Description:

The data in this analysis of student learning was collected from Kallie Covey’s 6th grade Language
Arts classes at Dublin Middle School in Pulaski, Virginia. The following analysis includes data from all
three of Kallie Covey’s classes. These classes were taught by both Kallie Covey and Thomas Ordway. A
total of 55 students were assessed from these classes. Six of these 55 students were taken out of this
assessment for being absent for an extended period around the times of either one of the pre or post
assessments.

This assessed unit section referred to in this analysis covers a two week stretch of lessons that
covered figurative language devices. My in-class activities geared towards student identification and
implementation of figurative language devices included multiple types of writing exercises and storying
writing as well as competitive activities such as trashketball to engage students in memorizing and using
figurative language tools. The goals of this portion of unit included:

1. Students will be able to understand the difference between figurative and literal language
2. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of simile
3. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of metaphor
4. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of hyperbole
5. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of alliteration
6. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of personification
7. Students will be able to identify, define, and create examples of onomatopoeia
8. Students will be able to analyze and interpret various types of figurative language used within
poetry and other texts.
9. Students will be able to write a story/narrative given a prompt
10. Students will be able to vocally present a summary of a text they’ve read
11. Students will be able to vocally discuss the purpose of figurative language devices used in a text.

The assessments consisted of an identical pre and post assessment that consisted of seven fill-in-
the-blank questions that had a word bank and 8 multiple choice questions with four possible choices.

Analysis of Test Results:

Question 1 – 15.0% of students answered this question correctly on onomatopoeia on the pre-test,
75.5% of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 403% gain.

Question 2 – 20.8% of students answered this question correctly on metaphor on the pre-test, 90.6% of
students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 335% gain.

Question 3 – 34.0% of students answered this question correctly on simile on the pre-test, 84.9% of
students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 150% gain.

Question 4 – 30.2% of students answered this question correctly on alliteration on the pre-test, 81.1%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 168% gain.

Question 5 – 13.2% of students answered this question correctly on hyperbole on the pre-test, 77.4% of
students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 486% gain.
Question 6 – 45.3% of students answered this question correctly on personification on the pre-test,
94.3% of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 108% gain.

Question 7 – 18.9% of students answered this question correctly on figurative language on the pre-test,
71.7% of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 279% gain.

Question 8 – 41.5% of students answered this question correctly on personification on the pre-test,
90.6% of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 118% gain.

Question 9 – 47.2% of students answered this question correctly on alliteration on the pre-test, 69.8%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 47.9% gain.

Question 10 – 28.2% of students answered this question correctly on hyperbole on the pre-test, 84.9%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 201% gain.

Question 11 – 24.5% of students answered this question correctly on metaphor on the pre-test, 67.9%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 177% gain.

Question 12 – 34.0% of students answered this question correctly on simile on the pre-test, 77.4% of
students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 128% gain.

Question 13 – 41.5% of students answered this question correctly on alliteration on the pre-test, 86.8%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 206% gain.

Question 14 – 30.2% of students answered this question correctly on metaphor on the pre-test, 92.5%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 206% gain.

Question 15 – 26.4% of students answered this question correctly on hyperbole on the pre-test, 88.7%
of students answered it correctly on the post-test, showing a 236% gain.

Demographics:

Average Score by Block

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Block 1 Avg Block 2 Avg Block 3 Avg

Pre-Test Post-Test
 Pre/Post Test Average by Gender
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre-Test Post Test

Male Scores Female Scores

Pre/Post Test Average by Race/Ethnicity

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Pre-Test Post-Test

Caucasian African American

 Individual Score Differences
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
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20
10
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49

Pre-Test Post-Test

Reflection:

Much to the confusion of my cooperating teacher, my students had, according to my pre-test,

retained very little knowledge from elementary school regarding figurative language devices. It seems
that my unit’s lesson plan had an extremely positive effect on student learning as the average percent of
growth per student was 300%. This was only possible due to the extremely low pre-test scores I got.

From this analysis, I’ve been able to see how great the effect of keeping students engaged in
activities that they enjoy can have on learning. Many students who tend to linger at the bottom of the
class showed great engagement and growth in this portion of my unit plan, I think, because they were
able to enjoy the activities that I prepared for them and because I was able to keep their attention. I’ve
also learned that consistently encouraging students to try harder and to make more of an effort
ultimately makes them more confident and this showed in many students scores.

If I was able to do anything different in this analysis, I would have given my students short
answer questions, asking them to create their own examples of certain figurative language devices. This
way, I’m able to test my students’ ability to not only identify and define figurative language devices but
also their ability to use figurative language devices.