Assignment #2

Case Study:

Impacts of Assessment,

Modification & Instruction

Lovette Nwanyanwu

260536302

Faculty of Education

Classroom-Based Evaluation in Elementary School EDEE 355-004

Teresa Germano Saucier

Due: Monday, November 16th, 2015

For this case study, I’ve chosen to observe an eleven year old male student. For reasons

of confidentiality, he will be called Andrew Orwell throughout this paper. I chose to observe

Andrew because throughout this stage, his actions and ways of being have helped me

contextualize some of the theory that I’ve been reading about in my psychology classes, in

relation to students with behavioural difficulties. This student is known in the school for his

behaviour issues and, I believe, is sometimes stigmatized by them. I, however, have grown to

like him very much because working with him has helped me understand his ways of being. This

does not mean that I necessarily agree with some of his actions, but I’ve taken the time to

understand the reason behind his behaviour.

When I thought about choosing Andrew for the purpose of the assignment, my

cooperating teacher (C.T.) gave me some insights into his life at home and his history. In

addition to the information I gathered from my C.T., I also got details from some of the talk I

heard in the hallways, staff room, and from Andrew, himself. For example, when a teacher asked

me if I’m enjoying my field experience, she also asked how I like teaching the grade six

students, and specifically about my feelings about Andrew. Another example that I will mention

is when Andrew came into class one day saying that he slept over at a friend’s (a peer in the

class) house and ate six whole slices of pizza. He enthusiastically bragged on the fact. When my

C.T. recounted the story to another staff member, she mentioned that he does not know better

because it’s the way he’s raised. When referring to Andrew’s parents, they’re often described as

somewhat tough beings. Andrew’s parents are not very involved in his performance at school.

Andrew Orwell is a very interesting student. He puts on a cold front, but is extremely

weak, both, emotionally and academically. He is on an I.E.P. and modified for all sub-categories

in language arts, mathematics, and French, including oral language, reading, writing, situational

problems, and reasoning. Andrew is a person that often refers to himself in third person; his real

last name starts with the letter G, so he calls himself Andrew G, putting much emphasis on the

G. I’ve never discussed this with this student, but I think he is trying to appear tough because I

know gangsters refer to themselves as Gs for short.  Admittedly, at first impression, I was biased

in my view of Andrew because of the warnings I had received from the school staff. However,

there was an interesting occurrence that led me to realize Andrew’s weakness. The first time I

worked with Andrew along with three other students outside of the classroom, he undermined

my authority. It occurred during a test where the students were all seated together at one of the

tables in the library. I had asked them repeatedly to be quiet while taking the test. After seeing

that they were ignoring my request, I asked Andrew to move to another table. At this moment, he

asked why and continued telling me he doesn’t want to move because he’s comfortable and all

sorts of reasons. I decided that I wasn’t going to argue with him and if he didn’t want to listen, I

told him to go back to class where my C.T. worked with the remainder of the class. He, then,

said “how come you always move me, why does it have to be me?” I, then, said, “this is my first

time working with you, I’ve never moved you before.” Despite the fact that Andrew was doing

most of the talking and being disruptive, I realized that although I should not argue with or take

any back-talk from a student, Andrew was right. Although I really haven’t ever moved him

before, I thought about all the times that he had been moved, whether it be at home or in

previous grades. Those words: “how come you always move me, why does it have to be me?”

really stuck with me. It was what happened after that completely changed my mind about

Andrew. I let him stay put where he was and didn’t tell the teacher what happened after. Right

there in the library, he put up his hand and asked me for help, and then later on in the classroom

he asked for my help again. He held no grudge against me despite the whole situation. This

showed me that Andrew is more than his behaviour. He needs guidance, support, and evidence

that he can be successful.  

Andrew’s Portfolio Samples

Below are samples of Andrew’s responses on a unit we covered on the novel Loser by

Jerry Spinelli. Throughout the unit, the students were asked to answer reflection questions on the

events that occur throughout the chapters in the book. The students were not penalized for

spelling errors; however, if they showed a lack of effort in terms of quantity, quality, spelling

and punctuation, some points were deducted. In these samples of Andrew’s work, he was not

penalized for neither spelling nor punctuation. He was assessed based on his ability to make

connections from the text.

