P.E. Program Evaluation

When conducting an evaluation of a physical education program within a school system, it may prove useful to incorporate the concept of triangulation into the evaluation process. The triangulation process used in such an evaluation may include three dominant data sources - Curriculum & Opportunities, Student Learning and Community Impact. Triangulation can be defined as an approach to data analysis that synthesizes data from multiple sources. It is from the three aforementioned sources that data and information will be drawn to be used in the evaluation of the overall effectiveness of any physical education program.

According to Plaza et al., curriculum mapping, ultimately, is used to identify whether the intended material is actually being learned and furthers what students learn as well as identifying gaps in the curriculum and demonstrating key links between components of the curriculum. In terms of utilizing curriculum mapping, educators can get an idea of the effectiveness of their program by examining the designed curriculum (institutional and program requirements), the delivered curriculum (instructional delivery), and the experienced curriculum (what students actually experience). To create a useful curriculum map, it may be beneficial to devise a course description sheet with expected outcomes and objectives. To garner information about objectives covered and competencies taught from a teacher's perspective, they may compare the course objectives with the competencies they believe they taught using responses of "yes" or "no". Students, too, could do a reflection noting the extent to which the curriculum focused on each objective using a Likert Scale. This reflection may help reveal the actual "received" curriculum while the other method will denote the "delivered" curriculum.

Objectives can then be categorized into larger "domains" covered in physical education. Using means, students responses and faculty responses can be mapped using a unique shading system, with the darkest shade style representing the highest proportion of domain coverage ratings.

Likewise, student learning forms another piece of the triangulation helpful in evaluating educational programs. Student learning is best exemplified through the provision of multiple forms of assessment geared to meet program goals, such as observation, oral/written/physical knowledge and skill assessments, and criterion-referenced testing. Careful analysis of the results of these assessments will reveal information critical to the evaluation of your physical education program. For example, results of pre/post-assessments (as in the split and switch method) may reveal that information or skills need to be presented in a different format or which content areas, specifically, students are excelling or failing in comprehending. Most useful, perhaps, is the fact that the evaluation of assessment evidence will reveal deficiencies in instructional ability upon which the teacher may see fit to improve.

Finally, community impact, or cost-effectiveness analysis, can serve as a final component in the evaluation of a physical education curriculum. A method that may prove useful to applying the concept of cost-effectiveness may be to choose alternatives that are least costly for reaching a particular objective or that have the largest impact per unit cost. Both cost and effectiveness must be known to make good public policy choices. Also, clear goals must be established, with all alternatives bearing that same goal. Experimental designs can even be employed to ascertain effectiveness. Most educational interventions require personnel, facilities, materials, equipment, and client time. All ingredients required to replicate the alternatives are listed. Ingredients are listed in terms of quantity and quality and cost values can be determined. Generally, costs are determined by annual value, annual depreciation, or annual interest costs. In a final step, the costs are summed up to obtain a total cost, which can then be divided by the number of student to reveal an average cost per student associated with the effectiveness of each intervention. Here, alternatives with the largest effectiveness relative to cost are given the highest priority in decision-making, followed by ease of implementation and political resistance.

Sources:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1858603

http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL11/pdfs/20.pdf

http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs/cyfernet/cyfar/Costben2.htm

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1887/Cost-Effectiveness-in-Education.html

Re: Master Grade Software

Regarding the Master Grade Software that you previously reviewed:

The software, indeed, is creatively laid out and is relatively easy to learn via a do-it-yourself kind of method. After using the software to create grades for my students for the whole year, there are many pros about using this software and a couple of cons. Though the drawbacks are fairly minor when compared to all of the positives of the software, they may pose a more serious problem for physical education teachers in particular.

One major drawback of the software is that, although detailed student progress reports can be e-mailed to other classroom teachers very easily, these teachers, too, must be using the Master Grade software and be on a school network. The district or school would probably have to agree to use the software in all classrooms and set up a network for ease of use and distribution of grades amongst respective teachers. Additionally, physical education teachers have an easy way to keep track of daily attendance and participation or effort or whatever other areas on which they may grade their students. However, I was only able to configure one way to have the software take into account attendance and participation so that they affected overall grades and grades for quarters. To do this, they must be added on as separate 'assignments' for each quarter. Then, a scheme must be developed to deduct points given a particular student's attendance and participation record. In this case, physical educators may find the software somewhat frustrating.

