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Student Assessment |
The following six scoring dimensions provide the basis for the student's work on the project and for project assessment:
1. Content Knowledge and Skills (CKS) are the key facts, concepts, principles, skills, themes, and methods of inquiry of a discipline. Through planned educational experiences, gifted and talented students begin to access advanced content and develop the skills necessary to manipulate content in sophisticated ways in a variety of contexts. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the core curriculum and as such serve as the basis of differentiation for students' levels of achievement and areas of giftedness.
2. Analysis and Synthesis (AS) include advanced thinking processes which enable students to make connections across time, disciplines, locations, and cultures. Examples of analysis include identifying characteristics and attributes, making observations, discriminating between same and different, comparing and contrasting, categorizing, finding patterns, and seeing relationships. Examples of synthesis include creating unique ideas, elaboration, and discovering creative solutions to problems.
3. Multiple Perspectives (MP) include the consideration of other, diverse points of view in order to deepen one's understanding of a discipline or field of study. Examples of skills that promote this dimension include identifying points of view, recognizing the values and beliefs that influence individuals' and groups' perspectives on issues, distinguishing between statements that can be proven and statements that reflect personal beliefs or judgments, and reevaluating personal viewpoints in relation to others.
4. Research (R) is the inquiry process used in the discipline. Steps in the PSP research process include the following:
5. Communication (C) is the use of appropriate written, spoken, and technological media to convey new learning in the discipline. Additionally, students should appropriately use the vocabulary of the discipline studied. Students learn strategies to relate complex understandings to everyday situations and to tailor their messages to the particular needs of the audience.
6. Presentation of Learning (PL) is the coherence of a student's presentation of new learning. Presentation of learning includes evidence of the student's planning and reasoning. Also evident are clarity of expression and support of assertions with relevant details.
The teacher scoring scale is based on the six scoring dimensions and is used to evaluate student performance in three categories: product, research process, and communication. When using the scoring scale, teachers should consider the student's complete set of items as listed on the task cover sheet, which includes some aspects of both Phases I and II.
There is also an alternate version of the scoring scale designed specifically for students-the student score sheet. The scoring criteria are the same as in the teacher scoring scale, but the language is more appropriate for students. Each student self-assesses his/her final product, and at least two other students provide peer assessment by evaluating the final product.
For ongoing formative evaluation, students should receive the scoring criteria at the beginning of the learning experiences. This allows students to refer to it frequently throughout the project. Students and teachers should regularly evaluate the student's progress and revise plans as necessary.