Quantitative Evidence of Academic Growth
Introduction
At the school for which I currently work—EF English First in Indonesia, a subsidiary of Education First—students are not separated into typical grade levels. Instead, students are divided into four separate groups based on age—Small Stars, High Flyers, Trail Blazers, and Front Runners. These levels are further divided into course levels based on students' levels of English language proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Below you will find the assessments and resulting data from the students in one of my completed Front Runner 16 courses. During this course, I was able to use these assessments and data to track students' growth and progress toward our course objectives, modify and tailor instruction to the specific needs of my students, and ensure that the class was setting students up for the maximum level of success. As an educator, I consistently strive to develop my students into well-rounded individuals ready to face and solve problems in their lives outside of my classroom. One major tool I use to accomplish this task is working to create an environment that shows students that academic gains are the ultimate door opener to success in the 21stcentury. The following assessments allow me to track the dramatic levels of measurable and rigorous academic growth achieved by my students. This growth and content mastery is then shared with my students' families to invest all parties in the importance of student growth further.
Summary of Assessment Format and System of Implementation
Each Front Runner course is divided into three sections and six units—section one contains units one and two, section two contains units three and four, and section three contains units five and six. A pre-exam is given at the beginning of each section, and a post-exam is given at the end of each section to track mastery across multiple units and for the duration of the course. These exams are designed by EF – English First and are implemented in every EF Front Runner classroom around the world. Each exam is divided into four primary content domains—grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading—each with ten questions. The questions within each exam are typically in the format of multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, and short answer depending on the specific exam and content being tested. Student samples of two of these assessments are included below. While the content within each exam is tailored to address the new learning achieved during the two units contained in a specific section, these exams also build on each other. Any information from previous units and sections from the current course and previous Front Runner courses can be present on the exam to ensure that students are not only mastering content but also retaining the information over time. This assessment data is then entered into the EF online computer system for tracking to ensure students have mastered the necessary content to move onto the next course level. Families also have access to this data through the online portal to ensure that students and their families are invested in the growth being achieved and are aware of the rigor necessary for college and career readiness in the 21stcentury.
Assessment Scoring Chart
Since the questions included on these pre- and post-exams are typically correct-incorrect format there are no associated rubrics. Instead the scoring chart—shown in the picture below—is used. Points are divided into the four primary content domains being tested—grammar, vocabulary, listening, and reading—which are then summed up for a composite score. These five scores are then uploaded into our online tracking system to allow students, their families, myself, and other teachers at my school to see each student’s growth in each area over time. This data is then stored in perpetuity allowing teachers to look back on each student’s growth and progress in each area over time to identify areas of strength and areas with which a student may need additional support. This data is a powerful tool that can be leveraged to plan effective instruction for each student.
Assessment scoring chart
Summary of Pre- and Post-Exams used to Track Mastery with Student-Created Exemplars
Below, I have included two student-created exemplars of the first pre-exam given at the beginning of my Front Runner 16 course and the final post-exam given at the end of the same Front Runner 16 course. These two students' work was selected to be included for slightly different reasons. Student one began the course as one of the strongest students and was an exemplar for each exam. Student two experienced the most visible and dramatic growth throughout this course—explained in greater detail below. Each of these exams is divided into four primary content domains—grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading.
The pre-exam shown in the document on the left was given on the first day of the course to obtain data to act as a baseline for each student's level of English language proficiency in regards to each of the core content domains of grammar, vocabulary, listening, and reading as well as their level of content knowledge. This data was then used to plan tailored instruction for the specific students in the class. While this exam was graded and scored, it was not immediately returned to students. I kept the exams to assist in planning for instruction. These exams were returned to students after the completion of the first section of the course to allow them to compare their pre-and post-assessments and examine the growth they were able to accomplish during the two units.
Student-created beginning-of-course pre-exam
The post-exam shown in the document on the left was given at the end of the course to determine the level of growth and academic gains achieved by each student during the course. This exam was graded and returned to students. At this point students had access to the grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading scores from all six exams given during the course—three pre-exams and three post-exams—and I can discuss growth and progress with each student. I also use these discussions to speak with students about their areas of strength as well as what specific areas of English language proficiency they should make a focus during their next course.
