Student Academic Progress Assignment

Background: The Virginia Department of Education mandates that all teacher education programs provide information on the
documentation of student learning by their student teachers. Therefore, we require each student teacher to document students
learning once during their student teaching experience. This documentation involves assessing each classroom students content
knowledge of a skill, concept, idea, view, or theory before it is taught and then assessing the students learning as a result of
his/her teaching. The following is a template for the documentation of student learning. This model is currently the sample of
goal setting for student academic progress provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Many local school districts use a
variation of this assignment.

Part A. Chart
I.
Setting: Describe the population and special learning circumstances of your students (Ex.
number of students, gender, ethnicity, academic levels, ability grouping).
II.
Content/Subject/Field Area: Choose a unit of instruction (at least 3-5 lessons). Describe the
area/topic addressed based on learner achievement, data analysis, or observational data. State
SOLs or National Standard.
III.
Baseline Data: What is shown by the current pre-test assessment data?
IV.
SMART Goal Statement: Describe what you want learners to accomplish.
(Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, Timely)
V.
Means for Attaining Goal: Overview of the strategies you will use to accomplish the goal(s).

SAPA
Teacher Candidates Name: Meagan Ours
School: Smithland Elementary School
Subject/Grade: Kindergarten Dual Language-Spanish

Cooperating Teacher:Ms. Rosalva Correa

School Year: 2016

Directions: This form is a tool to assist teachers in setting a goal that results in measurable learner
progress. NOTE: When applicable, learner achievement/progress should be the focus of the goal. Enter
information electronically into the cells (the boxes will expand to fit the text).
I. Setting

My classroom is a Dual Language Kindergarten class. We teach Language Arts

and Math in Spanish to both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers. I
serve two groups of students, and I will differentiate between the groups by
designating them as the morning class and the afternoon class.
In my morning class, I have 19 students: 9 boys and 10 girls. 14 of the
students are native Spanish speakers, while 6 of the students are native English
speakers. 9 of the students are within our Math Benchmark Group and are exceeding
expectations as this point in the year. 6 students are considered to be in our Math
Strategic Group and are meeting expectations. 3 students are considered to be in our
Math Intensive Groups and are not yet meeting expectations for this point in the year.
In the afternoon class, I have 20 students: 13 boys and 7 girls. 11 if the
students are native Spanish speakers, while 8 of the students are native English
speakers. 10 of these students are within our Math Benchmark Group and are
exceeding expectations at this point in the year. 7 students are considered to be in our
Math Strategic Group and are meeting expectations. 3 students are considered to be in
our Math Intensive Group and are not yet meeting expectations for this point in the

year.
II. Content/Subject/Field
Area

III. Baseline Data

Goal
My goal is that all students

Taking into account this Curriculum Framework, the Harrisonburg City

School Pacing Guide, and previous experiences, my Cooperating Teacher and I
decided that this unit should focus on length: shorter, longer, height, taller, shorter,
weight, heavier, lighter with an emphasis on comparing and describing based on these
attributes. We decided not to cover temperature or nonstandard units of measurement,
as this will be taught at a later point in the year.
My pre-test assessment showed that students were most familiar with the
attributes tall and short. All of the native Spanish speaking students seemed to have a
good, consistent understanding of these terms, but about half of these students
struggled to consistently compare the height of objects using sentence frames. About
half of our native English speaking students seemed to understand these terms, but
they also failed to compare them using sentence frames.
The pre-test results also showed that the majority of the native Spanish
speakers could also consistently describe objects as long or short, but struggled to
compare with sentence frames. Only a few of our native English speakers had a
consistent understanding of these vocabulary words, and most could not compare
them using sentence frames.
Of the three measurement areas within this unit, data showed that students
had the least comprehension of light and heavy. Less than half of the native Spanish
speakers could consistently identify objects as heavy or light, and only about the same
proportion of students were able to consistently compare objects weight using a
sentence frame.
Lastly, our results showed that almost none of our students, including both
native Spanish and English speakers, seemed to have an understanding of the terms
length, weight and height.
Although the entire assignment was multiple choice, I am confident with the
results as there were at least two questions to assess each concept. In conclusion, as I
analyzed the data, I decided to dedicate one lesson to height, one lesson to length, two
lessons to weight and one lesson reviewing the three attributes.
Observable Behavior
Progression will be evident

