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Rich - Tutoring Update

Page history last edited by rich lauria 14 years, 11 months ago

I spent some time at Mt. Zion this week looking over the data that will become a part of the tutoring grant.  Even if you are not familiar with the work done so far or the language of the grant, it should not come as a surprise that the government wants measurable results.  If they are going to continue funding a tutoring program they want some proof - ideally, in quantifiable terms - that the tutoring is having an impact.  

 

The easiest way to measure improvement is by means of a pre- and post-test.  For reading, this assessment is the DAR exam.  For math, the assessment is the TOMA test.  These are nationally recognized assessments.  More important than the test itself are the gains made by the students.  In case there was any confusion, the test given is exactly the same.  The only difference is that five months of tutoring has transpired.  If a student makes gains in an area, the tutoring is assumed to be the reason.  The government doesn't need to see 100% of the students making gains.  If they did, they may question the means by which the organization was measuring said progress.      

 

After looking over the raw data at Mt. Zion, there are some issues that need to be addressed.  If a student wasn't pre-tested, the post-test data is irrelevant from a statistical standpoint.  The other issue is that only a portion of the students enrolled in tutoring have been post-tested.  About 60 students were enrolled in the tutoring program, but post-tests exist for only 15 students.  Pat is looking into the reasons for this.  It could be that the tests are filed away somewhere.  It could be that these students simply weren't post-tested for one reason or another.  It could be a number of reasons, but this number needs to be reconciled.  It doesn't reflect well on the program or make a powerful argument that your tutoring program is kicking butt when you haven't even tested one-third of the students regardless of what gains have been made.  

 

A spreadsheet containing the individual student names with their gains in different areas was created.  The following represents the summary of that data:

  • in word recognition, 8 of 15 students increased by 1 DAR level with one student increasing by 2 levels
  • in oral reading, 8 of 15 students increased by 1 DAR level with one student increasing by 2 levels and another student increasing by 5 levels
  • in spelling, 7 of 15 students increased by 1 DAR level with one student increasing by 2 levels
  • in word meaning, 2 of 15 students increased by 1 DAR level with 2 students increasing by 2 levels 

 

I will continue to work with Pat and help where I can.  The deadline for the tutoring grant isn't until the end of May.  In fact, this year's grant hasn't even been issued / posted yet by the government.  As stated before, the grant is as ready as it can be for a final revision and polishing.  Pat may not be able to dedicate time to this until after our semester is over.  Regardless, I will see this grant through to its submission.

 

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