I wrote my assessment to target 5th grade Life Science, SOL Standard 5.

5 The student will investigate and understand that organisms are made of cells and have distinguishing characteristics. Key concepts include: basic cell structures and functions. My assessment is a total of ten questions. Five are multiple choice questions with ABCD option answers, and five are open-ended technology-enhanced item simulated questions including matching, labeling, short answer, fill in the blank, and Venn diagram. My Smart Goal for the assessment is as follows: At least 70% of those tested will pass the assessment with a C or higher and 90% will correctly distinguish the differences in a plant and animal cell on the assessment after the two week unit is completed. I gave my assessment to ten college students. Their demographics are listed next to their scores below: Score 40 50 50 70 70 70 70 80 90 100 Class Freshman Freshman Junior Sophomore Freshman Freshman Senior Senior Sophomore Junior Major Music Undecided Art Business Undecided Undecided Business Theology Biology Biology

As the table shows, the scores ranged from 100% to 40%, with an average of 69% and a mode of 70%. While the two biology majors that I assessed received the highest scores, the class and major distinctions did not seem to have any correlation with the scores the students received. The breakdown of the questions answered incorrectly is as follows:

As the table shows, the students assessed missed questions six through ten more than any of the other questions. I believe that this is because questions six through ten are based off of technology enhanced items, which require students to know the information rather than using test-taking skills and strategies. After giving this test to my students I decided that there were some issues with the assessment I created. My questions were not clear in some situations, and I could have provided them with more information in some instances. The graph above shows that questions seven and eight were missed by 80% of the students assessed. These two questions had to have an issue regarding the question design, because these questions are not among the most difficult questions in my assessment. For example, it was not clear to some students that they were to circle more than one answer for question eight, even though it said circle all that apply. I have decided to add in some distractor options rather than only list the six characteristics of living things, but indicate in the question exactly how many answer options they should choose. Question seven required students to decide whether the cell in question six was a plant or animal cell and why. I was looking for three answers: plant cell, cell wall, and chloroplasts (obviously I would expect students to place these in complete sentences as well). The question did not indicate that there were two reasons why the cell was a plant cell, and did not indicate for students to answer in a complete sentence. It also did not indicate which cell I was referring to, and even though the students assessed assumed I was referring to the cell above in question six, I now realize I should always be as specific as possible. I also decided that the image I chose for question six (label the cell) is inadequate. The image has more lines for students to label than I intended, it is fuzzy, and it is unclear as to what the lines are leading to in some instances. I also asked students to label the cell without giving them a word bank. I have decided to add a word bank and find a better image for students to label that is more appropriate. Questions nine and ten were also missed by many, but I cannot improve the questions anymore without nearly giving them the answers. Question nine required students to fill in the five requirements of living things. I suppose that, as a pre-test, it was confusing for the students assessed to see the acronym listed. If I had the opportunity to teach these students my unit, they would understand the acronym and it would help them in the end to have it listed on the test. I believe that this question is not flawed, but merely taken out of context on a pretest. Question ten included a word bank for the Venn diagram, and although I could make it easier, I dont see how it helps students in the long run to specify how many terms should go in each section. If I had the opportunity to teach the students I assessed my unit they would have had many opportunities to fill out this same diagram and would know what should go where. I believe that this is not a flaw in question design, but yet an effect of the pretest. I met my SMART goal for this assessment; 70% of students assessed received a C or higher and 100% of my students answered questions three and four (which exemplify the differences in plant and animal cells) correctly. While I was glad to have met my goal, I felt guilty while grading this test. While I met my SMART goal, and even though these students are not real and the scores dont matter, it bothered me to grade questions six through ten. Some students only mislabeled one part of the cell, or wrote down one reason instead of two, or placed only one item in the wrong spot on the Venn diagram, yet I had to mark the entire question wrong. I feel that even after I fix the errors in my assessment design, I should expect some students to still misread directions, work too quickly, or simply forget things. I found myself

thinking about whether or not this is how I want to grade my assessments. Should I grade them the way they will be assessed formally by the state, which would be to mark it entirely wrong, or should I grade the student based off of the knowledge they placed on the paper? In one instance, I feel that by the time students are in 5th grade they understand the nature of the SOLs and should not be coddled as muchthey should know what they are up against. In a conflicting instance, I feel that they are eleven years old with growing self-esteems and personalities that I am held marginally responsible for developing. Do I give them a reality check and show them how they would truly be graded, or give them the best grade I possibly can while still showing that they missed some information? What does that speak about how much effort students should expend? I do not know if I can answer these questions now. I feel that it is a catch-22 for even the most experienced teachers, and depends on the class and their relationship with the teacher.