Create an Assessment
Exercise
FDN: 5560
Beverly
Assessment Component #1: Identifying Learning Targets
In a sixth grade science instructional unit on the cycling of matter, students will
explore the roles and needs of wildlife surrounding them, as well as throughout the world.
The students will demonstrate an understanding of the flow of energy and matter through
ecosystems, as well as the importance of the water, nitrogen, and carbon cycles. Students
will also be able to evaluate the significance of photosynthesis to all other organisms. A
variety of instructional activities will be incorporated in this unit to reach all types of
learners. Methods of instruction will include: worm composting laboratory, drawing and
labeling various diagrams, role-playing, oral discussion, and reading. As a resource to
instruction, Unit C in the North Carolina Edition of the McDougal-Littel Science book
will be used.
Based on Marazano’s Model of Thinking, the following is a list of the higher
level learning targets in this unit of study:

Students will be able to evaluate the effects that an interruption in an ecosystem
has on its biodiversity, such as a drought, famine, pollution, or natural disaster.

Students will justify the importance of the affects that the four seasons have on
agriculture in North Carolina as compared to other states. For example, how is
photosynthesis affected during winter months when there is the least amount of
sunlight available?

Students will predict the effects that eliminating decomposers would have on an
ecosystem. For instance, if worms did not exist in our soil, how would our soil
content be different?

Students will be able to determine what would happen if photosynthesis stopped.
(Consider plants, animals, humans, and carbon cycle).
In these higher level learning targets, students should be able to synthesize the
knowledge they have gained and apply it to real-life scenarios. The ability to take
information and use it to predict outcomes of situations requires more than just a basic
understanding of a particular concept. Determining effects on the environment demands
deep interpretation of the relationships within living and non-living components in the
environment which surrounds us. The provided higher level learning targets will provide
the students with opportunities to discover their and appreciate the complexity of their
natural surroundings.
Once higher level learning targets are established, intermediate learning targets
can be developed through the process of applying and analyzing ideas. Application of
knowledge permits students to utilize prior knowledge in new circumstances. The
process of clarifying information through discovery and examination allows students to
analyze factors contributing to biodiversity. The following are examples of the
intermediate learning targets in the Cycling of Matter instructional unit:

Students will construct the order of energy transfer through an ecosystem.

Students will determine the relationship between living and nonliving parts of
the environment in order for an ecosystem to be successful.

Students will illustrate the water, nitrogen, and carbon cycles which are
continuously co-existing in our environment.
As with any new unit of study, there is new information which the students need
to acquire. Before a student can move on to intermediate or higher orders of thinking,
they must extend their knowledge level to incorporate basic understandings of new
concepts. These lower level learning targets provide the foundation for future indepth learning and critical thinking. Within this unit, students must gain a full
understanding of new vocabulary and match different animals to their specific niche
(ecological role). Examples of necessary vocabulary in this unit include: matter,
ecosystem, prey, predator, consumer, producer, decomposer, biotic, abiotic, and
biodiversity. The lower level learning targets for this unit include the following:

Students will classify biotic factors as producers, decomposers, or consumers.

Students will list four abiotic factors in any ecosystem.

Students will explain the predator/prey relationship.

Students will define the levels of the biological organization chart.

Students will recall the correct vocabulary word that corresponds to its
meaning for the following terms: matter, ecosystem, prey, predator, consumer,
producer, decomposer, biotic, abiotic, and biodiversity.

