Interpretion Guide with Scoring Rubrics – Teaching Algebra Conceptually, University of Otago, New Zealand

How do I interpret the diagnostic test information?

An interpretation guide with scoring rubrics was developed by the research team to help teachers make specific judgments about what strategies and knowledge students are demonstrating in the four diagnostic tests. Teachers can then used these judgments to make changes to their planning and interactions with students. The interpretation guide uses ideas from the algebra learning model to help teachers make specific judgments about what strategies and knowledge students need to learn next and what they should emphasise in their planning.

Scoring rubrics help teachers classify students’ strategies used for solving equations and more specific knowledge about generalised numbers, relationships and prerequisite knowledge. The scoring rubrics have been written in an easy-to-use way. The scoring rubrics look very similar to the diagnostic test and follow the test questions in order. The scoring rubrics contain information about the types of responses to expect from students and how to score those responses. To interpret the scores, teachers will be required to consider several test questions at the same time. Combining the scores of several questions will show teachers the level of mastery students demonstrate about a particular problem solving strategy or knowledge topic.

Templates have been designed and provided for teachers to record, summarise, and interpret the class set of information generated by the diagnostic tests.