Antonia Keithahn November 27th, 2012 EPSY 485 Assessment During Instruction Activity I wanted to choose a school context

within which I had actually taught so that I would not be inventing students with special needs, which seemed inappropriate. In addition, I wanted this activity to be relevant to my future teaching in a middle school context. For this reason, I have chosen to ground my assessment and unit plans in 7th grade material, working with a diverse group of students. This middle school, with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, is home to nearly 700 students, with nearly 60% dubbed low-income. Demographic data is quite mixed, with 48% white, 34% black, 6% Latino, and 8% Asian. A little over 15% of students have IEPs and almost 4% have limited Englishlanguage proficiency. The school has grade-level teams, with three teams per level. Though administrators are loath to admit that students are tracked in the school, it is clear to teachers and students that the teams are tiered. One student has some vision and hearing impairments, but is very engaged in material and does well on assignments. Students have a wide variety of demonstrated ability, but much of this is due to a lack of interest, not lack of skills. However, students written work needs improvement across the board, even students who do quite well on their homework and in-class assessments. The unit I chose to construct an assessment within is for 7th grade social studies, which is generally United States history from its foundation to the late 19th century and the rise of industrialization, and is entitled Economic Development and Westward Expansion. The essential questions for this unit include: Why should you study the social sciences, and how are they applicable to your daily life? How do social scientists construct and evaluate the stories of the past? How does the environment shape human activity, and how does human activity shape the environment? How do humans fulfill their needs for goods and services? What causes people to invent and express themselves creatively, and what impact do new inventions, technologies and forms of artistic expression and communication have on a societys economy and overall culture? How and why are people or groups in a society treated differently based on race, gender, religion, etc.? How and why do civilizations change over time? How does religion affect the lives of people and societies? To what extent can an individual and/or groups actions determine the course of a society?

Can there be a just war? Why or why not?

I would say that the enduring understandings for this unit would focus mainly on the interrelation of and conflict among cultures within a given society as well as the complex interwoven nature of economics and politics in shaping the destiny of our country. I believe another thing to stress is the importance of innovation and the power of both groups and the individual in pushing for change. In proceeding through this portion of United States history, I would like for my students to get a complete understanding of Americas agricultural system both as it stood in the early 19th century and through today. These standards will be in line with Illinois state standards as well as my own beliefs about necessary information and skills for my students. The state standards are as follows: 15.C.4b Explain the importance of research, development, invention, technology and entrepreneurship to the United States economy. 15.E.3b Explain how laws and government policies (e.g., property rights, contract enforcement, standard weights/measurements) establish rules that help a market economy function effectively. 16.A.3b Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other historical sources.

In terms of quantifiable student output, these standards must be additionally proceduralized so that they can produce memorable data. In order to measure the first standard, then, I would have students demonstrate the connections between historical innovation and modern innovation by creating interactive skits (factual creativity). For the second standard, I would like students to compare and contrast the Northern industrializing economic system with the Southern agricultural system that still relied on slave labor. These two systems will be further complicated by introducing the modern state of American economics which has progressed in some ways but remains indebted to substandard labor practices in order to function in its current mold. Students will be asked to place information about these three systems in a Venn diagram in order to analyze which factors are shared by the systems (conceptual analysis). Also, in order to improve students research skills and ability to interpret materials, I will have students use their base of knowledge to predict which economic factors will wield tremendous political influence (metacognitive understanding). When assessing students, I would like to use a variety of creative items, especially because I have seen students rely on invalid true-false and multiple-choice items that do little to test real understanding and instead measure students ability to directly copy answers from the board and no almost nothing in the way of interpretation or application. Furthermore, I have noticed that

students writing abilities are not up to grade level, and I would like for students to practice their writing skills as well as their skills for argument and persuasion. For the first assessment, students would be divided into groups and assigned an inventor or an invention, and would need to do research either using printed or online materials in order to find out more information. They would then write a short skit (2-3 minutes) clearly identifying their inventor and invention and demonstrating the impact of that invention. An item on a cumulative assessment at the end of the unit would look something like this: 3. Match the inventor with his invention and give a brief explanation of how their invention impacted American life. (1 point for correct match, 2 points for correct explanation) 1. Eli Whitney 2. Samuel Morse 3. Cyrus McCormick 4. Henry Blair 5. Charles Goodyear a. Reaper b. Cotton Gin c. Vulcanized rubber d. Telegraph e. Corn Planter ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________

(Answers: 1-b, made the picking of cotton much faster; 2-d, allowed for quick communication across large distances; 3-a, allowed wheat to be threshed much more quickly and efficiently than ever before; 4-e, made the planting of corn automatic and fast; 5-c, used in the making of tires and countless other objects)

For the second objective, as I mentioned, a cumulative test item would have student fill out a Venn diagram of American agriculture and industry, dividing the economic systems of the North and South, and comparing those systems with our modern economy. On a test, it would look something like this: 7. Fill out the following Venn diagram to the best of your abilities. You should identify at least ten characteristics of these economic systems. (15 points)

