WGU D179 Task 2 |Latest Update with Complete
Solution
A. Problem..Statement
For..several..years,..our..high..school..has..noticed..a..consistent..struggle..among..ju
niors..and..seniors..when..it..comes..to..the..math..section..of..the..ACT.. . Even..thoug
h..the..district..has..tried..to..align..the..curriculum..to..the..ACT..and..offer..ACT..prepar
ation..resources,..our..students'..average..math..scores..still..fall..below..both..the..sta
te..and..national..averages.. . Lower..than..average..math..scores..do..not..just..affect..
test..results,..it..has..real..consequences..for..students..when..it..comes..to..college..a
dmittance..and..scholarship..opportunities.
A..big..part..of..the..issue..seems..to..be..that..what’s..being..taught..in..class..doesn’t..fu
lly..match..the..areas..of..focus..on..the..ACT,..especially..in..algebra..and..data..analysi
s...On..top..of..that,..students..who..are..falling..behind..aren’t..always..getting..access..
to..the..kind..of..targeted..support..they..need..to..catch..up.. . Since..our..district..collect
s..ACT..data..twice..a..year..and..has..kept..these..records..over..many..years,..we’re..i
n..a..strong..position..to..analyze..the..numbers,..figure..out..exactly..where..the..gaps..
are,..and..use..that..information..to..make..improvements.
B. Existing..Data
To..better..understand..this..issue,..I’ll..be..analyzing..ACT..Math..data..from..the..past.
.five..school..years...Here’s..what..that..includes:
• General..Characteristics/Demographics:..The..data..includes..all..eleventh..an
d..twelfth..graders..in..our..high..school,..which..is..about..120..students..each..year...It
..also..includes..details..like..race,..gender,..socioeconomic..status(based..on..free/r
educed..lunch),..and..English..language..proficiency.
, • Timeliness..Of..The..Data:..The..ACT..data..is..updated..twice..a..year,..after..the..
fall..and..spring..testing..dates...This..means..having..access..to..up-to-
date..academic..information.
• Type..Of..Data:..The..data..we..analyze..includes..quantitative..data..(ACT..scale..
scores,..subscore..breakdowns)..and..categorical..data..(demographics,..participatio
n..in..intervention..programs).
• Instrument..Used..To..Collect..The..Data:. . The..data..comes..directly..from..offic
ial..ACT..score..reports..sent..to..the..district.
• How..The..Data..Are..Relevant..To..The..Problem:. . This..data..is..directly..tied.
.to..ACT..score..results...It..helps..us..to..see..how..students..have..been..doing..over
..time,..compare..groups,..and..spot..patterns...That..gives..us..a..solid..foundation..f
or..finding..what..needs..to..be..changed.
C. Summary..of..Data..Analysis..Results
• The. . Method..Used..to..Analyze..the..Data:..I..used..Microsoft..Excel..to..look..at..t
he..data..over..five..years...I..paid..special..attention..to..subscores..in..algebra,..geo
metry,..and..data..interpretation..and..broke..data..down..by..student..groups..to..see
..who..was..most..impacted.
• A. . Description..of..Analyzed..Data..Results:..The..average..ACT..score..across..fi
ve..years..was..17.3,..with..only..slight..changes..from..year..to..year...Students..from
..low-
..income..backgrounds..consistently..scored..lower..(around..15.8)..than..those..not.
.in..that..group..(about..18.9)...The..algebra..and..functions..subgroups..were..the..m
ost..challenging..areas,..with..fewer..than..30%..of..students..meeting..the..college
Solution
A. Problem..Statement
For..several..years,..our..high..school..has..noticed..a..consistent..struggle..among..ju
niors..and..seniors..when..it..comes..to..the..math..section..of..the..ACT.. . Even..thoug
h..the..district..has..tried..to..align..the..curriculum..to..the..ACT..and..offer..ACT..prepar
ation..resources,..our..students'..average..math..scores..still..fall..below..both..the..sta
te..and..national..averages.. . Lower..than..average..math..scores..do..not..just..affect..
test..results,..it..has..real..consequences..for..students..when..it..comes..to..college..a
dmittance..and..scholarship..opportunities.
A..big..part..of..the..issue..seems..to..be..that..what’s..being..taught..in..class..doesn’t..fu
lly..match..the..areas..of..focus..on..the..ACT,..especially..in..algebra..and..data..analysi
s...On..top..of..that,..students..who..are..falling..behind..aren’t..always..getting..access..
to..the..kind..of..targeted..support..they..need..to..catch..up.. . Since..our..district..collect
s..ACT..data..twice..a..year..and..has..kept..these..records..over..many..years,..we’re..i
n..a..strong..position..to..analyze..the..numbers,..figure..out..exactly..where..the..gaps..
are,..and..use..that..information..to..make..improvements.
B. Existing..Data
To..better..understand..this..issue,..I’ll..be..analyzing..ACT..Math..data..from..the..past.
.five..school..years...Here’s..what..that..includes:
• General..Characteristics/Demographics:..The..data..includes..all..eleventh..an
d..twelfth..graders..in..our..high..school,..which..is..about..120..students..each..year...It
..also..includes..details..like..race,..gender,..socioeconomic..status(based..on..free/r
educed..lunch),..and..English..language..proficiency.
, • Timeliness..Of..The..Data:..The..ACT..data..is..updated..twice..a..year,..after..the..
fall..and..spring..testing..dates...This..means..having..access..to..up-to-
date..academic..information.
• Type..Of..Data:..The..data..we..analyze..includes..quantitative..data..(ACT..scale..
scores,..subscore..breakdowns)..and..categorical..data..(demographics,..participatio
n..in..intervention..programs).
• Instrument..Used..To..Collect..The..Data:. . The..data..comes..directly..from..offic
ial..ACT..score..reports..sent..to..the..district.
• How..The..Data..Are..Relevant..To..The..Problem:. . This..data..is..directly..tied.
.to..ACT..score..results...It..helps..us..to..see..how..students..have..been..doing..over
..time,..compare..groups,..and..spot..patterns...That..gives..us..a..solid..foundation..f
or..finding..what..needs..to..be..changed.
C. Summary..of..Data..Analysis..Results
• The. . Method..Used..to..Analyze..the..Data:..I..used..Microsoft..Excel..to..look..at..t
he..data..over..five..years...I..paid..special..attention..to..subscores..in..algebra,..geo
metry,..and..data..interpretation..and..broke..data..down..by..student..groups..to..see
..who..was..most..impacted.
• A. . Description..of..Analyzed..Data..Results:..The..average..ACT..score..across..fi
ve..years..was..17.3,..with..only..slight..changes..from..year..to..year...Students..from
..low-
..income..backgrounds..consistently..scored..lower..(around..15.8)..than..those..not.
.in..that..group..(about..18.9)...The..algebra..and..functions..subgroups..were..the..m
ost..challenging..areas,..with..fewer..than..30%..of..students..meeting..the..college
