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Angie Kruzich Module 5 Assignment Needs Assessment Due April 1, 2014

Needs Assessment

For approximately five years, Liberty High School (LHS) has been unable to expand the

mathematical course offerings to include AP Statistics. This has been the case due to lack of

teacher availability, a limited number of qualified students, as well as inadequate funding.

Liberty does have four grade levels, 9-12.

In 2013, the College Board in conjunction with Google and DonorsChoose.org offered a grant

to Liberty High School. The College Board identified approximately 500 high schools

throughout the United States as qualifiers for a grant based on PSAT scores. Student PSAT

scores were compared with each school's AP scores in STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering and Math) courses. These 500 schools had one major attribute in common;

student PSAT scores showed that certain groups of students were qualified to enroll in AP

STEM courses but were not. The College Board identified that females at Liberty were

qualified to take AP Statistics based on PSAT scores, but were not able to do so. If LHS

offered AP Statistics and increased female diversity in this course, then the school could

accept the grant.

LHS accepted the conditions of the grant and determined a plan to grow the AP Statistics

program over a three-year period. The grant money purchased three tablets, Microsoft Surface

Pros, for use in the new AP Statistics class. This would allow students easier access to

technology during AP Statistics to research data and manipulate data on Microsoft Excel.

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During a time when there is an exponential increase in technological applications for the

classroom, at LHS, there is a decline in accessibility to computer labs. To exasperate the

issue, LHS is experiencing a major remodel. Prior to demolition of the building, Liberty had

three computer labs. Liberty now has 38 portable classrooms with only two computer labs.

There are approximately 1250 students enrolled at LHS, 84 teachers and 64 computers in 2

community labs. This presents a ratio of almost twenty students per computer. Given a two-

month period, there were only 2 days that AP Statistics could have both classes using the

computer lab (see appendix A). On average, 77% of the time the labs are in use by the English

and Social Studies departments. Likewise, in the new building there will only be two computer

labs. The lost lab was the math department's computer lab. It is not returning since there are

not enough classroom spaces in the new building. In fact, once the new building is complete,

six teachers will remain in the portables.

Therefore, the current AP Statistics instructor conducted an evaluation in the fall of 2013, to

determine if purchasing additional tablets for the AP Statistics course was a wise financial

decision. The overall purpose of the evaluation was to determine if tablets help maximize

student involvement in a statistics classroom. The evaluation took place over a four-month

period. A survey of 52 out of the 54 students enrolled in 2013-2014 revealed that only 23.08%

of the students were highly engaged when a group of four students had to share one tablet.

Based on student input, if the school has limited grant money, then a short-term goal should be

to acquire one tablet for every two students. Many students were concerned about access and

on-task behavior when there is only one tablet available in a group and three people are

watching one-person work. Having one tablet for every two students would lesson this problem

and be the next ideal step for AP Statistics.

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However, based on the instructor feedback, the evaluator would recommend that the AP

Statistics program have a long-term goal to acquire one complete classroom set of tablets. As

shown in another survey question, approximately 29% of students were highly engaged in the

computer activities when two students shared a tablet. This is still not a proportion

demonstrating highly engaged students. A one-to-one student-to-tablet ratio can address all

student and teacher concerns identified in the surveys. Additionally, students would have a

better statistics and technology experience in the classroom with greater individual access to

the tablets. Nor would students have to wait for a computer lab to be available in order to get

the course work completed.

The evaluation also revealed another student concern regarding ease of use and comparison

to a desktop experience. When using Microsoft Excel in AP Stats class, it is much more

convenient to have a keyboard. The evaluator also recommended purchasing a keyboard to

accompany each tablet, which creates more of a desktop or laptop feel to the tablet. This

purchase would have a large impact on the effectiveness of the tablets. The tablets would be

easier to use in the existing stats classroom and useful in other math courses, such as

geometry.

The evaluation strongly recommended purchasing more tablets and keyboards until the

classroom obtains a student-tablet ratio of 1:1. This will help to maximize student involvement

in the statistics classroom. The school district formatted the tablets such that it has same

capabilities as a fully functioning laptop including Microsoft Office. Also purchasing the

Microsoft Surface Pro 1 tablet is less expensive and the tablet is compact; therefore, the tablet

is easier to store than a full-size laptop. The Surface Pro 1 is approximately 70% of the cost of

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a laptop. Given the school districts limited technology purchase list, the Microsoft Surface Pro

1 with keyboard is $709, where as a comparable laptop on the district approved list costs

$1024.

Increasing the number of offered AP Statistics classes is under review. The administration is

considering raising the number of sections from two to five, given that 147 students signed up

for the course during 2014-2015. It has been very difficult finding time for two class periods to

use the computer lab within the same day. Increasing the number of AP Statistics classes will

make it even more difficult to find five spots available for all statistics courses to use the labs

and have the same experience for a single lesson.