The North Industrializing; not as strong with raw materials, but used raw materials such as cotton to make clothes in factories for export; more ports for foreign markets Cotton; unfair labor practices technology Cotton and other raw

The South materials grown in the south; slave labor used on many farms and plantations; agriculture; some technological innovations

Technology; Factories, though many factory jobs have moved overseas; importance of foreign trade Innovation Still a reliance on agriculture in some parts of the country; unfair working conditions globalization of worldwide economies; interconnection of society; technology on a scale that earlier generations Modern United States Economy could not imagine; internet and ecommerce

The last question would require student to engage their writing skills and their ability to make inferences based on their historical knowledge. 10. Write a short paragraph responding to this quote by Abraham Lincoln: A house divided against itself cannot stand. In what ways was the United States divided against itself? Give at least three examples, and provide solutions for those examples. (10 points) Answer Example: The United States of the early 19th century had moved beyond its colonial borders but still harbored deep divisions among the states. The economy of the north, due to its frigid

climates, could not engage in agricultural pursuits to the degree that the south could, and began to specialize in industry. New York and Boston were ideal harbors, and the north engaged in international trade. New Orleans was the southern states major trading port, especially for cotton. Cotton was planted and harvested by slaves, who had been forcefully brought to the United States and made to work on cotton plantations. Slaves had limited civil rights, and were effectively property. Though many in the northern states had slaves as well, they were not such an integral part of the economy, and slavery came to be viewed as a cruel aberration and something that should be eliminated. Another division in the United States was the role of the state governments and federal government and the question of which had the final say on matters such as slavery. In order to resolve these issues, I would suggest that the federal government invest in southern industry and pull the southern states to a more balanced economy. This would also provide additional job opportunities for southern blacks, and dissolve the institution of slavery without destroying the southern economy. To avoid the confusion of state and federal jurisdictions, I would suggest that politicians come together to clarify which roles are held by the federal government alone and which are held by the states. I believe that these items, along with some short identifications and multiple choices, for students who do better with these kinds of items or struggle with writing, would be valid and reliable items on a summative assessment for this unit. The first question would directly link to an activity we had done in class, and allows students to get points both for item matching and for identification, so that they are not unfairly penalized for failing to remember who invented what. The Venn diagram would be more difficult to grade, especially because there are so many potential answers. However, I believe that this more open-ended option allows students the space to think creatively and see connections that perhaps they had not seen when reading a text or during discussion. For grading this section fairly, I think I would use a norm-based scheme. I would look through the responses, find the one that most successfully addresses the point we had covered in class and the student objectives, and use that as the 15-point exemplar. Other student answers would be graded in relation to this student exemplar. This would remove my personal biases and get closer to the student retention of covered materials rather than what I hoped (and perhaps failed) to teach correctly, thereby improving test item validity. The final assessment item would allow students to express themselves in a standard paragraph format, taking care to address every part of the question. While I would expect proper grammar and spelling, the short answer format removes some of the more

daunting parts of the writing process, like the thesis statement and concerns about adequate support for arguments. Rather, students will need to recall regional differences and give their own ideas of how these differences became divisions, and how these divisions could be resolved. This allows for some creativity, and gets students thinking about social justice in our political system. While the skits that I mentioned as a formative assessment would not be graded, or would be given only a participation grade, this summative assessment would be a significant part of students grades. The text would be given over one class period, though our school uses black scheduling, so there will be 80 minutes allowed to complete the test. Students that need additional time will be given it either after or before school, and students that have modifications or accommodations will have the test appropriately amended or altered in line with their IEP or 504 plans. For this assessment, I imagine student working independently, but perhaps for the Venn diagram portion, I may have students work in pairs at the start of the class, if there are student who struggle with that kind of visual or graphic processing. However, for the other sections of the test, I believe it is important that I assess individual students and am able to monitor their understanding and application of the material. For multiple-choice and matching items, I expect that students will have at least 80% success rates, and am willing to throw out a question if the success rate of 50% or lower. The short answer question will be assessed no matter what, as it is critically important to support literacy skills in my classroom. However, students that have relevant accommodations on their IEP will be able to complete that portion of the exam orally rather than writing it out. They will still be expected to write a mini-outline to guide their thoughts and demonstrate their ability to organize their writing. Based on the outcome of the assessment I will either reteach certain portions if I think that they are vitally important to the continuation of my instruction or simply move on if the material is more cursory. For instance, the matching items are less important to me than identifying the purpose and impact of the inventions, and I would rather have my students demonstrate a clear understanding of that rather than be able to match inventors and inventions. Similarly, dates are less important to me than enduring understandings, and point totals will reflect this. In order to improve my assessment abilities, I may have students reflect on the unit material and identify areas that they enjoyed or struggled with, and use this to modify the assessment.