Students will label the parts of the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles.
This instructional unit will be between six and eight weeks in length, depending
on allotted class time and schedule. Some hands-on activities require more than one class
period to complete and observe the results. Throughout the unit, students will greatly
benefit from participating in classroom discussions by contributing and defending various
topics.
Assessment Component #2: Specifications for a Test
To assess the intermediate and low level learning targets in the Cycling of Matter
Unit, a twenty-question test will be constructed. Prior to constructing the test, a blueprint
of the test items must be formulated and analyzed. This requires the instructor to be fully
aware of the learning targets and test item format to be used within the assessment. To
test the students’ understanding of the intermediate and low level learning targets, our test
blueprint is as follows:
Content Domain
Number of Low Level Items
Number of Intermediate Level Items
Vocabulary
5
0
Identifying Biotic Factors
4
0
Identifying Abiotic Factors
3
0
Environmental Relationships
0
4
Water, Carbon, Nitrogen
Cycles
1
3
Based on the testing blueprint provided above, test items will be written in the
format of: multiple choice, multiple binary-choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank.
Matching
In assessing students’ understanding of new vocabulary, the students will
complete matching items where they are asked to match a term from the unit to its correct
meaning.
Sample items:
_____
1. An animal that is eaten by another
A. biodiversity
_____
2. The number and variety of life
within an environment
B. ecosystem
_____
3. A particular environment and all
of the living things that
are supported by it
C. prey
D. consumer
Multiple Binary-Choice
In classifying animals based on learned vocabulary, students will be asked to label
several living things as a producer or a consumer.
Sample Items:
1. Identify the following as a producer (P) or as a consumer (C):
_____
a. Bear
_____
b. Oak Tree
_____
c. Snake
_____
d. Lily
Fill In The Blank
To demonstrate knowledge of the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles, students will
be asked to fill in the missing components of each cycle using the correct terms learned in
this unit.
Sample Items: Water Cycle
Scoring Plan
In this criterion-reference assessment, students will be given twenty questions
from four different item formats. In the matching, fill in the blank, and multiple choice
sections of this assessment, each item will be worth one point. When answering the
multiple binary-choice questions, students must complete the entire question correctly to
receive full credit (1point). Ultimately this twenty question assessment will be worth a
total of twenty points.
If students answer less than fifteen out of twenty items correctly, this will indicate
the student is in need of re-teaching of the content domain. After working with the
student on addressing his/her misconceptions, a re-test of an alternate form will be given.
Assessment Component #3 – Craft a Performance Assessment
The performance assessment used in this unit will assess the following higher
order learning target: Students will be able to evaluate the effects that an interruption
in an ecosystem has on its biodiversity, such as a drought, famine, pollution, or
natural disaster. Students will apply their knowledge and research of ecosystems to
create and monitor their own personally constructed aquarium ecosystem. Students
will make real-world connections by examining the effects an interruption will cause
on the selected ecosystem’s biodiversity.
Structure of Task: Build an Ecosystem
Students will choose an ecosystem by determining which factors each ecosystem
needs to sustain life. Then students must decide which ecosystems are best suited to
thrive in an aquarium. They will choose then research a specific aquarium ecosystem
to construct. The students will monitor and record data about their ecosystem for a
total of eight weeks. The first four weeks will consist of monitoring and maintaining
a healthy ecosystem. Some examples of areas to observe are plant growth, soil depth,
water changes, reproduction, and food intake. The second four weeks students will
create an interruption to their ecosystem, such as: drought, famine, flood, or pollution.
Once an interruption is initiated, the students will then monitor and record the
changes they observe in their ecosystem. Upon completion of the observation phase,
the students will construct a presentation on their findings to share with their
classmates.
Scoring Criteria
Each student will be scored based on their content, process, and visuals during the
eight week period in which they maintain their ecosystem. Throughout the eight
weeks, formative assessments will be used to monitor students’ daily observation logs
to ensure students’ ecosystem progress. After the first week of building, students will
be assessed on their detailed plan for their ecosystem design, as well as a list of the
necessary factors to sustain life in their ecosystem.
The summative assessment will focus on the students’ documented research
supporting their ecosystem choice. A written conclusion must also be included to
describe the effects and results of their ecosystem’s interruption. Because most of
this project will be completed outside of school, students are required to provide
visuals documenting a successful ecosystem as well as the decline in the ecosystem
due to the interruption. Graphs or charts should be included describing various
observations made throughout the eight week process.
Scoring Rubric for Building An Ecosystem
One problem with this rubric is that there are no stated criteria for what
constitutes “Exceeds Expectations,” “Meets Expectations,” or “Below
Expectations”
PROCESS
Documented
research supporting
ecosystem choice
CONTENT
Written conclusion
describing the
effects and results
from the
interruption
Exceeds
Expectations
Meets
Expectations
Below
Expectations
3
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
VISUALS
Provide evidence of
a successful,
thriving ecosystem
(Weeks 1-4 only)
Evidence of
ecosystem
interruption (Weeks
5-8 only)
Graphs or charts
describing
interruption results
3
2
1
Final Score: _____/15
Presentation Feedback:_____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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