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.)

There is a decent amount of mastery with Objective 1 for the students. With this information, I
would spend less time focusing on this objective and would use a review to solidify their
learning. Students are also showing a decent amount of understanding for Objective 2, but not
as well as Objective 1. With that information, I would devote some class time focusing on this
objective while monitoring students 5, 8, and 9. After this, if those students show improvement
then no further action will be necessary, but if the strategy does not work, there could be an
offer of additional private instruction and tutoring offered to the class for anyone who thinks
they could use and benefit from additional assistance with Objective 2. Objectives 3, 4, and 5
show little understanding with the majority of the class. Due to this, I would recommend more
class time devoted to these three objectives. Daily informal assessments using tools like
journals or direct peer feedback would allow for the teacher to communicate with the students
on where they are with the understanding of the objectives. Formal written assessments over
these objectives could be used to ensure students are reaching set goals.

What do these data mean for instruction for the Focus Students
during the unit?
For Student A, I would pair them with student 1. Student 1 has shown outstanding
understanding of all of the objectives. Since Student is a “social butterfly,” pairing her with
Student 1 will give Student A the social aspect that she responds well with. By providing her
with a positive learning experience, she should respond better in class. Giving the student an
opportunity with private tutoring and adjusted reading materials will help the student not feel
as frustrated with their dyslexia. This student should be given more focus on Objective 1 since
they scored lower in this area and then given attention to the rest of the objectives with the
rest of the class.

For Student B, I would give them choices on project-based assignments to encourage focus on
the objectives. Something that would also benefit them would be to allow for flexible seating
charts, which helps students with ADD. Student B has results that corelates with the results of
the rest of the class, which is understanding of Objectives 1 and 2, but needing further guidance
for Objective 3, 4, and 5. Giving the student guided or fill-in-the- blank notes would help the
student not feel as rushed or constricted with note-taking. Setting guidelines for the entire class
concerning group discussion would help remind Student B of the expectations when working
with other peers.

For both Student A and B, giving them discussion or interview based assessments would help
with their reading and writing learning needs. This would allow them to verbally voice what
they are understanding in class using skills they do well with, rather than forcing them to rely
on reading and writing which cause unnecessary amounts of challenges and frustration.

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 musician 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. Payne
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 major improvement from all students from the pre-assessment.
11 of the students have improved to a passing grade. While there is an overall improvement,
there are still 2 students who do not have passing grades. Students 7 and 13 may require
additional private instruction to help them receive a passing grade and develop an
understanding for the objectives.

Formative assessment 2 showed vast improvements except for students 7, 13, and B. Based on
this information, Objective 4 should be reviewed with these students to better their
understanding. Student 1 has shown exemplary understanding of all objectives from pre-
assessment to Formative assessment 2. With the information given I would suggest giving
student 1 alternate or additional assessments and assignments to assure the are being
adequately challenged.

How did the data from these formative assessments impact Focus
Student Learning during the unit?
Student A showed vast improvement from pre-assessment to formative assessment 1, and
even further improvement to formative assessment 2. As always, there can be strategies used
to ensure further success, but the student has shown their ability to adapt to the classroom.
Something that could further benefit the student would be to stray away from using written
assessments like the timeline assessment, and use more oral and verbal reports. This could
better show her understanding of the objective because she will not be focused on the writing
aspect.

Student B showed growth from the pre-assessment to formative assessment 1. The timeline
assessment allowed the student to focus on multiple things and helped keep his attention given
his ADD. He was not as successful with formative assessment 2. For this, allowing the student to
choose which person they are doing the historical profile on would increase the interest in the
project and subject itself. Allowing him to use a dictation software or having someone type out
what he is saying would allow his to speak more freely rather than focus on writing and
therefore would 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. Payne
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 improvement in scores when compared to the scores from the pre-
assessment. Students 7 and 13 are the outliers to this data. Their scores did improve, but not at
the same rate when compared to the rest of the class as well as the fact that they are still not
passing. Student 13’s score on object 5 has not changed from pre to post assessment. This
could be due to lack of attendance, aptitude, or effort for the assessments. Regardless, I would
recommend testing for these two students to possibly receive IEPs to better help theirs and
their teachers’ understanding and help adjust the way they learn.

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

Both students improved greatly when comparing their scores from the pre-assessment to the
post assessment. This would tell us that the steps that were taken to improve their
understanding was successful.

Student A now shows that she understands all of the objectives with all of her scores improving
to passing. Further instruction could ensure mastery of the objectives. By allowing her to use
her verbal skills to show her learning instead of writing, we were able to more accurately
evaluate her understanding and comprehension of the objectives. For Student A specifically,
her scores for Objectives 3, 4, and 5 went from below passing to above passing.

Students B’s scores have also improved to above passing due to altered instruction. Allowing
him to have flexible seating and freedom of choice for his assessments helped work with his
ADD and by doing that the teacher improved the students focus. This allowed the teacher to
more accurately to assess the student’s understanding and comprehension 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?

We are forever learners. The most important thing a teacher can focus on is doing what is right
for a student to ensure they are able to learn effectively. When the teacher is able to change
and adjust how they are teaching to accommodate for what their students need, the students
will feel nurtured and cared for and therefore will excel. Being able to use multiple approaches
to a lesson will allow me to learn from and get to know my students where I will then be able to
best teach and help them. The one thing I would change about my instruction style is my
confidence. I know what I am teaching and have different strategies to help different types of
learners. I want my students to succeed and enjoy helping them get there. I need to be able to
go through with everything without second guessing myself.