I chose to show these samples because it displays the progression of Andrew’s work

habits since September, 2015. This evidence shows Andrew’s improvement in his ability to

reflect on the text. His improvement is clear to see if the questions on chapters 10 and 11 are

omitted because the task for those two chapters are comprehension-based questions instead of

reflection questions (despite what the Rubrics says; See Appendix A for the list of assigned

questions).

Two weeks before the final comprehension test for the novel, the students were given the

task to answer questions that tested their comprehension rather than their ability to reflect. For

this task, the students were asked to monitor punctuation. We wanted the students to write full,

complete sentences. We explained to them that their answers should use parts of the initial

question. For example: Why did the children wish for a snow day? The children wished for a

snow day because .....(they did not want to go to school or they could build a snowman). The

mainstream students had 0.5 points deducted for using lower case letters for proper names and/or

not capitalizing the first letter of each of their sentences. 0.5 points were also deducted for not

writing full, complete sentences:

I chose to show this sample of comprehension questions because, although Andrew’s

overall grade on the assignment wasn’t high, it shows his improvement in sentence structure,

punctuation and neatness in his work. This also proves (along with his grade for chapters 10 and

11) that Andrew may be struggling with reading comprehension. He told me that he read far

ahead, past the pace that the class was reading it. This may have been a factor that influenced his

performance on the task because he could of easily forgot what he read and did not want to go

back and read to answer the questions correctly. Another factor that I considered is that he was

pressured by the amount of questions that were assigned. Perhaps, he could have received a more

promising result if he had fewer questions to answer because he would have had more time and

felt less pressure. Nonetheless, we did adapt the way we assessed the students with I.E.P.s (the

adapted and modified students). We gave them a grade out of the amount of questions that they

completed instead of the total of 41. If a mainstream student only completed 26 questions, they

would still be marked out of 41 questions; whereas a student with an I.E.P would be marked out

of 26.

The following is Andrew’s Novel Study test. I chose to include this because it shows that

differentiation can really have an extremely positive effect on students with special educational

needs. Despite Andrew’s previous struggles with reading comprehension during this novel study,

he has successfully reflected his comprehension in the final test. The test, unlike many of the

other assignments/tasks given was modified to his level. He was, therefore, able to experience

what success and achievement feels like, which is extremely important for students like

Andrew. I’ve also included the original version of the test to show how it was modified to

Andrew’s level. In addition, Andrew was not penalized for the spelling errors throughout his test;

instead, misspelled words were underlined.

Other Samples of Andrew’s Work: (Outside of the Loser novel study unit)

The following is a sample of Andrew’s Multiple Intelligence Quiz. I chose to include this

because making modifications and differentiating for students means learning about their

learning styles. This test was given to all of the students at the beginning of the school year. It

shows that Andrew has levels of intelligence in all areas, but specifically verbal, kinesthetic and

interpersonal.

The following is a sample of Andrew’s work from a lesson that we did making iMovies.

For this assignment, Andrew worked in a group. I thought it was a good sample to include

because it shows the ways in which group work can have a positive effect on students with

special needs. We haven’t reviewed the actual video yet, but this is the storyboard that the movie

would follow. On the Book Trailer Script, the students worked together to come up with a script.

Notably, compared to his previous samples, Andrew distributed fewer spelling errors throughout

the trailer script. An explanation for this could be that all the students in the group had to write

the same script. For the Book Trailer Storyboard part, Andrew had to copy pieces from the script

and put them in a box that had a picture associated with it. In this process, Andrew misspells

many of the words that he had previously written properly. For example, he calls Mia Mil, he

misses the ‘l’ in Malibu, he misspells two (tow), planned (plannend), and middle (maddl).

Nonetheless, this was an assignment that Andrew enjoyed partaking in. Perhaps this is because it

involved moving around, working in a group setting, and using technology.   

The following sample demonstrates the difficulty that Andrew has with spelling. The

assignment was to take the original piece of writing (See Appendix A) and make it more

interesting. The story was to stay the same, but the students were supposed to add on, or use

more interesting verbs and adjectives to strengthen the piece. Although the original piece was

right before him, Andrew still seemed to misspell many of the words in his writing. From the

parts that he added to the original piece, many of the words are illegible. However, if you ask

Andrew to read the paper to you, he will read it without any problems. Thus, this helped me to

realize that he really is unaware of the errors in his work. I chose to include this piece because it

shows that Andrew may be rushing through his work and/or unaware of his errors. For example,

England is spelled correctly in the title and incorrectly in his second line. This shows that his

work is either rushed or that he doesn’t apply knowledge from one context to another.

