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Abstract
Preface. DDI- Self-assessment and Work Evaluation
My Data-driven Instruction Project included a wealth of knowledge but the reader could get lost
when reading it. As a result, organization and formatting is imperative when creating these kinds
of reports. Organization and formatting is essential in relation to my objective for this
assignment because I want the reader to be able to easily follow the information that include in
this report as every detail is essential to the overall understanding of the report. Organization is
important so the report flows in a way that reader can easily read and decipher the information
presented. Formatting is important so the reader can easily refer back to previous topics or
headings when reading to gain deeper understanding if needed. I want my reader to be able to
read through my data report and visualize my students, the assessments, and results with ease.
That is one reason I included the pre-assessment and post assessment comparison graph on page
13 to give readers a snapshot of the students progress from the pre-assessment to the post-
assessment.
In my project, I should have gone deeper on how the early assessment, pre and post assessments
connect. This is an essential element for the overall goal of my paper because all of the
assessments are used interchangeably to create instruction and lessons for my students.
Therefore, I should have given the reader a very thorough explanation of how and why the
assessments connect. This would illustrate for the reader the importance of why assessments are
administered and thus how we utilize the data from them. My intention for my project would be
for any person who is not familiar with data driven instruction to read my paper and get a clear
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understanding of what I am relating without using outside sources. Therefore, I included clear
and explicit connections on the assessments in my Reflections section.
I. Introduction
I am placed in Kindergarten class at Ellen Smith Elementary School. There are 20 students in the
class, 10 males and 10 females. The students ages range from five years old to six years old.
Over the past few weeks, I have had an opportunity to get to know students from my class on
both a personal and academic level. I am amazed at how different each one of them is and how
much their little minds absorb. By collecting this information I have built a bond with my
students that is built on mutual respect and trust. I also learned the importance of getting to
know my students on an individual basis and how the information that I acquired during this
assignment will help to better create instruction and lessons that can meet each one of their
individual needs. Below are the six students that I have chosen for my DDI project.
Addy
Kenzie
Alexi
NeKya
Madden
Octavio


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Addy is a Caucasian female who lives in the home with her biological mother and father.
She has two older sisters who also attend Ellen Smith. Her father owns his own company which
causes him to work late hours and go out of town regularly. Her mother works late hours a few
times a week and as a result Addy and her sisters are regularly home with a babysitter after
school. Addy is very social, a daydreamer, and gets along well with her classmates.
When Addy started kindergarten she was below standards in many areas. She could only
identify six upper case letters, seven lower case letters, and count to 13 without assistance. She
did not know how to hold a pencil or use scissors. Her two older sisters were low when they
entered kindergarten as well and it is believed that this is due to the fact that they did not attend
preschool. They stayed home with an older female babysitter who did not expose them to many
of the concepts that students need to be exposed to prior to entering Kindergarten. Addy does
not seem comfortable spelling when in a group. She often looks at other peoples boards or
papers when spelling to ensure that she is spelling her words correctly. She has a tendency to
become discouraged when spelling and will stop writing altogether when she becomes too
frustrated. She does not volunteer to spell in front of the class but will volunteer to answer
questions that she knows the answers to. She is normally engaged during carpet time; however, it
can be hard to keep her on task during independent work. She is often the last to finish her work
because she begins to daydream and start talking to her classmates instead of focusing on her
assignment. Addy is a level 2 reader and when reading aloud she reads louder than the other
students when she is confident that what she is reading is correct. When she comes to an
unfamiliar word she guesses and does not use the prompting tools (i.e. make your mouth make
the first sound, sound it out, etc.) she has been taught. She will often look at the teacher when
trying to figure out the word in hopes that someone will tell her the word.
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Kenzie is a Caucasian female who lives in the home with her biological father, mother,
and an older brother. Kenzie is the youngest student in the class. She attended preschool and
receives a lot of support at home from her mother. She is a free spirit, does worry too much
about things and is artistic and creative. She is normally quiet and introverted but expresses
herself through art. She loves to draw and enjoys sharing her drawing and crafts with the class.
She also likes to draw pictures for other people and give them as presents.
Kenzie is on a level 1 or 2 reading level. Kenzie knows 26 upper case letters and 25
lower case letters; she knows the sound identification for all 26 letters of the alphabet. She
knows 18 sight words and all her shapes. She is Approaching Standards in Reading, Writing,
and Math. Kenzies mother is concerned that she may have dyslexia because she spells her
words in reverse and flip flops her letters. She also has trouble with one to one correspondence.
