Improving teaching using student data

The teacher analysed student data from an assessment task using a guide to identify strengths and weaknesses in student understanding. The teacher modified a unit plan to include learning experiences to address identified concerns. A range of teaching strategies was incorporated into lesson plans with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning. A new assessment task and rubric provide information on a subsequent opportunity, enabling the teacher to evaluate achievement gains and thereby the success of the intervention.

The Year 9 Science class is in a small secondary government school (210 students) in a rural and remote location. In the class there are 9 girls and 7 boys. Fifteen per cent of the students are Indigenous and there is an 80 per cent attendance rate overall. The school is designated low SES. The 2010 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results placed 46 per cent of students in the lower quartile (compared to 25 per cent nationally) and 10 per cent in the upper quartile (compared with 25 per cent nationally).