Introduction

As an educator, it is my responsibility to encourage students to strive for continuous positive academic growth. Quantitative and qualitative academic growth throughout the year provides educators important benchmarks that indicate the efficacy of instruction strategies and methods. It's critical to understand trends in growth to effectively monitor student growth, and adapt and implement measurable and rigorous instruction methods accordingly. Ultimately, this enhances the learning environment more conducive to positive academic growth on assessments of any kind and increases overall retention.

Quantitative Data: Performance Matters

My students use a testing platform called Performance Matters to complete all state required assessments for 7th grade civics. All quantitative assessments are conducted through Performance Matters and all questions are multiple choice, completely unknown to the teacher prior to the exam. Throughout the academic year the state of Florida requires 7th grade civics students to complete six online assessments, known as mini assessments. Each mini assessment is carried out through the student portal of Performance Matters and contains anywhere from 10-15 multiple choice questions. The state also requires 7th grade civics students to complete a Mid-Year Assessment on all content learned up until mid-January. This assessment is usually made up of 45-55 multiple choice questions. Lastly, all 7th grade civics students are required to complete an End of the Year Assessment consisting of 60-70 multiple choice questions which acts as a final for the course. Producing extensive data of student performance, Performance Matters is an extremely valuable testing tool and effective, objective indicator of additional support areas needed.

Performance Matters is the testing platform used to assess 7th grade civics students on key benchmarks for the eventual end of the year assessment. This platform equips me with a plethora of data on each student's performance as well as more broad trends on specific questions and learning benchmarks. This data is used to assess students' progress throughout the year on both state assessments and overall comprehension of critical benchmarks needing additional review leading up to more significant assessments.

Sample Questions

All Performance Matters assessments include strictly multiple choice questions, but diversify types of questions for heightened rigor. The question above pertains to Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" which was included in the "Influential Documents" state civics unit. The question asks students more than just what the document is, but further, what the document means. This is just one example of a state assessment question testing reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Scoring Chart

Data and Analysis

The data exhibited below is from the first three state assessments conducted during the 2020-2021 school year. Assessment 1 took place on August 29th and 30th, 2020, Assessment 2 on October 13th and 14th, 2020, Assessment 3 on November 5th and 6th, 2020. Data is also provided showcasing the class average (my entire 7th grade class) compared to the district average (Miami-Dade County). As shown in the table, the average class grade fluctuated between the three assessments. However, I was extremely proud in my students' ability to continuously score above the district average of the county as shown in the graph. Miami-Dade County Public School District has 58 middle schools with over 25,000 7th grade students that contribute to the district average of civics assessments (MDCPS 2020). I was thrilled to see continual growth in my students' ability to continuously score above the district average.

State Assessment #1

Assessment 1 was conducted online through Performance Matters and consisted of 14 multiple choice questions. The overall 7th grade civics class average was a 78% which fell in the range of "Partial Mastery". This was an extremely positive score considering this was the first state assessment of the year. The overall district average was a 63% which fell in the range of "At Threshold". My civics class was able to outscore the district by 15%.

State Assessment #2

Assessment 2 was conducted online through Performance Matters and consisted of 13 multiple choice questions. My civics class overall average was a 62% which fell into the category of "At Threshold". This score was lower than assessment 1, however compared to the district average, my class was still maintaining positive growth. The district average was 56% which fell into the lower percentage categorization of "At Threshold". My class was still able to score higher than the district average by 6%.

State Assessment #3

Assessment 3 was conducted online through Performance Matters and included 13 multiple choice questions. My class scored an average of 69% which was in the upper percentage of the categorization of "At Threshold". The district average was 60% which also fell in the category of "At Threshold". I was pleased to see both a 7% growth in the overall average of the class as well as score 9% over the district average.

Quantitative Data: Conclusion

This quantitative data evidences continuous growth overtime through a consistent ability to out-perform the school district on civics assessments. On average, student mastery of content material was 70% across all three state assessments, compared to the district average of 60%. My students were able to average a score in the category of "Partial Mastery", while the average district score was "At Threshold". This positive and consistent growth showed that my students were continuously sharpening their test taking skills as well as their reading and critical thinking skills. Their ability to outscore an average of thousands of other students will hopefully give them the confidence and drive to continue with this trend for the remaining state assessments.

Qualitative Data: Writing

Qualitative academic growth holds an equal importance to the quantitative aspects of assessments in the classroom. By providing opportunity to explore certain benchmarks in other forums outside of formative state assessments only showcasing multiple choice questions, qualitative assessments are meant to be more creative for students to showcase their knowledge of certain topics. While data can provide clear evidence of student performance, qualitative academic growth demonstrate critically important skills required for any subject - critical thinking, value judgement, and sound interpretation of information.

Writing Rubric

This is the rubric I chose to use for all writing assignments in my civics class. I wanted to build critical thinking and reading comprehension skills through rigorous and interesting writing assignments. These skills undoubtedly help students during the state assessments as well as help build skills for other courses. My main focus for this rubric is focus, voice and word choice, as students should be able to make clear arguments supported by facts and use civics related wording to show the purpose of their writing. Sharpening skills in focus, voice and word choice help better prepare students for state assessment questions with tricky wording and questions requiring students to identify purpose.

Student Profiles

To demonstrate an example of academic growth, I chose three different students who started at three different levels of ability.

• Student 1 originally was the lowest-scoring student, scoring majority 1s in all categories.

• Student 2 was mid-scoring, having a groundwork of understanding but with plenty of room for improvement.

