Component 1:  Illustrations of Assessment Procedures

"Assessment of student learning requires the use of a number of techniques for measuring student achievement.  But assessment is more than a collection of techniques.  It is a process, a systematic process, that plays a significant role in effective teaching.  It begins with the identification of learning goals and ends with a judgment concerning the extent to which those goals have been attained." Robert Linn and Norman Gronlund, Measurement and Assessment in Teaching, 1995.
 

I have taught for 22 years.  I have taught computer science for 15 years.  In comparing the types of assessment tools I used before entering the Masters program and the types of assessment tools I now use, I can say that in some ways I have come a long way and in others I received affirmation that I was using effective tools.  The approach to teaching computer science has changed much in the 15 years I have been teaching it.  When I started, programming was the main and, in many instances only emphasis.  I used a combination of objective tests, worksheets, and programming assignments to assess student learning.  In the programming courses I now teach (C++ and AP Computer Science) I find I still use objective tests, worksheets, and programming assignments, but I use those tools to focus on much higher levels of thinking than I did before. In addition, I use essay tests, self-reporting techniques, and specification writing as well.   As the emphasis on programming diminished and the use of the computer as a tool became the focus of most computer classes, the types of learning objectives changed.  Computer science is still skill based, but the skills are now based in the use of different programs: word processors, spreadsheets, presentation software, searching the Internet, evaluating information on the Internet, and writing World Wide Web pages. This shift has affected my objectives, teaching methods, and of course, assessment.  I  now use a more sophisticated form of performance-based assessment.  For example, when writing a page for the  World Wide Web  the content a student or group of students can choose is very open.  Students can investigate 'extreme' sports, 'special' effects (e.g.. northern lights, claymation), an inventor, an artist, a musical style, etc.   The assessment for a project like the one above needs to take into account the content as well as the technical competency of the individual or group of students.  I try to focus more on technical competency in beginning assignments.  When students have mastered the technical I put more emphasis on the higher level thinking processes that should be reflected in choice of topic, clarity of purpose (inform, persuade, etc.), choice of verbal, visual and audio support, etc.

When I start to teach a new unit one of the beginning techniques I use is to ask questions, this assessment tool lets me know what students know and what they might have misconceptions about concerning the topic.  After I introduce initial concepts I design an activity to allow students to practice the use of those skills in an unpressured atmosphere.  I observe students work, encourage students to discover more on their own, and intervene when appropriate. We continue this way (new ideas, practice) until students have a basic skill level.  We then do several activities, each one more challenging, using higher level thinking skills than the one before. During and after each activity I give individual students and/or groups feedback, usually on a rubric.  Finally, students achieve the learning objective for that unit.  During the learning process and after mastery I have students self-assess and give me that feedback via journal writings.

Periodic feedback to parents is important also.  At Caravel Academy report cards are given to students every 9 weeks, for four marking periods per year.  Numerical grades and short written comments are recorded.  In the middle of every marking period, progress reports are issued for every student.  They also consist of a numerical average and a short written comment.  If a student receives below a 76% (our equivalent of a C) on a major assignment or a student fails to turn in an assignment  I send home a "Parent Communication Form".  Caravel Academy has developed these forms (with pressure sensitive copies) to communicate with parents.  The teacher checks the reason for the form from a list (no assignment turned in, late assignment, low score, etc.) and gives a copy to the student (and a copy to the office).  The student brings the form back signed by the deadline (usually 2 days after receiving the form) or a detention is issued.  If a student's average falls below a 76% that student is assigned to 'Mandatory Study Hall' for the next two weeks.  A student reports to Mandatory Study Hall (there is a separate space for different subjects) during the last period of the day (an activity period).  In Mandatory Study Hall students receive help in the subjects in which they have an average below a C.  Students that I assign to Mandatory Study Hall come to my computer lab to get extra help from me and advice on how to work for success in the computer field.  I also meet with students after school or allow them to use my room (if I have an extra seat) during their regular study hall so that they can have extra time to work.  If a student is having difficulty in my class (or is missing assignments regularly) I usually follow up the Parent Communication Forms with a phone call.  This allows me to discuss the plan for success that the student needs to follow with the parent.  Caravel Academy is a private, college prep school.  Students (for the most part) want to succeed and are appreciative of offered help.  Computer projects are designed with student's interests in mind and computer use is very motivating so most of my students are eager to succeed and will work hard to achieve mastery.

