BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE ACTION PLAN: Strategies to Enhance Third Grade Math Proficiency Using Data from Essential Standards

Rebecca DiBuono
Nov 9, 2025
4 min read

Making Sense of Mathematics to improve mathematical reasoning

When we finish writing a school improvement plan, the next critical step is to create an action plan that uses a clear research question. This helps us study whether the plan actually improves student learning. For my project, I am focusing on the question:

How does continuous use of the task/question/evidence framework from Juli K. Dixon in third grade math instruction impact student proficiency of essential standards?

This question guides my efforts to collect and analyze data, so I can make informed decisions about teaching and learning in third grade math.

Identifying an Area of Focus: Third Grade Essential Standards

The first step is to identify which standards are essential for third graders. These standards are chosen using the R.E.A.L. criteria:

Readiness: This standard provides students with essential knowledge and skills necessary for success in the next class, course, or grade level.
Endurance: This standard provides students with knowledge and skills that are useful beyond a single unit or study.
Assessed: This standard will be assessed on upcoming state and national exams.
Leverage: This standard will provide students with knowledge and/or skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines.

To create learning targets for each essential standard, teachers break down the standards into clear, manageable goals. In the example below, the standard is about reading and writing numbers, so a learning target might be: Students will read and write numbers from 0 to 10,000 in expanded form. These targets help teachers plan lessons and assessments that directly support student mastery.

How to Unpack a Standard to create learning targets

Are you interested in reading more about diving into determining essential standards using the R.E.A.L. criteria method to make the most out of your instruction? Check out this resource and reproducible from Solution Tree!

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT DETERMINING ESSENTIAL STANDARDS USING THE R.E.A.L. CRITERIA

Data Collection Using Common Formative Assessments

Common formative assessments (CFAs) are key tools for tracking student progress on essential standards. These assessments are created collaboratively by grade-level teams to ensure consistency and alignment with learning targets.

Teachers administer CFAs regularly, often after completing a unit or key lesson. The results are tracked in a shared system, such as an Essential Standards Tracker, which allows teachers to see trends and identify students who need extra support.

During Professional Learning Team (PLT) meetings, teachers review CFA data together. They discuss what the data shows about student understanding and plan instructional adjustments based on this evidence.

Analyzing and Interpreting the Data

Once data is collected, the next step is to analyze it carefully. Using the Essential Standards Tracker, I look for patterns in student performance.

For example, students might show strong skills in addition and subtraction but struggle with multiplication facts. This tells me where instruction is effective and where intervention is needed.

I also compare current mastery levels to the district’s mastery schedule deadlines. If students are behind on a standard that should be mastered by mid-year, I know we need to adjust teaching strategies quickly.

Developing the Action Plan

Based on the data, the action plan focuses on targeted next steps to improve

Making Sense of Mathematics for Teachers is a great tool for analyzing your math instruction

instruction and student outcomes. For example:

Increase use of the task/question/evidence framework in daily lessons to deepen student reasoning.
Provide small group interventions for students struggling with specific standards.
Use observational anecdotes during lessons to gather qualitative data on instructional quality and student engagement.

To support this, I use resources like Making Sense of Mathematics for Teaching to Inform Instructional Quality by Melissa D. Boston and Juli K. Dixon. These books offer practical strategies for observing and improving math teaching.

Using Observational Data to Inform Instruction

In addition to test scores, observational anecdotes provide valuable insights. Watching how students respond to tasks and questions helps identify strengths and challenges that numbers alone might miss.

For example, if students can solve problems but struggle to explain their thinking, I can focus on building their reasoning skills through discussion and evidence-based tasks.

This approach aligns with the task/question/evidence framework, which encourages students to justify their answers and develop deeper understanding.

Final Thoughts

Creating an action plan based on a clear research question and solid data helps ensure that our school improvement efforts lead to real gains in student learning. By focusing on essential standards, using common formative assessments, and applying the task/question/evidence framework, we can improve third grade math proficiency in meaningful ways.

The next step is to implement the plan, continue collecting data, and adjust instruction as needed. This cycle of research and action keeps our teaching responsive and focused on student success.

Rebecca DiBuono signature | Citrus Teaching blog

READY TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR COLLABORATIVE PLANNING?

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Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) are a group of educators who collaborate

regularly to improve their teaching practices and student outcomes. Typically, teams will meet on a weekly basis to review benchmark standards, plan effective units of study, and analyze data collected from common formative assessments.

This toolkit is designed to streamline your process and keep conversations centered on students with data-driven decisions. Included in this toolkit, you will find folder labels, editable norms, learning target creation tool, pre- and post-unit questionnaires centered around the four PLC questions, essential standards data sheets, and so much more!

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