Student Learning Analysis- English Language Arts Emily Wilson

Student Learning Analysis

Ms. Emily Wilson

Winter Internship- April 2024

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Overview:
Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, I have worked closely with my eleventh-grade
students to prepare for the SAT that 11th graders will have taken on April 16th. With the
high-stakes nature of this test, it was essential to prepare them for the writing portion. Although
the exam's writing portion has been modified for a digital format, the writing section focuses
extensively on rhetorical analysis. When tracking patterns over the last few years my mentor
taught this unit, I noticed rhetorical analysis often scored the lowest. More specifically, students
tended to struggle with explaining their evidence effectively.

MI State Standards:

● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of

substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and
convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.5: Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning,
revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is
most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
● CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
○ (b): Apply grades 11–12 Reading standards to literary nonfiction.

Learning Goals

Students will understand that…

● Citing strong, thorough evidence will support your claim
(CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1).
● The text's figurative language and connotative meanings create a new depth. Deciphering
those meanings will help you better understand the author's intentions
(CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.4).

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● Syntax has a vital role in the exposition of an argument. A layout of the text can either
create coherence in the essay or create confusion (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5).
● Claims are the foundation of a strong argument. Without a claim, the essay lacks any
depth or growth. Without reasoning or a counterclaim, the essay lacks structure and
strength (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1).
● Your writing should have a clear and concise format. As we discovered earlier, the layout
makes or breaks the argument. So, ensure it is appealing and flows coherently
(CCSS.ELA.Literacy.W.11-12.4).

Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to…

● Analyze various texts to demonstrate rhetorical knowledge of an argument's project,
claim, audience, genre, rhetorical appeals, rhetorical strategies (including evidence), and
assumptions.
● Evaluate arguments and their evidence through a process of critical inquiry.
● Locate, evaluate, and incorporate material from sources into their writing projects.
● Apply the parts of academic writing, including genre choices, grammar, spelling,
mechanics, and citation practices.

Substantive Analysis of Student Understanding:

The second semester began with a pre-assessment to collect data on how comfortable
students felt when approached with the idea that “the reasoning is the explanation of ‘why’ and
‘how’ the evidence supports the claim. The assessment was provided as a 2 part exit ticket– pre-
and post-lecture. Before the lecture, students were presented with the quote from above and rated
their confidence in understanding it on a smiley-face scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (perfect). To back up
their claim, students provided me with an explanation of what they thought the quote meant.
Unsurprisingly, many students circled either neutral or sorrowful faces, meaning they lacked
confidence in their understanding. Many responses included confusion about what the quote was
trying to explain, or responses included an attempt to interpret what it meant, but these
interpretations lacked accuracy.

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My next step was to work through a lecture

explaining claims, evidence, and reasoning in depth so
that students could understand the basic structure of
an analysis. The students took notes on this lesson and
examined a sample paragraph of a proficient analysis
and the steps to include when forming reasoning.
From there, students were asked to return to their exit
ticket and follow the same steps. This time, they will
circle a face based on how they feel post-lecture and
list any further questions they may have. The student's
questions ranged from strong to weak. The strong
questions were based on reasoning, whereas the weaker
questions were based on other formatting concerns,
such as the introduction and conclusion. The
introduction and conclusion are still essential and will
be targeted; however, I was focusing more on
reasoning at this time.
Throughout the three English 11 classes, 17 of
the 63 respondents (26%) felt they had a perfect 5/5
understanding of reasoning before the lecture.
However, in the 6th hour specifically, only four
respondents made up that 26%, with eight being from
the first hour and 5 being from the 2nd hour. This class
needed more confidence in understanding what
reasoning is. Yet, post-lecture, that 5/5 understanding
almost doubled among all classes, with 27 of 63
respondents feeling confident in their reasoning
knowledge. 1st hour had 10, 2nd hour stayed at 5, while 11 students in the 6th hour now feel
confident in their understanding of reasoning. This rating almost tripled post-lecture, which
seemed odd to me. The class with the least confidence is now the class with the most confidence,
yet the previous two classes stayed slightly the same, if not improved somewhat. Therefore, I

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would focus on the 6th hour in my Student Learning Analysis to see if the 6th hour does
understand reasoning in analytical writing.

