Student Academic Progress

The standard of Student Academic Progress ensures that educators use appropriate data to communicate about student performance, set achievable and measurable goals, and track student growth.  The importance of the standard is found primarily in the need for teachers to provide evidence that their pedagogical methods “result in acceptable, measurable, and appropriate student academic progress” (VDOE, 2015, p. 12). A teacher’s acknowledgement and understanding that student progress represents a condition of the learning environment is the primary goal of the standard. If teachers do not regularly collect student data from assessments, then they will not know if their instructional methods and choices enhance student progress. However, teachers who constantly reflect on their own practice and students’ competence can make any necessary adjustments to the classroom to boost student learning and development.

Communicates Student Growth

  • During my original two-week math unit, I administered the same pre- and post-test. Students were given a handful of plastic teddy bears and asked to place them within a ten frame based on a specific number called between 0-10. The record of pupil learning shows the growth of students by providing the mean grade and range of grades. Students during my lesson went from an 82.5% to a 97.5% for their mean grade. Also, the bottom score increased from 45% to 73%. This document could be used to show student academic progress on numbers 0-10.
Record of pupil growth from pre-test to post test during my original math unit. Click image for larger version.

Tracking Student Progress

  • Before the school year began, the kindergarten students attended a “Get to Know You” day where their baseline knowledge of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and sounds were assessed. In September, the students’ progress was assessed using the same form. Though not noted on the pictures below, students were again assessed in October and gains were noted. Students will be consistently assessed until they have mastered everything on this sheet.
One student’s data from before the school year and the middle of the first grading period. Letters and sounds known first are in green, and the interim progress is noted in green. Placement of students into reading groups was based off of this information as well as any remediation.
Another student’s data from before the school year and the middle of the first grading period.

Baseline Data

  • From baseline data, teachers can set goals for students as well as have a firmer understanding of where to take instruction. Also, the need for remediation can be determined from performance on a beginning assessment.  PALs K represents one assessment where all of this information can be found. Based on benchmarks established  at the county or state level, students can be identified who need Tier 2 or Tier 3 instruction. Also, the teacher can see where students need the most directed instruction. I gave the beginning PALs K assessment, and the pictures can be seen below.
Administration of the fall PALs test for kindergarten.

For further discussion, see my Performance Practice Standard paper.

References

Virginia Department of Education. (2015, July 23). Guidelines for uniform performance standards and evaluation criteria for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/performance_evaluation/guidelines_ups_eval_criteria_teachers.pdf.