Tahoma School District8th Grade Science

District Assessment – In the Doghouse

Tahoma Jr. High8th Grade ScienceMaple Valley, WA

This Debrief will help you learn how to create the best answers for

State Test questions – pay close attention.

REMEMBER:

When taking any test…

Be Careful With All Test Materials

DO NOT DAMAGE ANY PAPERS or

COMPUTERS

(or YOU’LL be “In The Doghouse”)

NEXT:

Relax before a test…

then read the given

information carefully

and follow

instructions to

answer the

questions…(and write NEATLY )

In your table group, use the red pens and go through the Debrief PPT SCORING your

assessment JUST AS IT IS SHOWN ON THE SLIDES.

Discuss correct answers briefly if confused.

STOP WHEN YOU GET TO QUESTION #10 – that will be done by the TEACHER.

Here’s what was given…you should have read it VERY CAREFULLY

Multiple Choice Questionsare very quick and worth1 point each.Always choose The ONEbest answer !

Put more time into thinkingabout what to write forwritten Response Questionssince they are worth morecombined points.

You are going to grade your own paper this time being the first one of these District Assessments.(so no need to write “C.B…” this time).

You will do it the same way you do aLab Write-Up or Journal.

We are trying to find evidence of good answers and awarding points – not subtracting any.

Make sure you follow the Debrief instructions and grade them accurately – as they will be checked

for accuracy by the District !

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On to theShort Response (2pts)andExtended Response (4pts) type questions...

again…read everything VERY carefully and answer

“exactly what they are asking for”.

Take note – they listed 3 things for you to focus on. Use these bulleted items as a checklist !!

(and even lightly check them off on the test form when done)

Keep In Mind:

Although Tahoma School District teaches you a Conclusion refers back to the Hypothesis

(which is a good general way of doing science that will always be correct), the State Test this time

asks you to instead “Answer the question ”.

Stating the Hypothesis correct or not DOES answerthe question - though indirectly – so make sure your

Conclusion “statement” about the Hypothesis“answers the question” clearly.

ALWAYS DO WHAT THE INSTRUCTIONS ASK:use their bulleted checklist

to guide your Conclusion writing.

This Short Response had 4 items State Graders were looking for. See if you had each of them:

Attributes of a Conclusion

What to look for?

Conclusive statement

Answers the question:How does insulating the walls and ceiling of a

doghouse model with insulating material affect the inside temperature of the doghouse model?“ADDING INSULATION INCREASES THE

TEMPERATURE.”

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This Short Response had 4 items State Graders were looking for. See if you had each of them:

Attributes of a Conclusion

What to look for?

Conclusive statement

Answers the question:How does insulating the walls and ceiling of a

doghouse model with insulating material affect the inside temperature of the doghouse model?“ADDING INSULATION INCREASES THE

TEMPERATURE.”Supporting data

for No Insulation

No Insulation Average Temp 3.7° C

(use averages whenever possible)

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This Short Response had 4 items State Graders were looking for. See if you had each of them:

Attributes of a Conclusion

What to look for?

Conclusive statement

Answers the question:How does insulating the walls and ceiling of a

doghouse model with insulating material affect the inside temperature of the doghouse model?“ADDING INSULATION INCREASES THE

TEMPERATURE.”Supporting data

for No Insulation

No Insulation Average Temp 3.7° C

(use averages whenever possible)

Supporting data for Cardboard

Cardboard Average Temp 12.3° C

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This Short Response had 4 items State Graders were looking for. See if you had each of them:

Attributes of a Conclusion

What to look for?

Conclusive statement

Answers the question:How does insulating the walls and ceiling of a

doghouse model with insulating material affect the inside temperature of the doghouse model?“ADDING INSULATION INCREASES THE

TEMPERATURE.”Supporting data

for No Insulation

No Insulation Average Temp 3.7° C

(use averages whenever possible)

Supporting data for Cardboard

Cardboard Average Temp 12.3° C

Explanatory Language

The Hypothesis was correct since adding insulation raised the temperature 8.6° C

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NOTE:

Averages are much better data to work withTrials only show individual results for each test, and

could have some variation…that’s why we use Averages for your own Grades.

Also remember:ANYTHING written OUTSIDE the box

may be IGNORED by the grader.

Therefore, try to visually plan how your answer will basically fit inside the box before you start writing.

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thinner

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LOG OFF COMPUTER AND

WAIT FOR TEACHER TO DO #10

NOW FOR THE LAST BIG QUESTION

Did you happen to notice that this investigation is an extension to the original experiment? The difference is that now we are looking at both insulation AND the size of the doghouse, AND

comparing how they affect the temperature.

Here’s the bulleted checklist items – focus on them!

(one bullet has a sub-list, follow it too!)

Attributes of CER

What to look for?

ClaimDid student make a claim, a statement of fact, that answers the question.

i.e. The smaller, insulated doghouse will have the warmer temperature.

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Attributes of CER

What to look for?

ClaimDid student make a claim, a statement of fact, that answers the question.

i.e. The smaller, insulated doghouse will have the warmer temperature.

EvidenceDid the student support the claim with data (averages from the data table)

i.e. The smaller doghouse was on average 10*C warmer than the larger doghouse, and the house with insulation was on average 9*C warmer than the house without insulation.

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Attributes of CER

What to look for?

ClaimDid student make a claim, a statement of fact, that answers the question.

i.e. The smaller, insulated doghouse will have the warmer temperature.

EvidenceDid the student support the claim with data (averages from the data table)

i.e. The smaller doghouse was on average 10*C warmer than the larger doghouse, and the house with insulation was on average 9*C warmer than the house without insulation..

ReasoningDid the student justify their evidence to the claim.

i.e. Therefore I can conclude that the smaller and insulated doghouse combination will have the warmer temperature.

Now – you should have 15 red circles witheither a 1 or 0 in them…

total them up how many were earnedand put them in a fraction written

ONCE and NEATLY !inside a circle in the open area here…

x15

Don’t forget – you already earned your 20pts for Class Participation for putting in an honest effort

(and for grading this accurately – if you did not grade accurately, points may be taken away now).

But if you’re curious how well you did,here’s a general guideline:

10-15: would Pass the State Test

9 and down… well,you best start working a lot harder…

especially learning how to do Lab Write-Ups better (they are at least ½ of the State Test)

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