The following is a sample that I chose to include because it is a subject that Andrew

enjoys and demonstrates much strength in. He loves Ethics & Religious Culture lessons. This

may be because of his high interpersonal skills. I’ve also included his overall evaluation for

E.R.C. in term one because I think it is important for Andrew to experience academic success.

For the Top Secret Quiz assignment, Andrew received a grade of 4 out of 5. He answered all of

the multiple choice questions correctly. For the short answer section, his answer was a little

brief; however, he still received a decent grade for his effort. He could have elaborated more to

gain the extra point. A student without an I.E.P. would have probably received a grade of 3 for

an answer as short in quantity as Andrew’s.  

Lastly, I’ve chosen to include these last two samples because they are samples that

Andrew would’ve been proud to present in his portfolio. These are pieces that he would’ve

chosen because he enjoyed participating in them, and was proud of the final product. He views

himself as a weak artist, but was proud of these two works in which he had to design a frame (for

a Cinquain poem about the novel Loser) and draw a picture to represent the events in an article

that he chose to read on Remembrance Day.

For this term, Andrew has improved academically compared to his learning level in the

beginning of the school year. Andrew has friends in his class that he sees making efforts to

succeed in school. Therefore, Andrew is influenced by his friends to make those same efforts. He

is very concerned about his reputation. He wants to maintain a ‘tough guy’ approach, but he is

starting to notice that having good behaviour in class does not interfere with “the look” he is

trying to portray. I know this because, in the beginning of the school year, Andrew refused the

modified work that we tried to give to him. No matter how difficult the regular work was, he

tried doing it, even if it was all incorrect. He feared being different from his peers. I know that

Andrew is progressing because he, now, accepts the modified work given to him. In addition, he

has also changed the way in which he views himself. Andrew used to be a student who

constantly called himself stupid, although he would hurt someone if they were to call him it or

any other insulting word. Now, Andrew no longer calls himself stupid. Through accepting the

modified work, Andrew has demonstrated his ability to go beyond thinking about how others

perceive him (having different work), and is, therefore, an active agent who is more in control of

his own learning. This is an important feature in his learning process because although teachers

can create the conditions for learning, the student “ultimately decide[s] whether they feel capable

of learning and whether they will do the work” (Chappuis, 2005, p. 39).

Moreover, I recommend that anyone working with Andrew should try to know him as a

student and as a person. Becoming his friend is out of the option, but he is a delicate person that

needs a positive relationship with his teacher; he needs to know that he has someone on his side

who has faith in him. Andrew is very dependant; he will ask for help before even reading a

question/task. However, I believe his dependence is a call for attention. Andrew is a student that

is smarter than he thinks he is. He will ask a question and then answer it by himself. He needs to

say it aloud for it to contextualize. He will ask, “Ms. what does this mean?” All I would say is

“what do you think it means?” Then, he will say the answer and I will nod. He will, then, give

me a smile and say “ohh.” That same smile is what gives me hope in Andrew’s academic

performance. It tells me that he enjoys learning and is starting to believe in himself.

The recommendations that I would make in terms of modifications for Andrew is that

everything should be modified to accommodate his learning needs. I’ve learned this the difficult

way. The work as well as the assessments should be modified. For many of the samples I’ve

given, Andrew had the same workload as the other students in the class. Although I modified the

way he was evaluated for these tasks, I’ve noticed that Andrew has to see a chance for success,

himself, before actually even trying to succeed. He may have looked at those 41 questions for

chapters 18 - 25 of Loser and felt discouraged because he thinks it is way too much and he won’t

be able to get half of them right anyway. For this reason, he might have rushed to get it done so

that he could do something else. I would also recommend providing Andrew with positive

feedback. Students who feel incapable need that sense of motivation to know that their teachers

see their possibilities. Expectations should be clear and discussed with every assignment so that

he knows what is expected, and can set goals to achieve those objectives. However, the goals

should focus on one aspect at a time to make it manageable and achievable (Chappuis, 2005).

