In a performance assessment, students craft an observable performance that often requires problem solving, inquiry, decision making, or role playing. These sometimes take place over an extended period of time. Among the instructional materials profiled by CSE, types of performance assessments vary widely. Some instructional programs use the term to refer to hands-on tasks only; others include a wider array of performances that draw upon scientific knowledge and skills. Thus, the performance assessments profiled here can range from presenting a proposal to simulating a town meeting to designing an experiment. A common characteristic of almost all is that they are genuine activities that mirror real-life contexts.
Although performance assessments are commonly used post-instruction (as in all the examples above), they can also be used at other points in the instructional cycle. For example, students might begin an electronics unit by completing a series of short circuitry challenges, so that a teacher can assess students’ current knowledge and skills. In the middle of the same unit, students might be asked to construct specific circuits based on what they have learned so far.
Performance assessments are often evaluated by rubrics, or performance scales (as described in the glue factory example above). These scales are usually designed to assess achievement along several dimensions, such as scientific understanding, experimental planning and design, preparation and organization, and presentation style. Teachers often find it useful to share prepared rubric/scales with students prior to the performance date, so that students are aware of the criteria for different levels of performance. This encourages student self-monitoring, and clarifies desired learning outcomes.
It is sometimes hard to distinguish between performance assessments and written assessments, due to the fact that performances often require written preparation and written products are sometimes presented (as in the example of Dominique’s funding proposal). Though this guide has separated performance and written assessments so they can each be better understood in their own right, they are often intertwined in exemplary middle-school science curricula.
Learn more about the types of performance assessments used on standardized tests.
The following vignettes are fictionalized classroom accounts of real assessments from real middle school curricula.
Hands-On Task
Detective work is seventh-grader Keyvan’s specialty, so STC's Mystery Object assessment is right up his alley. He has about 25 minutes to plan, implement, and report on a procedure that will help him identify the substance that makes up a mystery cylinder on his desk. Recalling what he has learned about density, Keyvan immediately begins to sketch out his procedure. First, he will take careful mass and volume measurements. He considers his options: To find volume, should he use water displacement or the volume formula for a cylinder? After taking his measurements, he writes down the density formula and performs a simple calculation. He checks his answer against a list of knowns: There it is! Aluminum!
Learn more about this example of a Hands-On Task, a post-instruction assessment from the STC/MS curriculum.
For more about Keyvan and characteristic properties of matter, see
"Post-Unit Test" in the Written Assessments
section.
Role-Play/Simulation
The groundwater in a fictional town is contaminated, and Ms. Bannett’s eighth-grade students, using a map and simulated test wells from the SEPUP Modules curriculum, have identified the source. Now they must decide how to clean it up, which they do by simulating a town meeting that brings all of the town’s stakeholders together. At this moment, students are preparing to take on roles of concerned parents and residents, engineers, and city managers, among others. They are writing scripts and making recommendations, incorporating what they have learned about porosity, permeability, containment, excavation, and incineration. During the simulated town meeting, the debates will rage, as students pose arguments and weigh the possibilities.
Learn more about this example of a Role-Play/Simulation, a post-instruction assessment from the SEPUP Modules curriculum.
Presentation/Demonstration (Example 1)
What would happen to cargo on board a ship after 50 years at the bottom of the ocean? Seventh-grader Dominique knows; she is now an expert following a FACETS unit on undersea ship salvage. She has modeled the ocean and ocean floor, and investigated the effects of pressure and salt water on various materials. Now, she must pull her knowledge and findings together to prepare and present a proposal to a funding agency, requesting money to support her own salvage operation. In her proposal, Dominique must detail the scientific procedure for the salvage operation step by step, and link the procedure to an itemized budget. In her presentation, she must demonstrate the ability to communicate a clear message, summarize, connect with an audience, and present an organized plan.
Learn more about this example of a Presentation/ Demonstration, a post-instruction assessment from the FACETS curriculum.
For more about Dominique and the salvage operation project, see "Product" in the Written Assessments section.
Presentation/Demonstration (Example 2)
Since the start of their SEPUP / IEY unit, eighth-grader Theo and three of his classmates have been busy. They are developing a plan for building and operating a glue factory on a fictitious island. Though the island is sorely in need of an economic boon, the island’s residents are pressuring all potential industries to limit environmental damage as much as possible. After testing and refining their own recipe for glue, Theo’s team is now considering several essential questions: How will we obtain and process raw materials? How will we find and use sources of energy? How will we dispose of waste and handle transportation in and out of the factory? Based on their discussions, the group is preparing an environmental impact presentation that addresses the benefits and risks of their factory proposal. Because this assignment calls upon a diverse menu of skills, Theo and his classmates will be assessed with three separate scoring rubrics: one for Group Interaction, one for Communication, and one for Evidence and Tradeoffs.
Learn more about this example of a Presentation/ Demonstration, a post-instruction assessment from the SEPUP / IEY curriculum.
For more about Theo and the glue factory, see "Scoring Rubrics" in the Observations, Interviews, and Discussions section and "Scoring Rubrics" in the Self-Assessment section.
