Mismatch Analysis

Carolyn Boyles
Aug 18, 2008

The concept of a mismatch analysis has roots in the biomedical research field for comparative views of DNA information, as well as cultural studies in India. However, its application in classrooms, as described by Vallecorsa (1999), is the one that has important relevance to teachers of classrooms with learners of varying abilities.

Assessment information about students identified and reported in the subgroup SWD (students with disabilities) can be used to plan more effectively for inclusive instruction, if that assessment includes more than data about the student's deficits. Information about the student's reading and math levels is important but does not provide adequate information to plan for optimum learning experiences.

Using the concept of the mismatch-analysis, teachers can examine the information they have about the students in their classroom and combine that with the expectations and demands of their curriculum and teaching techniques. In addition, if they have information about their students' background knowledge, language and vocabulary proficiencies and cultural experiences, mismatches can become matches.

In an example of this process from Scaffolding Grade Level Learning (2005, rev.2007), a classroom teacher has set up the following learning experience:

After discussing three familiar folk tales as a whole group activity, students will be working in small groups to analyze the tales for story components and recording them on a chart that will be used to launch an individual writing assignment.  The students will be working in small groups to complete the graphic organizer shown here after the whole group discussion.


Before beginning this activity, a mismatch analysis would reveal opportunities for scaffolding that would make the lesson more effective for all students in the classroom. This analysis can be initiated by the classroom teacher or as a key role for an inclusion teacher as the two teachers collaborate to optimize learning for all students in the classroom.

In a mismatch analysis of these lesson activities, the key questions to be asked are:

1) What are the demands of the materials/content that may create problems or obstacles for any of the learners in the classroom?  Example: Is the organizer effective for all students? Is the format appropriate for the purpose? Is the content complex, abstract, etc.?
2) What aspects of the teaching decisions have potential to create obstacles for any of the learners in the classroom?  Example: Are instructions or teacher expectations clear and understood by all students? Will the activity support the skill being taught?
3) Is there any demand of the process of interacting with the materials or with classmates that will become an obstacle for any of the learners in the classroom?

The answers to these questions result in the mismatch analysis below:

When students with disabilities are placed in inclusive settings, their rights to appropriately planned and soundly delivered instruction remain the responsibility of the school district and school. Co-teaching planning and collaboration should optimize their opportunities to achieve at grade-level. The collaboration between the classroom teacher and special education teacher can be enhanced with a shared responsibility for identifying the mismatches and turning them into matches.