Criteria
Active student

Measurement
Students progression

will achieve a minimum score

of 70%, which is the lowest
range of a C on the grading
scale.
In addition, for the 17
students who received a D or
an F on the pretest (0-69%), I
would like to see at least a
20% increase in their post-test
score; however, the minimum
70% desired score will
require many of these
students to increase by more
than 20%.

through daily class participation

and formative assessments.
Their final comprehension will be
observed through the summative
assessment.

participation will be
crucial to learn the
material. During this
unit, active
participation will
include answering
verbal questions,
singing along to
vocabulary chants,
think-pair-shares,
partner activities and
more.

will be informally
assessed through
frequent formative
assessments to ensure
understanding. Overall
improvement will be
measured by student
performance on the
summative post-test
compared to their
initial performance on
the identical pre-unit
test.

For the 7 students who

received a C (70-79%), I
would like to see at least a
15% increase on their final
assessment.
For the 4 students who
received a B (80-89%) on
their pretest, I would like to
see an A score (90-100%) on
the final assessment.
For the 2 students who
received an A (90-100%) on
their pretest, I would like to
see complete mastery of the
content by their post unit
assessment.
SMART Goal Statement:
The overall goal of this unit is for students to be able to describe and compare objects using the attributes of length,
height, and weight with at least 70% accuracy by the end of the unit as assessed by the post test. In addition, I would
like each student to improve their percentage as described above based on their pretest scores.
V. Means for Attaining Goal
Strategy
Evidence
Target Date
Students ability to repeat and sing
Songs and Motions
along to the song for each
Daily Repetition
vocabulary word as well as
participate with the motions will
be a key factor in their learning.
Specifically with language
learners the constant repetition of
these songs and motions will
increase retention of the words
and meanings.

Sentence Frames

While comparing the attributes of

various objects, sentence frames
will allow students to use the
appropriate vocabulary. Verbal
usage of these sentence frame
will help to solidify the content in
students minds. As partners
practice these sentence frames
using objects from the class, they
will prepare themselves to use
them on their final assessment.

Daily Repetition

Real-Life Connections

At the beginning of each lesson, it

is crucial to help students
understand why they are learning
the content. In this case, they are
learning measurement to be able
to do science and math in their
future.
In addition, putting real life
objects, such as toys or school
supplies, in students hands during
every lesson helps them connect
the content to their real lives. As
they describe and compare these
familiar objects, the words will
gain personal meaning to the
students which increases long
term retention.

Daily Repetition

Part B. Reflection
VI.
Pre-Assessment Analysis: How will you pre-assess before teaching? Create or choose a
baseline data collection instrument. Why did you choose this instrument? What are the strengths
and/or weaknesses in the instrument? Administer the pre-test assessment. Analyze the results of
the data. What does the data show? Prepare a graphic representation (ex. bar graph) of each
students pre-assessment data. Clearly indicate each students progress.

I chose to use The Answer Pad as my assessment tool because this is the preferred method of my
Cooperating Teacher. I also experimented with it, and I appreciated the ability to do multiple choice or
drawing questions. Another strength of this method is that immediate feedback can be given. After each
question, answers can be reviewed and discussed with the class. My Cooperating Teacher also has the
class do a mini celebration if every student in the group answers a question correctly. I really like this
community aspect of the assessment. In addition, I appreciate that the students can only see one question
at a time and cannot answer the question until I give them permission. Because of this, students must wait
as the teacher reads and explains the question before they may answer it; this allows for simultaneous
whole class testing that is usually difficult to achieve with Kindergarten students. On the other hand, one
weakness of this assessment is that it takes a significant amount of time to get students logged into this
application. In addition, the assessment is dependent on functioning technology.
These weaknesses had a significant effect on my assessment experience during this unit. On the
day of my pretest, our school temporarily lost internet connection. This happened about a third of the way
through the pre-assessment, and it forced us to stop. Because there was not time left to complete the
assessment on paper, we had to continue the next day, and I chose to continue on paper during my small
groups. Although it was not my initial assessment choice, I came to like small group testing. This allowed
me to monitor each student more closely to ensure that they were following and participating fully.
Although my pre-testing took extra time and did not go as planned, I believe that I achieved
accurate results in the end. Because these questions were multiple choice, I examined the data with this
factor in mind, and I tried to look at their consistency in answering more than one question correctly to
determine understanding.
Upon examining the data it was apparent that students were most familiar with the term and
meaning of the vocabulary words tall and short. Almost all of the native Spanish speaking students
seemed to have a good, consistent understanding of these terms, but only about half of these students
struggled to consistently compare the height of objects using the appropriate sentence frames. About half
of our native English speaking students seemed to understand these terms, but they also failed to compare
them using sentence frames.
I also determined that the majority of the native Spanish speakers could also consistently describe
objects as long or short, but nearly all of these students struggled to compare these attributes using
sentence frames. Only a few of our native English speakers had a consistent understanding of these
vocabulary words, and most of them could not compare them using the sentence frames.
Of the three measurement areas within this unit, data showed that students had the least
comprehension of light and heavy. Less than half of the native Spanish speakers could consistently
identify objects as heavy or light, and only about the same proportion of students were able to
consistently compare objects weight using a sentence frame. None of the english speaking students
seemed to have comprehension of this topic consistently.
Lastly, our results showed that almost none of our students, including both native Spanish and
English speakers, seemed to have an understanding of the terms length, weight and height. I know that
these terms are not as widely used as the others, so this was the expected result.
As stated before, although this assessment was multiple choice, I am confident in the results as
there were at least two questions to assess each concept. In conclusion, as I analyzed the data, I decided to
attribute one lesson to height, one lesson to length, two lessons to weight and one lesson reviewing the
three attributes. Following these lessons, I would give a post-unit assessment to measure progress.

