Problem Statement
A clear, measurable description of the gap between a student's current and expected performance.
What is a Problem Statement?
A problem statement is a clear, measurable description of the gap between a student's current performance and the expected level of performance. It defines what the problem is using objective data, without identifying why it is occurring.
A strong problem statement should:
- Describe the expected level of performance.
- Describe the student's current level of performance using measurable data.
- Clearly define the gap between the two.
Remember: A problem statement describes the problem—not the cause. Determining why the problem exists happens during Problem Analysis, where the team develops a hypothesis.
Example
Expected Performance
By the middle of fourth grade, students are expected to read grade-level passages at approximately 120 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy.
Current Performance
Across three recent oral reading fluency assessments, Emma averaged 84 words correct per minute with 91% accuracy.
Problem Statement
By the middle of fourth grade, students are expected to read grade-level passage at approximately 120 words correct per minute with at least 95% accuracy. Across three recent reading fluency assessments, Emma averaged 84 words correct per minute with 91% accuracy. This represents a measurable gap in reading fluency and accuracy compared to grade-level expectations.