Kenzie receives extra help from the classroom teacher on writing and her teacher sent home a
practice packet for her to work on daily. Kenzie takes a long time to complete her assignments
because she is easily distracted.
Alexis is a Hispanic male who lives with his biological mother and father. He is the only
child; however, his mother is currently pregnant. His mother does not speak any English and
needs a translator when she attends parent/teacher conferences. Alexis is very sensitive and his
feelings are easily hurt. He cries often when a student says something mean to him or he does
not get his way. He is very loving and shows affection to his teacher and friends often. He is
energetic and often jumps or skips instead of walking. He enjoys playing on the computer and
does not like to share. He does not like for students to cut in front of him in line and has no
problems telling on his classmates.
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When Alexis entered kindergarten he did not speak much English and is identified as an
English Language Learner. Alexis is pulled out of the classroom once a week to receive services
for ESOL and has an English Language Acquisition Plan on file. He receives both classroom and
assessment modifications. He is a very fast learner and picks up on many concepts quickly. In
October, he only knew seven sight words and when tested again in December he knew 30 sight
words. He is on a 2 reading level and can recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet both upper and
lower case. He can count to 100, write his numbers up to 10, and can recognize all his shapes.
He is Approaching Standards in Reading and Math and Below Standards in Writing. Alexis has
poor fine motor skills and does not like to cut or write. Sometimes he writes squiggly marks on
the page (for sentences) in hopes that this will suffice and he does not have to write anymore.
But when Alexis receives one on one assistance for writing he does much better. After he
finishes writing correctly he is very proud of his work.
NeKya is an African American female who lives in the home with her biological mother
, step- father and nine month old little sister. Her mother is busy with work (in the home) and
step dad works a lot. Her mother stays home and keeps other kids in the home during the day. It
is believed that her mother is busy with the children from her in home daycare in the morning
and this may be the reason why NeKya is tardy often and misses a lot of school. She is very shy
and has a quiet disposition. During the first weeks of school, she would not respond to her name
being called during the roll or she would prefer whisper it in the teachers ear as opposed to
saying it aloud in front of the class. She often has a sad or solemn look on her face. She does
not volunteer to help, answer questions, etc. in class. She rarely asks for assistance when she
needs it but will stand next to the teacher to be acknowledged instead of requesting help- she
does not demand attention. She loves to do well and to be praised and bragged on but her
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confidence is low. She is very laid back and lets others take charge which makes it easy for
others to run over her but she will stand up for herself sometimes (not often). Her feelings are
easily hurt and little things crush her spirits. She enjoys working with her neighbor, Emerson,
and the two have become very close. She confides in Emerson and normally follows Emersons
lead in the classroom and on the playground but she also gets along well with the other students.
NeKya is on a 4 reading level and is Approaching Standards in both Reading and Math.
She is Meeting/Exceeding Standards in Writing. She can identify all 26 upper case letters and 24
lower case letters. She only knows seven sight words, 18 letter sounds, and can count to 29. She
is approaching in several areas but she is not progressing; it is believed that this is due to the
amount of time she spends away from school. She is very quiet when she starts working in small
groups but will warm up shortly and participate with the others. NeKya is a good writer and
loves to write about her teacher and her mother when doing writing assignments at school. She
enjoys playing in the centers and this is when she normally comes out of her shell.
Madden is a biracial female who lives in the home with her biological father, mother,
and two younger sisters. Maddens father is Filipino and her mother is Caucasian. She is a
mature girl enjoys holding conversations with adults. She is very articulate and not intimidated
by adults or other children. She asks questions regularly and does not hesitate to call an adult out
when she feels they are doing something incorrect. She seems to enjoy challenging adults and is
curious when they do not know the information she is asking. She likes Art and has mentioned
that she practices drawing regularly at home.
Madden can identify all the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet and knows all the
sounds the letters make. She is on a 6 or 8 reading level. When reading, she uses the decoding
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prompts that she was taught to decode unfamiliar texts and does not become frustrated easily.
She knows 41 sight words, all of her shapes and can successfully count to 100. She is
Meeting/Exceeding Standards in all areas (Math, Reading, and Writing). She is a confident
writer and when only one or two sentences are required she will write three or more sentences.