VII.

Means for Attaining Goal(s): Describe in detail what you want learners to accomplish based
on the data collected. How did you arrive at these goals? Describe your plan for instruction based
on information from the pretest. Include the teaching strategies used and include a justification
for your instructional decisions. How did the results inform your instructional planning? Be
specific. This should be an expansion of part V (above).

Based on the data collected and advice from my Cooperating Teacher, I will teach on length first,
weight second and height third. This decision is founded on the fact that I want to put time in between
teaching length and height because of their similarities. My Cooperating Teacher shared her experience
that students tend to mix up these attributes and do better when not taught directly in sequence. Out of
these two topics (length and height), I will teach length first because pre-assessment data showed students
need more instruction in this area, and it would provide more time for review of this topic during small
groups if needed. I will then teach two lessons on weight, and I was asked by my Cooperating Teacher to
incorporate some writing into one of these lessons. Following these two lessons, I will teach a lesson on
height. I chose to put this last because students will need the least instruction on this material before the
post-assessment. Lastly, I will dedicate one lesson to reviewing these topics and comparing height to
length.
One strategy that I would like to use within this unit is songs and motions. During my time thus
far in this classroom, I have come to the conclusion that songs and motions are a great tool for helping
students to remember key terms and their meanings. All students, especially language learners, greatly
benefit from frequent repetition. I will use a song and motions to introduce each new vocabulary word,
and we will repeat the songs several times during each lesson and review the songs again during our small
group rotations. Students ability to repeat and sing along to the song for each vocabulary word as well as
participate with the motions will be a key factor in their learning. My hope is that they will be able to
recall these songs and motions during their final assessment to remember the vocabulary terms and
meanings.
I will also use sentence frames during each lesson to ensure that students, especially the native
English speakers, learn the appropriate way to discuss a subject. I will strive to always use the full
sentence frames in my SMART board presentations and consistently speak using the complete sentence
frames. Students will also be expected to speak using the whole sentence frame when answering
questions and doing partner activities. As partners practice these sentence frames using objects from the
class, they will prepare themselves to use them on their final assessment. Because, students need the most
help in comparing objects, using sentence frames will help students to grasp the vocabulary and focus on
the content aspects of comparing the objects. In addition, this process will also help students to develop
concept of word and sentence structure as we practice pointing and reading the sentence frames and
emphasizing the presence of a period at the end. This sentence frame strategy will not only allow students
to use the appropriate vocabulary, but the consistent usage will help to solidify the content into students
minds.
Another strategy that I hope to use within every lesson is real-life connections. Part of this
strategy includes giving students a reason for their learning. At the beginning of each lesson, it is crucial
to help students understand why they are learning the content. In this case, they are learning measurement

to be able to do science and math in their future. Once this is addressed students will hopefully begin to
develop a sense of intrinsic motivation. In addition, putting real life objects, such as toys or school
supplies, in students hands during every lesson helps them connect the content to their real lives. Because
students need the most help in comparing objects, I believe using toys and school supplies as objects to
compare will make the process more clear to them than simply using pictures. As they describe and
compare these familiar objects, the words will gain personal meaning to the students which increases long
term retention.

