8th Grade Science Data

Jen Goertz, Briona Farnworth,

Jennifer Walling, Chellsea Rucker
Overall Performance of Students

188 Students Tested

66 Students Mastered Grade Level

63 Students Met Grade Level

40 Students Approached Grade Level

19 Students Did not Meet Grade Level

Test at Glance - 42 Total Questions
Category 1 - Matter and Energy

11 Questions

Category 2 - Force, Motion, and Energy

9 Questions

Category 3 - Earth and Space

11 Questions

Category 4 - Organisms and Environments

11 Questions
Results by Demographic
Nearly every GT student scored in the mastery level while there was a lower amount of ESL
and Special Education students that even approached grade level. White students had a higher
percentage that approached grade level than any other demographic aside from GT students.
Strength - Matter and Energy
Question #1 -

RCat 1 - Matter and

Energy - The student will
demonstrate an
understanding of the
properties of matter and
energy and their
interactions.

Standard: (Supporting) SE: 5B - diagram the flow of energy through living systems,
including food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids.
Strength - Matter and Energy

We think that students scored the highest in this

subject because the concepts were presented to
them in authentic ways that had real world
application. Additionally, the content was easy to
present in a visual format so that students could
see the process of food chains, food webs, and
energy pyramids and how the flow of these
systems work.
Weakness #1 Force, Motion, Energy
Question #25

Rpt Cat 2 - The student will demonstrate an

understanding of force, motion, and energy
and their relationships.

SE: 8C - calculate average speed using

distance and time measurements. (S)

DUAL: 2E - analyze data to formulate

reasonable explanations, communicate valid
conclusions supported by the data, and predict
trends. (P)
Weakness #1 Force, Motion, Energy

For this questions, students needed to find the average speed in each of the intervals using S=D/T. If they
just look at the chart, it can be misleading, but if they use the formula, they would get the exact answers of
answer A.

0s-2s: S= 2/2 =1

2s-4s: S=½ =0.5

4s-6s: S=0/2 =0

This question was mostly likely difficult for students because it seems as though they can just read the
graph to find the answers, but the graph does not give an exact answer for interval 2-4, so they would
need to guess if they don't use the formula.
How to improve score on topic addressed by Weakness #1

In order to improve the students performance on weakness #1, the teacher can
create games for the students to help them memorize the formula that they should
use for the question. The teacher can also make sure students understand that they
cannot just look at the graph for the answer. The teacher can create several
practice scenarios with the graph and different numbers each time, for the students
to practice. This will help the students understand how they are supposed to work
that problem.
Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative: One formative assessment is watching the students participate while

playing the games and make sure each and every student is playing and
contributing. Another formative assessment would be an exit ticket where the
students could answer a question or two that were related to the activity/game
they just accomplished.

Summative: A fun summative assignment would be for the teacher to group the
students up and have them develop their own games to play with questions. The
teacher could lay out a rubric and the students can base their work on that while
using their own knowledge to complete the task at hand.
Weakness #2 Earth and Space
Question #19
Rpt Cat 3 - The student will demonstrate an
understanding of components, cycles,
patterns, and natural events of Earth and
space systems.

SE: 10B - identify how global patterns of

atmospheric movement influence local
weather using weather maps that show high
and low pressures and fronts. (S)

DUAL: 2E - analyze data to formulate

reasonable explanations, communicate valid
conclusions supported by the data, and
predict trends. (P
Weakness #2 Earth and Space

This question relied on students having the previous knowledge on barometric pressure
and what weather patterns accompany low pressure. The picture is unnecessary as it
adds no information to help in answering the question.

The students had know that low pressure is accompanied by cloudy skies and winds.
The winds are caused by the air moving from high pressure to lower pressure, and the
air rises where they meet. The water vapor within the rising air condenses and forms
clouds and sometime precipitation.

This question was most likely difficult because students lacked the previous knowledge
of weather patterns.
How to improve score on topic addressed by Weakness #2

In order to improve the students performance on weakness #2, the teacher can
make sure that the students have prior knowledge on barometric pressure and
weather patterns. The way this could be done is to create a whole unit and science
experiment on the weather patterns that are possible. The teacher could have the
students do a project that includes observations and data collecting during weather
changes. The teacher could also ask students to do their own research on weather
patterns and have a discussion about what they found and what they think about it.
Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative: One formative assessment could be a bell ringer to activate prior

knowledge and get the feel for what all the students truly took in from the previous
material. Another formative assessment could be to grade them as they are
completing the experiment and watch each student and make sure they are rising
to their full potential while remaining engaged with the experiment.

Summative: A summative assessment could be for the students to each pick a

weather pattern to study and develop a project over. They could find a unique
weather pattern they find interesting and study it, then following a rubric, they
could complete their project.
Reflection

This project taught us the importance of reflecting on data to improve instruction

for our students. The state test doesn’t have to just be a state test, but can be a
springboard for ideas to flow and to create meaningful tasks and lessons for
students to be able to understand the concepts presented in the classroom. When
data talks it opens the door for teachers to look at what is and isn’t working in their
classroom. As teachers, we can use the ability to analyze STAAR test results to
enhance our teaching and instruction to further benefit the students and drive
lesson planning to focus on the effectiveness of our instruction.