The positives of the software are numerous. These include the ability to add any number of classes with any numbers of students. Detailed information for each student can be added, including multiple addresses, phone numbers, and pictures. Weights can be applied to assignments and scores for the quarters and scales can be individualized and tailored to meet the needs of any teacher. Overall, the software did everything I needed it to and would recommend it to any classroom teacher. A physical education teacher, on the other hand, may want to try out the 30-day trial and see if, indeed, the software meets his or her grading demands for an entire curriculum.

Master Grade Software

After briefly searching and experiencing what the internet has to offer in terms of gradebook utilities, a piece of software called Master Grade by Maxium Developments seems to be capable of fully meeting the needs of my physical education curriculum. The software is available for a free 30-day trial at http://www.maxium.com/index.htm.

The software offers an array of options for easy use by teachers. The product allows for unlimited numbers of classes and students to be stored in one gradebook. Editing and sorting classes is an option at any point in the process of completing grades. Even personal information can be stored about particular students, including a photo of the student, gender, grade, phone number, home address(es), and email address(es). Also, the software allows for an entry of an unlimited number of reporting periods and exam periods and weighting this periods accordingly. Perhaps the most useful portion included with this software is the ability to tailor a number of different scales to meet the needs of the educator. For example, a teacher may customize scales according to certain percentages which can then be translated into equivalent letter grades. Even more useful, in my opinion, is the ability to create "special scores" that may deal with attendance, participation, not handing in assignments, etc.

Of course, educators are able to enter grades and view student progress whenever necessary. More useful for a health educator than a physical educator may be the ability to create and utilize a seating chart using student photos. As with other grading software, there is a large bank of comments that can be assigned to students respectively. Progress reports can be emailed to those who may want to view them (parents, principles, classroom teachers, etc.). Finally, anecdotal information may be typed in the form of notes for any individual student.

One last major upside to this software is that is can be used by those educators who prefer Mac OS X as well as Windows users. The versions for both operating systems appear to be fairly streamlined and customizable. Downsides to using this software appear, at least at first glance, to be few and far between. At times, however, it seems that the weighting system is a bit confusing in that the category for"weighting" appears at multiple points in the gradebook. Additionally, although there is a separate "gradebook" for attendance, it is unclear as to where to include participation - whether it should fall into the term reports section or into the actual gradebook as a "special score".

You Oughta Know

As a physical education and/or health education teacher, there are couple bits of wisdom that may prove useful to know and consider when creating a curriculum and assessment plan. First and foremost, when designing an assessment plan, the physical educator should consider using mostly formative assessments with a few summative assessments. Additionally, the instructor should give heavy consideration to using a select few choices of feedback types, especially interpretation by rule, explanation, and displaying results graphically. These three types of feedback have been extremely successful in improving percentile improvement in students. Furthermore, it would be beneficial for the teacher to analyze how his or her respective groups of students view their ability to experience success in the classroom - whether it be that the students are driven to be success through a value of success or a value of avoiding failure, or that students attribute their success to ability, luck, effort, or task difficulty.

When developing a curriculum, it may be of use to remember to not force too many topics into your content for the year or the semester or quarter. As suggested by Marzano, teachers ought to consider covering just 15 topics or less throughout the year. To address the issue of a lack of unidimensionality in assessment grades, physical education and health teachers should to concoct a system by which students are given one grade for an assessment emphasizing one dimension, rather than one grade for an assessment emphasizing multiple dimensions.

Finally, physical education and health education teachers should try their best to form alliances with administrators, principles, and state and national educational organizations to try to break down the barriers facing their curriculum and instruction. With the use of constructive discussions and meetings regarding the reformation of standards, goals, and objectives within state documents, educators may be able to more easily write lesson, assessment, and unit plans to meet the state's needs.