This way, Andrew can see his own potential for success that McTighe and O’Connor (2005)

explain in their article on practices for effective learning. To start off, I would focus on goals that

will help achieve reading comprehension. This can be done through guided reading of short story

book, and then followed by comprehension questions. Eventually, Andrew will become more

competent and move on to bigger books with time. Also, I would recommend going over

revision practices, so that Andrew can maybe recognize a few of his errors on his own. Self-

assessment would be a useful strategy for Andrew. If he could see that a student portfolio is not

something that one just builds, reflecting on his portfolio can help Andrew see his strengths,

weaknesses, and how he has grown as a learner. His reflection will allow him to “experience and

understand [his] own improvement over time, and begin to sense that success is in the reach if

[he] keep[s] trying” (Stiggins, 2007, p. 44). Through this reflection, Andrew can also use the

feedback given from each assessment sample to discover where he is now in relation to where he

wants to be, and determine or set goals to bridge the gap (Chappuis, 2005).

To conclude, I think that modification of both instruction and assessment is crucial to

help the academic development of students with special educational needs because these students

need to have proof that they can be successful in their endeavors. As educators, we need to

understand the differences between modification and adaptations and how to do each of them

effectively. We need to monitor the effects of these strategies on our students’ success. On that

same note, we shouldn’t solely modify in order to make the students feel successful;

modifications and adaptations should be just as purposeful as they are in any given lesson,

having goals and objectives. If the task is too easy, then it should be remodified to become more

challenging to accommodate the student’s academic level in a given subject matter. We need to

understand that “students’ knowledge, understanding, and skill[s] [emerge] along different time

continuums and at different depths” and, therefore, “differentiation isn’t just an option; it’s the

logical next step in teaching” (Tomlinson, 2007, p. 3).

The most important observation that I’ve learned from this case study is that performing a

case study is an insightful journey. In terms of assessment, I’ve put theory into practice by

realizing that assessment should be for learning, rather than of learning (Tomlinson, 2007). I’ve

learned that a grade is just that, a grade: “[t]o address the full range of identified learning goals,

school teams need to analyze multiple sources of data, examining a “photo album” of assessment

evidence instead of looking only at the snapshot provided by a single test” (McTighe & Thomas,

2003, p. 53). It does not necessarily explain anything to anyone looking at the number alone. A

letter or number grade is more of a means to an end than an end in itself. Assessment should be

an ongoing guide to inform both teaching and learning (Tomlinson, 2007). This is what I will

extract for submission into my professional portfolio. In a staff meeting, in the school where I’m

completing my third stage, the principal expressed an interesting fact to the teachers who were

concerned about angry parents after report cards are sent home. The principal said that some

parents are only concerned with the grade and not the process or progress of their child. A parent

can come in and say that they are unsatisfied with the grade that their child got on their report

card. A teacher can show them evidence of the student’s work and explain the student’s strengths

as well as weaknesses; however, some parents will still be dissatisfied. He said parents don’t

realize that even if the teacher could change the grade to make it 85 or even 100, the student still

would not understand how to use the mathematical concept of multiplication properly,

comprehend written text, spell correctly, or whatever the case be. From this point forward, I will

think about this little speech every time I assess my students. This informs my teaching and

influences they ways in which I define assessment. Knowing that learning is about the process

rather than a letter grade can be beneficial knowledge to all the other Andrew Orwell’s out there

in the world.     

APPENDIX A

Loser by Jerry Spinelli Questions:

Loser by Jerry Spinelli: Reflection Questions Chapters 1 - 3

1. Is there someone in grade 6 that you haven’t connected with? Why do you think you haven’t connected with them?

2. If you met someone who was socially unaware like Zinkoff is in the book, would you approach this person? Why or why not?

3. Have you ever felt invisible or ignored? Explain.

Chapter 5Miss Meeks says the number of days we are required to be in school is 180 days per year. You have 6 years left before you graduate. How many school days do you have left? What would you like to become after you graduate? Why?

Chapter 6If you witnessed a situation like what happened to Zinkoff during recess, what would you do and why? If you wouldn’t do anything, explain why not.

Chapter 7We know that Zinkoff is somewhat different from his peers. Describe some things that he does well or some good attributes that he demonstrates.

Chapter 8 You’re the author! Write a paragraph of at least five sentences about how the story may unfold in the next few chapters. Be creative!!

Chapters 10  & 11

1. What does Zinkoff say that insults Mrs. Biswell?2. What word does Mrs. Biswell use to describe Zinkoff’s seat?3. How do the other students try to get Zinkoff in trouble?4. How do the students know when Mrs. Biswell is angry?5. What does Mrs. Biswell find atrocious? What does she have a weakness for?6. Why can’t Zinkoff go to Take Your Kid to Work Day?7. What does literally mean?8. Since there is no mail on Sunday, what does Zinkoff do instead? 9. What does Zinkoff try to do as he delivers mail to each house?

