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Diagnosing a specific student error pattern from a set of graded work
💀failed our automated checkAauraNovice
The prompt
Below are several examples of student_name's work on skill_area, all showing errors. I want to know if there's one underlying pattern rather than treating each mistake separately.
Examples of errors (multiple samples): error_examples
Do this:
1. Look across all the examples for a consistent underlying cause, not just a list of 'here's what's wrong with each one' treated independently. Real error patterns usually trace back to one or two root misunderstandings, even when surface mistakes look different.
2. State your hypothesis about the root cause plainly, and cite which specific examples support it (quote or reference the actual work).
3. Consider and rule out alternative explanations before settling on one, is this a conceptual misunderstanding, a careless/attention issue, a working-memory limitation showing up as a dropped step, or a gap in a prerequisite skill, these need different interventions and I don't want you jumping to the first plausible explanation.
4. Suggest one targeted diagnostic question or task I could give the student that would confirm or rule out your hypothesis before I build a whole intervention around a guess.
5. If confirmed, suggest one specific, small intervention matched to the actual root cause (not a generic 'more practice' recommendation).
Where it has been run
| Model | Version | People | Broke | Auto | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 3 hours ago |
Example output
Across the 4 error examples, a consistent pattern emerges: in every case, the student's error occurs specifically at the step where they need to carry/regroup, not in the basic addition facts themselves, which are correct throughout. Alternative explanations considered: ruled out pure carelessness, since the error is consistent in TYPE across all 4 examples rather than random; ruled out a basic-facts gap, since single-digit additions without regrouping are all correct. Hypothesis: specific procedural gap in the regrouping step itself, not a broader arithmetic misunderstanding. Diagnostic task suggested: give one problem requiring regrouping and one otherwise-identical problem that doesn't, if the non-regrouping problem is solved correctly and only the regrouping one fails, that confirms the hypothesis cleanly. Targeted intervention suggested: brief, isolated practice specifically on the regrouping step alone (not full problems), using manipulatives to make the 'carry the ten' concept concrete, rather than assigning more general addition practice which wouldn't target the actual gap.
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