A “1” is the lowest score my students can receive. This example has one word and a pretty terrible drawing that does not demonstrate any understanding of the concept. Marker was used.
A “2” has a title, misspelled content words, and an incomplete diagram.
A “3” has a complete diagram, but with no title and specific information. It has a written description that addresses what the student observed using some content vocabulary.
A “4” has the a complete diagram with a title, descriptions, labels, and color. The student not only stated the information they observed, but also included information about the change in energy and the current in a closed circuit.
Have I seen some “1”s at the beginning of the year? YES! Have I seen “4”s? Not really. I mostly see twos and threes and I have to train them to take it to the next level.
Having these examples posted helped my students recognize the effort that needed to be applied and self-assess their work. I’m not walking around saying “1”, “3”, “1”. I’m working with students. Teaching students to self-assess gives me the opportunity to work with more students and gives them the opportunity to achieve higher quality work and ultimately, better retention of the material.
