1. Tips for Analyzing the SLA Data Report Fall 2017

2. Agenda How to Access Reports SLA Class Report SLA Individual Report
Interpreting the Data
Questions
Welcome to everyone who joined us today.

3. SLA results are to be used to improve student learning.
Teachers can use them to guide instruction.
Inform students and parents about progress and learning
Select appropriate resources.
Administrators can use the results to support teachers and guide effective instructional practices.

4. How to Access Reports Log in – left margin – Choose Reports
These reports will remain available to you until the end of the school year. You’ll need to have conversations with your admin and district about whether or not these should be archived.

5. At First Glance Correct, partially correct and incorrect
Click on Literacy & Numeracy Tabs to see Class Results
4 ways to sort results > customized view
Correct, partially correct and incorrect
Good assessment practices recommend a shift away from calculating a raw score. It is not necessary to calculate a total from the answers. Look rather at strengths and areas for growth.

6. Alberta Education Summary Report
Available until June 30
Next up, let’s look at all the data that AB ED is providing. I’m starting with class report because if I were in your shoes, that’s where I’d want to start – BIG picture.
Here’s a quick snapshot. The class report is a one page document, but there are a number of features accessible to you. Let’s zoom in…
P.S. I’ll be your tour guide today, but if you forget anything, the Teacher Dashboard offers a simple click-through tour anytime you need it.

7. Difficulty Levels We’re looking at the top half of the report.
1. Note Print button – top right. You will have option to print class and/or individual reports here.
2. Tabs – English Literacy 3 and Numeracy 3
3. Bar graph – this is your class results at a glance. You can see where most of your class performed in relation to the provincial standard.

8. More about Difficulty Levels
The Level Descriptors for Digital Questions are based on the Grade 2 Programs of Study.
They provide an overview of the general characteristics of a student who is working at each Difficulty Level.
The Descriptors and Provincial
Standard were created and
validated by teachers from
across the province.
Imagine spending two days analyzing all of the SLA questions for Literacy and Numeracy and determining where the questions fit on a Difficulty scale of 1 – 5 (5 being hardest).
The Difficulty Level definitions can be printed out.

9. Difficulty Levels Back to the report.
Bar graph – If you click on each of the bars, you will see the names of your students. At a glance, you can see who is at the standard, above and below.
This might help you identify working groups for students – those who need additional challenge, those who need interventions, etc. But that will be discussed during the next webinar…

10. How the class performed on each question
Let’s look at the bottom half of the class report. This graph breaks down each question and you can see how many students got the answer correct, partially correct or incorrect.
Three key things you can do with this graph to manipulate the data in a way this is meaningful for you:
1. Use the SORT BY menu: there are 4 different ways to sort data and recreate this graph.
2. If you click on a coloured section, you’ll see a descriptor of the question (level of difficulty, related otucomes and how your class did).
3. If you click on the pop-up descriptor, you’ll see the actual question. Next, I’ll show you what that looks like…

11. Click on a question...
If you look at the top of a question card – what do you notice? All the students listed according to their answers… You’ll also notice the difficulty level of the question. This page shows you the exact question students were given and related curriculum outcomes are listed below.

12. Why are some questions “Partially Correct”?
Sample Literacy Question
Partially scored questions ensure that students who understand or know part of the answer are given credit for what they can do. Teachers can analyze a student’s response on a partially scored question to determine the student’s strengths and areas for improvement. In literacy, the partially scored questions often have literal answers and answers that require deeper understanding. Think about answers that are found within the text, beyond the text or are asked about the text. Knowing how far students can extend their thinking can be valuable information.

13. Sample Numeracy Question
In numeracy, the partially scored questions often have more than 1 part to the question. They can be the steps that lead to the correct solution or parts of a solution. A student may do well on part of the solution but may not be successful on the more challenging part of the question.
65% of the items on the test are partially-scored (First time provincial tests can do this.)

14. Class Report
Any questions about the Class Report? Next up is the Individual Student Report…

15. Student Report Things to note:
Top right – Vizirov, Kamila – pull down menu – full class list – one way to navigate through the data
Literacy and Numeracy Tabs are located on the left of your screen
Green diagram in the center – the white dot tells you where Kamila is at in relation to Provincial Standard and you can clearly see the the Difficulty Level (notice the definition)she is performing at. This is probably the most helpful info to share with parents.
Teacher’s Comment – optional, can keep comments private
Top right - Print button, choose to print with or without teacher comments
On the bottom of the screen, you see Kamila’s Assessment Details – you can sort these

16. Let’s look at bottom half of individual student report…
Visualize question cards. How do you want to lay them out on the table? Correct answers at the top? By outcome?

17. Student Report How can the Sort by feature be used effectively?
Here are the Sort by options…
Allow me to explain Literacy Elements (LKUs): this is a new way of sorting Literacy outcomes. Literacy and Numeracy Components and Elements have recently been authorized by Alberta Education. All future Program of Study will be categorized using these elements …

18. Student Report How can the Customized view feature be used effectively?
Second sorting option: For example, outcomes then response OR outcomes then difficulty level

19. Questions
Details are shared one question at a time. You can click on the card to see a student’s response, the answer key, and additional information.
If you click on a question card, you’ll see this…you have to toggle between Jane’s response and the answer key.
This is helpful for close analysis, ideally for students you really need to learn more about.

20. Sharing with Parents
AB ED states that SLA results are to be shared with parents. How you do that is a local decision at your school/district.
Recommend that you print off the first page of the individual student report.

21. Interpreting the Data www.padlet.com/erlc/sla3
We have posted a number of resources on a padlet (webpage) for teachers to access:
It includes ideas for planning interventions once you have identified which students need further supports in particular skills.
What teachers have found most valuable in past years were the charts we designed that sorted the curriculum outcomes by Literacy and Numeracy elements. Teachers were able to see all outcomes for Grades 2 and 3 as well as outcomes that were actually tested on this year’s SLA. Alongside outcomes, teachers were able to list students who appeared to need support in particular elements.

22. Further Support Stay online and ask questions.
Contact your regional consortia office.
If you are in the Edmonton area, you are invited to participate in a Collaborative Marking session on Oct 27 at ERLC, Elmwood School, Edmonton. This session is open to both ELA and FLA teachers. Register at
Make note of the next webinar in this series… Vicki Glass and Marian Biggins will guide you through how to aggregate the data and interpret student performance as well as generate some ideas for sharing SLA results with parents.