VIII.

Analyze the results: Administer the posttest assessment. Analyze the results of the data.
What does the data show? Prepare a graphic representation of each students post-assessment data
compared to the pre-assessment data (ex: double bar graph). Clearly indicate each students
progress. Discuss the reasons for student results and implications for further instruction (For
example: what went well, what you might change if you had it to do again, what you will do in
subsequent lessons). Were the goals achieved?

Because of my struggles during pretesting and consistent internet outages at my school, I chose to
posttest in small groups as well using paper and pencil rather than The Answer Pad. The questions
remained the same and were simply a printed version just as I did with my pretest. I also felt that this
would result in a more accurate measurement of student progression to have identical assessment
procedures.
My overall goal was for each student to achieve a minimum score of 70% or a C. Student A9,
with a final assessment score of 67% and student M14 with a final score of 62%, were the only students
to not achieve this goal. Despite these results, I do believe that these students were both capable of
achieving a 70% at the time of the final assessment; however, these are two students that are already
classified in our intensive level math group, and they both struggle with attention and participation. For
this reason, I am not surprised at their results. If I were to give this assessment again, I would choose to
test these students individually to ensure that they were putting forth their best effort and listening to each
question being read. I believe that if these were the circumstances, they could have achieved the end goal
of 70% or higher.
In addition, I also set the goal that my 17 students who received a D or an F on the pretest (069%), would achieve at least a 20% increase in their post-test score. Student M14 was the only student in
the morning class who did not achieve this goal, and this is one of the students who did not achieve the
minimum 70% score. My explanation given in the previous paragraph is also applicable in this
circumstance. All other students achieved this goal, and most exceeded it. In the afternoon class, there
were 5 students who did not reach this goal; however, they all received at least a 14 percentage point
increase. I believe that the time of day plays a role in the difference in the results of my two classes. Our
morning class seems to have significantly more attention span than our afternoon class, and the afternoon
class also struggles a little more to participate. I am sure that these are the reasons for the lower growth.
Two of the three students who did not achieve the 20 percentage point increase are not in our intensive
level math group, and I will follow up with them by doing an different individual assessment, and my

Cooperating Teacher and I will consider if a group change is needed to better meet their needs. The
intensive level math group does receive extra support during our small group time.
For the 7 students who received a C (70-79%), I wanted to see at least a 15% increase on their
final assessment. Student M11 is the only student who did not achieve this goal, but she achieved a 14
percentage point increase. I consider this be a successful progression as she still achieved a final score of
90%.
For the 4 students who received a B (80-89%) on their pretest, I wanted to see an A score (90100%) on the final assessment. All students within this group successfully achieved the goal. Lastly, for
the 2 students who received an A (90-100%) on their pretest, I wanted to see complete mastery of the
content by their post unit assessment, and they were both successful at meeting this goal as well.
The only follow up that I feel is needed in addition to this unit is continuing to provide extra
support for the Intensive Level math group. I will continue to use the songs and motions to remind them
of the content, and I will go over their missed test questions with them as a group to ensure they
understand the mistakes. If I feel as though a student makes further progression, I will reassess them
before the end of the grading period.

Part C. Lesson Plans and Supplemental Materials

IX.
Include complete Bridgewater College format lesson plans (at least 3-5) that directly relate to
the goals and objectives. Include a copy of any supplemental resources (ex. assessment,
worksheets) you used to assist students in this unit but do not include individual student papers.
A score of 75% or higher must be achieved in each category to pass this assignment - Any category with a DN must be revised

Student Academic Progress Assignment Rubric

CATEGORY

EE (4)

ME (3)

DE (2)

DN (1)

TOTAL

Thorough and clear

description of the population
and special learning
circumstances of your
students.

Complete description of
the population and
special learning
circumstances of your
students.

Brief description of the

population and learning
circumstances of your
students.

Very brief
description of the
population and
learning
circumstances or not
included

__ x 1 = ___

Part A: Chart
I. Setting

II. Content/
Subject/ Field
Area

Clear description of the

content, subject, and field
area. Includes all relevant
SOLs or National Standards

Complete description of
the content, subject, and
field area. Includes all
relevant SOLs or
National Standards

Brief description of
content, subject, and
field area. Some SOLs
or National Standards
included.