Below are some examples of assessment items I have used:
    Rubric for Electronic Journal entries
    Rubric for 'The Name Book' a presentation using Microsoft Power Point
    Rubric for GWBASIC programming project (graphics and animation)
    Rubric for Autobiographical World Wide Web page
    Rubric for Famous Person World Wide Web page
    Sample objective test for GWBASIC programming
    Sample objective test for C++ programming
    Sample word processing performance pre-test
    Sample test on the creation and use of a data base
    Sample essay question for C++ programming
 

Rubric for Electronic Journal Entries

In each of my classes I ask students to keep an electronic journal.  Once a week students write in the journal.  They might summarize the topics we have learned in class or summarize an article that they have been assigned to read on a current computer related topic or discuss how work has been progressing on a particular project we are working on in class.  They must also include their reactions to the ideas discussed.  I use the rubric below to evaluate each journal entry. I also use the journal entries as a means of private communication between myself and the student. The journals also provide me with a measure of how well the ideas were learned by the students or how engaging the projects associated with particular topics were. Click here to see sample journal entries.
 

Category	Points Possible	Points Earned
Summarized Content	2
Provided Sufficient Detail	2
Express Ideas Clearly	2
Grammar/Spelling	2
Typed In Correct Format	2
Correct Format Includes:
Proper heading SS, Body Of Report DS, Font 14 Or Less, 1 inch margins
Total	10

Rubric for 'The Name Book' a presentation using Microsoft Power Point

Rubric for GWBASIC programming project (graphics and animation)

After instuction and guided practice on how to use Web Edit to make a World Wide Web page I ask students to design a page about themselves.  We have a digital camera and I take each students' picture.  We have the capability to record students' favorite  music from CDs or they can record a personal message.  The content of the page relates to their favorite sports, music, hobbies, interests, and favorites (this can be anything from favorite TV shows, movies, techers, pet peeves, friends - and their WWW pages, etc.). The emphasis with this project is on page layout, creation, and skills (can the student link to a picture, an audio file, another page, etc.)  The scoring sheet follows: (I attach written comments to the scoring sheet).

Name _____________________
(5 points each)
_____ Heading (and title of page)
_____ Paragraph - Introduction of self
_____ Picture
_____ Outline
_____ Links (10 pts)
_____ Music  (content, named spot)
_____ Sports  (content, named spot)
_____ Hobbies (content, named spot)
_____ Interests (content, named spot)
_____ Favorites (content, named spot)
_____ Picture 2
_____ Picture 3
_____ Audio Link

_____ TOTAL

Rubric for Famous Person World Wide Web page

After learning to write WWW pages, learning to use the scanner, digital camera, search the Internet for information, pictures, and sound clips, and use Paint Shop Pro to convert and modify images.  Students are asked to design a WWW page for a famous person.  They will have already had experience making an autobiographical page for themselves (see above).  They will now apply the concept to making a page for a 'famous' person.  The person can be alive or not.  They must gather all the resources they need to create and design the page.  I use the scoring sheet below to evaluate their pages. I attach written comments to the scoring sheet also.

Famous Person: ___________________

Student Name: ____________________

File Name: _______________________
(10 points each)
_____ Layout
_____ Grammar and Spelling overall
_____ Introductory Paragraph Content
_____ Outline and Links
_____ First Section Content
_____ Second Section Content
_____ Third Section Content
_____ Graphics
_____ Audio
_____ Files on s:\applic, all referenced  correctly

_____ Total (of 100)

Sample objective test for GWBASIC programming

Until 1997 I taught a unit on GWBASIC as a part of the "Introduction to Computers" class that I teach.  The students would have an answer sheet for the following objective test I would give them after studying the introductory material. I developed this test before entering the Master of Instruction program. I test on mostly a recall basis.  Some higher level skills are required to predict what the computer will do in the 'You be the Computer' section and in the actual writing of the program for the last question.

FILL IN THE BLANK (all questions are worth five points each)

Word Bank:
NEW           MACHINE            LITERAL            LOAD                RUN 50-100
SAVE          HIGH LEVEL       RUN                    REM                  F1, F6
PRINT         PROGRAM          CONSTANT        LIST 50-100       TROFF
LLIST          LIST                     DELETE              120 <ENTER>    LPRINT
ERASE        FILES                   LIST DISK            TRON              LOW LEVEL

1. A _______________ is a sequence of step-by-step instructions telling a computer to do something.

2. The keyword ______________ allows comments to be placed in the program but has no effect on the output.

3. The command _____________ causes your program lines to be translated into machine language and begins execution of your program.

