Science DCAS Spring 2011

Step One: Log into the DCAS Portal From here: click on “administrators and teachers”

Let’s start with general DCAS details Click on “Educator Resources”

Take about 5 minutes to explore the relevant science resources With a partner: Which information will be important for your staff to know? Based on these resources, what has changed about your understanding of the science DCAS?

To access your school’s data: Log into IMS: Choose “Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS)”

When you get to online reporting system, make sure you choose Spring Choose the science grade of your choice. You will see the aggregated score of all Red Clay Schools, the district, and the state.

For a given school, click “Reporting Categories” To see the significance of the average scale score, click “Definitions” (top right). Now, click “Red Clay Consolidated School District” and click “View Topics”

We’ll use 10 th grade science as our example here.

New stuff—never seen on the DSTP! This report gives information based on the standard, not just the general topic. For example, Materials and their Properties is distinguished from Energy and its Effects (even though both are part of Physical Science). The + means the questions for this standard were scored relatively well compared to the exam as a whole for this group. The – means the opposite, and the = means the questions for this standard were scored the same as the overall test.

Strengths and Weaknesses: one more thing… Every school at every tested grade has some assortment of +, -, and =. These symbols reflect the school’s performance relative to its own overall score. In other words… One school’s strengths and weaknesses cannot be compared to another school’s strengths and weaknesses.

Grade level units corresponding to the content standards—Grades 4 and 5 Science Content StandardScience Coalition unit(s)Grade(s) 2: Materials and their properties Mixtures and Solutions5 3: Energy and its EffectsMagnetism and Electricity Motion and Design : Earth in SpaceSkywatchers4 5: Earth’s Dynamic SystemsLand and Water4 6: Life ProcessesStructures of Life Ecosystems : Diversity and Continuity of Living Things Structures of Life Ecosystems : EcologyLand and Water Ecosystems 4545

Grade level units corresponding to the content standards—Grades 6-8 Science Content StandardScience Coalition unit(s)Grade(s) 2: Materials and their propertiesProperties of Matter7 3: Energy and its EffectsForces and Motion/Simple Machines Transformation of Energy : Earth in SpacePlanetary Science8 5: Earth’s Dynamic SystemsEarth History Watersheds Weather : Life ProcessesMy Body and Me Diversity of Life : Diversity and Continuity of Living Things Our Genes Ourselves Delaware Ecosystems : EcologyDelaware Ecosystems

Grade level units corresponding to the content standards—Grades 9 and 10 Science Content StandardScience Coalition unit(s)Grade(s) 2: Materials and their properties Living by Chemistry/Alchemy Cellular and Chemical Basis of Life : Energy and its EffectsEnergy Across Systems9 4: Earth in SpaceEarth Systems (only Solar Nebula Theory)9 5: Earth’s Dynamic SystemsEarth Systems9 6: Life ProcessesCellular and Chemical Basis of Life10 7: Diversity and Continuity of Living Things Nature of Science/Evolution Genetics and Biotechnology10 8: Ecologynot assessed on 10 th grade test

After exploring the site, with a grade level colleague What should your building-mates, your PLC team, and your administrators know about the science DCAS scores? What (if anything) should the district office be telling teachers during in-service or professional development? What (if anything) do these scores tell us about the Coalition units or how training occurs? What (if any) further discussion do we as the Science Curriculum Council need to have about the science DCAS?

What??? More Questions?? Edward McGrath, Science Supervisor Gerri Marshall, Supervisor of Research and Evaluation April McCrae, DOE associate for Science Assessment (302)

Where do we go from here???