ENTRY 11 DATA ANALYSIS ACTIVITY

Dear Music Ed Supterstars,

We have hired you to help one of our teachers do a better job of analyzing and use data for
their teaching. The teacher has been teaching a middle school general music class (Music
Appreciation) and hasn’t changed their teaching style. The classroom only has lectures, only
summative assessments, and when not lecturing, the teacher shows old videos from Beethoven
Lives Upstairs. The teacher is open to changing, especially when the administrator says “shape
up or your contract will not be renewed for next year.” They have asked you to provide
suggestions on the data provided on the first pre-test he has administered. Some
supplementary material has been provided as well to help you make sense of the classroom
setting. We are only asking you to help him make sense of the assessment data.

Thanks,

Dr. Payne
Principal, BHS
Unit: Protest Songs of the 60s Grade: 8th

Objectives
1. The student identifies seminal bands composing music protesting involvement in the
Vietnam Conflict.
2. The student selects three songs from these bands and analyzes the lyrics to determine
the position they were taking regarding the conflict.
3. The student describes the significance of these songs on the American public.
4. The student names significant musicians and their contributions to popular music in the
1960s.
5. The student analyzes the impact of protest songs of the 60s as they relate to the history
of rock and roll.

BHS required rate for mastering objectives: 70%

Snapshot IEP: Focus Student A

Student A was diagnosed with dyslexia only recently. Because of this late diagnosis, she has a
very negative view of school and will not engage much in class. She is a “social butterfly” as
described by her mother and has strong verbal and social skills. She also has had success in
extracurricular activities. She refuses to read in class because of her dyslexia and has been
tested at a low 2nd grade level on the STAR assessment. She also seems to have some learned
helplessness because of her reading inability.

Snapshot IEP: Focus Student B

Student B reads four years below grade level due to his lagging efforts during elementary
learning. He has normal oral skills, but his writing is very sloppy to read. His social skills are very
deficient as he often interrupts others and talks excessively in the classroom. He has normal
motor skills, but has difficulty in seat-work due to fidgeting and wanting to get up and move
around the classroom. Because of medication, the student can come to class extremely
fatigued if on one task for an extended period of time. He was diagnosed with ADD in the 5 th
grade.
Pre-Assessment Data
Student Scores by Objective on the Pre Assessment
(Scores listed below represent the number of items correct. For percentage correct see the final
column)
Student Obj 1 Obj 2 Obj 3 Obj 4 Obj 5 Overall %
5 items 5 items 5 items 5 items 5 items 25 items
1 5 5 5 5 5 100
2 5 4 3 3 3 72
3 4 3 2 4 1 56
4 5 3 3 2 1 56
5 5 2 3 1 1 48
6 4 3 2 1 0 40
7 5 3 2 1 1 48
8 4 2 1 1 0 32
9 3 1 2 2 1 36
10 4 3 2 2 2 52
11 4 3 2 3 2 56
12 4 4 2 2 1 52
13 4 3 2 2 0 44
Focus A 3 3 2 2 2 48
Focus B 4 3 2 1 0 40

What do these data mean for instruction during the unit?

(In other words, as the teacher, how will you design and implement instruction based on the
given data? What assessments will be necessary? What will help you meet your state learning
outcomes. Be specific in your responses.)

The students have shown that they have a decent mastery over the first objective based on the
data collection. With this information I would spend far less time working on this objective, I
would mostly want to review this concept so to reinforce the students’ knowledge. Objective
two also shows a decent amount of understanding, however it is not as mastered as objective
one. With that knowledge I would devote some time to working on this objective during class
while closely monitoring students 5,8, and 9. If there is significant progress in these students no
further action will be necessary, however if the students show they need additional assistance
private instruction could be offered to the class to help anyone who feels they could benefit
with additional practice with this objective. Objectives three, four, and five show a lack of
understanding with more than half the students not understanding the objective. I would
suggest more class time be given to these objectives. Using daily informal assessment, I can
communicate with students in the form of journals or more directly through peer feedback.
Formal written assessments over these objectives will help to make sure the students are
reaching set goals.

What do these data mean for instruction for the Focus Students
during the unit?
For focus student A I would pair this student with student 1. Student 1 has shown exemplary
understanding in all objectives. By pairing Student A with another student, she will be able to
get the social aspect that she responds more favorably to in class. By providing her with a
positive learning influence she should respond better in class. Giving the student adjusted
reading materials and private tutoring can help with the frustration the student is feeling with
her dyslexia. Given the scores she received more focus should be placed on objective one as
she scored lower on this objective. With the same level of concentration on objectives 3,4 and 5
as the rest of the class

For Student B I might suggest choice project-based assignments to encourage focus on the
objectives. Providing more flexible seating arrangements can help with the students ADD.
Student B has similar results to the rest of the class showing more understanding of objectives 1
and 2, and needing further assistance in 3,4, and 5. Giving Student B adjusted notes or fill in the
blank notes can help with the student being able to take his time and not be rushed through
note taking. Setting guidelines for group discussion can help to remind Student B of the
expectations when working with his classmates.

For focus students A and B who both struggle with reading and writing skills should be given
private one on one interview style assessments to account for their learning needs. This will
allow them to voice what they are understanding using skills they are adept with rather than
relying on reading and writing, which present unnecessary challenges for them.

