ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES FOR ALL STUDENT

Article: Glass, Bug, Mud

Thaihoa Nguyen
Teachers College of San Joaquin
January 13, 2015

ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES FOR ALL STUDENT

The article I picked for this assignment is called, Glass, Bug, Mud by Kimberly J. Grimes and
Dannelle D. Stevens. The author started out saying that she tries to help students in her class learn but
at the end of the lesson her students still struggled. While trying to help her students understand the
concept, she got frustrated and gave up. She felt compelled to move through curriculum the quickly for
the sake of advancing students and to teach all the math content before the school years end. The
author wanted to find methods that would motivate all her students and get them excited about doing
math problems. Ultimately, she figured that differentiating math instruction was the solution.
In her research the author found that when students are taught through differentiated methods
they are more motivated to be successful mathematicians. She conducted an action research plan using
the assessment tool called glass, bug, and mud referring to the car windshield. Glass means the students
can see through the windshield clearly and have a strong understanding of the math concept. Bug is
when the windshield is partially covered, meaning not completely clear. And mud means the windshield
is completely covered by dirt; no understanding. Under each of the category it contained problems for
students to work at their own levels.
She explained that students needed to be able to correctly assess their readiness level by
themselves. In doing so, students complete three to six problems involving the current concept.
Students grade their own assessment and receive their results right away. They are able to get the
correct task and do the assignment according to their readiness level. The goal is for each student to be
able to get to glass. The advance students are challenged with a higher level assignment.
A differentiated classroom should include the following elements: student responsibility,
student choice, flexible grouping, and modified instruction. It takes a lot of work for teachers to
implement doing differentiated instruction. I have tried by leveling students according to where they are

ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES FOR ALL STUDENT

in their readiness level in math by doing a quick assessment. I placed students into groups according to
their understanding. My advanced groups thrive more and I noticed that my lower group tries to move
into the higher groups. I plan to construct tasks according to their levels and have students do their own
self-assessments. It will be challenging when I dont have enough time in the day to try to get all
students to the next level. And trying to motivate seventh and eighth graders is a challenge in itself!