Summative Assessment: Tests and Projects
At the end of each topic or unit, you will likely want to give students a summative assessment to assess their knowledge after completing all of the instruction, daily work, and formative assessments on this topic/unit. Most Texas school districts require each student to have a certain number of test grades during each grading period, and a summative assessment helps you fulfill this requirement.
Some examples of summative assessment and my advice on each are below.
Some examples of summative assessment and my advice on each are below.
Test
On paper or using a test generator (such as ExamView), but without the use of a compiler (such as JCreator or Eclipse)
I like using the ExamView Pro test generator to create and administer tests. For all answer types except short answer, ExamView can grade each student's test for you. It is always wise to review the results and/or have students review the results to ensure accurate grading. You can review a report of the results to inform future instruction.
On paper or using a test generator (such as ExamView), but without the use of a compiler (such as JCreator or Eclipse)
- Vocabulary - Ensure that students can speak the "language" of the discipline
- Programming concepts - Can students fill a missing component in a block of code? Can students determine the output of a block of code? Can students write short lines or blocks of code without the help of a compiler or notes?
- Debugging - Can students find and correct errors in the code?
I like using the ExamView Pro test generator to create and administer tests. For all answer types except short answer, ExamView can grade each student's test for you. It is always wise to review the results and/or have students review the results to ensure accurate grading. You can review a report of the results to inform future instruction.
Programming Test
Using the computer and compiler (such as JCreator or Eclipse) to create a working program
Programming tests are a useful way to assess an individual student's programming knowledge, particularly if you do a lot of pair programming during daily work.
I recommend that you allow students to their textbook, notes you have given them, and notes they have taken during the programming test for a few reasons:
Emphasize to students as they are preparing for the programming test that:
Using the computer and compiler (such as JCreator or Eclipse) to create a working program
Programming tests are a useful way to assess an individual student's programming knowledge, particularly if you do a lot of pair programming during daily work.
I recommend that you allow students to their textbook, notes you have given them, and notes they have taken during the programming test for a few reasons:
- About half of my students were nervous during programming tests. Nerves caused many of them to forget how to type things as simple as an output statement, which they had been typing on their own for months.
- Real programmers have and use reference materials. If I forget how to do something when I am programming, I look it up in my reference materials
Emphasize to students as they are preparing for the programming test that:
- Real programmers have also worked to memorize syntax. They do not have time to look up the syntax for an output statement every time they type one.
- Students are expected to complete the programming test within X minutes. (Set a reasonable amount of time based on the difficulty of the program.) There will not be time to look up the syntax for every statement.
- Therefore, students are expected to know program the concepts learned during the unit. There will not be enough time for paper and book shuffling, just for a quick peek if you need to check on something.
Classroom Programming Contests
Classroom programming contests, like a UIL hands-on programming contest, are a lot of fun for students. I never took a grade on a classroom programming contest, but it was a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit's programming concepts with teammates in a fun, competitive environment. It's a great way to end a unit!
Classroom programming contests, like a UIL hands-on programming contest, are a lot of fun for students. I never took a grade on a classroom programming contest, but it was a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit's programming concepts with teammates in a fun, competitive environment. It's a great way to end a unit!
