Analysis of Students Performance

Subject:8th grade Math

Test/Quiz Title and Topic Unit Test congruence, similarity and transformations
Date: 3/31/16
Number of students with each score (If using Standards-Based Grading, then change the letters below to
your grading scale.)
A: 14

B: 19

C: 21

D: 16

E: 24

Average: D

Unless topics are related, write one topic per box. Include all of the strategies students used to
achieve success; therefore, it is likely more than one strategy will be included in each box.
Choose one topic for which you have multiple strategies, and attach examples of students work
for each of these different strategies. For example, if you had solving systems of equations in the
first box as the topic, possible strategies could be elimination, substitution, graphing, and guess &
check. You would then attach work from students for each of these four strategies.
Students were successful on these Strategies students used to achieve success
topics
Finding a congruent angle in a
Extending the parallel lines.
diagram of parallel lines cut by a
transversal.

Finding the opposite angle.

Measuring each angle.

Visualizing a congruent triangle.

Describing how they know two

triangles are similar.

Measuring all the corresponding angles.

Measuring two corresponding angles.

Finding the dilation of the sides.

Describing how coordinates

change after a rotation.

Describing in words or writing the coordinate rule

Unless topics are related, write one topic per box. Include all of the mistakes or misconceptions
students used; therefore, it is likely more than one mistake/misconception will be included in each
box. Choose one topic for which you have multiple misconceptions, and attach examples of
students work for each of these different misconceptions. For example, the topic is adding
fractions with unlike denominators. Possible mistakes/misconceptions could be adding the
numerators of the fractions or adding the numerators and denominators without finding a
common denominator first or incorrectly finding the common denominators. You would then
attach work from students for each of these three strategies.
Students struggled on these topics Common mistakes or misconceptions
Describing how coordinates change Linking vertices to the labels ABCD and A'B'C'D' and talking about
after a rotation.
the order.

Using vague language like 'flipped.' It is unclear if they mean the

values 'flipped' or the signs, + or , 'flipped.'

Describing how they know two

triangles are similar.

Vague language and not enough evidence to claim similarity.

Find a congruent angle on the

diagram of a transversal across
parallel lines.

Drawing a line connecting rays S and R to make an arbitrary triangle

and assuming it is congruent to PRQ.

Answer the following reflection questions in complete sentences based on the analysis from
above.
1.) What mathematical strategies and connections would you suggest to students to help them with the
topics they struggled with?
Since some students confused coordinate vertices (x, y) with vertex labels (ABC) I recommend that as a
class, we draw detailed diagrams in different colors. For example:vertices are green, labels are blue,
coordinates are purple, side lengths are brown. Then writing out each word next to the visual.
Since some students struggled to explain similarity using the evidence from an example. Though, I
anticipated this and added Your answer should be specific and include measurements from both
triangles after the question, some students left the measurements of the triangles on the diagram above
and did not include them in their response to this question. In cases like this, explaining what I want to
see in an example prior to the test would help. Pointing or circling the measurements written that are
evidence to similarity would help students realize that even the obvious needs to be written down.
For the transversal, I would recommend that students color code which angles are congruent in a
diagram of a transversal in their class notes.
2.) What changes need to be made to the assessment? Be specific and provide justifications for your
modifications.
For the question about how the coordinates of the vertices change under a rotation, I would insert, 'x
and y coordinates of the vertices' to clue students into looking at the x and y values and not the labels
ABCD on each vertex.
This was a very long assessment, next time I would consider taking two days and give two problems
the first day and three the next day.
The assessment language could have been worded better since many students requested it to be restated
or asked 'what am I supposed to do for this?' For instance, 'find a particular transformation' I reworded
to 'what one transformation'

3.) What changes need to be made to the instruction? What aspects should stay the same? Be specific
and provide justifications for your modifications.
Since the 'transformation on a grid questions' were missed the most of any of the other
questions, I would certainly want to make changes to this part of my instruction. Like most teachers I
would consider more practice, though we did revisit this on the second Check Up and in a warm up,
following a week of practice. Slowing down and doing more formative assessment before the exam
using a quick 'quiz' on index cards, may also reach more students.
I wonder if it may help more of our students if we had made our own 'interactive notebooks' for
this Unit. We could have dedicated a few pages each for all of the transformations, angles formed by
transversals and several pages for all of triangle properties of congruence and similarity. We would use
color coding for patterns of congruence in each transformation. We could also use a few lines to
explain how we made the diagrams and how we knew which lines or angles to color which color. Many
of our students are challenged when using fine motor skills and I have concerns about how upset they
would be about redrawing colorful diagrams as a part of note taking.
I would still chose to use the geogebra program to explore parallel lines cut by a transversal.
Though I would opt for a little management issue and use the ipads one to one instead of one per group
so that students can stare long and hard at the angles measures as the move the lines around. Most
students understood this problem well anyway, yet I am always searching for changes that will get at
every single student.
Another option, would be to do what another intern did in her classroom during this book, end
with a quiz over similar triangles. This Unit on transformations, congruence and similarity covers an
extensive amount of content. Perhaps too much with all the snow days in February and March. Ending
with a quiz over similar triangles would allow us more time for AIMSWEB progress monitoring and to
start our next book before Spring Break.