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Language Arts Inquiry Teams
Department VFO - Improving Constructed Responses
March 22, 2010
On March 1, in response to student answers on Acuity Predictives, the ELA Department conducted professional development focused on improving constructed responses. Teachers noticed that on the Predictives, students had one or both of the following deficiencies:
- students did not choose appropriate text support
- students did not explain the significance of the references they made
In response to these problems, it was suggested that teachers direct students to use sentence starters such as:
- This excerpt shows...
- These words reveal...
- This action suggests...
- This quote implies...
- This statement conveys...
The use of these sentence starters should help many students:
- explain their text support properly; and
- ensure that their text support is relevant: if the support is irrelevant, students would not be able to complete the sentence starters
VFO Update
October 2, 2009
The ELA Department has been working diligently to determine our Vital Few Outcomes (VFOs) based on last year's and previous years' ELA tests. We first determined and defined a number to represent proficiency. If 67% of a student population answered a multiple-choice question correctly, we deemed that population proficient.
After examining 2008-2009 ELA test results, we pinpointed the following standards as those for which we most often did not meet proficiency:
- Recognize how the author's use of language creates images or feelings
- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, and structural analysis
- Determine how the use and meaning of literary devices convey the author's message or intent
- Evaluate the validity and accuracy of information, ideas, themes, opinions, and experiences in text to evaluate example, details, or reasons used to support ideas
We then kept the standards for which we did not meet proficiency for two years in a row:
Recognize how the author's use of language creates images or feelings- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, and structural analysis
- Determine how the use and meaning of literary devices convey the author's message or intent
- Evaluate the validity and accuracy of information, ideas, themes, opinions, and experiences in text to evaluate example, details, or reasons used to support ideas
We then kept the standards for which we did not meet proficiency on all three grade levels:
Recognize how the author's use of language creates images or feelings- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, and structural analysis
- Determine how the use and meaning of literary devices convey the author's message or intent
Evaluate the validity and accuracy of information, ideas, themes, opinions, and experiences in text to evaluate example, details, or reasons used to support ideas
The two VFOs we will focus upon are:
- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues, a dictionary, a glossary, and structural analysis
- Determine how the use and meaning of literary devices convey the author's message or intent
To address these VFOs, we plan to:
- Infuse vocabulary instruction into all units
- Transition from single figurative-language units to figurative-language instruction in all units
We also plan to incorporate strategies and principles presented by Inquiry Team IIs focus on figurative language.
Inquiry Team II - Focus on Figurative Language
October 2, 2009
From December 2008 - April 2009, Inquiry Team II focused on its first group of students:
- 12 7th-grade students scoring lower than 25% on figurative language questions on 2008 ELA
- Figurative language definition
- Figurative language understanding
Data analysis showed that students improved from 41% overall on the Pre-test to 71% overall
on the Post-test.
Analysis of the 2009 ELA test showed that the Inquiry students outperformed the 7th grade students as a whole:
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Question 11
Figurative Language Definition
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Question 23
Figurative Language Understanding |
% Correct
7th Grade
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50% |
73% |
% Correct
Inquiry Team II Students |
83% |
83% |
Due to the student success on Post-Test and the ELA, the Team suggests that teachers apply the following principles to their classes:
- Spend more time on topics and standards to help ensure student understanding
- Constantly review past topics
to reinforce understanding
- Utilize a variety of activities to address different learning styles
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