Madden enjoys sharing with the class and is comfortable talking in front of the group. She gets
along with her classmates although there is not one that she normally gravitates to.
Octavio is a male who lives in the home with his biological father, mother, and older
brother. His parents are from India and his grandparents reside in El Salvador. He loves to
learn! He picks up on things very quickly and gets frustrated with his classmates when he tries
to explain new concepts to them and they do not understand what he is explaining. He has a hard
time staying focused and will often talk to his classmates or play when he should be doing his
work. He enjoys playing with his classmates and seems to get along with everyone.
It is believed that he may get bored at times since he is higher than the other students in
his class and this is the reason he becomes off task. It is not uncommon for him to not complete
an assignment because he has lost focus and became engulfed with doing other things. However,
when he focuses on his work he normally completes it correctly and quickly. His print is very
legible and easy to understand. Octavio is on a high 6 or 8 reading group. He can read
unfamiliar words correctly with minimal mistakes. During reading groups, he can read the
assigned book first time through with minimal mistakes and at a rapid pace. He can identify all
26 upper and lower letters of the alphabet, knows all the sounds for the all the letters of the
alphabet, can read 50 sight words, and can count to 100. He knows how to spell more than the
required sight words for kindergarten and can articulate his reasoning on things very well. He is
Meeting/Exceeding Standards in all areas (Math, Reading, and Writing).
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II. Data Analysis
The objectives that I assessed the students on are listed below:
Students will be able to write numbers 0 to 10. (K.CC.3)

Students will be able to recognize that the last number name said tells the number of
objects counted. (K.CC.4b)

It was my intention to test students on their ability to write number digits and number words for
numbers 0 to 10. I also wanted my students to demonstrate counting scattered objects and
recognize that the last number said tells the number of the objects counted. I wanted students to
be able to communicate this number to me verbally, in written digit, and/or written word.
I created a pre-assessment where I would place a card with various number of shamrocks
scattered on it on the ELMO so it will be visible to all students. Students would then count the
number of shamrocks on each card and write that number on their worksheet that I provided for
them. On the worksheet, the students will write the digit for the number of shamrocks on each
card as well as the digit word. This pre assessment was graded on a scale of 0% to 100% with
100% being the highest score a student could get.
II. Pre-assessment Results
For the purpose of consistency, I will refer to grades of 90% and above as mastery level, 70% to
89% as approaching level, and any score of 69% and less as below level. The scores from the
pre-assessment showed that only 33% of the students in the DDI group had previous knowledge
of the skills on a mastery level, 33% of the students were on the approaching level, and 33% of
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the students scored below level. The mean scores for the students in the group was 77%, which
overall was on the approaching level.
From the finding of the pre-assessment data, I was a little surprised that I had 33% of the
students score on the below level. Since the assessments were administered in the third nine
weeks of school I was expecting to have 10% or less students on the below level. Ideally, I did
not want to expect nor have any students on the below level; however, as I was collecting early
assessment data I concluded that I might have a few students score below due to low school
attendance, communication barriers, etc but I was optimistic that we were working through those
obstacles.
Alexis and Kenzie both scored 50% on their assessments. I was not sure if this was because of
the students personalities or due indeed to their lack of skill. Alexis becomes easily frustrated
when he does not know the answer and will quit doing the work altogether and pout. Kenzie is a
daydreamer and would rather draw pictures on her paper than do assignments. Since both
students scored so low, I worked with them one on one using flashcards to help keep them
focused and to increase their understanding of the concepts. And since the average of the
students were on the approaching level, I decided to create a lesson that would not necessarily
explicitly re-teach the skill but create a lesson that would review the concepts, clear up any
confusion, and provide enrichment to the students who were on the mastery level. Teaching
strategies that I used as a result of the pre-assessment was a whole group lesson review. I used
activities that were hands on and fun for the students since emotion increases memory. The
lesson was taught in the morning and due to scheduling (lunch) I waited until the afternoon to
administer the post test.
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III. Post Assessment
Again for the purpose of consistency, I will refer to grades of 90% and above as mastery level,
70% to 89% as approaching level, and any score of 69% and less as below level.
