Year 3
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Syllabus Primary Year
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: Bahasa Inggeris,
Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran, Tahun 4
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Scheme of Work Primary Year 4
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2017) Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah: English Language
Syllabus Primary Year 4
Wren, S. & Watts, J. (2002) The Abecedarian Reading Assessment, [Internet] Available from:
https://www.balancedreading.com/assessment/abecedarian.pdf