Even though I don't necessarily like using them, I know spreadsheets are a very valuable instrument in keeping data organized and usable. Keeping records of students assignments, tests and being able to manipulate the data to find out how well students are progressing is key in their achievement. It also helps to show teachers how well kids are understanding the material they are learning in a neat and organized manner.
After analyzing my data for student growth, I was able to see if students were comprehending the material, and which children needed more work. This could help me determine, based on scores and percentages, whether material was too difficult, not difficult enough or which students still needed help. My data showed that only 1 child had a negative growth rate from pre to post testing. By analysis of this material I could better help see what area each individual was struggling with or was excelling in. One thing I think is important when teachers analyze this kind of data is that we sometimes need to look beyond the numbers. One test should not determine where a child stands in terms of comprehension and ability. It is in analyzing many data sets, and seeing patterns that we can more accurately understand the success of our students.
Click to link to my data sheets and charts.
Overview of my spreadsheet experience:
My experience with spreadsheets is not the best. I put off doing this
assignment because I dread working with spreadsheets in general. They
make me feel nervous because I am not used to using and manipulating
them very often. As I watched the tutorials and saw what I had to do, I
became a bit less terrified. I came to see that it was not that
difficult once I got started to understand the data I was creating know
how to use it. The charts and graph were a bit more difficult, I had to
play with them more to figure out how to get the right formatting. But
like the spreadsheets, once I actually started doing the charts they
became much easier to do.
Using spread sheets are a real barrier for the majority of us. However, as you experienced, after viewing the tutorials and actually experimenting a little, they are far less overwhelming than we've built up in our mind. Sounds like you're comfortable with data manipulation, and by the time you do another project with charts, you'll be comfortable there, also.
ReplyDeleteAgreed --- one has to be careful not to put too much emphasis on a single test or two. In this set of data you also had 3 formative assessments to analyze to help get a better big picture. It's but one tool that can quickly help us dig deeper into better understanding the progress (or lack of) with our students.