Running head: ACTION RESEARCH REPORT 1

Action Research Report

Raven Redmond-Johnson

University of Southern Mississippi

ACTION RESEARCH REPORT 2

Abstract

This is a summary of a small-scale action research report conducted in my Spanish I classroom

over a two-week period. In this paper, I consider ways to improve summative assessment, or

general test, scores in a particular class of native English speakers. I begin my exploring ways in

which this class may differ from other classes and consider whether or not these have a bearing

on the students’ academic performance. After brainstorming and researching contributing factors

of low test-scores, I begin to formulate a plan to boost these scores. The plan is tailor-made for

this specific class, but it has details which are transferable to any class, be it foreign or second

language classes or content-area classes. The plan greatly improved test scores and students

reported that although it was a lot of work, it was satisfying and they felt more confident in their

speaking abilities in a foreign language.

Keywords: f​ ormative assessment, summative assessment, exam, test, traditional testing,

nontraditional testing, alternative testing, foreign language classroom, Spanish classroom

Problem Formation
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Research shows that students often become self-fulfilling prophecies: Students ​become

who ​they​ think ​you​ think they ​are.​ This entire school year, I have met with discouragement time

and again because of overall performance in my third period class. The students have high

potential but all too often do not live up to it. Students attend my class from 9:38 a.m. until 11:30

a.m. They are novice level learners of Spanish as a foreign language; their native tongue is

English. Students have had no prior experience in learning a foreign language, and are all in

grades 10-12. When presented with this project, I immediately pondered over this particular

class. For months since receiving this assignment, I have been pondering ways to improve

individuals’ academic performance in my class, and this project has allowed me to proactively

do so. The factor that suffered the most was test scores. Over half of the students in this class

habitually failed tests and I needed to research how to change that.

Question formulation

Specifically, I am researching this question: What can be done to improve test scores in

this class? I chose test scores since these exams are often the summative assessments that

showcase what students grasp and failed to grasp in the classroom for a particular unit or units.

Test scores would also be a viable option since tests are taken every two weeks in my classroom,

and I could examine student growth from the last test to this one.

Wright (2009) tells of a project where community members and school faculty came

together to write a curriculum and test scores were dramatically improved. He recounts:

The new curriculum makes “teaching for the test” a regular classroom activity—that is,

teachers provide students with the cognitive tools needed to do well without resorting to

teaching the actual test questions (Crocker 2003). A positive finding from that effort
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suggests that teachers who feel ownership for a curriculum revision are more motivated

in their teaching and have students who achieve more (Kristoback and Wright 2001)

(p.120).

In other words, if I found that strictly following the curriculum or pacing guide does not

adequately prepare my students for my tests, then I should alter it. I test students with

communicative competence in mind, so I surmised that if I targeted the preparatory measures for

exams, or the general curriculum, that overall academic performance would propel. Thus, I

concluded that having activities during class that better adhere to or have a semblance of the

actual test would improve majority test scores.

Developing a Plan for Intervention

In order to improve test scores, I decided to implement several rounds of improvements

within the classroom. The first step in this process was to notify students that I wanted to help

them. This helped me to build a rapport with the students and to build trust. Trust is essential in

student-teacher relationships; Teachers must trust students to rise to expectations within the

classroom, and students must trust the educator to guide them to success and to have confidence

in their ability to succeed. It is quite amazing what students can do when they believe in

themselves and when they sincerely feel that others believe in them, also. Educators must also

realize that the way that groups are acculturated into society impacts their level of trust.

Therefore, teachers do well to peer into student backgrounds and experiences to better

understand what factors affect their learning experience and consequently their performance on

tests.
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The best way to understand a student is to look back at the environment in which they

were primarily socialized​—​within the family. I use a forum called ​Remind 101 t​ o share updates

and resources with guardians and family members. After speaking with both students and

parents, I found some material information about home environments. Many parents within the

community that I teach work during the day and do not return until late in the evening or night

when students are sleeping. They thus have little input on their daily school life. Other students

had been removed from their homes by social workers, and I needed to get updated guardian

information. Some students even lived primarily alone! As a result of work schedules and child

placement, parental involvement in school-life was at an all-time low. This means that students

had access to fewer or no resources if they were not yet driving or if they did not have their own

income. Mahuro and Hungi (2016) cite,“If the students are to reap the maximum benefits in their

schooling, they must enjoy parental support. In all spheres of learning, there is substantial

research evidence that involvement of parents in their children’s schooling gives a positive effect

on their learning outcomes (Desforges & Abouchaar,​ ​2003​; Rafiq, Fatima, Sohail, Saleem, &

