Mini+Quiz+Assessments

Assessment is gauging a students development through homework, quizzes, and tests.
As an Elementary Science Specialist (ESS), you have only 2 (45 minute) classes a week at most, so spending an entire class on assessment can be a serious time drain. I have found large unit tests to take entire classes. If the students score poorly on a unit test administered at the end of a trimester, there is no time left for further instruction due to the unit instruction time-frame being over.

Mini-Quizzes
I find mini-quizzes are a better option. They take less time, can be implemented more often, faster to grade, and allow enough time for a lesson to be done afterward. Most of my mini-quizzes are for vocabulary and concept review of previous lessons. The format is a fill in the blank style that requires the students to think up vocabulary than just picking those provided at random. If students can come up with a correct term of phrase other than the intended answer for that question, they will still receive credit. The mini-quizzes contain about 8-10 terms or concepts. This requires students to learn new vocabulary as it is presented in class. Some students wait till a unit test is announced before they learn the content, some still do not bother. I would rather force my students to learn in small increments than wait and learn everything for a unit test.


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Student that ignore their homework, make it up during their recess which coincides with my scheduled lunch time.

Quia.com
I still employ some unit tests but more for developing test taking skills that the students will need on Science standardized testing. I have an arrangement with my schools computer lab teacher to use [|Quia.com] for Science activities and standardized testing. The site allows you to make activities for term and concept review such as flashcards, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Jeopardy. It also allows you to create tests using multiple choice and fill in the blank question formats. These tests are then graded by the computer and the results provided to you as individual and class summations. There is a membership fee of about $50 dollars/year. You need a membership for creating your own activities and tests, but you can use any activities and tests that other teachers have made free of charge. This allows for some computer lab time to be added toward than what is scheduled for Elementary Science.