Teams & Groups Do Not Equal Hitchhikers

Based on the format of Oakley's (2004) Table 1, my progression of forms to use in a 10-12 grade physical education classroom setting would look as follows:

1. Form: Individual group member introductions & group formations

Time: First day of physical education class

Objective: Divide students into teams of 3 or 4, avoiding homogeneity in skill level

2. Form: Group policy-making and Division of duties

Time: Second physical education class

Objective: To get students to comprehend rules and conditions to abide by within their group, possible consequences of actions, and understand individual duties within a group framework

3. Form: Common group mistakes

Time: First week of physical education class

Objective: Promote groups to rework unsuccessful policies & promote awareness of more successful strategies

4. Form: Reflective Journaling

Time: Every 2 weeks of each semester

Objective: Students will reflect on group dynamic, successes, failures, how to become more effective as group, and how they plan to tackle what is to come next

5. Online Team Evaluation (for each group member)

Time: Middle and end of each marking period (quarter)

Objective: Provides students with opportunity to share honest opinions and, hopefully, engage in fruitful discussions afterward

6. Project Presentation

Time: Last week of 2nd marking period, 4th marking period

Objective: Reinforce knowledge of the roles of all group members, present an understanding of the content contained in the areas covered by other members

7. Summarization of Team Evaluations for Peer Rating

Time: End of each quarter

Objective: Acts as a final, overall evaluation of individual contribution to the group effort and as a means to adjust individual grades for effort by person

The 10-12 grade physical education classroom setting can, undoubtedly, serve to benefit students by allowing students to achieve higher grades, retain information longer, and acquire greater teamwork skills. Forming teams is vital to effective group work. At this grade level, it would work best to have the physical education teacher choose teams of three or four with diversity in their levels of skill and an ability to meet outside of class at common times. Although instructors may be inclined to have students choose their own groups, it is logical to conclude that students in this situation would opt to work with friends and teammates who share common methods of "cutting corners" on group work.

Ensuring that groups are, indeed, effective in progressing is essential. It may be helpful to have the groups establish policies and set of expectations by which they can and should abide. Especially useful, in this scenario, is for teacher to examine the team policy statements to get an idea of an overriding set of class policies for all groups to follow. Additionally, it would prove very useful for high school physical educators to hand back these sets of policies and expectations as a reminder to groups of the respective guidelines they agreed on.

Finally, physical educators would benefit from considering the use of peer ratings in their group work assignments. Instead of focusing on peer ratings that emphasize relative contributions, and thereby favoring students who excel academically, peer ratings ought to emphasize the concepts of teamwork skills. In this sense, the students who drag behind academically will not suffer from a low grade on any given group assignment. These ratings can be used in an online method where students post and discuss them anonymously. The ratings, since following a Likert scale, will then be used to form overall grades that take into account individual effort. Individual efforts would be weighted based on the Likert scale scores.

2 Letters

Hypothetical letter from a confused parent:

Dear Mr. McGuire,

After reading an intriguing article in today's Chicago Tribune regarding the growing use of standards-based report cards, I must call into question the continued use of the A,B,C, D and F grading system appearing on my son's recently received report card. I'm completely flabbergasted as to why Lincoln Street Elementary has not considered or experimented with moving towards the issuance of a standards-based report card for all children K-5.

My son, Adam, is currently in 3rd grade and receives letter grades on his report card. Education specialists mentioned in the article seem to agree that the ABC grading system ought to be reserved for the middle school grades and beyond. Instead of trying to determine from these "mystery letters" how well my son is performing compared to other students in his class, I would like to be more aware of how he is performing towards achieving state education standards and classroom goals.

Clearly, a standards-based report card may make more sense and allow for a more in depth report about the specific areas in which my son may be struggling or achieving. For example, his math grade is currently a B-. This particular grade reveals nothing about his weaknesses or strengths relative to the numerous components covered in his mathematics class. Instead, these details, as noted in the article from the Chicago Tribune, are lost in a final grade that lumps together homework, tests, and participation. Instead of compiling these areas into a single grade, why not provide a detailed account (using an enforced scale) of the successes and failures my child experiences in these component areas?

It seems logical to me that parents of students attending Lincoln Street Elementary should not have to struggle to interpret letter grades on their child's report card. Instead, I ask that consideration be given to implementing a more advantageous system based on meeting standards and not friend-to-friend comparisons.

