Comments on: A Further Call to Arms

By: How To Play the Better Assessments Game | Better Assessments

How To Play the Better Assessments Game | Better Assessments — Thu, 30 May 2013 17:09:22 +0000

[…] you haven’t read this, this, and this, then stop. Go. […]

By: An Overdue Beginning | Better Assessments

An Overdue Beginning | Better Assessments — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:50:03 +0000

[…] late March, I wrote Tasks and Assessments and A Further Call To Arms (over on Reason and Wonder). My goal with these posts was to stir up a small community of people […]

By: reilly1041

reilly1041 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:39:26 +0000

No. At that point they were stuck. Most tried to add the x^2 and the -x to something they could work with, like 2x. Others ignored the -x and took the square root. Several tried to complete the square, which would have worked, but they got into fractions and faltered. I may look more closely at these and add to mathmistakes website.

By: mrdardy

mrdardy — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Curious if anyone followed that process of moving the 42 by then finding a common factor. I could see a relatively resourceful Alg II student recognizing that if x(x-1) = 42 that I would just need consecutive numbers that are factors of 42. Did anyone go down that path?

By: reilly1041

reilly1041 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:16:52 +0000

Thanks for reading the quiz!
1) For the make-your-own problems, I didn’t give them any parameters or rules. We have done these before, so maybe they just *know* what I expect and not to be a smart-alec. Or perhaps they aren’t bright enough to determine a smart-alec response, they just try to make up a problem like something we have done in class.
2) This quiz took about 20 min, about a half period. We have 42 min periods.
3) Yes – #14-18 are a bit disjointed in terms of content! This is how our textbook is aligned, so I went with it. The book reviews exponent rules then operations with polynomials — leading up to factoring higher-order polynomials and eventually synthetic division, etc.
4) #19…ahhh, very eye-opening. Most were absolutely stumped. I thought the clue that there were two solutions would lead them to think about factoring, but most didn’t get anywhere. Here’s what most did: they tried to solve it like they would a one-variable equation in Alg1. They moved the constant to the other side of the equation, giving x^2-x=42. Then they were stumped. I think a solid year of Alg1 equation manipulation trumps our one month of solving quadratics.

By: mrdardy

mrdardy — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:31:01 +0000

Mrs Reilly

First, thanks for sharing! I have a few questions and I think that they are largely contextual ones.
For questions 12 and 13 – what types of answers would you accept/reward with credit? I can easily see my more smart-aleck students offering 1 * x^5 and ((x^2)/(y^2))/1 as answers here. My guess is that your students know some parameters for these type of questions already.
How long do you allot for quizzes? I try to keep mine in the 15 – 20 minute range. What is your target time for an assessment like this?
Questions 14 – 18 seem a bit out of place with the context for the first part of the quiz. Is this review here?
Finally, I LOVE question 19. Great way to get students to explain their thinking. I’d love to know what kinds of answers you got.

Thanks again!
Jim

By: Michael Fenton

Michael Fenton — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:10:04 +0000

I put assessment on back burner to get through a difficult month at school, but I think it’s time to start this in earnest. Check out my latest post for more info. Thanks for the added motivation to begin.

By: Michael Fenton

Michael Fenton — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:08:33 +0000

Thanks for the extra motivation to get this thing moving. Check out my latest post for details about how to submit your assessment. I’m excited to get the conversation started!

By: Better Assessments: It’s Time to Begin | Reason and Wonder

Better Assessments: It’s Time to Begin | Reason and Wonder — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 14:58:19 +0000

[…] For background, go here and here. […]

By: reilly1041

reilly1041 — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:13:20 +0000

Michael – I have a quiz that I don’t totally hate. Topic: exponent rules and adding/subtract/mult polynomials. My students did terrible on it, so that’s probably a good sign that it’s different than what they are used to seeing.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BytS9twTZ9tlVElfUGZ2MHp6aW8/edit?usp=sharing
Stephanie