Assessment Data & Student Feedback:

Throughout the third quarter, students will submit
five rhetorical analysis writing assignments. Each essay
will build on the last to slowly build independence and
improvement. Students will complete a self-reflection form
between each writing assignment based on the feedback I
provide them. Feedback is provided directly on their
turnitin.com submissions, making it easily accessible.
The students' first rhetorical analysis focused on
appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos). I told them to pick one
of three movie speeches and write an analysis of the significant appeal used in their chosen
speech. For this, they needed to find one appeal and three examples of that appeal, along with
commentary/reasoning to prove this appeal is the most substantial choice to persuade the
speaker’s audience. Grading was harsher yet more constructive since students were only working
on one body paragraph. 6th hour had an average of 36/50– proof that they did not quite
understand the point of commentary.
A pattern quickly noticed was the default to summarizing rather than explaining or a very
shallow analysis. Here are two
examples of students who fell
into those two categories. In
example 1, the student
summarized the evidence instead
of adequately analyzing it. She gets slightly close when emphasizing a personal argument but
never analyzes why this would be effective for the speaker’s audience. In example 2, the student
attempts to explain why the
speaker makes this choice but
fails to dig deeper. He explains
that the speaker uses “simple

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logic to convince her audience with a stupid point” but never digs into how this affects the
speaker's audience. Both students in these examples and others need to connect their examples
back to their claims to form their reasoning.

Subsequent Instruction Informed by Analysis of Student Thinking:

Based on the results of the first essay, I deduced that students need more modeling and
less explanation regarding this issue. For the subsequent three writing assignments, I modeled
using various strategies, such as breaking down an AP student’s submission of the same essay
and modeling my thinking. I would walk students through my thought processes regarding
sentence stems, finding evidence transitions, and connecting my reasoning to my claim.
The final assessment I would give the kids before the
third quarter ended was their first five-paragraph essay. I
slowly scaffold this process of forming reasoning over the
quarter. The scaffolding went as follows: First, it started with
one paragraph on one appeal and three examples; second, one
paragraph on three appeals with one example each; third, a
group paragraph on three rhetorical strategies with one
example each; fourth, an impromptu three-paragraph essay on
one tactic with three examples; and finally, this essay: students
will write an intro, three bodies, each focusing on one tactic with three examples and a
conclusion. This final essay began with modeling what pre-writing would look like and applying
it to the word processor.

Additional Assessment Information to Determine Student Growth:

The final assessment to determine students'
growth was a five-paragraph essay in which students will
analyze how the speaker uses three rhetorical strategies
to persuade his audience effectively. Students were given
three days in class to work on this, and two of the days
used a tiny bit of time to model how I would fill out the
chart (see image above) and a sample intro paragraph

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using SOAPSTone. The remainder of the time was spent on prewriting, writing essays, and
holding short writing conferences. These writing conferences focused mainly on how students
formed their reasoning and the steps they could take to improve it. The main point of discussion
throughout the meetings was to hit on any negative
patterns individual students had within their last essays.
For example, in 6th hour, I have a student who needs to
dig deeper into his analysis. So, I sat with him for five
minutes to look at his paper and catch any recurring
patterns before they got out of control. Because of this
conference, he avoided those mistakes and improved
significantly in his writing!
Overall, 6th hour had an impressive turn-out rate.
19/24 people submitted this essay; the remaining five
students repeatedly have yet to complete any previous
essays. I provided these students with support, consistent
reminders, and even accommodations for those who
required it yet still failed to submit them. Nevertheless,
the students who did do the essay improved significantly.
Compared to the first writing assignment, the average
grade went up 16% (37 to 44). There was even some
significant growth among students such as Emily P. and Ronan C. These two students in my 6th
hour often struggle with analyzing evidence the most.
However, as the graphs prove, these students gradually
improved throughout their writing. Emily frequently
summarizes her evidence rather than digging in. Still, for
this final essay, she sufficiently analyzes her evidence to
show how the speaker uses rhetorical strategies to
support his claim effectively. Ronan is a continuous
C-student, yet in this essay, he showed tremendous
growth in analyzing the situations in which the speaker uses these rhetorical strategies and why
he would use them there.

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Conclusion:
Students started the semester with little to no knowledge of what makes compelling
reasoning/commentary; however, 6th hour was the class that needed help. They began as the
lowest class in the pre-assessment and then jumped to being the highest class in the
post-assessment. I analyzed their learning as they practiced writing practical reasoning over the
third quarter to see if they understood the topic. Unsurprisingly, 6th hour needed to be more
confident in their ability to comment on their evidence. Their first essay score was an average of
37. As the quarter went on, I practiced integrating more modeling and scaffolding the writing
process so they could practice continuously forming reasoning. This process was supported with
consistent feedback on their essays or in person. By the end of their final essay, the average
grade jumped to 44, showing a significant improvement in rhetorical analysis, which will play a
prominent role in their SAT writing portion.

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