Experimental Test Samlping of School Skills--Cross Grade

 

 The sources provide data for reading and math skills, including LOC scores, which allows for a comparison between the two subject areas. Here's an analysis:

Grade 1:

• Reading Comprehension:
  • The LOC scores for "Short passage comprehension/interpretive" and "Short passage comprehension/literal" are 58 and 57, respectively.
  • The LOC score for "Sentence comprehension/cloze" is 88 and "Sentence comprehension" is 90.
• Math Problem Solving:
  • LOC scores in this area range from 35 to 94. Some notable scores include: "Match place value models to numerals" (85), "Complete geometric patterns" (86), "Estimating length with nonstandard measures" (94), and "Compare numbers to 100" (85). Lower scores include "Identify expanded notation" (35) and "Reading time" (38).
• Math Procedures:
  • LOC scores in this area range from 19 to 85. Some notable scores are "Computation/addition" (85), "Computation/subtraction" (60) and "Computation/three-digit subtraction" (19).
• Comparison:
  • In Grade 1, LOC scores for reading comprehension skills are generally higher than math LOC scores, particularly in comparison to Math Procedures scores. The LOC scores for "Sentence comprehension" (90) and "Sentence comprehension/cloze" (88) are among the highest for all skills in grade 1.
  • Math Problem Solving LOC scores show a wider range than Reading Comprehension LOC scores. Some problem-solving skills, such as "Estimating length with nonstandard measures" (94) and "Read and interpret tables" (82) are higher than the reading comprehension scores; and other problem-solving skills, like "Identify expanded notation" (35), are lower.
  • Math Procedures LOC scores are generally lower than both reading comprehension LOC scores and math problem-solving scores, with some notable exceptions such as "Computation/addition" (80).

Grade 2:

• Reading Comprehension:
  • LOC scores for "Literary classification" are 50. "Predict outcome" is 70. "Literal information" is 63, "Inferential comprehension" is 50, "Literal comprehension" is 75, "Interpret information" is 67, "Determine main idea" is 70, and "Determine sequence" is 70.
• Math Problem Solving:
• LOC scores range from 0 to 100. Some notable scores include "Identify congruent figures" (100), "Read a pictograph" (100) and "Identify place value" (100). Lower scores include "Identify components of figures" (0), "Find a date on a calendar" (60), "Identify appropriate unit" (20).
• Math Procedures:
  • LOC scores range from 53 to 97. Some notable scores are "Missing addend" (80), "Addition" (97), "Two-digit subtraction with regrouping" (53), "Two-digit addition" (90) and "Three-digit addition" (87).
• Comparison:
  • In Grade 2, LOC scores for reading comprehension are generally lower than those in math, particularly math problem solving.
  • Math Problem Solving LOC scores show a wide range with some very high scores and very low scores.
  • Math Procedures LOC scores show a narrower range than both reading comprehension and math problem-solving scores.

Grade 3:

• Reading Comprehension:
  • In the Functional category, the LOC scores are "Make an inference" (43), "Determine title" (43), "Identify source of information" (43), "Sequence" (50), "Literal" (53), "Evaluating" (43), and "Predict" (71).
  • In the Recreational category, the LOC scores are "Determine title" (43), "Identify main idea/theme" (57), "Literal" (79), "Sequence" (64), "Determine reasons" (68), "Make an inference" (66), and "Analyze support" (64).
  • In the Textual category, the LOC scores are "Use context clues" (50), "Identify source of information" (21), "Apply reading strategy" (57), "Analyze author's purpose" (45), "Analyze author's viewpoint" (71) and "Literal" (36).
• Math Problem Solving:
  • The LOC scores in this area vary significantly from 0-100. Some high scores include "Identify a fraction model that is part of a whole" (100) and "Make predictions from a sampling" (79).
• Math Procedures:
  • The LOC scores here vary from 36-93. There are high scores in "Addition" (93) and "Multiplication" (78) but low scores in "Computation in context/subtraction of decimals with regrouping" (43).
• Comparison:
  • In Grade 3, LOC scores for reading comprehension are variable and tend to be lower than Math scores.
  • Math Problem Solving LOC scores show a wide range with some very high scores and some very low scores, and tend to be higher than math procedures scores.
  • Math Procedures LOC scores tend to be more consistent and slightly higher than reading comprehension LOC scores.

