Best Practices in Social Studies Assessment (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Best Practices in Social Studies Assessment 2
A Volume in International Social Studies Forum: The Series 2
Series Editors: 2
Jeff Passe, The College of New Jersey Richard Diem, The University of Texas at San Antonio 2
CONTENTS 6
1. Introduction: Assessment in Social Studies Education 6
2. “Keeping it Real”: Assessing 21st Century Skills Through Performance-Based Assessment 6
3. Isn’t This Crazy?”: Engaging Learners Through Text-Based Assessments 6
4. “We’re All on a Journey”: An Authentic Stance Toward Project-Based Social Studies Assessment 6
5. “We All Pushed the Boundaries”: Social and Technological Assessment 6
6. “Anyone Can Learn”: Balancing Assessment, Feedback, and Experimentation 6
7. “Learning About the World is Much More Important”: Project-Based Learning as Core Assessment 6
8. “Taking Ownership of Their Learning”: Three Examples of Performance-Based Social Studies Assessment 6
9. Postscript: “There Is No Magic Bullet, But” … Lessons From the Assessments 7
International Social Studies Forum: The Series 3
Best Practices in Social Studies Assessment 4
Edited by 4
Mark Pearcy Rider University 4
Information Age Publishing, Inc. 4
Charlotte, North Carolina • www.infoagepub.com 4
CHAPTER 1 8
Introduction 8
Jeff Passe 8
The College of New Jersey 8
Amy Good and Amy Fitchett 8
University of North Carolina-Charlotte 8
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT? 8
The Problem With High-Stakes Social Studies Assessment 9
COMMON CORE AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT 10
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES 11
Alternative Approaches and Their Use of Assessment 12
ASSESSMENT WITHIN UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN 13
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH ON ASSESSMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES 14
REFERENCES 14
Table 2.1. Twenty-First Century Skills 22
CHAPTER 2 16
“Keeping it Real” 16
Greer Burroughs 16
Rutgers University 16
Katelynn Dickstein 16
Moorestown Township Public Schools 16
THE RESEARCH GOALS 18
How It All Began—Collaboration Between Districts 19
Next Steps—Implementation at William Allen Middle School 21
THE PROJECT GOALS 21
THE PROJECT 22
How Well Does the Project Address the 21st Century Competency Goals? 24
PREPARING THE STUDENTS 24
BENEFITS OF THE END-OF-YEAR ASSESSMENT 30
What Makes All This Work? 32
REFERENCE 33
APPENDIX: SAMPLE OF STUDENT PAMPHLETS 34
Table 2.2. Practical Problem Solver Rubric 25
Table 2.3. Effective Communicator Rubric 27
CHAPTER 3 38
“Isn’t This Crazy?” 38
Jonathan Ryan Davis 38
The College of New Jersey 38
Heather Rippeteau 38
Manhattan Hunter Science High School 38
1. Why are Europeans in this region? 42
2. What is the experience of imperialized people in this region? 42
3. What information does the textbook give us about imperialism in this region? 42
4. How are the views presented in the primary sources different from the textbook, if at all? 42
Acknowledgments 47
References 47
APPENDIX 47
Imperialism Argument 47
Imperialism Argumentative Essay 47
Imperialism Argumentative Essay Rubric 49
Historical Background and Causes of Imperialism 51
Evidence Collection 55
Africa 56
Evidence Collection 58
India 59
Evidence Collection 61
The Middle East 62
Evidence Collection 63
China, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia 64
Evidence Collection 67
Japan 68
Evidence Collection 71
Sample Pacing Calendar for the Imperialism Argument 72
Table 4.1. An Analytic Rubric for Collaborative Skills 86
CHAPTER 4 80
“We’re All On a Journey” 80
Mark Pearcy 80
Rider University 80
Chris Bond 80
West Windsor-Plainsboro School District 80
Project-Based Assessment 83
References 89
Table 4.2 Rubric for “Enlightenment Salon” Project’s Socratic Seminar 87
Figure 5.1. An image from the Portal 2 tutorial video. 96
CHAPTER 5 90
“We All Pushed the Boundaries” 90
James Daly 90
Seton Hall University 90
Michael Catelli 90
Somerset Hills Regional School District 90
The Goals of the Assessment 91
Why These Goals? 92
The Presentation: A Final Goal 94
Developing the Unit 94
The Process 94
Ongoing Assessment 97
Concluding Assessment 98
Reflections 99
References 100
CHAPTER 6 102
“Anyone Can Learn” 102
Mark Pearcy 102
Rider University 102
Laura Bond 102
West Windsor-Plainsboro School District 102
References 109
Appendix: Balancing Assessment, Feedback, and Experimentation 110
“Crisis in Syria” Scenario, Laura Bond, West-Windsor Plainsboro High School South 110
CHINOOK #67 & #34 DOWN IN CRISIS IN HOMS, SYRIA
Table 6.1. An Analytic Rubric for Oral Arguments 106
Table 6.1. (Continued) 107
Table 6.2. Middle School Standards-Based Grading Rubric 108
Figure 7.1. Examples of students “Great Depression Museum” presentations 117
CHAPTER 7 114
“Learning About the World Is Much More Important” 114
Jiwon Kim 114
Monmouth University 114
Meredith Riddle 114
Long Branch School District 114
The assessment: “The Great Depression Museum” 115
Description of the Context/Setting of the Assessment 116
Is The Assessment Effective? 119
References 121
Appendix 122
Meredith Riddle’s “Great Depression Museum” Presentation Rubric 122
Grading Rubrics for Papers Accompanying “Great Depression Museum” 123
Figure 8.1. Images from the Slavery and Abolition Museum Project template, David Allocco. 130
CHAPTER 8 124
“Taking Ownership of Their Learning” 124
Fred Cotterell 124
Montclair State University 124
Kathleen McCort and Krista Provost 124
West Milford Public School District 124
David Allocco 124
Paramus Public Schools 124
What Constitutes Meaningful Assessment? 125
Kathleen McCort—“European Salon Addresses School Violence” 126
Krista Provost—“The Philadelphia Convention of 1787” 128
David Allocco—“The Slavery and Abolition Museum” 130
Shared Elements of Three Performance-Based Assessments 132
References 133
Figure 8.2. Student samples from the Virtual Slavery and Abolition Museum. 132
CHAPTER 9 134
There Is No Magic Bullet, But … Lessons From the Assessments 134
Greer Burroughs 134
The College of New Jersey 134
Lessons Learned 135
Part A: Common Characteristics of the Teachers 136
Lesson 1: Valuing Reflection and Taking Risks 136
Lesson 2: Students Need Autonomy 137
Lesson 3: Feedback and Scaffolding Are Integral to Student Learning 139
Lesson 4: Teachers Must be Willing To Take On Challenges 140
Part B: Common Principles of the Assessments 141
Lesson 1: Assessments Should Be Student Centered 141
Lesson 2: Students Should Have a Choice (And a Voice) 142
Lesson 3: Assessments Are Opportunities for Differentiation 142
Lesson 4: Real-World Connections Are Vital 143
Lesson 5: Students Collaborate With Students (And With Teachers) 144
Lesson 6: Assessments Are Flexible but Structured 144
Lesson 7: Assessments Power Instruction (And Vice-Versa) 145
Is It Worth The Effort? 146
Taking Perspective 148
Collaboration and Compromise 149
All Are Valued 149
There Is No Magic Bullet, But … 150
References 151
About the Contributors 152
ABOUT THE EDITOR 152
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 152
Back Cover 158