Replacing the lost math lab with a classroom set of tablets will benefit many Liberty students

for many years. It will also help students learn how to use modern technology that may not

have access to it at home. Approximately 13% of Liberty's student population qualifies for the

free or reduced lunch program. It is unlikely that this population has the hardware, software

and the internet available at home creating a digital divide between students. This makes it

even more urgent to have the technology available in the classroom as often as possible, such

that all students can learn the technology needed to perform well in future careers.

"Our students will be prepared for and eager to accept academic, occupational,

personal, and practical challenges of life in a dynamic and global environment"

(Liberty, 2014).

At Liberty High School, it is a goal to make sure all students have the skills they need to be

successful after high school. In order to be sure this happens for all students, Liberty needs to

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continue to offer more STEM related courses, connect these courses to technological and real-

life applications, encourage more students to pursue STEM courses, make sure all students

have frequent access to technology by building more portable computer labs. There is simply

not enough space to continue supporting classroom based computer labs. In the end, it will be

more cost effective and more convenient to have a classroom set of tablets for AP Statistics

and other STEM courses in the math department.

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References

Boeing (2014). Boeing's primary competitive advantage is -- and always will be -- our people. We need a world-class public education system to ensure that the children of our communities have the skills they need to participate in the exciting work that we do. With a focus on education reform and real-world learning, we can close the skills gap, ensure continued innovation and jobs creation, and develop a workforce suited for the challenges of a global economy. To improve and align systems that advance students' skills and ensure their future success, we invest in:

Partnerships that strengthen STEM pathways for underserved students by implementing evidence-based curriculum and high-quality teacher professional development;

Efforts to improve educational environments for all students and promote excellent instruction through evidence-based practices and strong school leadership.

Retrieved from: http://www.boeing.com/boeing/companyoffices/aboutus/community/nw_region/wa_edu_primary.page

Liberty High School (2014). Our students will be prepared for and eager to accept academic, occupational, personal, and practical challenges of life in a dynamic and global environment. Retrieved from: http://connect.issaquah.wednet.edu/high/liberty/about/default.aspx

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (2014). Retrieved from: http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?schoolId=1454&OrgType=4&reportLevel=Schooll&year=2012-13

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Appendix A - Graphs and Charts

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Q8: What else do you want to tell me about tablet use in the classroom for AP Statistics?

for tablets to be fully effective, more of them are necessary

From personal experience, the tablets seem to make analyzing data a little more difficult.

Adjusting to the new technology will take time, so if we use them, we would probably need to

use them very regularly to be able to use them proficiently.

If we conduct our own surveys or experiments, we'll have more data which can be analyzed

on the tablets (giving more opportunities to use them)

I really enjoy using the tablets and they make work easy

They are really nice to have and it would be awesome to have more than three

Nothing

The apps on the tablets are typically distracting.

From personal experience, the tablets seem to make analyzing data a little more difficult.

Adjusting to the new technology will take time, so if we use them, we would probably need to

use them very regularly to be able to use them proficiently.

It is useful when you are stuck on a problem or need to look up the answer because the

answer button is right next to the question. So you don't need to look through the entire book

for the answers.

They are very useful for doing things like using Excel when so we don't have to go to the lab

for computers and we really only need one per group for the group tasks when something like

Excel is required.

they are pretty cool.

I highly enjoy the tablets

They are helpful for getting to the book in class

Nothing, thanks.

The tablets are nice and fancy. They make me work hard.

Sharing tablets is a little annoying sometimes

The tablet use in the classroom is minimal

It depends on the person if the people are on topic or not.

Hi

It's nice! Maybe more????

They are fun

What else do you want to know about tablet use in the classroom for AP statistics?

NA

Nothing

Tablets are a waste of our tax money and do no assist in learning.

So so so not worth it. They're cute little techie toys but there is a lot that could be bought for

that money that would be more useful. A few students whose families happen to be wealthy

know how to use these already; the rest of us spend more time trying to figure out how to use

them than actually doing work.

The tablets are useful but it would be better if we had more so that all the groups can use it at

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the same time.

Nothing

I have a Surface at home and in general I find it really hard to share with others - not out of

selfishness but the need to use it singularly. That's why I think everyone will benefit from the

utility of the tablets if they all have equal access to it at all times. I definitely think each group

having their own tablet is the least effective solution.

As convenient as the tablets are, I don't really NEED them. They're just fancy ways to have

books or run programs. The same situation can be solved with a hardback and going to the

library or computer lab.

Need to figure out data transfer so we dont need to email to get the file printed.

They're a cool learning tool

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