Victor Lynde

Education 302-303
Prof. Sara Leo
Assessment Section
Assessment

This Unit on the Legislative Branch incorporates a number of different

kinds of assessments, but ultimately their grade is based mostly on

participation and completion with one final assessment in take-home essay

format. This Unit focused heavily on simulations, in-class activities, and

participation. At the end of the Unit there is a summative take-home essay

which will account for 12% of their grade for this Unit. Besides the one end-

of-Unit summative assessment, this Unit relies more heavily on the formative

assessment sections.

As for pre-assessment, two of the four planned lessons have some

activity designed specifically for the purpose of pre-assessment. In Lesson 1

the students begin class by journaling in response to several questions on

the subject matter for the day. In Lesson 2 students begin class with a digital

journal on Google Docs with several questions on that days subject matter

Congressional Leadership. For each of these I have hypothesized on what

their responses will be, but the purpose of these activities is to (1) helps me

better understand the students, (2) help me understand their comprehension

and pre-knowledge of the subject. In the case of the second pre-assessment,

students are allotted time at the end of class to journal about what they
learned, which will better help me understand where they were and where

they are now.

Looking to the formative assessment, this is definitely the area I

spend the most time on. As will be found in my lessons, most of my lessons

have a simulation or activity that will help students better understand the

subject, whether that is through the movement/actions they make, the visual

representation of concepts, or something else. For example, in Lesson 1 the

structure of Congress activity gets students up and moving and it helps them

understand the Congress by organizing in a way that demonstrates how

representation works. Or in Lesson 3 where the class tries two different ways

of passing legislation as a way to exhibit how the committee system works

and why it is used over a more democratic method of voting. Or in Lesson 4

where students get to use social media to experiment with the idea of

political factions and then vote on national holidays based on those

factions. All of these, as well as other smaller activities, help me to learn

where my students are at in the process of understanding the material and

serve me by helping the students comprehend and understand the material.

Finally looking at summative assessment, this Unit definitely has

less of this type of assessment. This was in part because I personally didnt

want my students to learn for the sake of the test, paper, or homework

assignment, but to learn for their own sake, because they want to and

because learning is good. I did, however, develop a final assessment for this
Unit for the students to demonstrate in a summative way that they have

learned the material. The essay I developed is simple and it grades the

students on Focus & Details, Tone/Voice, Organization, and Mechanics &

Grammar. I present the students with four prompts from which they must

choose two; there is an additional mandatory prompt on what they learned.

From there they must write a well-developed five paragraph essay in

response to these three prompts. This is a take-home essay they will receive

on a Friday and that will be due the following Wednesday. The 20-point rubric

will help guide my grading and their writing.

Take-Home Essay/Paper

Essay Topic: The structure and processes of the U.S. Congress

Choose two of the following four prompts as well as the final prompt which MUST be
answered, and answer them in a well-constructed in a five paragraph essay. This essay must
have an introduction paragraph, a broad thesis, and a conclusion paragraph.

1. Describe the over-arching structure of Congress as well as specific structure of its

houses.
2. List the nine key leadership positions within Congress and briefly explain the specific
role and powers of two of them. Explain the impact of these two leadership positions
on the legislative process.
3. Explain the committee system, the alternative we discussed in class, and the
positives and negatives of each.
4. How does a bill become a law? Explain the process in steps. This may overlap with
previous questions.

Mandatory Question: What in this Unit could have better helped you understand the
legislative branch?

Rubric still being made.

Description Below Standard (1) Approaching At Standard (3) Above Standard (4)
Standard (2)
Focus & Details - This essay was This essay This essay was This essay was very
This essay answers unfocused, addressed the focused and focused, properly
the prompt and frequently subject matter and communicated answered the
doesnt stray into addressing presented valid ideas, concepts and prompt, and
unrelated topics. unrelated subjects information, but information to the communicated their
Each body and did not answer often drifted and reader that ideas, concepts and
paragraph answers the prompts in the made unrelated answered the essay information to the
1 of the prompts correct structure points. prompt. reader in an
engaging manner.
Tone/Voice The This essay is highly This essay has This essay is This essay not only
writing is presented personalized with no limited awareness of presented in is presented in a
in a formal, objective formal or objective formal/ objective formal/objective formal/objective
tone with a broad tone. There is no tone. The tone. The tone, but does so in
but well developed thesis or guiding introduction states introduction has a a way that helps the
thesis to guide the statement of any the three chosen thesis which states reader better
paper. kind. topics. the main topics and understand the text.
provides an The intro engages
overview of the the reader, states
paper. the main topics, and
provides an
overview/ roadmap
of the paper.
Organization The There is no clear An introduction is The introduction is The introduction is
essay had well- introduction, included. There are well-formulated and well-formulated and
constructed structure, or three body centered around helps the reader
introduction, body, conclusion. paragraphs. A thesis. The three understand exactly
and conclusion conclusion is body paragraphs where the paper is
paragraphs. included. correspond with the going. Topics are
main points. A logically presented
 conclusion is in three paragraphs.
included. The conclusion is
engaging and
restates the writers
thesis.

Mechanics & Repeated Infrequent spelling No spelling No mistakes in

Grammar misspelling, mistakes, grammar mistakes, grammar mechanics or
grammar mistakes, mistakes, or mistakes, or grammar at all.
or misuse of misused language. misused language. Sentence structure
language. Sentences Mostly well- Well-constructed helps emphasize
were repetitive in an constructed sentences with points, is not
unhelpful/distracting sentences. varying lengths. distracting, and
way, were enhances
awkwardly formed, understanding of
or difficult to paper.
understand.
Description Below Standard (1) Approaching At Standard (3) Above Standard (4)
Standard (2)

Focus & Details

Tone/Voice

Organization

Mechanics &
Grammar

TOTAL SCORE