Very brief
description of
content, subject, and
field area and/or
SOLs or National
Standards or are
missing.

__ x 1 = ___

III. Baseline
Data

Clear description of baseline

data and thoughtful analysis
of the results.

Complete description of
baseline data and
analysis of the results.

Brief description of
baseline data and
limited analysis of the
results.

Very brief
description of
baseline data and/or
analysis of the
results.

__ x 1 = ___

IV. SMART
Goal Statement

Includes a strong goal

statement appropriate for
content area, grade level,
and students. Goal is
directly related to lesson
plans and is clearly a result
of the pre-assessment data.

A complete goal
statement is provided
that is appropriate for the
content area, grade, level
and students.

Weak goal statement

provided.

Very weak goal

statement or
statement not
included.

__ x 1 = ___

Very clear and insightful

description of student
results; including clear
analysis of strengths and
weaknesses of assessment
and possible contributors to
results. Excellent graphic
representation (ex. bar
graph) of each students preassessment data included.

A complete description
of student results are
including some analysis
of strengths and
weaknesses of
assessment with possible
contributors to results.
Graphic representation
(ex. bar graph) of each
students pre-assessment
data included.

Brief description of
student results are
including limited
analysis of strengths
and weakness of
assessment. Weak
graphic representation
(ex. bar graph) of each
students preassessment data
included.

Very brief
description of
student results and/or
missing analysis
and/or incomplete
graphic
representation or preassessment data.

__ x 4 = ___

VII. Means for

attaining the
goal

Clear and thorough

description of goals and
well-constructed plans for
instruction. Includes
thoughtful justification for
teaching strategies used.

Description of goals and

plans for instruction.
Includes justification for
teaching strategies used.

Brief description
overview of goals and
plans for instruction.
Limited justification
for teaching strategies
used.

Very brief
description and/or
missing goals and/or
plans for instruction.

__ x 4 = ___

VIII. PostAssessment
Analysis

Very clear and insightful

description of student
results; clear articulation of
possible contributors to
results; individual student
results analyzed based on
teacher self-evaluation;
excellent insights;
adaptations for future
teaching clearly articulated
and appropriate. Excellent
graphic representation (ex.
bar graph) of each students
pre-assessment and postassessment data included.

A complete description
of student results
including some
possible contributors to
results. Individual
student results analyzed
based on teacher selfevaluation; adequate
insights; adaptations for
future teaching
articulated and
appropriate. Graphic
representation (ex. bar
graph) of each students
pre-assessment and post-

Brief description of
student results
including; limited
analysis of cause;
teacher self-evaluation
but does not show
insight. Weak graphic
representation (ex. bar
graph) of each
students preassessment and postassessment data
included.

Very brief
description of
student results and/or
missing analysis
and/or incomplete
graphic
representation or preassessment and postassessment data.

__ x 4 = ___

Part B: Reflection
V. & VI. PreAssessment
Analysis

assessment data
included.
Part C: Lesson Plans
IX. Lesson
Plans

All components of the BC

lesson plan complete, clear,
and appropriate; clearly
represent planning based on
pre-assessment results and
formative assessment
throughout.

All components of the

BC lesson plan
complete, clear, and
appropriate; attempt to
utilize pre-assessment
results and formative
assessment.

Plans included; plans

need more detail and/or
clearer connection to
pre-assessment results
and/or clearer
formative assessment
throughout.

Incomplete lesson
plans; unclear; no
evidence of
assessment data.

__ x 4 = ___

Writing Mechanics

No grammar, spelling or
mechanics errors. Sentence
structure is varied and
appropriate.

Very few grammar,

spelling or mechanics
errors. Sentence structure
is appropriate.

Several grammar,
spelling or mechanics
errors. Weak sentence
structure.

Grammar, spelling
and/or mechanics
errors throughout.
Includes sentence
fragments and/or
other syntax errors.

__ x 1 = ___

Overall Quality
of Assignment

Provides work of the highest

quality.

Provides quality work.

Provides work that

needs improvement.

Unacceptable.

__ x 4 = ___

Overall

Total (out of 100)

A score of 75 or higher must be achieved to pass this assignment - Any category with a DN must be revised