Chapter 15 List four major differences between Zinkoff’s fourth year in school and his previous years.

Chapter 16 Which type of bullying do you think has the most negative effect: verbal, physical or both? Explain.

Loser by Jerry Spinelli: Comprehension Questions

Chapter 18

1. Who is Zinkoff's "best friend"?2. What does Zinkoff's "best friend" collect?3. What does Zinkoff try to do when he tells Hector Binns that he makes great

snickerdoodle cookies?4. What does Hector Binns want to accomplish with the object he collects?

Chapter 19

1. What is the meaning of the word surge?2. What does the author mean when he describes the bubblegum in Zinkoff's pockets as

petrified?3. What is the meaning of the word appoint?4. What word does Hector Binns never say?5. Why does Zinkoff share everything except his bed with Hector Binns?

Chapter 20

1. What does Zinkoff achieve that makes him extremely overwhelmed with excitement?2. What is Zinkoff's favourite subject?3. What is the meaning of the word gaudy?4. What is the meaning of the term 'account for'?5. What does Zinkoff do to train for Field Day?6. What is the meaning of the word prominence?7. What is the meaning of the word harp in the sentence: ...listening to Polly harp at him....?8. What is the meaning of the word veer?9. Where does Zinkoff go on Field Day?

Chapter 21

1. What is the meaning of the word deliberate?2. What does it mean when someone says something matter-of-factly?3. What is the meaning of the word divert?4. What does it mean to feel uneasy?

Chapter 22

1. Which team won on Field Day?2. Who are Zinkoff’s favourite teachers?3. What is “You’ll Never Walk Alone”?4. What number has Zinkoff never forgotten?5. What is the meaning of the word modest? (pg. 158)6. What is the meaning of the word boisterous? (pg. 158)7. What is a synonym for the word flail? (pg. 160)

Chapter 23

1. What is the meaning of the word frolic? (pg. 161)2. Why doesn’t Zinkoff like playing with Polly?3. What is the meaning of the word trounce? (pg. 162)4. What is the meaning of the word decapitate? (pg. 163)5. Who does Zinkoff recognize in middle school, and what’s that person’s new name?6. Why does Zinkoff have to drop all the clubs except Library Helpers?7. What sport does Zinkoff like when he’s in middle school?

Chapter 24

1. Why do the students pray for a Snow Day?2. Why are the “front steps and car hoods scraped clean as fast as the flakes can fall”? (pg.

172)3. What is the meaning of the word ricochet? (pg. 173)

Chapter 25

1. How does Zinkoff “stitch” the sidewalks together?2. What is the meaning of the adjective ‘flushed’? (pg. 178)

Writing Assignment of My Trip to England:

My Trip to England

     My parents and I went on a trip to England.  We went on the plane at 5:00 am in the morning. I was tired but happy to be going. The flight was bumpy and the food was bad. When we got to England it was dark and rainy. We found a taxi and it brought us to our hotel. The hotel was small and old, but the people were nice. They had a funny way of talking and it was kind of hard to understand.  They called the elevator, “the lift”.

    The next day we visited many places. We saw the place where the Queen of England lives, called the Palace of Westminster.  It had tall guards in front of the palace and they had funny hats on their heads. Next we visited Big Ben. It is a very tall clock and people from all around can see it. My favourite place to visit was The London Eye. The London Eye is a huge ferris wheel. It is one of the biggest in the whole world. It was so scary when we reached the top. I loved every minute of it! It’s too bad that my mom was covering her eyes the whole time and missed it all.   

I was sorry to leave England. I had such a good time and I would like to go back one day soon.

References

Chappuis, J. (2005). Helping students understand assessment. Educational Leadership, 63(3),

39-43.

McTighe, J., & O’Connor, K. (2005). Seven practices for effective learning. Educational

Leadership, 63(3), 10-17.

McTighe, J., & Thomas, R. S. (2003). Backward design for forward action. Educational

Leadership, 60(5), 52-55.

Stiggins, R. (2007). Assessment through the student’s eyes. Educational Leadership, 64(8), 22-

26.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2007). Learning to love assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 8-13.