Thread: So, science teachers, what about this????

SOunds good to me. I have never been one for lengthy tests, and those short quizzes are easier to grade. I would rather be doing fun stuff anyway. I think the hands on and lab write ups tell more about a student's learning than a big ol' test.

And I'll tell you something for free, Bill-- chopping and changing, to my way of thinking, is as healthy as it gets. There are all KINDS of reasons I am against any sort of "lock step" mandated curricula, but the main reason is I simply could not do the SAME thing the SAME way YEAR after year.....

I do something different every year. I call it adult-onset ADHD. So good for you (and you right-brain) for making changes, especially when it's likely easier not to.

As to the quizzes vs tests-- yes! "Test" them on how they demonstrate their learning to you in labs and projectss-- just as valid, WAY more interesting.

Lisa

I already boycotted! Join the club; it's a wonderful experience!

Last month I gave short quizzes on cell organelles to 9th graders (because I had 150 of them) and I managed to grade them all in one afternoon + one morning (plus went to the book fair). I also included some other things in their final grade, so it was not only this test.
It depends on how you set the test items. I had them write one or two sentences or draw a picture and label the parts.
Setting and using the grading scale was more difficult that I expected; I had too many kids right between A and B ( "too many" as 2-3 in each of five class groups). If you use a very small number of test items, kids would have to answer absolutely everything right to get a real A. Sometimes it was difficult to decide how many points to give to those answers that were not completely right (in some cases I am sure they misunderstood the wording in the textbook), or what to do with alternative spelling. Some kids would write a correct answer and then add something completely wrong. etc

And so I thought I was the only ANOMALY in the science world!! I started boycotting SF when they treated my kids like problems (at the fair), I had a regional winner, and still got little or nothing out of it. The months of planning that goes into it + the days of working on it did not = the return (NO, not even for those few kids who actually put something into it). I finally made it optional for any die-hard science fair gotta-dos but none yet have taken me up on it. And with the State Mandated End of Course test they are subject to (20% of their yearly grade) the end results are better if we don't waste the time on SF. Good for you (us).
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