I could not get the charts to copy from word into my blog so I screen captured them so the would show up.
This will still not show. There appears to be an error in the upload. I will try again with a different method.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
On-line Graphics: NAEP scores
1. When examining the NAEP data for Reading, the percentage of West Virginia students who fail to obtain proficiency is alarming. According to the History or NAEP Participation and Performance, there has been little to no increase in the proficient scores since 1992. In addition, the students at basic score have remained within a five percentage range for the last six testing years, and advanced scores have fluctuated by only one percentage.
This information directly reflects a need for improvement in the area of Reading. It is my recommendation that further investigation take place in improving Reading instruction in our state’s classrooms.
I chose to represent this data with a separated pie chart. I felt this best because of the size difference which could be easily illustrated with the shapes. As seen in the blue portion of the graph below, it’s easy to see the differences. I used the scale of 100 percent, but don’t completely feel comfortable with creating them in excel like I did. I found the table which you use to create it a little confusing, but I realized that it starts with an example and the user has to alter it.
2. When examining the eighth grade reading scores to the national average for the 2007 NAEP testing year I am disappointed, especially as both a parent and teacher that we are not with the national average. The most recent score for West Virginia is 255, much lower than the national score of 261. I would also like to note that this has been low since 2003. I also find it alarming that only one percent of students met advanced levels during this year as well.
As a parent of two children in West Virginia Schools, I wish to encourage officials to examine why this drop in scores has occurred, yet not occurred in the national average. Before 2003, WV was actually higher than the national average. It is obvious that funding to strengthen our reading curriculum needs to be addressed.
The chart below exhibits this concern:
Figure 1 NAEP Scores: WV Eighth Grade Versus National Average
For this activity, I chose to create a dual stack bar graph. I think the scale of just the differences makes the years 2005 and 2007 look dramatically different. Having a 1-261 would not have looked as drastic. Both of my charts were created in Word using Excel. I thought that seeing the two bars together would be most effective in the second example. I do like that Word allows you to see small pictures of the graphs to help decide which to create.
1. When examining the NAEP data for Reading, the percentage of West Virginia students who fail to obtain proficiency is alarming. According to the History or NAEP Participation and Performance, there has been little to no increase in the proficient scores since 1992. In addition, the students at basic score have remained within a five percentage range for the last six testing years, and advanced scores have fluctuated by only one percentage.
This information directly reflects a need for improvement in the area of Reading. It is my recommendation that further investigation take place in improving Reading instruction in our state’s classrooms.
I chose to represent this data with a separated pie chart. I felt this best because of the size difference which could be easily illustrated with the shapes. As seen in the blue portion of the graph below, it’s easy to see the differences. I used the scale of 100 percent, but don’t completely feel comfortable with creating them in excel like I did. I found the table which you use to create it a little confusing, but I realized that it starts with an example and the user has to alter it.
2. When examining the eighth grade reading scores to the national average for the 2007 NAEP testing year I am disappointed, especially as both a parent and teacher that we are not with the national average. The most recent score for West Virginia is 255, much lower than the national score of 261. I would also like to note that this has been low since 2003. I also find it alarming that only one percent of students met advanced levels during this year as well.
As a parent of two children in West Virginia Schools, I wish to encourage officials to examine why this drop in scores has occurred, yet not occurred in the national average. Before 2003, WV was actually higher than the national average. It is obvious that funding to strengthen our reading curriculum needs to be addressed.
The chart below exhibits this concern:
Figure 1 NAEP Scores: WV Eighth Grade Versus National Average
For this activity, I chose to create a dual stack bar graph. I think the scale of just the differences makes the years 2005 and 2007 look dramatically different. Having a 1-261 would not have looked as drastic. Both of my charts were created in Word using Excel. I thought that seeing the two bars together would be most effective in the second example. I do like that Word allows you to see small pictures of the graphs to help decide which to create.
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