Week 3 Action Research Plan

Topic: How does performing ongoing informal assessments help to increase student achievement of students performing below grade level.

August-September 2010: I will research the benefits of informal assessments in improving achievement in students performing below grade level. Google information on informal assessments and find articles in educational journals. Notes will be taken from research

September-October 2010: Observe informal assessments taking place in a classroom setting by an upper grade teacher volunteer. Observations will take place several times. Observational notes will be taken and documented.

September-October 2010: After observations are done, I will conduct an interview with the volunteer teacher to find out how he/she feels informal assessments are beneficial in the classroom as well as how they are used to drive instruction and form small groups. Interview notes will be taken for evaluation.

October 2010-April 2011: The site supervisor, volunteer teacher, and I will come up with a tracking system to use to follow the class' progress throughout the year. The tracking system will be used to evaluate the benefits of ongoing informal assessments.

October 2010-April 2011: I will meet with the classroom teacher periodically to review student progress on the ongoing informal assessments. Assessment data will be taken and updated on the tracking system.

May 2011: At the end of the year, my site supervisor, the classroom teacher, and I will look at the cumulative data and focus on the progress made by those students that were performing belwo grade level. The tracking system will show the collection of assessment data and show whether or not progress was made throughout the year.