Khan,​ ​2013​).”(p.2). There is reason to believe, then, that without parental support, learning

outcomes are adversely affected. They had less motivation at home to study or to complete

homework. There was nothing I could do about student home life, but it did give me some

insight that helped me in formulating a more personal action plan. Since students did not prepare

for tests outside of the classroom, and many reported not knowing ​how ​to study, I would need to

provide students with incentives other than grades and with studying techniques.

After looking at other possible contributing factors to the lower performance of this class

in comparison to other classes, I found a dire need to keep my class on task. Since this class is
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my largest, I often have students struggling for individual attention. Some students are often

genuinely interested in the topic at hand, and other students want me to interact with them on

other topics. I began to notice that I sometimes allow myself to veer off topic; this, in turn, would

distract the class as a whole. I told them that for the next few weeks I would made a conscious

effort not to be distracted or thus be a distracting agent for them. The one thing that disruptive

students had in common was that they did not have bad intentions; they were simply distracted

and wanted my attention. I decided that their exams should be ways for them to have friendly

and academic competition for that very purpose.

In doing honest self-evaluation, I deduced that my rapport with this class was not as

strong as with other classes. At the beginning of the year, due to a lack of teachers, counselors

had simply started placing students in already overpopulated classrooms. My class was one of

such classes, and I had not even enough desks for every student to sit in. I had asked that

students who did not need Spanish to fulfill a graduation requirement transfer to other

classrooms. That is the point where many students began to tune me out. I had allowed many to

perhaps misinterpret my frustration with class size and administration as blatant disregard for

them and their needs. It is said that students do not care how much you know until they know

how much you care. Deiro (2003) notes that “teacher-student relationships are formed to

promote learning and academic growth within students. Relationships formed for the purpose of

affecting change in one party are called ​influential​ relationships” (p.60). To form influential

relationships and to simultaneously rebuild trust, my students had to first had to believe that I

cared. The mind looks for supporting evidence of that which it wants to believe, so if I wanted

them to believe that I cared, I had to show them evidence. I could not simply note an issue and
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not plan to do anything about it. Students would need to see my sincerity in collaborating with

them to improve their test scores in order to meet me halfway.

When discussing what students perceived as caring, Deiro went on to say that “treating

children with dignity means honoring their position and their abilities, and seeing them as worthy

of esteem. Treating children with respect means showing regard for their basic human right to

expression and believing in their growing abilities to manage their own lives successfully.

Respect requires listening and sincerely considering what children are saying...Reciprocity is

key. Teachers who believe that students have reciprocal rights use their power respectfully and

ethically” (p.61). I decided to dignify my students by letting them know that I did not think their

underperformance was due to a lack of ability, rather I concentrated on how I had failed them as

a teacher. Instead of viewing this class as the lowest-performing, I sought to determine how my

teaching practices differed in this class from others. In order to do this, I began to actively

monitor my teaching habits during this class period. ​What influenced how I taught? Did I allow

myself to be sidetracked or interrupted? Was I keeping student learning abilities and differences

in mind? What makes this class different from other classes?​ I resolved to treat them with

respect by giving them some say on the details of their testing situations. I listened to pertinent

comments that they made regarding the reasons they made mistakes or errors on tests, comments

which gave me cognizance of how to better create tests.

Teachers with high internal locus of control take responsibility for the education of their

students. Instead of simply asking why my students were not performing, I focused on my own

shortcomings and how these had perhaps negatively affected students in this particular class. I

sought answers to the question of how my actions were different in this class as opposed to
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others. In pondering over how I could accept responsibility for the performance and the

improvement thereof in my class, I realized that I had never asked my students themselves how

they learned best. I simply made assumptions based on the limited data that I had from

observations in the foreign-language class. Thus, I needed to devise a means to get student input

on how they learned best during class activities in preparation for the test.

