The data from my practicum will be very useful as I continue my teacher education. One thing I feel I need to improve on is making sure my pre and post-tests are true measures of the learning. I feel like I should have written my test in a way that would result in more reliable data. However, I did not realize that until well after the unit of study had begun that my test could have been better. At the end, after the post-test, I realized it could have been a lot more thorough. Part of this comes from the fact that this was the first time I had taught this material. I have had very little experience in creating assessment pieces. 

I do think the data I obtained during this work sample is still valuable, however. There were so many things I learned from working with the students that it will only help me as a teacher. I feel that the individual testing I did with students was a lot more valuable than the paper test I gave. The paper test might not have been a true test of their knowledge. With the oral tests I felt I had a very clear understanding if the students grasped the material or not. With the paper tests, there are more variables such as guessing, cheating, and confusion with directions that could all affect the results. I tried to eliminate as many of those variables as possible but some inherant flaws remained in the test itself. The problem was the time it took to administer oral tests to every student. I only had 3 questions to give orally but it still slowed the entire process down. Nevertheless, the data I obtained before the unit was extremely informative as to what I needed to teach the students. For example, I learned that several students could not identify where Oregon was on the map, or even the US. I felt it was a responsibility to teach them that even though it was not a primary objective as I begun the unit. 

I would show student progress by preparing a short report for each student that describes whether or not the students met the predetermined goals. I would discuss the strenghts and weaknesses of the student including reasons they might have fallen short of the goals. If they met or exceeded goals I would be sure to encourage the students to continue to exceed goals or look for some sort of extensions to give them if they are continually exceeded the expectations.