Sincerely,

Linda Jacobson

Response from School Principal:

Dear Mrs. Jacobson,

I, and the rest of the faculty here at Lincoln Street Elementary, understand your viewpoint. The issue of how to approach final grades on report cards arises quite frequently at the end of semesters within all schools in our district and those throughout much of the country. As of now, our faculty members and administration often hold meetings to try and come to terms on a more sophisticated, detailed approach to how grades will appear when released on report cards. Despite our efforts to resolve the issue, it remains a complicated matter for one major reason.

First and foremost, the ABC grading system is deeply rooted in the schools of America and has been for a number of decades. Breaking with tradition, even if for the better, is never an easy task. Attempting to tamper with an established means of reporting final grades has the potential to cause more of an uproar than would the act of holding true to the current grading system. In districts where standards-based report cards have been recently issued, parents of students are citing confusion, educational jargon, and complexity as the biggest challenges faced when trying to interpret standards-based report cards. Educators, too, will face a total reconstruction of their assessment strategies and lesson plans in addition to dedicating countless hours creating these report cards.

Despite these common problems with standards-based report cards, I can assure you that the majority of the faculty and staff employed by this school district agree with your sentiments regarding the need for the implementation of a standards-based system. These systems show remarkable promise for all grade levels, not just the early elementary classrooms. We do believe that it provides parents with a more detailed look at their child's progress in specific components of the typical school subjects. Furthermore, we believe that standards-based report cards give parents, students, and teachers a realistic view of how and where a student can improve. As we, the district, are totally dedicated to successful student learning, we hope to embark on more fruitful conversations regarding this topic and, eventually, begin to work on implementing this type of system in the near future.

Respectfully Yours,

Mr. John McGuire

Exploring New Formats for Final Grades on Report Cards

In his book entitled Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work, Robert Marzano (2006) proposes a distinctly unique method of assigning grades to students at the conclusion of a semester on their report cards. Many chapter of his book deal with the idea that assigning single letter grades and/or overall percentage grades on report cards is simply a less than optimal method. However, Marzano (2006) notes that the overall grade is a concept already deeply instilled into American education, especially in terms of teachers, students, and parents. He proposes, then, that schools begin issuing report cards with these types of grades in addition to detailed information on measurement topics (Marzano, 2006).

Essential to understanding Marzano's proposed grading system in a brief introduction to the idea of the conjunctive method of assigning final grades. Using weighted or unweighted averages of specific 'measurement topics' (academic and non-academic) addressed in the course, a final score could be created (Marzano, 2006). Typically, these measurement topics are graded on a 0.0 to 4.0 scale, using half-point increments. The school can then construct its own scheme along this scale to translate these average measurement topic grades into an overall letter grade of A, B, C, or D if desired (Marzano, 2006). Marzano, however, warns against the solitary use of overall grades as they are rather arbitrary in terms of cutoff points (2006). The conjunctive method sets of a scoring system of weighted topic scores leading to a computer overall grade. Here, according to Kifer (1994), performance on one measurement topic can "compensate" for performance on another and bring the overall grade up. This method is advantageous, then, because sometimes the average score does not represent the typical score in a set because the scores in the set are very different.

In his idea for reformatted report cards, Marzano suggests including overall letter grades (by subject area & computed using a conjunctive approach) at the top of the report card (2006). Below would be a detailed breakdown of student performance in each individual measurement topic, which contributed to their overall letter grades. Next, Marzano proposes the notion of a report card with no overall grade and a focus strictly on measurement topic performance (2006). In mathematics, for example, measurement topics could include number systems, estimation, addition/subtraction, and multiplication/division (Marzano, 2006). The average score for these topics would then be included at the top of the report card, with no attached letter grade equivalent (Marzano, 2006). Non-academic measurements could be made in "life skills" areas like participation, work completion, behavior, and working in groups (Marzano, 2006). Each subject area could be broken down in a similar manner. Additional transcripts could be attached to track student progress and overall GPA (Marzano, 2006).

Additionally, an article from Education World (1998) notes the overall failure of the system of assigning overall letter grades with no other criteria taken into consideration. New methods of creating grades for report cards, then, are being discussed amongst education professionals of today. Similarly to Marzano's (2006) proposal, these new report cards, which focus heavily on lists of specific skills in a variety of subject areas and progress through these areas with the help of teacher narration, are believed to be more objective than the letter grading system (educationworld.com, 1998). Parents, however, feel that these report cards are vague, complex, and frustrating due to the overwhelming amount of educational jargon included in their content (educationworld.com, 1998).