• Student 3 was the original highest scorer (relative to this example), with a slightly more enhanced foundational understanding but room for improvement.

Over the three writing samples, Student 1 improved the most (11 points), and quite dramatically; Student 2 improved but not as dramatically (6 points); and Student 3 improved dramatically as well (7 points).

These three students all show growth, and relative to other classmates, improved a substantial amount.

I am proud that Student 1, who originally scored the lowest, not only improved the most dramatically, but ended up with the highest score on writing sample 3 out of all three students.

Writing Sample 1

Question 1: What happened to the colonies that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence?

This writing prompt was given to students to complete at home and students were required to provide a typed answer for grading. Students were required to include anywhere from 6-10 sentences to answer the prompt. Students were allowed to use any class material to gather ideas for their submission. Because of virtual learning, students submitted writing assignments online.

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Writing Sample 1 Data Analysis

Writing sample 1 asked students to identify why the Declaration of Independence was written. This question was given as the first writing assignment of the year, scheduled one week before the first state assessment on August 20th and 21st, 2020 so I could identify current levels of writing and critical thinking skills. Overall, student 1 scored a 6/20 mainly due to lack of focus and detail. While they were able to provide interesting facts around the topic, they did not explicitly answer the question posed nor provide a clear introduction or conclusion. Student 2 scored an 8/20, however struggled with these same areas of the rubric as Student 1. Student 2 included additional subject matter (i.e. enlightenment ideas which were a causal factor of the Declaration of Independence), however did not include specific detail. Student 3 scored a 9/20 and was on track with capturing the true purpose of the questions but merely scratched the surface. They remotely captured causal factors (i.e. anger with Great Britain and enlightenment ideas) but did not go further into necessary detail.

Writing Sample 2

Question 2: How does Media influence the government?

Writing prompt 2 was also given to students to complete at home and students were again required to submit a typed submission for the assignment. Similar to writing prompt 1, students were required to write 6-10 sentences to answer the writing prompt. Students were able to use any class material for support and ideas for the assignment. Because students were back in the classroom during this time, all assignments were submitted in person.

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Writing Sample 2 Data Analysis

Writing prompt 2 was given as a writing assignment prior to state assessment 2 on October 8th and 9th, 2020. This writing prompt questioned students on their ability to showcase how the media influences the government in the "Media, Citizens and Interest Groups" unit. The main topic discussed was media's role as a "watchdog" over the government. Student 1 scored an 11/20 and was able to perfectly capture the role of the media in the first few sentences of their response, however included unnecessary information on the other two groups involved in the unit. Student 2 scored a 9/20 and was able to include information on the media's role as watchdog, however missed details as to what this actually means. Again, Student 2 included unnecessary information on the role of interest groups and citizens and needed to include more detail specifically on the role of media. Student 3 scored a 12/20 and was able to include relevant and important information regarding media's effect on the government. Student 3 also was able to include a somewhat clear intro as well as a concrete conclusion. Seeing that Student 3 also included unnecessary information on citizens and interest groups, I recognize this this pattern may reflect a mistake on my part in not clearly delineating the differences of each group's influences.

Writing Sample 3

Question 3: What are the three branches of government and why is each branch important?

Writing sample 3 was given to students to complete at home and students were required to turn in a typed writing submission. Again, students were required to submit 6-10 sentences to capture their ideas about the prompt. Students were able to use all class material pertaining to the three branches of government in their writing. Because students were back in the classroom during this time, all assignments were submitted in person.

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Writing Sample 3 Data Analysis

Writing prompt 3 asked students about the three branches of government and why each branch is important. This writing assignment was given to students prior to state assessment 3 on October 29th and 30th, 2020. Student 1 scored a 17/20 and was able to provide the members of each branch as well as at least one power excluding the Judicial Branch. Student 1 was also able to include a clear introduction and conclusion and crafted a clear flow to the inclusion of information. Student 2 scored 14/20 and was able to identify each branch and their role, however lacked the necessary detail for each branches powers. Student 2 was also able to include a clear introduction and conclusion. Student 3 scored a 16/20 and included relevant and somewhat detailed information on each branch and each branch's powers. The introduction and conclusion lacked clarity, however the overall focus was on point.

Qualitative Data: Conclusion

Overall, I was extremely proud in the growth of my students writing abilities over a period of just four months. Student 1 made an 11 point increase from writing prompt 1 to writing prompt 3, and grew more focused, organized and detailed in their writing. Student 2 made a 6 point increase from writing prompt 1 to writing prompt 3 and was able to create a more structured writing submission which helped with overall clarity and flow. Lastly, Student 3 made a 7 point increase from writing prompt 1 to writing prompt 3 and was able to critically relay important and relevant information in line with what the prompt was asking. The overall positive trends were students strengthening the "focus & details" - maintaining a clear topic supported by accurate information -, in "voice" - the purpose of writing is clear with evidence of attention to audience - , and in "word choice" - using vivid language that has a natural accurate flow.

DAG: Conclusion

Quantitative and qualitative assessments offer educators an extremely important view into the growth of a class and the growth of each individual student. As showcased above, data from the first three state assessments shows students dramatic and consistent growth in their ability to outperform the district average on every state assessment by a 10% average. Students were also able to showcase dramatic academic growth in their writing abilities over the first half of the year, evidence by Students 1, 2 and 3 increasing their writing scores by at least 6 points from writing prompt 1 to writing prompt 3. I am extremely proud of the quantitative and qualitative gains my students have made so far and I will continue to motivate my students to strive for positive growth for the remainder of the year.