Entry 11 - Data Analysis

Dear Music Ed Superstars,

We have hired you to help one of our teachers do a be er job of analyzing and use data for
their teaching. The teacher has been teaching a middle school general music class (Music
Apprecia on) and hasn’t changed their teaching style. The classroom only has lectures, only
summa ve 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
sugges ons on the data provided on the rst pre-test he has administered. Some
supplementary material has been provided as well to help you make sense of the classroom
se ng. We are only asking you to help him make sense of the assessment data.

Thanks,

Dr. Payne
Principal, BHS
tti
ti
ti

ti

fi
tt

 Unit: Protest Songs of the 60s

Grade: 8th

Objec ves
1. The student iden es seminal bands composing music protes ng involvement in the
Vietnam Con ict.
2. The student selects three songs from these bands and analyzes the lyrics to determine
the posi on they were taking regarding the con ict.
3. The student describes the signi cance of these songs on the American public.
4. The student names signi cant musicians and their contribu ons 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 objec ves: 70%

Snapshot IEP: Focus Student A

Student A was diagnosed with dyslexia only recently. Because of this late diagnosis, she has a
very nega ve view of school and will not engage much in class. She is a “social bu er y” as
described by her mother and has strong verbal and social skills. She also has had success in
extracurricular ac vi es. 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 e orts during elementary
learning. He has normal oral skills, but his wri ng is very sloppy to read. His social skills are very
de cient as he o en interrupts others and talks excessively in the classroom. He has normal
motor skills, but has di culty in seat-work due to dge ng and wan ng to get up and move
around the classroom. Because of medica on, the student can come to class extremely
fa gued if on one task for an extended period of me. He was diagnosed with ADD in the 5th
grade.
ti
fi
ti

ti
ti

fl

ft
ti

ti
fi
ti
ffi
fi
fi

ti

ti

ti
fl

ti
fi

ti
ti
ti
ff
ti

tt
fl
 Pre-Assessment Data
Student Scores by Objec ve on the Pre-Assessment

Scores listed below represent the number of items correct. For percentage correct see the nal
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

ti

fi
 Pre-Assessment Ques ons & Answers

Ques on 1: What do these data mean for instruc on during the unit?
Answer: These pieces of data tell me that most of the students do not yet understand the last
three objec ves. My unit will be mostly focused on Objec ves 3-5. The rst two objec ves will
s ll be addressed, but extra focused me learning will be based around these three objec ves
to further the knowledge and understanding of students. As for assessments, informal
assessments will be u lized daily to gauge student learning in these areas. I plan to frequently
ask ques ons around these objec ves and call on students that struggled more than others. I
also plan on adding exit slips every other day or so to collect data in a more formal sense.

Ques on 2: What do these data mean for instruc on for the Focus Students during the unit?
Answer: Focus Student A received fairly average scores for the ve objec ves. Focus Student B
received similar scores to the rest of the class; they had some/an okay understanding of the rst
two objec ves and very li le or no understand of the last three objec ves. Focus Student A will
be receiving materials to help them build on the founda onal informa on she already has.
Because A is a “social bu er y,” I will give her opportuni es to work with others and use those
skills to where she will not feel like she has to put in so much work, while s ll learning. I will
o er to work with her on an individual basis where she will not have to read as much, as to not
discourage her with her dyslexia. B will be receiving similar instruc on to the rest of the class.
There will be plenty of opportuni es to move around, as to not become extra dgety and
distracted. I will also ensure that he has devices available at his chair to help calm his dge ng.
Overall, I will be working hard to keep the class well-paced so that every student is moving at a
comfortable speed.
ti
ff
ti
ti
ti
ti
ti

ti
tt
tt
ti
fl
ti
ti
ti

ti
ti
ti
ti
ti
fi
ti
ti

ti
fi
ti
ti
fi
fi
ti

ti
ti
fi

 Dear Intern,

Your aid in helping the teacher make some good instruc onal decisions based on the Pre-
Assessment data was very useful in having the teacher plan instruc on. Please nd below the
Forma ve Data for two assessments from the teacher’s unit. The rst was a meline ac vity
that was graded by a rubric and aligned to Objec ve 3. The second was from a Historical Pro le
of a musician assigned to the student, graded by a rubric and aligned to Objec ve 4. Please
provide advice for how he should use the data for this unit and in future teaching.