Hu (2009) reports that one grading system growing widely popular by schools administrations and educators countrywide has been accepted by the school district of Pelham, New York. The type of report cards issued in this school, too, bear great resemblance to the system recommended by Marzano (2006). Doing away with overall letter grades altogether, the system at Pelham issues standards-based report cards with numbers indicating how students are faring on a number of specific skills like "decoding strategies" and "number sense and operations". The lowest number achievable, 1, cites that the student is not working up to New York State Standards while a score of 4 indicates the ability to "meet standards with distinction". Officials in the district favor the new kind of grading system the report cards present, yet parents have shown great opposition to giving up their old interpretation of their children's grades.

In fact, standards-based report cards are sweeping the nation in a trend-like fashion. Matturro notes that many school districts send home detailed accounts of each subject's content, student progress, social behavior, work habits, and learning skills (2009). In one Kentucky school district alone, 11 standards to be met by students are listed under social reading (Matturro, 2009). On the other hand, Connecticut has just three standards to be met listed under the subject of reading (Matturro, 2009). Currently, in Rockville, Maryland, schools abide by four different grading scales consisting of a mix of letters and numbers.

Although new and under trial supervision, a movement for report card reform is taking the nation by storm, beginning with the popularity of standards-based report cards. Educators and school officials embrace the new systems as a checklist of skills crucial to learning in both academic and non-academic subject matter. Parents, despite the positivity from school personnel, parents appear reluctant to latch on to the new trend.

Sources:

http://www.education-world.com/a_issues/issues035.shtml

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10229

Marzano, R. (2006). Classroom assessment and grading that work. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Kifer, E. (1994). Development of the Kentucky instructional results information system (KIRIS). In T.R. Gusky (Ed.), High stakes performance assessment: Perspective on Kentucky's educational reform (pp.7-18). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/education/25cards.html

Quiz on a Reading Assignment

Directions: This quiz focuses on MRSA in the community and school settings. Students will read the information provided about MRSA in question and answer format via http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MRSAinSchools/, which is the CDC's web page about MRSA within schools. The purpose of this reading is that it further emphasizes the importance of quality personal hygiene, especially topics emphasized during class discussions, worksheets, and video-watching sessions. Additionally, the reading gives students a better understanding of the complexities the 'super bug' and how to prevent the contraction and/or spread of the bacteria. Students will take about 15 minutes to complete this multiple choice and short answer quiz. The quiz will be scored using a holistic scoring method where each question (of 10 questions total) is worth 1 point, with the potential for the student to earn a maximum of 10 points. These results will allow me, as a teacher, to see if students have, indeed, read the article. Through receiving the results of this quiz, I will be able to get an idea of what students do/do not know about personal hygiene and its relation to the development of MRSA.

Given that not all students may perform well, the results may show that, in upcoming classes, these topics need to be reviewed using new methods, including group discussions/work, more article readings, and graphic representations of the development of MRSA due to poor hygiene practices.

Quiz Directions: Circle the letter of the answer that is the best choice for the given statement or question.

1. MRSA infections may be effectively treated through which of the following methods?

a. The application of rubbing alcohol

b. Acupuncture

c. The drainage of pus from the infection

d. Taking tylenol, ibuprofen, or another common over-the-counter remedy

2. Being in or exposed to which one of the following settings makes it most likely for a MRSA infection to occur?

a. Living in a military barracks

b. Swimming underwater in a pool

c. Climbing a high mountain

d. Drinking alcohol while in sunlight

3. Most MRSA infections manifest with which one of the following physical side-effects?

a. Severe migraine headaches

b. Loss of hair

c. A series of sore throats

d. Painful pustules

4. Which one factor (from the "5 C's") is most commonly attributed to the contraction of a MRSA infection?

a. Cross-examination

b. Cutting boards

c. Conceptualization

d. Crowding

5. Protecting oneself from contracting MRSA can be best achieved through which method?

a. Getting a significant amount of sleep each night

b. Changing a bandage on an open wound of another person

c. Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer

d. Taking vitamin supplements emphasizing Vitamin C

6. The sharing of which one of the following items could most likely lead to a MRSA infection?

a. Razors

b. Food

c. Toothpaste

d. Library books

7. The initial, outward physical signs of a MRSA infection most commonly occur in which one of the following areas of the human body?

a. Fingernails

b. Eyes

c. Inner Nostril

d. Groin

Short Answer

8. Other than your answer to number 5, explain two other methods you could recommend to a friend who, curiously, asks you, "How do I protect myself from a MRSA infection?".

