Lesson 4: Redesign a pre-existing Assessment

Objective:

Learners will..

• Develop assessment tools and strategies to measure student understanding and mastery of curriculum standards.

Purpose

Transitioning Earth Science Regents exams from their current format to align with the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) represents a significant opportunity to enhance science education in the state. NYSSLS emphasizes inquiry-based learning, interdisciplinary connections, and the integration of science practices with disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. By realigning the Earth Science Regents exams with NYSSLS, the assessment can better reflect the depth and breadth of students' understanding of Earth and space sciences. This shift would likely involve incorporating more performance-based tasks, such as investigations, modeling, and data analysis, to assess students' ability to engage in scientific inquiry and apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. Additionally, the revised exams would likely emphasize the interconnectedness of Earth systems, climate change impacts, and human interactions with the environment, aligning with the overarching goals of NYSSLS to foster scientific literacy, critical thinking, and environmental stewardship among students. Overall, this transition holds promise for promoting more meaningful learning experiences and better preparing students for success in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.

Follow the assignment below to see how we'd have to change our current exams to align to NYSSLS.

Assignment

Pick a non-NYSSLS aligned assessment you have made, or from https://www.nysedregents.org/earthscience/

Pick topics from these assessments and make 2 sets of item clusters testing the same materials. Refer back to Lessons 1-3 in this unit to get ideas of how questions are asked and how item clusters are structured. 

Use a Google Doc to create your NYSSLS aligned exam and title it "YOURLASTNAME_ASSESSMENT". 

Please provide the old exam you will be using by adding it to the same Google Folder and title it "YOURLASTNAME_OLDASSESSMENT"

Place your completed document and upload to the Google Folder.

Lesson Summary

Though we have not yet seen a full NYSSLS Regents Exam for Earth and Space Science, we can predict what they might look like based on the principles of the New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) and common assessment practices.

Integration of Crosscutting Concepts: The exams will incorporate crosscutting concepts such as patterns, cause and effect, scale, proportion, and quantity, systems and system models, energy and matter, structure and function, and stability and change. Students will be asked to apply these concepts to analyze Earth science phenomena and make connections across different Earth systems.

Emphasis on Scientific Inquiry: NYSSLS Earth Science exams will assess students' ability to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering practices. This may include planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations, designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information related to Earth science phenomena.

Use of Authentic Assessments: Exams may include a mix of traditional multiple-choice questions, constructed response items, and performance tasks that require students to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world contexts. Performance tasks may involve analyzing data sets, conducting experiments or simulations, interpreting maps or diagrams, and communicating findings through written reports or presentations. This can be seen through Item Clusters.

Focus on Depth of Understanding: NYSSLS Earth Science exams will prioritize depth of understanding over breadth of content knowledge. They will assess students' ability to think critically, analyze complex Earth science phenomena, and apply scientific principles to explain natural phenomena and solve real-world problems.

Reflection Question

Please add to your reflective journal.

What changes did you make to your "old" assessment? How do these changes align to NYSSLS? Refer to the Lesson Summary.

Unit 3 homepage and complete the Collaboration Task.