Mid Year Testing Data

 We have just completed our mid year testing which has been the perfect opportunity to have a look at my data in a bit more detail and reassess any changes that I might need to make coming into term 3. It was very interesting looking at my data as I can see that some of my target students have made some incredible gains during mid year testing. This has also made me have to rethink my data set a little bit and potentially add a new group of target students. This is something to ponder over the holidays and see what changes I need to make. Below I have outlined my data so far and what I have found for this inquiry as of mid year testing.

This is a break down of my June running record data. This year I have wanted to focus in on the comprehension part of the test and see if there are any trends in the data. 

I have then looked at my beginning of the year data to see if there has been any changes or shifts in the comprehension part of the running records. Below I have added the beginning of the year data. 

From looking at this data I can see that there was a shift in comprehension scores for some of the texts where they students were able to infer meaning better in our term 2 testing. I can also see that applied knowledge, vocabulary and inferring are key areas of interest to focus on. From looking at this raw data I wanted to have a look at the shift in levels as well as ages for this group of target learners which I have outlined in the graphs below. 

This graph shows the reading change in reading levels from November 2022 (end of year testing) and June 2023 testing for reports. As you can see from the graph there were 3 students who made no shift in level at all and then the rest of this target group were able to make gains of at least one level with some making progress of three levels with their running records. I like to look at this in levels as well as ages as sometimes the students can make progress but this is not reflective in reading age. Below I have added the graph of reading ages.

This graph shows shows the changes in reading ages from November 2022 to June 2023 testing. This is very similar to the reading levels graph and shows the progress and shift from the reading ages. There has been significant shift in some of these learners and their reading ages. 

My take aways from this data is that I need to look at my reading groups again and reorganise these according to the this data I have been looking at. I need to also decide if I will add in extra students to this data pool as I have some students who have moved to these levels that I have been monitoring. I need to have a look at the students who didn't make any shift and see what I can do to help these students and focus on areas that need to be worked on. I really like taking a look at the middle of the year as it is a good point to see what has been working and what might need some changes. So watch this space as I go into the holidays looking at this with fresh eyes coming into term 3. 

Formative and Baseline Information

In an earlier post where I took a stocktake of my CoL inquiry I outlines some of the key formative and baseline information that I will use throughout my inquiry to see provide evidence of shifts in teaching at the end of the year. Below I will outline each of the formative and baseline information that I will use and why I will use this. 

Some of the tools that I have used are 

• Running records data from last year. 
• Running records from start of term 2 to gauge where the students are at and what areas of their reading needed work. 
• PAT data - I have looked into the PAT data of my students fro reading and have pulled out some key information that I will be able to compare with at the end of the year. 
• I have also taken anecdotal notes of my students while they are reading to be able to understand where each of my learners are at and what their individual work ons are. 

I will also be using our mid year running record data to see if my students have made any progress with their reading as well as look at the key areas that we need to work on. I have been having conversations with my students about reading and I would really like to complete some student voice surveys to compare from now and at the end of the year. I have been looking at some previous student voice surveys that have been used in the past and will try and alter this to fit the purpose of this inquiry. I would like to use this data to see if there is a shift in my learners and what they think about reading. 

I think that each of these measures will bring enough data to see if there has been accelerated progress in reading from the changes in practice that have been made. This will be important baseline information that I will check at regular intervals throughout the term to see if what I am doing is working or if I need to tweak it a bit and make additional changes. 

Formulating an Hypothesis

During out CoL PLG's we have been asked to formulate a hypothesis around out research question. We have looked at this serval times over our last few CoL PLG's and have been asked to share thoughts, ideas and readings with our fellow CoL colleagues. I have uploaded a screenshot of my hunches and how they have changed and evolved from having conversations with CoL colleagues as well as other colleagues.

Formulating a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. 

How to formulate? The simplest way is to use this form: if...then…

1. “If I encourage my students to write for real reasons, then they will be motivated to write.”

2. “If I focus on extending their 'on-task' behaviour with strategies to manage themselves then they will improve their writing.”

3. “An emphasis on behavioural and cognitive engagement as well as teaching social skills will enhance my students’ ability to focus and increase their writing skills"

The readings that I have discussed in prior posts have helped to structure this. As you can see we having been working on this since the very start of May and it is now the beginning of June and there has been a lot of reading, a lot of research and now hopefully a solid hypothesis to my CoL inquiry question.