Student-created end-of-course pos-exam
Data Summary
Below I have included the full-class assessment data from the beginning of course and end of course assessments. This data has been divided into the four primary content domains assessed by each exam—grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading—as well as overall scores. Class averages are provided for each of these five scores. This data shows dramatic academic growth across each of the four content domains. The beginning of course data indicates an average score of 37% across the four areas. The average highest score was a 49% for reading—an analysis and more detailed breakdown of scores for each of the four domains is included below. These scores are low for students starting a Front Runner 16 course. However, by the end-of-course assessment, the average score, across all four content domains, was 95% and the lowest average score was 92% for listening. This data shows a dramatic increase in regards to both content knowledge as well as English language proficiency across the four domains.
Beginning-of-course assessment data
End-of-course assessment data
Data Analysis
The data displayed in the documents above shows clear, dramatic growth across all four of the primary focus domains of grammar, vocabulary, listening, and reading for all ten students in the course.
For the beginning-of-course pre-exam, the average score was 14.8 out of 40 possible points—or an equivalent of 37%. By the end-of-course post-assessment, the class average had risen to 38 out of 40 possible points—or an equivalent of 95%. This result is an increase of 23.2 points on average or an average increase of 58% overall.
The average grammar score was 2.8 out of ten possible points for the beginning-of-course assessment. 30% of students scored between zero and two points, 60% of students scored between three and four points and 10% of students scored between five and six points. No one scored between seven and 10 points. By the end-of-course assessment, the average score for this domain had risen to 9.3 out of ten possible points or 93% This shows a growth of 6.5 points or an average increase of 65%. Furthermore, the lowest score for this domain was a score of seven with a mode of nine.
The average vocabulary score was 1.7 out of ten possible points for the beginning-of-course assessment. 60% of students scored between zero and two points and 40% of students scored between three and four points. The highest score was 40% on this section. No student scored between five and 10 points. By the end-of-course assessment, the average score for this domain had risen to 9.7 out of ten possible points or 97%. These results show a growth of eight points or an average increase of 80%. Furthermore, the lowest score for this domain was a score of eight with eight of ten students scoring a perfect score of 10.
The average listening score was slightly higher at 3.8 out of ten possible points for the beginning-of-course assessment. 40% of students scored between zero and two points, 30% of students scored between three and four points and 10% of students scored between five and six points, 10% of students scored between seven and eight points, and 10% of students scored between nine and 10 points. The highest score was 90%, and no student earned a perfect score for this section. By the end-of-course assessment, the average score for this domain had risen to 9.2 out of ten possible points or 92%. This shows a growth of 5.4 points or an average increase of 54%. Furthermore, the lowest score for this domain was a score of seven and 90% of students scored either nine or a perfect 10.
The highest average score for the beginning-of-course assessment was in the domain of reading. However, this average was still below the expected value. The class average for reading was 4.9 out of ten possible points. 20% of students scored between zero and two points, 30% of students scored between three and four points and 20% of students scored between five and six points, 20% of students scored between seven and eight points, and 20% of students scored between nine and 10 points. The highest score was 90%, and no student earned a perfect score for this section. By the end-of-course assessment, the average score for this domain had risen to a nearly perfect score of 9.8 out of ten possible points or 98%. This shows an increase of 4.9 points or an average increase of 49%. Furthermore, the lowest score for this domain was a score of nine and eight students scored a perfect 10.
Overall, I am incredibly proud of the dramatic levels of academic growth these students were able to achieve during this course. This data shows that students were able to fully master the content of the course as well as increase their levels of English language proficiency across the four assessed domains. I have full confidence that these students will not only be able to succeed in their next course but their academic and personal lives beyond the walls of my classroom.
Individual Student Growth
Below, I have included additional data from two specific students in this class. Student one started the class with one of the highest levels of English language proficiency. This data was selected because he was an exemplar for each of the assessments. Even though he started as one of the strongest in the class, he still had significant room for growth.
