The Physical Setting / Earth Science- Accelerated/Enriched
Final Assessment / Portfolio
Mr. Landsman/Mr. WilliamsDate ______
Dear students and parents/guardians:
In an effort to meaningfully assess and evaluate student knowledge and skills, the Earth Science Accelerated/Enriched program offers a portfolio final assessmentopportunity. Traditional exams are unsuitable for assessing the broad scope of integrated understandings that are most valuable to a student in the 21st Century. The “Portfolio Final Assessment” consists of three activities specifically designed to measure a student’s ability to analyze, create, explain, research, graph and calculate in the context of Earth Science scenarios. These portions will be administered at the conclusion of class studies of that topic. Phase four is a cumulative multiple choice quiz that surveys a breadth of topics from the courseand is administered in the final two weeks of the course. The averaged score of all phases serves as 10% of the total grade for the course. Final assessment phases I, II, and III are briefly described below.
Phase I: “The Snowboard of Education” (in class)
The school board has passed a controversial measure allowing students attending Round Hill Elementary to snowboard during recess in winter months. The Board and community hope that these activities will promote athletics in Washingtonville and possibly result in local students representing the USA and Washingtonville in future winter Olympic Games. Furthermore, the measure addresses the growing problem of childhood obesity. Local orthopedists also support the idea in hopes of expanding their patient base.
The plan proposes that a half-pipe be constructed beginning at the top of Round Hill and ending at the elementary school. You have been selected to design the course.
Skills and Knowledge Assessed: General mapping skills, gradient calculations, drawing profiles, topographic awareness, vocabulary
Phase II: “Errant Weather Map” (in class)
You have been presented with a weather map produced for a 6th grade science textbook. The publisher wants to go to print right away but the editor has limited knowledge of Meteorology. You have been hired to identify THREE errors present on the map and offer likely alternatives that aremore consistent with basic meteorological principles. There are a total of eleven errors on the map. You have agreed to fix the map for free. Incidentally, Prentice Hall should have asked you first because the map on your exam actually made it into a workbook currently used in schools.
Skills and Knowledge Assessed: Mid-latitude cyclone development, air mass characteristics, fronts and associated precipitation, weather map symbols, low pressure systems, synoptic map analysis, vocabulary
Phase III: “CO2 Emissions Project” (completed outside class)
You will research your family’s motor vehicle usage, create a data table, calculate, and graph the total CO2 emissions per vehicle. You will also research the controversial topic of global warming caused by the greenhouse effect. The controversy is not whether the greenhouse effect exists, but is whether human activity is responsible for enhancing the effect.
If you conclude that humanity is largely responsible for the current increase in the global temperature average, you will write a persuasive essay to your parents/guardians schooling them on the science of the greenhouse effect and the implications of their motor vehicle emissions. You will also take personal responsibility for emissions related to YOUR lifestyle and offer steps YOU can take to reduce your contribution to CO2 emissions.
If you conclude that humans are NOT responsible for the current rise in global average temperature, you will research the topic and write an essay defending the position of the human-influenced global warming skeptic. You will cite natural sourcesof emissions and global temperature cycles that are evident throughout Earth’s history. Having no need to take responsibility for your emissions, your essay will be scored based on its merits alone, not including a change in lifestyle.
Phase III Due Date: ______
Skills and Knowledge Assessed: Research skills, scientific technical writing, data gathering, calculations, graphing, greenhouse effect, global warming, Earth’s external energy budget, climate, insolation, terrestrial radiation
Final Assessment Notification (Please do not detach)
We have read the above document and acknowledge so by signing below.
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Student Signature
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Parent/Guardian Signature(s)Date
Comments, Questions, Suggestions:
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