Assessment - How Do Figures Help?

Assessment can be quite difficult for parents and students to understand. Visualizing data in figures is an essential tool for interpreting data and applying it to instruction design. The use of data has also been proven to increase collaboration among teachers, which in turn increases student achievement (Cavalluzzo et al., 2013). Data can also be used to visualize growth and areas of challenge according to specific standards or criteria.

At our school, we use data in a variety of ways in the assessment process. One of the most prominent is the schoolwide use of Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) data. This data is gathered twice a year in reading and math, and is used to differentiate instruction as well as group students for interventions if necessary. The data is always available for parents to view, and the school has conducted workshops on reading and understanding these figures.

Attached here is a sample from my daughter’s Grade 2 MAP test this past school year. The data is presented in an easy to read format, and comparative data from grade-level norms as well as predicted growth are provided.

Allowing parents and students to see how scores and growth compare to others in their peer groups encourages more focused and engaged work and benefits all stakeholders.

Reference

Cavalluzzo, L., Geraghty, T., Steele, J., Alexander, J., Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), & CNA Corporation. (2013). Using data to inform decisions: How teachers use data to inform practice and improve student performance in mathematics [Conference Paper]. SREE Fall Conference 2013.

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