Dear Intern,

Your aid in helping the teacher make some good instructional decisions based on the Pre-
Assessment data was very useful in having the teacher plan instruction. Please find below the
Formative Data for two assessments from the teacher’s unit. The first was a timeline activity
that was graded by a rubric and aligned to Objective 3. The second was from a Historical Profile
of a person assigned to the student, graded by a rubric and aligned to Objective 4. Please
provide advice for how he should use the data for this unit and in future teaching.
Thanks,

Dr. Burenheide
Principal, BHS
Formative Assessment Data
Student Scores of Two Selected Formative Assessments
Student Formative 1 Formative 2
Timeline (%) Figure Profile (%)
1 100 100
2 90 97
3 82 90
4 86 90
5 84 90
6 76 80
7 66 50
8 78 84
9 77.5 80
10 90 100
11 81 90
12 78 80
13 50 50
Focus A 75 85
Focus B 77 60

How did the data from these formative assessments impact learning
during the unit?
(Hint: Compare these to the pre-test data for the aligned objectives. What adjustments might
need to be made?)
Formative assessment 1 shows a significant improvement for all of the students from the pre-
assessment. 11 of the student’s grades improved to passing grades. Even though the grades
have overall improved two students are still below the passing marks, students 7 and 13 may
require private instruction in order to help get them up to passing and understanding the
objectives.
Formative assessment 2 yielded even better results except for students 7, 13, and student b,
based on this I believe objective 4 may need to be reviewed with these students in order to
improve understanding. Throughout all of these assessments both pre and formative student 1
has showed an exemplary understanding of the objectives, because of this I suggest additional
or alternative assessments be provided to make sure student 1 is being adequately challenged.
How did the data from these formative assessments impact Focus
Student Learning during the unit?
Student A showed significant improvement from pre assessment to formative assessment 1 and
further improvement with formative assessment 2. While further measures can be taken to
ensure further success, the student has demonstrated adaptability to the classroom. Using less
written assessment such as the timeline assessment and more of an oral report on dates could
show that she understands the objective, as it will help her not focus on writing out dates and
events. With her dyslexia she may be able to verbalize this information rather than write it
down.

Student B showed significant growth from pre assessment to formative assessment 1. With this
assessment the student would be able to focus on many aspects given that it is a timeline
assessment, which would be able to keep his attention better given his ADD. He was less
successful with the formative assessment 2, by allowing the student to choose the person he is
doing a historical profile on will help keep his interest in the subject. Allowing him to do more of
his assessments dictating his thoughts to someone to write or type out for him or allowing him
to do them orally will improve his scores further.

Dear Intern,

Your aid in helping the teacher understand how to use data from formative assessments was
very useful. Please find below the Summative Data from the teacher’s unit. Please provide
advice for how he should use the data for this unit and in future teaching.

Thanks,

Dr. Burenheide
Principal, BHS

Post-Assessment Data
Student Scores by Objective on the Post Assessment
Student Obj 1 Obj 2 Obj 3 Obj 4 Obj 5 Overall %
% % % % %
1 100 100 100 100 100 100
2 100 100 100 100 100 100
3 100 98 98 98 96 98
 4 90 88 88 88 86 88
5 95 92 88 85 90 90
6 100 84 84 84 88 88
7 65 60 72 80 52 66
8 90 75 75 78 82 80
9 90 84 60 60 96 78
10 85 70 70 75 75 75
11 90 80 80 90 84 84
12 85 85 85 70 85 82
13 60 60 60 60 0 48
Focus A 90 75 75 80 80 80
Focus B 90 80 70 70 70 76

What does these data mean for learning during the unit?

Overall the data shows an improvement in scores compared to the scores of the
preassessment. There are two outliers to this data students 7 and 13. While their overall score
did improve it was far less than the rest of the class. Additionally, their scores show they did not
pass showing a lack of understanding for the objectives. Student 13s score on objective 5 was
completely the same in the post assessment as the post assessment. This could be due to a lack
of effort, attendance, or aptitude for the assessments. In either instance I would suggest
possible testing for these students to receive IEPs to help understand and adjust to help the
way they learn.

What does these data mean for learning for the Focus Students during
the unit?

Both of the focus students showed vast improvement in the scores from the pre assessment to
the post assessment. This would indicate that steps taken to adjust the assessments was
successful.

Focus student A has shown that she understands the objective with all of her scores becoming
passing. While further instruction could help her demonstrate greater improvement with a
mastery over the objectives. By giving her a chance to use her verbal and social skills for
assessment rather than on reading and writing we are able to more accurately evaluate what
she has learned. Specifically, in objectives 3, 4, and 5 where her scores went from below
passing to above passing.

Focus student B benefitted from adjusted instruction as well, his scores have improved to
above passing. Through management of his ADD by using flexible seating arrangement and
giving the student selective freedom in his assessments the teacher has improved the students
focus helping to more accurately assess his understanding of the objectives.

For future instruction, what have you learned about how students
learn and the effectiveness of your instructional style? What would
you change, if anything?

There is no right way to teach. The most important objective for a teacher is to help guide your
students in whatever way helps them understand. When a teacher is willing to adjust how they
teach in order to accommodate for learning differences the students can feel heard and
understood, and thus will flourish. By using multiple different approaches to a lesson I will be
able to learn from my students how to best help them. If I could change anything about my
instructional style it would be to take my approach more confidently. I know that how I teach is
student centered, I want my students to succeed. However I must be confident in what I am
doing in order for the instruction to follow through.