The scores from the post-assessment showed that only 33% of the students in the DDI group
scored on a mastery level, 17% of the students as approaching, and 50% as below. The mean
score for the students in the group was 72% which was still on the mastery level but 5% less than
then the mean score for the pre-assessment. Only 33% of the students showed improvement
while 67% regressed. Both students who showed improvement did so by 6%. The biggest
regression was by NeKya whose score dropped 19 points from the pre assessment to the post
assessment. And Addy showed the least amount of regression, her scores dropped by only 2
points from the pre assessment to the post assessment.
IV. Review of Pre and Post Assessment Data
As a result of the data collected, the strategies I used to re-teach and review the objectives
included was one on one instruction, modeling, collaboration, and hands on activities to teach the
concepts. After reviewing the differences in the pre and post assessments I was a little
discouraged at the low level of improvement from my students. I was concerned that my lesson
plan was a flop and the students did not get the information that I was trying to teach. After
discussing the results of the students pre and post assessments scores and my disappointment
with my mentor teacher she pointed out something to me that I did not realize. She mentioned
that I administered the pre assessment in the classroom. As a result, several students referred to
the number anchor charts in the classroom to help them spell the number words and write the
digits correctly. This should have been a natural reference for many students to refer to because
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they are often encouraged to utilize the charts and posters around the classroom for assistance
when needed. She then mentioned that I administered the post assessment outside of the
classroom where there were no anchor charts or posters for the students
In the future, I will be sure to be more observant of the environment in which I am giving my
assessments, making sure that there are not any items on the walls or around the room that will
assist the students in any way. Based on the improvement of the students who received
individualized help, in the future I will create learning centers that will give my students the
extra practice that they will need with the various concepts and skills taught in the class. I will
also create heterogeneous learning groups where students can work together on the concepts and
learn from each other. In the future I will organize my data in a way that makes it easy to
analyze and interpret. I was able to see the value in this assignment and how the data related to
my students guided the development of my lesson and activities. I understand that teachers are
extremely busy, multi-taskers and having an organized and well thought out system can help
ease some of the stresses that come along with teaching.
Pre Assessment and Post Assessment Chart

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Ne'Kya Addy Alexis Madden Octavio Kenzie
Pre Assessment
Post Assessment
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IV. Reflection
We live in a time when research and data are at our finger tips, literally! As educators we must
understand the importance of research based instruction and best practices. We must also
understand the importance of collecting and applying data to better educate our students.
Currently, research and data go hand and hand while technology makes collecting and analyzing
the data less cumbersome. By collecting early assessment, pre and post assessment data on my
students I learned more about my students as individuals and also learned ways to better teach
them. From the early assessment data that I collected I learned valuable information about the
students home lives as well as their learning styles, motivations to learn, challenges, strengths,
and their personalities outside the classroom. From this information, I attempted to create
lessons and activities that were targeted for each one of my students and their styles of learning.
By creating and administering pre assessments and analyzing the results of the pre assessments, I
was able to determine areas where my students needed the most assistance and create lessons
around those needs. This information also helped me to create individualized instruction which
is more beneficial to students learning than creating lessons based on teachers preference.
After I re-taught the objectives, I administered post assessments to my students. The results of
the post assessment would tell me if my students improved, regressed, or stayed stagnate. It told
me which areas my students had the greatest improvement and which areas they had the least. It
was the ending number to help me effectively measure my students progress. From the results,
I will either teach the concept again, maybe only to a few students who are having a hard time
grasping the concept, or move on to the next objective because my students demonstrated that
they have a thorough understanding of the concept. And from there, the cycle of assessment
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continues to turn- Assess, Teach, Assess, Teach, Assess, Teach and so forth and so on. Early
assessment and pre and post assessments work hand in hand when teaching students and creating
individualized instruction for each one of them. I must pre assess my students in order to know
what to teach them, I must assess them again (post assessment) after I have taught them to make
sure they mastered the content. One assessment is not as effective without the others! Based on
the data, I learned the importance of differentiating instruction for your students if you want
them all to be successful. I learned that you must not only collect data on your students but you
must analyze, interpret, and make it mold your instruction. The data is not as effective if you
only collect it for recording purposes and do not use it to create differentiated instruction that
will be meaningful and beneficial to your students. Differentiating instruction for students is
essential if you want them to be successful. Educators use various instruments to create
differentiated instruction; however, effective teachers utilize data (pre assessment, post
assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment) to guide differentiating
instruction. Effective teachers collect a wide array of data on their students and analyze,
interpret, and use it to construct their instruction. In order for the data to be effective, teachers
must use it to create instruction that will be meaningful and beneficial to all students. Not every
child will progress from lesson to lesson and show improvement on concepts that have been
taught. In fact, some students will regress or stay stagnant. Therefore, it is extremely important
for teachers to continuously monitor and record students progress in order to prevent them from
regression. It was interesting to learn that the only two students who made improvement from
their pre assessment to their post assessment were the only two students that I offered one on one
instruction to. I learned that although Octavio is an extremely smart student that I should not
take that for granted and assume that he will always master what I present to him. He will need
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additional help and guidance in certain areas just like other students. I learned the importance of
a student being in school because when they miss they miss so much. NeKya was in attendance
when we took the pre assessment and she scored on the approaching level with 81%. However,
she was not at school the following week when I taught the lesson and gave the post assessment
and as a result she scored on the below level with 62%. That information that NeKya missed
that day was valuable and important to her progress. The data definitely forced me to look at all
factors of the lesson. The data from the pre assessment encouraged me to teach a lesson that was
not explicit but more like a fun, hands on review.