4. In order to get a listing of the program in memory on the screen you type ________________

5. The command ______________ displays the names of all the programs on your disk.

6. In order to list program lines 50 through 100  you would type ______________.

7. A message enclosed in quotation marks to be printed by the computer is known as a _______________.

8._______________ is the command used to get a program from the disk into the RAM memory of your computer.

9. A ____________ language uses English-like instructions that the computer translates into machine language.

10. In order to delete line 120 (only) from a program in RAM memory you  would type ________________.

COMMAND  or KEYWORD
Write the word Command on your answer sheet if the word is a command, write the word Keyword on your answer sheet if the word is used on a program line.

11. SAVE ________________

12. CLS  _________________

13. LIST _________________

14. PRINT _______________

15. REM _________________

YOU BE THE COMPUTER

Write the output (what happens when you RUN ) of the following programs. One character per space.
16.
10 REM ** THIS PROGRAM PRINTS A MESSAGE
20 PRINT "       MEETING"
30 PRINT "     COMPUTER CLUB "
40 PRINT "
50 PRINT "TUESDAY","2:45 P.M."

17.
10 PRINT "BOYS", "GIRLS", "TEACHERS"
20 PRINT "----", "-----", "--------"
30 PRINT
40 PRINT 24,22,5
50 PRINT "THE TOTAL IS "; 22+24+5

DEBUGGING

Write the corrected line.

18.        10 PRINT "NAME", LOCKER NUMBER

           ____________________________________________________

19.        20 PRINT SCOTT, 133

           ____________________________________________________

20.
WRITE THE PROGRAM (Write this on the back of your answer sheet)
Write a program that prints the following: (Be sure to have the
computer calculate the average)

       Heidi's  Grades

95          85           90

Average: 90
 
 

END OF TEST

Sample objective test for C++ programming

The following is an objective test that I would give students in the "Programming in C++" course that I teach.  Students would take this test after studying introductory material. I developed this test after I entered the Master of Instruction program. Recall is tested in some questions, but many questions (more that in that of the GWBASIC test above) ask students to use higher level thinking skills to put ideas together and compare C++ to languages that they know.

Programming in C++

Name _____________________

Short Answer

1.  What makes the C++ programming  language different from BASIC or Pascal.  (3 points)

2.  Name two advantages for learning to program. (4 points)

3.  Explain what is meant by an Integrated Development Environment. (5 points)

4.  What are the two different symbols for remarks in C++ and tell how you would use each. (8 points)

5.  Explain the use of the #include statement.(5 points)

6.  What does cout stand for and why is it used.(6 points)

7.  Explain the overall structure of a C++ program. (8 points)

8.  What three steps need to happen to a program for it to execute. (6 points)

9.  Describe the two different ways to cause output to move to the next line and give an example of each. (8 points)

10.  What do the following symbols mean and write an example of their use: (4 points each)
· \"
· \’
· \a
· \\
· \t

11.  C++ is a free form language, meaning that spaces and blank lines generally have no effect on a program’s operation.  Explain two general program style guidelines.  (6 points)

12.  C++ cannot compile a program that contains errors.  What are some errors (at least two) that you encountered while writing the exercises and how did you correct them. (6 points)
 
13.  Write a C++ program to produce the following output: (15 pts)

Invoice:
 Mickey Mouse hats:  8 Goofy hats: 3
 Total hats: 11
 Cost per hat: 15.95
 
 Total bill: 175.45

(have the computer calculate both totals)
 
END OF TEST

Sample word processing performance pre-test

The following is a pre-test that I give students to access their knowledge of the word processor. We then use the information from this test (what they could and could not do) to focus our coverage of the program Microsoft Word.
 

