Determine and Track Student Progress

PL-2, PL-3

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Description

Determining student progress is a process in which teachers gather evidence to evaluate how students are progressing on the continuum of their annual learning goals. Planning ways to gather evidence of student learning is vital to determining the effectiveness of past instruction and a teacher’s ability to modify upcoming lessons that better support student needs. Teachers should use formative and summative progress checks to help ensure they are creating and delivering lessons that lead students toward mastery and ultimately meet their annual learning goals.

As teachers collect data on student performance, it is useful to organize that information for easy analysis. Tracking student progress is not an end in itself, but a means of monitoring and promoting positive student outcomes. It propels student academic growth by helping the teacher accurately identify students’ strengths and areas for development, make more strategic decisions about future lessons, and plan for differentiated instruction that leads to student mastery.

Burning Questions

How do I remember to update my tracking system?

Teachers have so many things vying for their attention and sometimes simply forget to update their tracking system. Make tracking part of a routine, set reminders (on Outlook Calendar, on a phone, written into a paper calendar, etc.), or assign a student job to remind the teacher.

What should assessments be aligned to?

Be sure assessments are aligned to learning objectives. Use the HISD District Curriculum as a guide. Make sure the verb in the curriculum standard matches the verb in the assessment item. For example, if the curriculum standard asks students to evaluate social and political contributions of individuals, then students should be asked to “evaluate” on the assessment (as opposed to “identify”, “analyze”, etc.).

How can the assessment meet the rigor of learning objectives?

In an effort to increase rigor on assessments, teachers can use assessments provided by the district, released STAAR tests, or preprinted assessments. Be sure assessments are developmentally appropriate for students and aligned to lesson or unit objectives. Additionally, teachers should always consult special education staff on campus for any student accommodations and modifications needed for assessment, regardless of rigor.
Quick Tips

Organize and analyze data as soon as it becomes available. Reflect on student progress and adjust future plans with the new data.

Discuss within the PLC strategies to determine and track student progress. Enlist a second set of eyes when analyzing data as other teachers may see a trend in the data and provide valuable insight.

Provide multiple opportunities for students to show mastery and progress. This offers encouragement for students and gives the teacher vital information on how to extend or remediate for students throughout the year/course. The final assessment should not be the only chance students have to show mastery of concepts and skills.

If possible, use a tracking system that can be emailed at a moment’s notice. It is a good way to show principals, assistant principals, instructional coordinators, appraisers, and colleagues the progress that students have made.
Resources

How will I know if students are progressing toward their goals?

- Review the checklist at the end of the document to provide direction for determining and tracking student progress.
- Plan for how students will demonstrate mastery of the required content and skills. Consult the Annual Plan or Unit Plan to reflect on the measures and data that are relevant and important to track, as well as the timing of formative assessments that would afford data to track.
- Consider whether tracking will take place at the course, unit, and/or lesson level. Also, consider whether tracking will be done at the class level and/or for individual students.
- Select or develop a system for tracking.
  - A tracking system can exist in hard-copy or soft-copy format.
  - It should be organized by objective, concept, skill, unit, strand, or student expectation to show progress toward the larger Annual Goal .
- Tailor the tracking system to reflect your style and students’ interests.
  - Make it convenient - How will the teacher remember to update the tracker? How can it be organized so that it is comprehensible to both the teacher and the students?
  - Make it visible - Will students be able to see their progress on a tracking sheet at their desk or an anonymous wall tracker?
  - Make it meaningful - Could the teacher incorporate the tracker into an existing classroom theme? How will tracking be introduced to students? How will the teacher invest students?
- Determine student progress by collecting data.
  - Some examples of ways to determine student progress include:
    
    Formative assessments: Checkpoints, Teacher Observations of Students, Exit Tickets, or Graphic Organizers
    
    Summative assessments: Projects, Essays, Student Conferences, End of Unit Assessments, EOC/EOY Assessments, or Performance Tasks
- Organize data into the tracking tool or system.
- Analyze the data and reflect on trends using the following questions:
  - Were there items on the assessment that refer to content the teacher has not yet covered?
  - Which standards covered on the assessment have students mastered?
  - Are there content and/or skills included on the assessment that the majority of students did not master?
  - Are there content and/or skills included on the assessment that a distinct group of students did not master?
  - Are there specific students who did not show mastery of the majority of the content and/skills on the assessment as a whole?
  - Are there specific students who showed clear mastery of the majority of the content and/or skills?
  - What is the level of rigor for commonly missed items on the assessment?
  - Were there specific items that were missed by many students in the class?
  - When items were commonly missed, was there a trend in the incorrect responses (i.e. 70% of students chose “B” when the correct answer was “D”)?
- Take strategic action by modifying future lessons based on data analysis. Consider whether students mastered the objective and adjust plans accordingly.
- Ensure the components of the checklist are used in determining and tracking student progress.
- I have chosen a tracking system.
- I have collected data using formative or summative assessments.
- I have completed self-analysis.
- I have revised plans.

Professional Development

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Determine and Track Student Progress

PL-2, PL-3

Description

Burning Questions

Quick Tips

Resources

How will I know if students are progressing toward their goals?