A strength with my lesson was that the students did extremely well with counting the scattered
objects and writing the corresponding digit. The students were engaged and did extremely well
during the lesson. A strength with the assessment is that it was developmentally appropriate for
my students and the results were easy to interpret and compare.
A weakness with my lesson was that after reviewing the pre assessments and noticing that the
major area where students had trouble was writing the numbers. I should have focused on writing
the number words more than counting the objects and writing the digits since that is where the
weakness lied for majority of the students. A weakness with the assessment was that the pre-
assessment should not have been administered in the classroom or the anchor charts should have
been covered up. Because of this the data for some of the students does not reflect a true
indication of their progress and more time was taken having to readminister the pre test. If I had
to do it again, I definitely would have been more conscious of the environment in which I
administered the test. I would have focused my lesson on the area where the students needed the
greatest amount of practice (writing the word) and simply touched on the other concepts since
most students mastered them. I would have created a center after the post test to reinforce the
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concepts taught and allowed students to practice with them since as I learned regression is a
possibility.
Based on the students results I would conclude that Alexis and Kenzie showed improvement;
however, they were still on the below level. As a result, I would conclude that they need
additional assistance and practice with these concepts. I would focus on this because based on
their results they will make progress with this concept provided they receive instruction
individualized for them. I would also conclude that NeKya would need to work with the
concepts more and for the days that she is not in school, I would need to create a way to make
sure that she still gets the content. Whether it is working with her one on one during center time,
videoing lessons for her to watch when she returns, etc. For the most part, Octavio and Addys
scores did not really change. Although, both of their scores went down it was only by a few
points. Because of this, I feel that they both have the concepts but again they need a little more
practice. However, Maddens scored decreased by 13 points which was alarming to me
considering she is one of the highest students in the class. I would definitely work with Madden
on the concepts to learn the area that she is having with the most and create activities to help her
with this. Based on the overall results, I would give my students more opportunities to practice
writing number words. I would offer this with a game played in whole group, Math centers, and
enrichment activities that they can do at home with an adult or at school with another classmate.
The strategy that I used during this lesson was mostly modeling because this lesson was a review
of a concept the students had already learned. However, I modeled a new activity that we would
do with the concept. Although, the students were familiar with the concept the activities are new
to the students. I also had students use collaboration for this activity because I want my students
to practice working with each other.
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My understanding of data driven instruction was enhanced by this activity because I was able to
demonstrate in the classroom what I was learning in my Assessments course. I collected data on
my students, which in turn taught me more about my students. From the data that I collected I
learned valuable information about their home lives as well as their learning styles, their
motivation to learn and their personalities outside the classroom. From this information, I was
able to create a lesson and activities that was targeted for each student and their styles of
learning. By creating a pre assessment and analyzing the data I was able to determine areas
where my students needed the most assistance and create a lesson around those needs. This
helped me to create individualized instruction which is more beneficial to students learning than
creating lessons based on what I would like to do and what I think is cute. I also learned how to
compare the results from the data and make it meaningful for my class. By this, I mean that I
was able to get a snapshot of my students progress from the data and get a clearer picture of
their understanding of the concepts taught. This is also, good information to keep in the
students portfolios to have as evidence of their progress. After completing this project, I have
much more in depth knowledge of data driven instruction and not only why I should use it
regularly but how I should use it also.