Student two was selected because she experienced the most dramatic levels of academic growth during this course. At the beginning of the course, she received some of the lowest scores on the beginning-of-course assessment shown above. By the end of the course, she scored a perfect on her end-of-course assessment, also shown above. This growth was truly astounding, and I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication to her learning that this student put in to achieve this transformation and growth.
Assessment data from two selected students
In the tables above, I have included the assessment data from all six exams given in this course—three pre-exams and three post-exams. All of the sub-scores for the four primary target domains have also been included. To more easily see the academic growth achieved by these two students, I have converted these data tables into line graphs, which are included below.
As displayed in the graph below, student one began the course with slightly higher than average scores for each of the domains. On his initial beginning-of-course pre-assessment, he scored 60% for grammar, 40% for vocabulary, 40% for listening, 80% for reading and 55% overall. He was able to increase these scores to 80%, 90%, 80%, 100%, and 87.5% respectively by the post-exam at the end of section one. For section two, his pre-exam scores were almost all higher than his pre-exam scores for section one with scores of 60% for grammar, 30% for vocabulary (the only score lower than section one), 60% for listening, 90% for reading, and 60% overall. By the end of the section, he was able to increase these scores to 90%, 90%, 80%, 100%, and 90% respectively. Finally, this student's scores were the highest overall for the third section of the course. For the pre-exam for section three, this student scored 70% for grammar, 60% for vocabulary, 50% for listening, 100% for reading, and 67.5% overall. He was able to increase these scores to 100%, 100%, 80%, 100%, and 95% respectively by the end-of-course exam. The amount of growth experienced by this student is demonstrated by the positive slope of all five lines in the graph on the left. While this student started with some of the highest scores, he was still below the acceptable level. However, by the end of the course, he was able to display content mastery and significant growth across the four content domains.
Student one's dramatic academic growth
Student two experienced the most dramatic levels of growth during this course—as evidenced by the significant positive slopes of all five lines in the graph below. Student two entered the class with some of the lowest scores on the beginning-of-course pre-assessment. On this exam, she scored 30% for grammar, 10% for vocabulary, 30% for listening, 30% for reading and 25% overall. She was able to increase these scores to 60%, 80%, 70%, 50%, and 65% respectively by the post-exam at the end of section one. While these scores showed an increase, only her vocabulary score was in the target range of 80% or above for this class. For section two, her pre-exam scores were all slightly higher than her pre-exam scores for section one with scores of 40% for grammar, 20% for vocabulary, 60% for listening, 40% for reading, and 40% overall. By the end of the section, she was able to increase these scores to 70%, 90%, 80%, 70%, and 77.5% respectively. While her composite score was still below the target level for the course, it was much closer than this student's score for her exams in section one. Also, this student scored above the target score for two sections—vocabulary and listening. Finally, this student's scores were the highest overall, and displayed significant dramatic growth, for the third section of the course. For the section three pre-exam this student scored 70% for grammar, 50% for vocabulary, 60% for listening, 60% for reading, and 60% overall. Se was able to increase all five of these scores to a perfect 100% by the end-of-course exam. The amount of growth experienced by this student is demonstrated by the significant positive slopes of all five lines in the graph below. This student entered my class slightly defeated. Based on her scores from her previous course, she almost was not allowed in this specific section of Front Runner 16. However, through hard work and dedication, she was able to make significant progress in her academic life and experienced dramatic levels of academic growth in this course. She was truly able to experience what she is capable of when she puts her mind to something. I am very proud of the work this student accomplished in this course.
Student two's dramatic academic growth
Conclusion
While I did not personally design this assessment system, it is required for all EF teachers, I have learned that it is a powerful and useful tool that can be leveraged to drive instruction. Dividing scores into the four target content domains allows me to effectively use the data to modify instruction and classroom activities to provide additional support in the areas of greatest need for students. Also having six assessments—three pre- and three post—allows me to easily track students progress towards mastery across units, sections, and the entire course. In the specific course discussed above students experienced a level of academic growth equivalent to 23.2 points on average or an average increase of 58% overall. This dramatic level of growth and academic gains can act as the ultimate door opener to get my students ready for the level of rigor necessary for college and a career in the 21stcentury. This data is also shared with students and their families, so students receive encouragement and support from as many people as possible to ensure investment in learning is at its maximum level.