A Comparison of 9th and 10th Grade Geometry Performance at Pocahontas County High (circa 2003)

 

A Comparison of 9th and 10th Grade Geometry Performance at Pocahontas County High

The sources offer a detailed look at the Geometry performance of 9th and 10th grade students at Pocahontas County High School, specifically in relation to national averages. While neither grade level excelled in Geometry, 10th-grade performance was generally worse than 9th grade across various geometrical skills.

Here's a closer examination:

• Geometry from a Synthetic Perspective:

  • 9th Grade: No data is available.
  • 10th Grade: Students struggled considerably in this area. They showed deficits in using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of an unknown side of a triangle (-19 points), deducing the measure of an angle in a polygon from given assumptions (-14 points), finding the area of a closed figure within a closed figure (-10 points), and finding measures of corresponding parts of similar figures (-7 points). They also exhibited a slight deficit in deducing the length of a side of a polygon from given assumptions (-4 points). However, they showed improvement in determining the relation between parallel lines and transversals, scoring 3 points above the national average.
  • Comparison: The lack of 9th-grade data makes direct comparison impossible. However, the significant deficits in 10th grade suggest a considerable gap in understanding fundamental geometric concepts from a synthetic perspective.

• Geometry from an Algebraic Perspective:

  • 9th Grade: Data is available for specific skills within this category. Students demonstrated strength in finding the circumference of a circle (+4 points), finding the midpoint of a segment (+8 points), finding the area of the rectangle or triangle (+10 points), and identifying the coordinates of a transformation (+17 points). They did not perform as well when asked to find the dimensions of a polygon, scoring 13 points below the national average.
  • 10th Grade: Students struggled in this area as well. They showed deficits in finding the circumference of a circle (-4 points), finding the area of the rectangle or triangle (-7 points), and identifying the coordinates of a transformation (-1 point). However, they showed some strength in finding the midpoint of a segment (+4 points) and finding the dimensions of a polygon (+12 points).
  • Comparison: Interestingly, 9th graders outperformed 10th graders in most skills related to an algebraic perspective of Geometry, especially in finding the circumference of a circle and the area of a rectangle or triangle. However, both grades struggled with finding the dimensions of a polygon, suggesting a common area of difficulty.

Overall, the data suggests that students at Pocahontas County High School have significant room for improvement in Geometry. The decline in performance from 9th to 10th grade is concerning and warrants a deeper investigation into the curriculum and instructional methods to address the gaps in understanding fundamental geometrical concepts. (circa 2003)