The confusion matrix is part of our free set of data collection sheets to be used during auditory development activities, like those found in the SPICE and SPICE for Life 2 curricula. Tracking data using a confusion matrix assists in error analysis. Read on to learn how and why to use a confusion matrix.
Based on the objective, you will know your set size (groups of 2-8) and the materials needed (toys, picture cards of words, sentences, songs, etc.). Select your stimuli and write them across the top of the confusion matrix. Then write the same stimuli, in the same order, down the side.
Randomly present the stimuli a total of 10 times. As you present each stimulus, record the student’s response. When the student correctly identifies a stimulus, the mark will be made IN the shaded box. When the student is incorrect, the mark will be made OUTSIDE of the shaded box and placed in the box for the selected incorrect stimulus.
- Quantitative Data- After all 10 presentations, count how many tallies of the 10 fall within the shaded area to get your percentage (7 tallies in the shaded boxes = 70% correct).
- Qualitative Data- Look at the tallies that fall outside of the shaded area and analyze those errors. Is there a pattern? Are vowels causing an issue? Can the student perceive high pitched sounds? Does the student know the vocabulary? Is the error random and isolated?
Getting both quantitative and qualitative data can help explain where a student’s skills fall. Percentages are important in indicating if a skill has been mastered or is being acquired, but they don’t tell us everything. When a student is making errors, we must analyze them and determine why. Understanding why a student had an incorrect response can inform our teaching and aid in more effectively reaching a student’s auditory development goals.
See below for an example of how to mark a student’s response on a confusion matrix.
Abby Zoia is currently serving as the Director of the Emerson Center for Professional Development at CID – Central Institute for the Deaf. Ms. Zoia holds a Missouri teacher of the deaf certificate (K-12), professional certification from the national Council of Education of the Deaf, as well as Listening and Spoken Language Specialist certification from the AG Bell Academy. She has served as a teacher at various age-levels for more than 16 years and was recently the Coordinator of the Virginia J. Browning Primary School at CID. In addition to presenting at numerous CID workshops, Ms. Zoia has presented at the international conventions of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
