Chapter 15
(15.1) Turn to p. 559 in Ormrod’s text. Now, imagine that you are meeting with Ingrid’s grandmother today to explain her scores on the recent standardized achievement test pictured at the bottom of p. 559. What will you tell her about Ingrid’s performance? her strengths? her weaknesses? Even though this is not a criterion referenced test, if Ingrid’s grandmother asks you what she could be doing at home to help strengthen Ingrid’s skills, what will you suggest?
In the meeting with Ingrid's grandmother, I would begin by discussing how the assessment is scored and what each different portion of the results means. One very important thing to inform Ingrid's grandmother of at the start is that the assessments are norm-referenced, which means that Ingrid will be scored by a comparison to her peers' performance on the same tests. To further explain, I would show her the left side of the printout, which shows the subjects for each portion of the test and the percentile score. This section shows Ingrid's ranking among her peer group. For example, Ingrid is in the 92nd percentile for Reading Comprehension, which means that Ingrid has performed as well as or better than 92% of her peers.
At the top of the sheet, it shows the different National Percentile Bands, or confidence intervals, which show the amount of error that may be affecting Ingrid's performance. What this means in simple terms is that for any particular subject, Ingrid's scores may actually fall from one end of this line of x's to the other. So, the margin of error for Reading Comprehension may be anywhere from 85 to 97. There are many factors that may affect Ingrid's test results and these numbers can help to account for this.
I would begin discussing Ingrid's actual scores by starting off with her strengths, explaining to her grandmother that her scores in Reading Comprehension, Science, and Social Studies were well above average. Generally, when a student has performs well in Reading Comprehension, it may also contribute to their performance in other areas, especially subjects like Science and Social Studies, where a large portion of the information comes from reading and interpreting texts. This is actually one of the best subjects to have skill in because it affects performance in so many other academic areas.
Next, I would show Ingrid's grandmother the content areas in which Ingrid's scores were not as high, and explain to her that she did not perform as well in Spelling, Math Computation, and Math Concepts. The results from these three subjects fall under Average or Below Average, and show a wide variance based on the results from the other three subject areas. However, there is always a margin of testing error, and this can be viewed on the confidence intervals section of the assessment printout.
15.2
Even though this is not a criterion referenced test, if Ingrid’s grandmother asks you what she could be doing at home to help strengthen Ingrid’s skills, what will you suggest? Provide at least three areas where the grandmother could help Ingrid.
In order to ensure that Ingrid does need assistance in those three subjects that she did not score higher on, I would need to first assess her work in class due to possible testing issues. There is the possibility that perhaps Ingrid's lower scores in these areas may be due to the format of the test, test anxiety, or other factors. In regards to what Ingrid's grandmother could do at home in order to strengthen her skills, there are many different ways that Ingrid can enhance her performance in Spelling and Math. Regardless of the fact that this assessment was norm-referenced and not based on knowledge of the curriculum, there is still the possibility of improvement in these content areas. Keeping a portfolio of Ingrid's work is a great place to start, as it shows the level of improvement over a specific length of time. By looking at previous performance and comparing it to more recent work, Ingrid's grandmother may be able to determine what particular areas in these subjects that Ingrid is struggling with. In terms of spelling, Ingrid's grandmother could help by making flash cards or going over spelling lists with her. I could provide additional math practice homework for Ingrid that her grandmother could work on with her, assisting her as needed. Another way of building math skills at home would be to provide Ingrid with some type of math website or game in which she could practice working out problems and learning new concepts.
Tabitha, I like how you chose to approach Ingrid's grandmother about Ingrid's test scores. You did not use any intimidating or negative language when describing her difficulties. Suggesting that she involve herself in Ingrid's study habits is a great recommendation. Though individual students have different environments at home, you would hope, as a teacher, that the students have access to such attention from their parents or guardians. I also enjoyed the math game idea. Growing up, I had educational computer games like Math Blasters and 6th Grade Adventures. I enjoyed them so much, I barely knew I was studying! With the plethora of technological sources existing today, educational games are a great way to motivate students. However, we must keep in mind that not all families can afford such luxuries.
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