Inquiry and Assesments

Question 1

Portfolio Process:

Answer 1

Representative of current assessment practices in our schools.

Question 2

Portfolio (Education):

Answer 2

Allows demonstration of understandings, skill development, and attitudes to others—and also define learning goals and track achievement for students.

Question 3

NCLB:

Answer 3

No Child Left Behind.

Question 4

Primary Purpose of Assessment:

Answer 4

To improve the child’s opportunity to learn and the resultant construction of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Question 5

Assessment Standard A:

Answer 5

Assessments must be consistent with the decisions they are designed to inform.

• Assessments are deliberately designed. • Assessments have explicitly stated purposes.
• The relationship between the decisions and the data is clear.
• Assessment procedures are internally consistent.

Question 6

Desired Results:

Answer 6

To reach an appropriate level of understanding

Question 7

Teaching Standard C:

Answer 7

Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning. In doing this, teachers:
• Use multiple methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.
• Analyze assessment data to guide teaching.
• Guide students in self-assessment.
• Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to reflect on and improve teaching practice.
• Use student data, observations of teaching, and interactions with colleagues to report student achievement and opportunities to learn to students, teachers, parents, policy makers, and the general public.

Question 8

Depth of Understanding:

Answer 8

The focus is more on getting through the material than true intellectual pursuit.

Question 9

Assessment Standard B:

Answer 9

Achievement and opportunity to learn science must be assessed.
• Achievement data collected focus on the science content that is most important for students to learn.
• Opportunity-to-learn data collected focus on the most powerful indicators.
• Equal attention must be given to the assessment of opportunity to learn and to the assessment of student achievement.

Question 10

Task-Centered Approach:

Answer 10

The focus is on the achievement of the task.

Question 11

Construct-Centered Approach:

Answer 11

The engagement in the activity.

Question 12

Alternative Assessments:

Answer 12

Measures applied proficiency more than it measures knowledge. (Used to determine what students can and cannot do, in contrast to what they do or do not know)..

Question 13

Designing:

Answer 13

Is the target clear and appropriate?

Question 14

Selecting:

Answer 14

Is the purpose for assessment clear?

Question 15

Assessment Evidence:

Answer 15

Helps with understanding this decision and reinforces the importance of clearly linking assessment to achievement.

Question 16

Assessment Standard E:

Answer 16

The inferences made from assessments about student achievement and opportunity to learn must be sound:

• When making inferences from assessment data about student achievement and opportunity to learn science, explicit reference needs to be made to the assumptions on which the inferences are based.

Question 17

Authentic Assessment Practices:

Answer 17

Student observations • Student interviews • Written reports or journals • Portfolios • Performance measurements • Concept or vee maps • Multiple-choice tests • Essay tests • Short-answer tests • Attitude surveys • Creative assessments • Projects and laboratory experiences

Question 18

External purpose assessments:

Answer 18

Include examinations given to provide information for accountability, to guide policy decisions, to gather information for program evaluation, to sort and classify people for admissions, and to certify or hire. This is the assessment resulting from achievement, placement, or certification tests.

Question 19

Internal purpose assessments:

Answer 19

Classroom-based assessments used by the teacher to measure the progress of students within their class.

Question 20

Reflexive Assessment:

Answer 20

Automatic, end-of-the-chapter routine.

Question 21

Reflective Assessment:

Answer 21

Increasingly indistinguishable from the classroom learning activities themselves.

Question 22

Concept Mapping:

Answer 22

• Nodes are the specific locations where the concepts contained on the map are located.
• Links or cross-links are the relationships between concepts in different nodes of the concept map.
• Propositions are the connecting words, such as “has,” “can be,” or “is part of.”

Question 23

Open-Ended Questions:

Answer 23

Very useful in identifying misconceptions or in promoting divergent thinking.

Question 24

Diversity:

Answer 24

Actively creating, developing, and nurturing a fully inclusive classroom community symbolized by equal access and respect for all individuals.

Question 25

Four-step process for English Language Learners:

Answer 25

1. First, decide what your students will learn and identify objectives and associated language activities. 2. Next, incorporate background knowledge by tying the lesson to the student’s knowledge and experience through related activities. 3. Then, select a variety of teaching and learning experiences that introduce vocabulary and provide opportunities for children to interact. 4. Finally, provide multiple alternatives for children to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

Question 26

McCES Framework for Assessment:

Answer 26

Match the learning goals and the language of instruction. Be comprehensible for English learners, both linguistically and culturally. Challenge students to think about difficult ideas. Elicit student understanding. Scaffold the use of language and support student learning.