One research study (Simonova, 2016) questioned if “there exists any correlation between

individual learning styles and assessment preferences, particularly what the preferred ways (i.e.

assessment formats) are through which learners of different learning styles can prove their

knowledge to maximum extent” (p. 143). Although it was concluded that more studies needed to

be conducted as follow-ups for more longitudinal results, the researcher, of course, found that

when personality types, like introvert or extrovert, were factored into the types of assessments

given in foreign/second language classrooms, students tended to perform better. For instance,

one test allowed introverts to use online gaming, where their identities remained anonymous, to

practice the language in real time. Therefore, I needed to consider student preferences when

making tests.

Accordingly, I also needed to create activities closer to the structure of the test. Though I

tried to make tests practical application tests, students disclosed that they were confused when

the tests looked different from the activities that they were used to in class. Farnsworth (2013)

reports:

Research has shown that modest score gains can be expected from focused test coaching

activities (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, & Kulik, ​1983​; Koretz, ​2008​; Power, ​1993​)...One
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question which prior research has yet to address is whether task type, or test method, is a

variable influencing the effectiveness of targeted coaching (p. 148, 149).

Therefore, rather than focusing solely on function, to help students to use the language for

various practical functions, I could reach this goal by merging form and function; I could match

the form of the tests to the form of the activities while maintaining a common function for both.

Yet another method that I used to begin helping this particular class was taking note of

the errors that they made, correcting them by imparting metalinguistic knowledge, and

formulating ways to assess them in advance to prepare them for the upcoming summative

assessments. In an article focused on how second language teachers mediate to implement

dynamic assessment (DA), Davin, Herazo, and Sagre (2016) found that “learners’ errors in the

L2 classroom offer one window into their instructional needs and provide the teacher with an

opportunity to mediate” (p.142). Dynamic assessment is assessment that seeks to accentuate

student abilities and potential. The authors of the aforementioned study go on to say:

To make this process easier, students´ learning preferences should be accommodated

(Šimonová, Poulová, 2012). Therefore teachers take efforts to adjust the learning process

to individual learner´s needs and preferences, which mostly means various types study

materials and sources of information are provided to the learners, various activities are

conducted to help them fix the new knowledge and apply it successfully in practice

(Šimonová, 2013; Šimonová, 2015) (p.143).

They found that teachers who mediated by means of DA and took into account student

preference soared past students who did not. Since students often complained about the tests as
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opposed to class activities, I needed to begin creating assessments that magnified student

abilities.

But, what types of materials and sorts of information best prepared students for exams in

a foreign language classroom? The answer to that question would perhaps make all the

difference. The type of resources I had been using were mostly those that catered to speakers of

other languages, primarily English speakers. I needed more authentic sources. Nikitina (2011)

suggests,

Theatrical activities are widely used by language educators to promote and facilitate

language learning. Involving students in production of their own video or a short movie

in the target language allows a seamless fusion of language learning, art, and popular

culture. The activity is also conducive for creating an authentic learning situation where

the real world becomes a part of the educational experience and necessitates the use of an

authentic language by the learners (p.33).

This was a perfect way to inculcate authentic sources into my classroom, and I had something

prepared that fit all the credentials.

Data Gathering

I collected some data via ​Remind 101​ by speaking with parents and asking why they

thought students were not succeeding. I also hypothesized based on personal observations.

However, I used three ​main​ methods to gather data. The first method was to analyze and extract

data from previous assessments. I looked back at the types of questions that students tended to

miss; students usually skipped short answer questions. Even if they knew the answer, since the

test was written in more formal language, they assumed that the question was too “hard” to
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answer. Students were also confused by multiple choice options that were similar in nature. For

instance, when testing on numbers over 100, students were confused by the answer choices

setecientos quince a​ nd ​setentacientos quince f​ or 715.

The next type of data that informed my action plan was student interviews within class.

Students expressed that they were confused by words in directions like ​may ​or ​can a​ s polite

markers and preferred words like ​should ​and ​must f​ or clarity. They also were discontented with

the fact that the tests took the whole class period or that their own class period was not enough

time to finish at the pace they worked. Students reported that they would rather have a shorter

test every two weeks as opposed to a longer test every two weeks.

In harmony with Simonova’s (2016) research on assessment preferences, in order to

assess how students best learned and how they preferred to learn, I gave students a learning style

inventory survey (Appendix A). There was no anonymity; students provided their names. What I

found was contrary to what I had actually believed. I had thought that most of the students in this

class were kinesthetic learners, and that I had to prepare more activities that required them to get

out of their seats; I was wrong. Approximately 88% of my students were visual learners.