Thanks,

Dr. Payne
Principal, BHS
ti

ti
ti
fi
ti
ti
ti
fi

ti
fi
 Forma ve Assessment Data
Student Scores of Two Selected Forma ve Assessments

Student Forma ve 1 Forma ve 2

Timeline (%) Figure Pro le (%)
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
ti
ti
ti
fi

ti

 Forma ve Assessment Ques ons & Answers

Ques on 1: How did the data from these forma ve assessments impact learning during the
unit?
Answer: Every student, except for the one already at 100%, improved from the pre-assessments
to the forma ve assessments. I was pleased to see that this student maintained their
understanding and e orts throughout the unit. Most students also improved from Forma ve
Assessment 1 to Forma ve Assessment 2. A er Forma ve Assessment 2, 86% of the students
are above the 70% mark, showing vast improvement. I will be working on an individual level
with Students 7, 13, and Focus Student B, as they are the three students that have not hit that
mark. My hope is that this individual work will help all three of their understanding of the
material. If that is not the case, I will make more adjustments within my material to insure
be er retainment of informa on.

Ques on 2: How did the data from these forma ve assessments impact Focus Student Learning
during the unit?
Answer: Both Focus Students vastly improved from the Pre-Assessment to the two Forma ve
Assessments. Unfortunately, B’s scores went down between the two Forma ve Assessments,
whereas A’s improved with both. This tells me that B is not connec ng and retaining
informa on. This is likely a ributed to days that were harder to stay on task. We had used a
hand-sign system in previous years to help re-focus this student. I will talk to him and let him
know that we will be reimplemen ng this system. When I tell him this, I will also be asking him
how he is feeling about retaining informa on and how classes are going. I will also be doing a
check-in with A to see how she feels about her improvements and ask if she has been doing
anything di erent to improve her understanding and scores.
tt

ti
ti
ti
ti
ff
ti

ff
ti
tt
ti
ti

ti
ti
ft
ti
ti
ti

ti
ti
ti
ti
 Dear Intern,

Your aid in helping the teacher understand how to use data from forma ve assessments was
very useful. Please nd below the Summa ve 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

fi
ti
ti

 Post-Assessment Data
Student Scores by Objec ve 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

ti

 Post Assessment Ques ons & Answers

Ques on 1: What does these data mean for learning during the unit?
Answer: I am proud of my students for all of their hard work. These pieces of data show me
that, overall, students improved. All scores were raised, especially in the last three objec ves,
which was our main focus throughout the unit. Students were overall engaged throughout the
lessons, with excep on to a couple students that started to slack o in their work as the unit
went on. Only two students, 7 and 13, did not meet the 70% benchmark.

Ques on 2: What does these data mean for learning for the Focus Students during the unit?
Answer: Just by looking at the data, Focus Students A and B vastly improved from the Pre-
Assessment to the Post-Assessment. They both worked extremely hard to retain informa on
and improve understanding. The data also shows me that the individual work was exactly what
should have been done with these students. I will con nue to work with these students on an
individual basis a er the comple on of this unit.

Ques on 3: For future instruc on, what have you learned about how students learn and the
e ec veness of your instruc onal style? What would you change, if anything?
Answer: The data I collected from this unit shows me that I am e ec ve as a teacher. I am
happy with my instruc onal style and the di erent strategies I u lized throughout the unit. Not
all students were reached in a way that made the unit meaningful to them. I will con nue to
work on doing this, especially for the two students that did not meet the 70% benchmark. I will
be nding more ways to peak their interest in upcoming lessons, like integra ng their par cular
interests. Collec ng and analyzing data helped me a lot, as a teacher, and I will con nue to do
these in future units.
ff
fi
ti
ti
ti
ti
ti
ft
ti

ti
ti
ti
ti
ti
ff

ti
ti
ff
ff
ti

ti

ti
ti
ti
ti
ti