Strike Up the (Proficiency) Bands! (Data Director FAQ)

Data Director Frequently Asked Question #2: Why are the percentages on the pre-test proficiency bands different than the post-test proficiency bands?

Proficiency bands in Data Director are not just visual representations of how your students performed on an assessment; they are a useful tool in terms of making MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) decisions to enhance your students' learning.

The main reason that the proficiency bands change from the pre-test to the post-test in Data Director is because the data from those tests are used in different ways.

Unit pre-tests are formative assessments designed to guide instruction during the unit. The color bands indicate what sort of instruction the students within each level will need.



Starting in the middle, the students in the yellow Core band (students who scored between 69-79% on the pre-test) are the students who are ready for regular instruction during the unit. In other words, these are the students whose prior skills and knowledge make it likely that they'll be proficient at the end of the unit without extra support beyond your regular instruction.

Above them are the green Enrichment band for students who scored between 79-89%, and the blue Enrichment+ band for students who scored above 89%. These students have already demonstrated proficiency on the knowledge and skills that will be taught throughout the unit; they are ready for enriched instruction above and beyond what is normally taught during the unit.

Students in the orange Core+*classroom support* band scored between 49-69% on the pre-test. These students may need extra support beyond regular classroom instruction to become proficient by the end of the unit. Students in the red Intensive Core+ band scored below 49% on the pre-test, and will definitely need extra support throughout the unit in order to bring their knowledge and skills up to proficiency for the post-test.

Unit post-tests are formative assessments designed to guide re-teaching after the unit. The color bands indicate your students' proficiency on the knowledge and skills taught throughout the unit. For students who aren't proficient at the end of the unit, the bands indicate how much re-teaching they will need to reach proficiency.



Students in the green Proficient band (79-99%) and the blue Advanced band (at least 99%, which essentially means a perfect score for our unit post-tests) have demonstrated their proficiency on the skills and knowledge taught during the unit, and are not in need of any re-teaching.

Students in the remaining three bands need some sort of re-teaching to reach proficiency. In the yellow Close to Proficient band (69-79%) are students who probably don't need much re-teaching in order to demonstrate proficiency for the unit. On a 20-question post-test, a student in the yellow band only needed one or two more correct answers to make it to green.

Students in the orange Needs Additional Intervention band (49-69%) and the red Needs Substantial Intervention band (49% and below) will need more help to reach proficiency. These are students with significant gaps in their understanding of the skills and knowledge taught throughout the unit, and will likely need a considerable amount of re-teaching in order to become proficient.

One of the best ways to ensure that more of your students reach proficiency on the post-test is to formatively assess their skills and knowledge throughout the unit, and then use the information gained from those formative assessments to guide your instruction. Regular formative assessments that are connected to the Iowa Core standards that your students are working on will keep you better informed on their progress throughout the unit, and will make it easier for you to meet their individual learning needs in your classroom.