Students mainly wanted someone to demonstrate before they tried on their own. They preferred

that I talk less and show more. They needed color and visual imagery to liven up lessons. Thus, I

not only needed to provide more examples during enrichment but I needed to change the normal

dynamic of the test. Students needed to see something different from the usual written test.

Analyzing and Reflecting on the Data/Plan for Action

After I informed students of my desire to help boost their grades, I immediately

implemented weekly participation points to give them grades for things that they did well, like
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their oral participation in the target language. Any student that participated regularly throughout

the class got the points and this boosted their desires to interact in class. More involved students

in the learning stage equated to better retaining of metalinguistic information and communicative

competence. I hypothesized that this would also mean better performance on tests since they

would be more engaged. I found that I was right. I also started to make more jokes during this

class period. We laughed more; I relaxed more. I no longer dreaded seeing these students; I

focused on helping them. I considered student preference when formulating their next summative

assessment to show them that I had been listening to their suggestions. Students had asked for

take-home tests. This next assessment was something they could take their time with at home for

the next two weeks and be as creative as they liked. They could redo it as many times as they

felt comfortable. It was their first big presentation, but not in front an audience yet. I first wanted

to acclimate them to presenting in a foreign language in the comforts of their own homes.

The topic for the next two weeks was weather. In addition to having students actively

engage in lessons by providing incentives, I did not depend on students to take immaculate notes.

Some students tended to write in shorthand and later, they could not understand what they had

written. Other students who understood ways to use grammar pieces in real time did not see a

need to write down certain examples and later needed them. I thus provided handouts as study

materials so that every student had access to the same information in conjunction with their own

notes. To ensure that they were retaining the information, we related words like ​frío t​ o ​freon ​and

​ as related to ​burning calories,​ so that they would remember it as the word for
freeze. Calor w

heat. We used some phrases out of necessity so often, like ​hay sol,​ that students had no trouble
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remembering them. Students were good at speaking aloud with coaching and working through

their knowledge aloud, so that is what their next exam required them to demonstrate.

Once I had discovered by means of the learning style inventory that students were visual

learners, my next task was to determine if I was using tests for the appropriate function and if my

formats fulfilled that function. In order to determine the type of tests which best fit this class, I

needed to consider what a test ​was. ​Brown and Abeywickrama (2010) define a test as “a method

of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain” (p.3). Since a

test is a method, I needed to closely examine by what explicit means I was measuring student

ability and decide whether or not it was effective. The printed paper tests that I had been issuing

with multiple-choice, short-answer, and fill-in-the-blank questions for three nine-weeks had not

been working. Students needed a change from their normal dynamic for in-class activities and

for exams. For the weather unit, I showed students an authentic Mexican weather forecast

(Appendix C). They first listened at a slower rate with Spanish captions and then at regular

speed. We paused the video to match new terminology with familiar concepts and to find phrases

that they had written in their notes. I then showed students some examples of student forecasts

modeled after the authentic one (Appendix C). After showing them several examples, I told

students that they would have the task of creating a weather forecast video during the next two

weeks (Appendix B). This project would serve as their summative assessment on this unit. It

would also allow them to compete for my attention in a healthy way and in a way that was

on-task.

I next needed to ensure that my tests only measured a specific domain and that I was not

inadvertently testing too many domains at once. I tended to measure general student ability most
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of the time, so I made a goal of targeting specific competencies so that I could develop each

more thoroughly. This nine weeks was purely about learning to express ideas, to speak. The test

and activities used for preparation thereof needed to more closely align with the domain I wanted

to assess. Thus, for this nine weeks, I wanted students to become comfortable beginning to speak

extemporaneously, but naturally, communicating ideas aloud instead of on paper first. Every day

for the next two weeks, we used weather applications on our phones to talk about the weather

conditions for the day and night, the current temperature, the high, and the low. We combined it

with other Spanish phrases they had learned, used time expressions to talk about the hourly

forecast, and learned other events mentioned on weather forecasts besides weather so that they

could incorporate these into their own forecasts. We completed a read-aloud activity where

students matched a picture to an in-depth weather description. We talked about how it felt

outside as compared to the forecast.

