VI:

Assessment Data and Analysis

Grading Criteria and Scoring:

The same test was given as a pre-test on March 10-11 before spring break and on
April 6-7 as a post-test. We decided that the post-test was going to be in open-note
format. They could use any resources available to them with the exception of their
phone or their laptops. Scoring was out of 25 pts and an answer key was used to
grade. Students scoring from 23-25 got a 4, students scoring from 16-22 got a 3,
students scoring from 9-15 for a 2, and scores from 1-8 were scored as a 1. Students
that did not take the test or scored a 0 were given an ie with no makeup allowed.

We did not differentiate the test as we felt an open note exam would make up for
students who might ordinarily struggle on a rote memorization test.


Pre- and Post Assessment Results:
Pre-assessment results (absences omitted, ie counted as 0):
143 students, Average Score of a 1.44

Post-assessment results (absences omitted, ie counted as 0)
135 students, Average Score of a 2.03

Average Score (Rubric 1-4)

Average Pre- and Post

Assessment Score Comparison
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Pre

Post
Test Type

Individual Growth of Three Randomly Chosen Students
Student 1 scored 7/25 on the pre-test, 13/25 on the post-test
Student 2 scored 14/25 on the pre-test, 21/25 on the post-test
Student 3 scored 13/25 on the pre-test, 22/25 on the post-test

Comparison Graph Seen Below:

Percentage on Test

Individual Growth Comparison of

Three Random Students
100%
80%
60%
40%

Pre

20%

Post

0%
Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Student

Pre- and Post Assessment Results and Patterns:
Students showed a growth of 0.59 pts as a whole of an average score on the pre-test
of 1.44 to an average score on the post-test of 2.03. This was to be expected as the
students had access to all of their notes, worksheets, and activities.

Student 1 showed a growth of 34% going from a 1 to a 2
Student 2 showed a growth of 28% going from a 2 to a 3
Student 3 showed a growth of 36% going from a 2 to a 4


What do these assessments show about the learning that did or did not occur in
the unit?:
There was an overall increase in scores of 0.59 pts. This indicates that students
either learned the material needed to finish the exam, or their notes and activities
were complete enough to have good resources. Either way, this indicates learning
did occur in the classroom. Students were able to answer only a few questions from
the pre-test, while the post-test was complete for all 135 students. The most
dramatic effect took place in the difference between # of 3s for the pre-test versus #
of 3s for the post-test. The pre-test only had 11, while the post-test had 41. Thats a
large increase in content mastery. Even when you look at my 3 individual students
you can see increases in scores, indicating mastery of the content.


Unit Instructional Assessments:
Both formal and informal assessments during the unit support the notion that
students did start mastering the content. Students were able to connect the dots
between lessons and that led to some awesome questions and discussions based on
the unit. Students showed that they could digest the information and start making
conclusions and claims based on the data. Student scores on the atmosphere

drawing (average of a 3), Weather Front webquest (average of a 4), and debate
argument (average of a 3) showed me that students were learning. Furthermore, I
gauge learning as an increase in interest too, and when students start asking me
curiosity based questions I know that learning is occurring. They are starting to take
an investment in their learning. Thats worth all its weight in gold to me as a teacher.


Strengths and Weaknesses of the Assessment Plan:
One of the biggest strengths in the plan was giving students the exact same test for
pre- and post assessment. This allowed students to know exactly what they needed
to understand to do well in the unit. Also, there were many informal check-for-
understandings during the lessons that helped me gauge whether to continue or
remediate information. This unit is built such that students need to understand one
concept before they can connect the dots and put it all together into one nice and
neat story. I feel like throughout the unit, students were able to do just that.

The main weakness I caught was that some students showed no investment in the
unit anyways. This resulted in some apathy towards the exams and activities.
Furthermore, because we ran out of time with some sections, we had to rethink
when some of the activities would be completed and even had to cut back on some
of the demonstrations. The other weakness, which Im not sure is even one, is that
we made it an open-note test. This required our grading to be on the ball, because if
we failed to grade one class assignment, that assignment couldnt be used as a
resource on the exam. We also saw that some of the test questions (notably harder
ones for sure) were still weak in the post-test results. We shouldve spread out the
unit a bit more, maybe over 3-4 weeks instead of 2-3. That mightve given students
more time to digest some of the higher-order concepts.