9. Suppose that a school administration is recommending that your school be shut down for a couple days to do a thorough "disinfecting" due to a noted case of MRSA in one student. Using your knowledge of MRSA in schools, state whether you would support this decision and explain why or why not in 3 or 4 sentences.

10. A friend of yours is about to begin researching various aspects of MRSA to do a presentation. Knowing you discussed the topic extensively in health class, she asks if you know the most common community, city, or neighborhood sites (places or locations) for contracting MRSA. List three general locations and, for each location, explain to your friend why MRSA infection is more probable in that site than at other less risky sites.

After grading this quiz, it may become apparent that the next class may call for further review of personal hygiene and the relation of 'super bugs' like MRSA to poor hygiene. This review may be conducted briefly or extensively, depending on the results of the quiz for the class as a whole. Alternative forms of review or explanation may need to be explored including graphic representations of the spread of MRSA, small group work, and more assigned readings.

Essaywhuman?!!!??!

This post concerns two different ways of assessing written essays typically used on contemporary examinations and tests. One method is the use of analytic scoring. Analytic scoring deals largely with a key that details an ideal response in order to judge student competency or proficiency. A second method is holistic scoring, which deals with the assigning of single grade to represent the overall quality of an essay with no regard to any one specific dimension of that essay.

For example, students in a physical education class may be asked to write an essay related to two different types of racket sports after completing a unit on racket sports. The essay question may read as follows:

A friend of yours approaches you wanting to try to start playing a new type of racket sport. Consider two different racket sports covered throughout this unit to assist your friend in making up his mind. In you response, dedicate at least two complete paragraphs (5-7 sentences each) to differentiating between 2 general rules of the games, 2 pieces of equipment used, and one main objective of the games. Additionally predict 2 health (physical, mental, emotional) benefits your friend may acquire from playing one of the sports extensively.

This essay is capable of being scored analytically.

-The student notes 2 applicable (discussed/practiced/played) racket sports = 2 pts each (4 pts)

-The student states 2 differences between the general rules of the two games = 2 pts each difference (4 total)

-The student states a difference between 2 pieces of equipment used in the two games = 2 pts each (4 total)

-The student states a difference between one main objective of the two games = 2 pts

-The student states 2 health benefits (either physical, mental, or emotion) his or her friend may acquire through extensive play = 3 pts each (6 pts)

The essay, as a whole, is worth 20 points.

On the other hand, a different type of essay may require scoring in a holistic manner.

You have a female friend who rushes to the bathroom after, essentially, every meal she eats. It is evident that she also has been working out to an extreme level as of lately. As her friend, you become concerned that she is bulimic. Predict, in a complete paragraph of 5-8 sentences, what would happen if your friend continued without intervention. Include in your discussion an explanation of the physical side effects a bulimic may face with prolonged exposure to the condition and note any social side effects that may occur.

This essay could be scored holistically on a scale of 1 to 5.

1=Essay lacks any mention of the physical and social side effects of prolonged bulimia, poor grammar, spelling and organization.

2=Essay mentions very little physical and social side effects of prolonged bulimia, decent grammar, spelling and organization.

3=Essay adequately covers the physical and social side effects of prolonged bulimia, average grammar, spelling and organization.

4=Essay does an excellent job covering the physical and social side effects of prolonged bulimia, good grammar, spelling and organization.

5=Essay shows superior knowledge of the physical and social side effects of prolonged bulimia, excellent grammar, spelling, and organization.

This essay would be worth just 10 points out of the total exam points to be earned.