Since tests measure individual performance, I had to keep in mind individual differences

when creating a test. Thus, I decided that I needed to make sure that I was differentiating test

instructions so that the test matched individual student abilities. I made sure that I validated

student answers during class discussions about the weather and natural disasters and asked for

insight on those that I did not understand. I realized that each person constructs metalinguistic

meaning differently because they bring to the table different literacy levels, life experiences,

educational experiences, prior knowledge, and emotional investment. I wanted to assess every

student’s abilities and formulate their personalized assessment requirements. For mainstream

students, weather reports needed (1) a greeting and an introduction, (2) the day and date, (3)

weather conditions for the day, (4) current temperature, (5) the high, (6) the low, (7) night time
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conditions, (8) and a conclusion. Videos were initially to be at least three minutes long, but I was

lenient as long as all the requirements were met. About five of my students needed modified

instructions. I allowed them to complete only steps one through four and step eight. I relaxed

standards like semi-formal dress since many students reported not having dress shirts, slacks, or

business-wear. I allowed for as much creativity as possible, as long as the basic requirements

were met and as long as students were presenting. Some said that they would use smart tvs to

cast PowerPoints or Prezis. Others said that they would use posters or tri-fold boards. Some used

overlay video applications for creative backgrounds like motion weather backgrounds and

​ tudents were allowed to work alone or

weather maps. Still others used applications like ​Clips. S

in pairs. Individual students were allowed to do a 5-day forecast. Students who worked in pairs

had to do 7-day forecasts. Students who needed modifications only needed to do four days. I also

extended the due date twice. I was able to differentiate along several different domains for this

test.

After learning that many students did not see their parents at the end of school days, I

decided that I needed to give students in-class time to begin and to continue work on their

projects. This required me to extend myself vigorously. Each day, during the second half of

class, I would help students to use circumlocution to express themselves in ways they already

knew for their forecasts or to use new phrases. I made sure that students with extracurricular

activities finished their scripts in class, also. I researched creative ideas that they could use for

backgrounds and weather displays and allowed them to use their mobile devices to do the same. I

shared video editing applications, which they were already familiar with from programs like
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Flipagram ​and ​Instagram. ​I gave students library time, and all students had smartphones.

Students had access to all resources needed to complete this project.

I measured student progress with a rubric (Appendix B). I gave points for several

different aspects, but I told students that I was looking for naturalness and attempts to convey

ideas, or communicate. Even if they struggled in speaking, I wanted to see them attempt to make

meaning. At the end of their two week period, I found that the majority of my students had

completed their project. There was not one person who had not started at all; only a few reported

needing a few more days. Everyone’s script had been completed. 100% of my students could

discuss weather in Spanish in at least a few sentences (Appendix C). My research and action plan

definitely worked! I am beyond proud of their dedication and industriousness and that I had the

opportunity to collaborate with them.

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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Appendix C

Authentic Spanish weather forecast: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJhVTG-AFqg&t=41s

Example project video forecast for students: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkfIOlTkWTw

Two of my students’ projects: ​https://youtu.be/-px_qN7LoVc

References
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Brown, D. & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom

Practices (2nd Ed.). New York: Pearson Longman.

Deiro, J. A. (2003). Do Your Students Know You Care? ​Educational Leadership,​ ​60(​ 6), 60.

Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.lynx.lib.usm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9212

477&site=ehost-live

Farnsworth, Tim. (2013). Effects of Targeted Test Preparation on Scores of Two Tests of Oral

English as a Second Language. ​TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to

Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect,​ ​47(​ 1),

148-155.

Mahuro, G. M., & Hungi, N. (2016). Parental participation improves student academic

achievement: A case of Iganga and Mayuge districts in Uganda. ​Cogent Education,​ ​3(​ 1),

1264170. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1264170

Nikitina, L. larisa. nikitina@gmail. co. (2011). Creating an Authentic Learning Environment in

the Foreign Language Classroom. ​International Journal of Instruction,​ ​4(​ 1), 33–46.

Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.lynx.lib.usm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=6972

6558&site=ehost-live

Simonova, I. (2016). Assessment preferences and learning styles in ESP, ​Journal of Language

and Cultural Education​, ​4​(3), 142-153. doi:​ ​https://doi.org/10.1515/jolace-2016-0029

Wright, R. J. (2009). Methods for Improving Test Scores: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Kappa Delta Pi Record​, ​45​(3), 116–121. Retrieved from

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http://search.ebscohost.com.lynx.lib.usm.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=5080

58141&site=ehost-live