Using Performance-Based Assessment

Chuck Greiner, 11th and 12th Grade Psychology Teacher, James M. Bennett High School, Salisbury, Maryland

Purpose:
When instruction and assessment are congruent, I find that student achievement improves. A specific semester-long assessment strategy I use to evaluate achievement in my high school advanced placement psychology classes is an end-of-year Psychology Fair. Working in teams, students find this to be an exciting, valuable, and memorable activity.

Procedure:
I give them the following rubric in the form of a checklist:

Psychology Fair Rubric

Our Psychology Project

• (25 pts) Provides background information-it cites other studlies, explains our interest in the topic, and presents a rationale for the topic. (The better the background information, the more detailed, and the more it Its,” the more points you earn.)

  Brief example: “We are interested in how dress affects behavior. We always felt better when we were dressed up and also thought that less violence occurs between people who ‘dress up.’ Cohen and Cohen (1987) found that students who wore uniforms performed 10 percent better on exams and were cited for fewer office referrals. Thus we wanted to look into this topic further.”

• (25 pts) Gives a description of the study (an abstract—a general statement in 100 words or fewer about your project).

  Brief example: “This study investigates the relationship between academic performance and the use of uniforms in schools. Three schools in Deny County, Pennsylvania, were surveyed on issues of academic performance and office referrals. The use of uniforms showed an increase in achievement and decreased behavioral problems.”

• (40 pts) Has a measurable hypothesis with specific variables defined and identified.
• (25 pts) Includes at least one graph, chart, or other visual aid which summarizes the data. Someone should be able to look at your graph/chart and clearly see what the variables and results were.
• (10 pts) Includes a clean copy of any survey or other scale that was used to gather data.
• (40pts) Includes a written procedure that tells the observer exaactly what we did. Brief example: “We took 3 days to survey 100 students and 30 teachers.”
• (30 pts) Includes a section that explains the data and tells whether the hypothesis was accurate.

  Brief example: “Our data reflect that our hypothesis was correct The 30 percent increase in scores reflects the improved achievement of students while. ...“ gain, develop your explanation. If you only say~’We were right” or “Our hypothesis is correct/wrong” you will not receive more than half the points.)

• (30 pts) Includes a section explaining the significance of the study—why it is important.

  Brief example: “This is an important study because it reflects a bias that many people may not be aware of, as well as a way in which students can improve scores and reduce their own behavioral problems. It further...”

• (50 pts) Is interactive. That is, observers can take the test, view the screen, do the quiz, and so on. his can be done in a variety of ways. For instance, if the test is long have observers do part of it, or show a video of your procedure.)

  Total Points Possible: 275