Teachers right around the globe are leveraging student benchmarking data in an effort to create a better learning environment and to enable their students to achieve better results.
Benchmark data can be analysed by teachers and school leaders and taken to the classroom to start a discussion around the subjects that the students were being tested on. Most benchmark testing focuses on the subjects of English, Mathematics, and Science but other subjects may also be included in the benchmark tests.
The Data Allows Teachers To Identify Concepts That Need To Be Retaught
By analysing the data from benchmark tests, teachers are able to determine what concepts are not widely understood by the students in their classes. For example, if a large group of students in their classes failed to answer a certain section of questions correctly, it can be assumed that the subject matter in those questions is not fully comprehended by these students.
With this knowledge, teachers can restructure their lessons in an effort to help their students understand the subject matter more comprehensively.
Teachers Can Identify Students That Require More Assistance
Benchmark testing also allows teachers to identify students that need more assistance so that they can understand the subject matter being taught. This may require giving additional tuition to a small group of students in their class who have not achieved the desired results in the benchmark tests according to the data received.
The data also allows individual class teachers to compare the results from their own class against the results from another class that is teaching the same subject matter.
If there are large variances in the results achieved, then analysis can be done in order to work out why there is such a variance in results. This is especially important if the students from the different classes are using the same lesson plans and the teachers are using very similar teaching materials.
It may be a case of the teacher having to alter the delivery method or their style of teaching slightly in order to help their students better understand what they are being taught.
Benchmark Data Can Stimulate The Creation Of Enrichment Programs
Benchmark data can also be used by teachers to set certain goals and objectives for their students to encourage them to achieve better results and strive for higher achievements.
This could include the creation of enrichment programs for students who are not being challenged sufficiently in the classroom or even for those who are in need of a little extra help.
These programs could be tailored to either group of students and can allow each and every student to achieve the results that they are capable of, even if these students are not yet aware of their full capabilities.
Armed with the data from the benchmark testing, it’s much easier to set up these enrichment programs as the data would clearly indicate what topics should be covered.
In Summary
As we can see, benchmark testing data can be a tremendous resource for classroom teachers to produce greater learning outcomes. By analysing the results, teachers can identify if there are concepts that need to be retaught in order to achieve better comprehension from their students.
Teachers can also identify students who may need additional assistance so that they can better understand certain components of the subject matter being taught. Furthermore, these test results can encourage the creation of enrichment programs and can allow all students within the classroom to produce their absolute best results.
