Response to discussion 5 BF
100-125 words
Karla
This week’s decision time in chapter 8 really made me think about the importance of performance tasks. Ms. Floden’s performance test is a great way to track students mastery of the biology task she has taught. Although, I will say that I would side more with the teachers that urged her to reduce the weight of the assessment (Popham, 2019). This is because I believe that it is also an assessment that would not thoroughly give Ms. Floden a proper understanding of the mastery level of multiple subjects within biology. I believe that it is a great and different way to test the students on their knowledge, but I would also encourage for there to be other assessment to judge their standing on different branches of biology. When reading this week’s text, I was really drawn to the idea of “multiple evaluative criteria,” this is important for the students to be tested using more than one evaluative criteria (Popham, 2019). Ms. Floden, I believe would be meeting many of the assessment options discussed in chapter 8, but I would not stick to just prespecified quality standards. Also, I really feel that Ms. Floden’s performance task gives her students the benefit of performing an experiment and not just having to answer 50 multiple choice questions on an assessment. I really enjoyed reading this week’s text and learning about different points of view for assessments. This will come in hand when deciding what assessment to assign for my future students.
Courtney
If I were Francine, I would try to break the grades up a little more. I would probably take the ninety percent portion and break it into parts of the report. Whatever the curriculum is that we covered in class to do this assignment, each part of the report could be broken down into those categories. For example, if we discussed what plants need to grow, that could be twenty percent of the report. If we discussed the parts of the plant, that could count for 10 percent of the grade.
I would want the students to turn those portions in to be graded so that I would be sure they are actively working and are knowledgeable about what is covered in class. The textbook states, “One of the most serious difficulties with performance assessments is that… it is often more difficult to generalize accurately about what skills and knowledge are possessed by the student” (Popham, 2019, pg. 207-208). If the paper is broken down into parts and is graded as you go, this could help accurately grade the students on the knowledge they have gained in class and are applying to the project.
Since the project has been started for two weeks and the students seem to be doing well, I would not go back to the paper and pencil examination. Some students learn better with hands-on activities. This does seem to be the best way to take the knowledge they are learning in class and physically apply it.
LuDecision Time: Grow, Plants, Grow
After reading this scenario, If I Was Mrs. Francine Floden, I will alter the grading points to 75% of the students’ grades to stem from the semester long performance task and 25% of the grade will go towards class participation and quizzes.
I chose to lower the performance task percentage because all students do not master skills at the same learning level, and this will give them opportunities to perform at a higher level with the quizzes and participation grade.
I believe students will gain purpose with the semester long assessment performance task. I can remember assisting my daughter in the fourth grade with her potato project. She was excited and I am sure students still feel that same sense of excitement today.
According to Popham (2020), performance assessment is an approach to measuring a student’s status based on the way the student completes a specified task. I believe this assessment brings students a sense of purpose and excitement. According to Popham (2020), better performance testing leads to better taught students.
If I was Mrs. Fracine, I would not change my performance assessment because I believe this level of assessment will be good for the students.
The only consideration I would take from Francine’s co-workers is to lessen the percentage on the performance task and increase the participation and quizzes percentages as I stated above.
I do not agree with Francine’s coworker about her not being able to draw defensible inferences about her students. I think Francine’s co-workers need to tend to their own classes and use whatever assessment task that is working for them.
Performance assessment allow students to apply their own knowledge and skills.
According to Popham (2020), a performance test typically stimulates the criterion situation; that is, it approximates the real-world setting to which students most apply skills; whereas, a paper-and-pencil test and computer-administered exams, are clearly limited in the degree to which they can approximate lifelike demands for students’ skills (p. 226).
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