Strategies for Assessment in the Inquiry-Based Classroom

Luis SalinasScience Curriculum Specialist

Austin ISD

The Challenge

• Translating hands-on inquiry learning into success on high-stakes objective tests

Assessment vs. Evaluation

• "Evaluation usually occurs when students finish a task, whereas assessment goes beyond evaluation to include gathering information about student performance as they work as well as when they are finished. Assessment is also usually done with the student, while evaluation is done to the students' work."

Source: AASL & AECT. (1998). Information Power, Building Partnerships for Learning. Chicago and London: American Library Association, page 173.

Why is assessment important?

• By the 2007-2008 school year, all states must administer science assessments to students once in grades 3-5; 6-9; and 10-12.

25 A block of maple wood with a volume of 405 cubic centimeters and a density of 0.67 g/cm3 is sawed in half. The density of the two smaller blocks is now —

A one-fourth the original density

B one-half the original density

C two times the original density

D the same as the original densityFrom 2003 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

Why is assessment important?

From 2003 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

Why is assessment important?

From 2003 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills

Why is assessment important?

Why is assessment important?

• Students must learn and retain concepts to be successful on high-stakes tests.

• Teachers must assess student knowledge frequently to determine strengths and needs and to develop interventions.

Uses of Assessment

• Assign grades

• Determine mastery

• Rank students

• Quantify progress

• Plan instruction

Kinds of assessment typically used

• Teacher observation

• Projects

• Lab reports

• Quizzes

• Paper & pencil tests

Teacher Observation

• Build checkpoints into lab activities. (“Stop. Ask your teacher to check your work before proceeding to the next step.”)

• Use the Dialog section of the Teacher’s Guide to flag key areas to check for understanding on the Blackline Master.

Projects

• Develop project criteria in collaboration with students

• Provide examples of quality work

• Use checkpoints for long-term projects

• Allow students to revise their work to meet standards

Presentations

• Use round-table presentations instead of whole-class• Students will be less intimidated

presenting to smaller groups• Students will become more

proficient with repeated presentations

• Audience will be more attentive than in large groups

Paper & Pencil

• Constructed response

• Multiple choice

Paper & Pencil

• Constructed Response Questions

An electric guitar has a solid body, so it lacks a resonant chamber to reinforce the sound. Instead, it has one or more pickups, which are small magnets wrapped with coils of wire placed beneath each of the strings. Any current induced in the coils is sent to an amplifier. Explain why the strings on an electric guitar must be made of metal and not nylon.

Paper & Pencil

• Constructed Response Questions

Sketch and label a diagram showing a transformer that could be used to step-up an input voltage by a factor of 4.

Paper & Pencil

• Constructed Response Questions

Use the concept of impulse to explain why concrete highway barriers are being replaced by barrels containing water. Your answer must include the following terms: force, impulse, time, momentum, velocity.

Paper & Pencil

• Using Multiple-Choice Items to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Paper & Pencil

• Provide a set of statements and ask students to evaluate their truth.

Paper & Pencil

From the CPO test bank:Which of the following block and tackle systems has the largest

mechanical advantage?

 

A. System A has the largest mechanical advantage.

B. System B has the largest mechanical advantage.

C. System C has the largest mechanical advantage.

D. All three systems have the same mechanical advantage.

Paper & Pencil

Which of the following statements are true about the pulley systems in the diagram above?I. Pulley system A has the least mechanical advantage.II. Pulley system B is the most efficient.III. If the same length of string is pulled in all three systems, the weight in System C will be lifted the least.

 A. Only Statement I is true.B. Only Statement II is true.C. Both Statement I and II are true.D. Both Statement I and III are true.

Paper & Pencil

• Make students choose explanations instead of facts.

Paper & Pencil

 The diagram below shows a schematic of an electrical circuit.  

What will happen to the brightness of Bulb S when the switch at T is closed?A. Bulb S will get dimmer because some of the current is drawn to Bulb T.B. Bulb S will get dimmer because the resistance of the circuit increases.C. Bulb S will get brighter because the resistance of the circuit decreases.D. Bulb S will stay the same, because the resistance and the voltage across each branch are the same.

S T

Paper & Pencil

• Use scenarios as the question stem; have students choose inferences or conclusions.

Paper & Pencil

The data table below shows the results of an experiment testing various simple machines.

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the data above?A. Machine A had the most friction.B. Machine C was the least efficient of the machines.C. Machine D was the least efficient of the machines.D. All of the machines reduced the amount of force required to lift the object.

Machine Input Force (N) Input Distance (m) Output Force (N) Output Distance (m) A 25 1 50 0.25 B 10 1 50 0.15 C 55 1 50 1 D 100 1 50 1.75

Paper & Pencil

• Consider group testing

• Offer a choice of assessment options