Mini-Project #4 Test Review of Publisher Provided Assessments

Material Reviewed Chapter 12 – Boyer’s The American Nation, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1998 Assessments 4 Quizzes 1 Test

Questions Are stated objectives for each section aligned to standards? Are quizzes aligned to section objectives? Is the chapter test aligned with the section objectives?

Chapter 12 – “The Civil War” Four Sections Twenty-six pages Fifteen Objectives

Section “The Union Dissolves” Four objectives At least one objective is problematic Seven pages

Section 12.2 – “The North and South Face Off” Four Reasonable Objectives Five pages

Section 12.3 – “Eastern Campaigns and the War in the West” Three Good Objectives Seven pages

Section 12.4 – “The Final Phase” Four Objectives Seven Pages

12.1 Quiz – True/False Ten Questions Objective 1 – 6 questions Objective 2 – 2 questions Objective 3 – 1 question Objective 4 – 1 question

Problems Not enough questions per objective T/F Format allows guessing with good chance of scoring the correct answer.

12.2 Quiz – Multiple Choice Ten Questions Objective 1 – 3 questions Objective 2 – 2 questions Objective 3 – 2 questions Objective 4 – 1 question One ‘wild card’

Problems Incomplete Stems – 8 Negative Stems – 2 One ‘wild card’ question which seems unrelated to any objective Not enough questions per objective

12.3 Quiz - Matching Ten Questions Objective 1 – 6 questions Objective 2 – 2 questions Objective 3 – 1 question One ‘wild card’

Problems Not enough questions Unequal distribution of questions ‘Wild card’ question unrelated to objectives

12.4 Quiz True/False Objective 1 – 2 questions Objective 2 – 2 questions Objective 3 – 2 questions Objective 4 – 2 questions Two ‘wild cards’

Problems Not enough questions True/False format Wild card questions

Test Form A Three Sections Twenty selected response questions – 80 points Two essay questions – 20 points (Students answers one of two)

Question Distribution Section questions Section 2 – 6 questions Section 3 – 7 questions Section 4 – 4 questions Essay 1 – Covers sections 1-4 Essay 2 – Worthless!

Problems Matching – All incomplete stems Multiple Choice – 8/10 incomplete stems with 2 negative stems Bad Essay Question

Conclusion Objectives need reworked Inadequate assessments in quality and quantity. Material might be a good place to start. Teachable moment for students?