1. Load "S:\USERS\PRAC1WP.DOC"

2. Use the SAVE AS feature to save above document on your drive A.

3. Use the cut and paste feature to switch sentence one and sentence two.

4. Make changes on page 130 in "Century 21 Keyboarding" book (located at end of table).

5. Change margins to 1" on the left and right.

6. Change font to Arial, size 12, black

7. Add a header -- name on left, date on right

8. Add a footer -- the word page and page number at center

9. Use word art to add a title at center top

10. Spell check and proofread

11. Use thesaurus on one word

12. Underline one word, bold another word, italicize another word

13. Double space both paragraphs

14. Add the footnote (to the end after the word ‘teachers’) Century 21 Typewriting, page 130

15. Add a piece of clip art at the end, size it so that the entire document is only ONE page

16. save and print
 

 Sample test on the creation and use of a data base

I used the following performance test in my "Computer Applications" course.  It served as the unit end assessment for the data base unit.  We used the Microsoft Works data base.  The book refered to is "Database Applications" by William O. Drum, published by South-Western Publishing Co, in 1990.  It took students (typically) three periods to complete.

1. Create a data base for Cycle America.  Background information appears on page 55 of the Data Base Applications book.  Specific fields are listed on page 56. (20 points)

2. Enter the following records into your data base. Records 3-5 to 3-10. They begin on page 73. Put a 2 in each transaction code field. For an explanation of the tour codes see page 59. Add a separate record for each person (married people are entered separately, the amount of the fee indicated on the form should be divided evenly between the two people).(10 points)

3. Add yourself as a record.  Print using the list view. (5 points)

4. Design a report, when you are finished rename it MASLIST.  The main title should be Cycle America Master List. Under the main title include a line ‘Prepared by: Your Name’. It should contain the following fields: Last name, First Name, Address, City State, and ZIP Code. Include a count of Last Name.(15 points)

5. Sort all records according to the Last Name and print using the MASLIST report.(5 points)

6. Barbara Lunds has broken her leg and will not be able to go on the Green Bay tour.  Print her record (form view), and delete her from the data base.  When you print, be sure to get your paper off the printer and hand-write your name on it.(5 points)

7. Design a new report, when you are finished rename it FEES.  The main title should be Cycle America - Fees Collected. Under the main title include a line ‘Prepared by:  Your Name’.  It should contain the following fields: Tour Code, Last Name, First Name, Fee Paid. Include a sum of the Fee Paid.(15 points)

8. Sort all records according to the Tour Code and print using the FEES report.(5 points)

9. In the Word Processor, complete the Mail Merge activity on page 66 and 67.  Replace  *TOUR  with Wisconsin Dells – departure time: June 9 at 7 a.m.   Replace *COST with $250.00. Use your name as the Co-owner. (15 points)

10. Print a letter for each participant registered for the Wisconsin Dells tour scheduled for June 9. (5 points)

Sample essay question for C++ programming

After 12 weeks of learning to use the C++ language I gave students the following take home essay test to complete.  My aim was to encourage them to think about the process of creating a program as well as thinking from the top down.  Click here to see sample essays.   Following the test question is the rubric I developed to evaluate what students had written.

C++ Take home essay test:

You have decided to write a program to play the game Mastermind.  The details are below.  Write in a two to three page essay how you would approach solving this problem.  detail the sequence of your thought processes, what would you do first, then what next, etc.  what functions would you use and what should each function do?  (You do not have to write the entire function, but you should write the header and tell me specifically what it would accomplish.)  How will your main be structured?  How will you know that your program works - what data sets will you use to test that it works under all conditions?  At each point in the overall process are there certain things you think about or be careluf of, what are they?  After you finish the program what do you think that you will have learned?  these are the questions that should be addressed in your essay.

I expect thoughtful, creative, and detailed essays.  They should by typed (10 points).  Gramar and spelling should be correct (10 points).  this essay will be due Wednesday, May 13.

The game of Mastermind is played as follows: One player (the code maker) chooses a secret arracngemtn of colored pegs and the other player (the code breaker) tries to guess it. the code breaker puts forth an arrangement of colored pegs, and the code maker reports two numbers:

1. The number of pegs that are the correct color and in the correct position.
2. the number of pegs that are the correct color regardless of whether they are in the correct position.

    You have broken the code in 3 guesses.

(The above programming problem of Mastermind is from "A Guide to Programming in C++" by Corica, Brown, and Presley, published by Lawrenceville Press, 1997.)
 
 

Scoring Key for C++ Essay Test
Name:
Criteria	Possible Points	Earned Points	Comments
Detailed main	20
Detailed functions	20
Discussed test data	10
Discussed what you have learned	10
Overall flow/creativity of essay	20
Grammar and spelling	10
Essay is typed in correct format	10
Total	100