How can we anticipate the kinds of mistakes that students will make on the performance test so we can make corrections in our program beforehand?
One way to anticipate mistakes is to administer the performance test sampler, or other similar performance tasks, to your students. Observe the students as they work at their stations and make mental notes of operational errors made by, not just one student, but by several students. When you see many students having the same problems, this may indicate shortcomings of the science program or even other instructional areas of the school’s curriculum. You will also gain insight into problem areas when you score the students’ answer papers for the sampler tasks. The performance test sampler contains a cross-reference chart, similar to the one described in F. 4. After rating the students’ papers for the test sampler, the chart can help you identify areas in need of curriculum modifications, instructional improvement, and/or staff development.