Grade 4:

• Reading Comprehension:
  • In the Functional category, the LOC scores include "Make an inference" (87), "Draw conclusions" (67), "Determine reasons" (90), "Analyze author's purpose" (90), "Literal" (88), and "Analyze fact and opinion" (80).
  • In the Recreational category, LOC scores include "Analyze support" (80), "Classify fiction and non-fiction stories" (90), "Identify setting" (100), "Predict" (90), "Identify main idea/theme" (83), "Identify prereading strategy" (60), "Determine reasons" (90), "Identify mood" (90), "Draw conclusions" (100), "Literal" (100), and "Sequence" (85).
  • In the Textual category, the LOC scores are "Determine title" (75), "Analyze support" (80), "Scan passage for key words" (70), "Literal" (93), "Use context clues" (75), "Make an inference" (90), "Determine reasons" (60), "Skin passage for overview" (60), "Draw conclusions" (80), "Analyze author's purpose" (90), "Analyze author's viewpoint" (90), and "Analyze structure" (80).
• Math Problem Solving:
  • LOC scores range from 0 to 100, with some high scores like "Identify equivalent expressions that represent the identity element for multipli" (100).
• Math Procedures:
  • LOC scores range from 40 to 100, with a high score for "Computation/addition" (80), and a low score for "Computation in context/multiplication and subtraction of whole numbers" (40).
• Comparison:
  • In Grade 4, the LOC scores in reading comprehension are more varied and tend to be higher than Math LOC scores, which show a broader range in Problem Solving and more consistency in Procedures.
  • Math Problem Solving LOC scores show a wide range with very high scores and lower scores, while math procedures are somewhat more consistent.
  • The range of LOC scores in Math Procedures is narrower than Reading Comprehension, with less variability overall.

Grade 5:

• Reading Comprehension:
  • In the Functional category, the LOC scores range from 14 to 86.
  • In the Recreational category, the LOC scores range from 29 to 100.
  • In the Textual category, the LOC scores range from 14 to 86.
• Math Problem Solving:
  • LOC scores in this area are widely varied from 29-100.
• Math Procedures:
  • LOC scores are also varied in this area, ranging from 14-100.
• Comparison:
  • The LOC scores in reading comprehension tend to be more variable than the math scores, with a wide range in all three sub-categories (Functional, Recreational, and Textual).
  • Math Problem Solving LOC scores and Math Procedures LOC scores both demonstrate a wide range with no clear trend of one being higher or more consistent than the other.

General Observations:

• Variability: LOC scores in math problem solving tend to show more variability across all grades compared to other categories, suggesting diverse strengths and weaknesses in problem-solving abilities.
• Grade Level Trends:
  • In early grades (1 and 2), reading comprehension LOC scores tend to be higher or comparable to math LOC scores, particularly in math procedures.
  • By Grade 3, math LOC scores tend to be comparable and occasionally higher than reading comprehension LOC scores.
  • By Grade 4, reading LOC scores tend to be higher than math scores.
  • In Grade 5, the reading and math LOC scores are more variable and have a less clear pattern.
• Skill-Specific Trends:
  • In math, there appears to be a consistent strength in skills related to geometry, and data representation and interpretation, and weaknesses in areas like computation in a problem-solving context and specific math procedures such as "three-digit subtraction".
  • In reading, the skills related to literal comprehension, making inferences and analyzing author's purpose show variability across grade levels, with particular weakness in the lower grades.

In conclusion, the relationship between LOC scores in reading and math varies across grade levels and specific skills, and demonstrates the variable patterns of student strengths and weaknesses across these skill domains.

Note:  This is an experimental sampling of test data circa 2003.  Errors may be present.