SarahGoodwin_Journal3

====The third graders had a science test scheduled for the morning of my visit this week. They had been learning about the water cycle for a while and it was time for the chapter test. The students were explicitly told what to study with heavy hints to a chart on a page in their science book. They had gone over and over this material in the week prior. The students made a vocabulary flip chart so they could quiz themselves on the vocabulary associated with the water cycle. The test was mostly fill-in-the-blank with a word bank. There was a paragraph describing the water cycle, and the students had to fill in the important words by using the word bank. The word bank contained the same amount of words as the blanks in the paragraph. The chart in their science book was on the test almost verbatim with some words missing. There were also a few short answer questions that were to be answered with full sentences.====

====At this point in time the desks were set up in groups of four or five. Three students took their tests away from their desks because they either get distracted at their desks or are distracting to their peers. The students put their privacy folders up so they could not see each others papers. The teacher and I were walking around observing the test-taking and answering any questions when students raised their hands. I noticed that students either finished really quickly or took a long time which makes me think that some students studied more than others.====

====I don’t like this assessment very much. I think that fill-in-the-blank has an important place in assessment effectiveness, but this was not it. The students were basically being tested on their ability to memorize vocabulary and a chart. I don’t think that the information retention rate was very high. The students were not required to elaborate on the information or connect to the information in their studying. I think after they took the test, students forgot most of what they were tested on. I think that giving students is a good way to scaffold test-taking skills, but I think that there should be more words than blanks, so the students have to think about the answers rather than just match them up. This assessment was very efficient, but not necessarily a very good measure of understanding of the water cycle.====