A Brief History of Multiple Choice Testing in Education

With the development of the College Entrance Examination Board in 1900 under the planning of presidents at Harvard and Columbia Universities, American educators were beginning to be persuaded by the need for an organization to set uniform curriculum standards and a uniform examination system (Ravitch, 2006). Although the College Board's standards were being upheld voluntarily by colleges that wanted to joining and, indeed, the system had remarkable influence on uplifting secondary education, not all parties were happy with the system, even as it administered its first tests to nearly one thousand applicants in June of 1901 (Ravitch, 2006).

Undoubtedly, one critical component to result from the creation of the College Board was unique bond that came to be shared between high school and college educators. However, as the Board gained respect and support from many, others still pursued the creation of their own tests. Group-administered intelligence testing utilizing multiple choice questions, for example, gained notoriety within the Army during World War I thanks to the work of Edward L. Thornton and other educational psychologists who claimed that the tests were a way of measuring what students were capable of learning (Ravitch, 2006). As College Board examinations faced criticism of being "obsolete", the Board enlisted a committee to design the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the first of which was administered in 1926. The SAT did away with the lengthy, time consuming, invalid, and unreliable traditional style of testing in essay format (Ravitch, 2006).

With the rapid enlistment of millions of young men looming over the horizon following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the College Board decided to speed up the process by dropping their written tests and using multiple choice achievement tests and the SAT. This event marked the end of grading essays and, instead, using a machine to grade as well as the shift in the College Board to being a means of assessing student abilities (Ravitch, 2006).

By the 1960s, multiple-choice testing was facing considerable challenges and criticism, mostly due to critics stating that the tests were not instruments to improve education. Evidence started growing which stated that learning was a complex process not limited to a routine selection of small components (Black, 1998). As a response, the ACT and SAT were redesigned in 1989, largely to enhance emphasis on conceptual and abstract thinking (Black, 1998). Today, although it is believed to possess many faults, multiple-choice testing methods are still widely used do to their ability to meet the needs of ease, cost, and speed of testing (Black, 1998).

Sources:

Black, P.J. (1998). Testing: Friend or Foe? New York: Routledge, Inc.

Ravitch, D. (2006). The fall of standard-bearers. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved May 26, 2009 from http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i27/27b04401.htm

A Who's Who in Pyschometry

Francis Galton, the founding father of modern psychometrics who lived his life as both a geneticist and a meteorologist most of 19th century, was seemingly obsessed with measurement, especially that of mental features called "psychometry". He is credited with laying a foundation for the basic, easy-t0-administer test of mental abilities which led to the creation of our modern intelligence tests. While his colleagues of the time worked tirelessly for formulate laws and principles of mental phenomena applicable to all people, Galton focused solely on the ways people differ from each other. His approach became known as differential psychology. As educators, we must recognize that one purpose of measurement is to identify psychological differences existing between people.

In 1946, Stanley Smith Stevens proposed a definition of measurement as being "the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to some rule." In this very paper, entitled "On the theory of scales and measurement", Stevens also recognized four levels or scales of measurement, including "nominal", "ordinal", "interval", and "ratio". Although the source of much debate, these four types of data are still widely used today, especially in statistics classes throughout the country, where his "normal distribution" receives much attention.

Another pioneer in the field of psychometrics and human intelligence, Louis Leon Thurstone, is most widely recognized for his approach to measurement known as the law of comparative judgement and his ideas surrounding "Primary Mental Abilities". PMAs, essentially, were factors of intelligence that different individuals had in varying degrees. His thoughts on Primary Mental Abilities served as a model for human intelligence that challenged Charles Spearman's then-dominant idea of a single major intelligence factor.

Spearman was the first to offer a psychometric definition of intelligence and is considered the father of classical test theory. His dominant belief was that intelligent behavior was produced by one single quality within the brain or mind and coined this quality "g". Contemporary educators, who are likely proponents of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory, likely would reject this interpretation.

Though there are numerous other "big shots" in the field of psychometrics, these individuals (especially Galton) contributed enormously to the beginnings of the science. Without these early attempts to measure intelligence, teachers today may be without classical test theory and the modern concepts of reliability and validity in evaluating the quality of any test or measurement. More importantly, perhaps, these early scientists have allowed teachers to see the reality behind true individual differences in the intelligences of their students.

Board Game Assessment

Name/Title: Crash the Boards

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to review & reinforce basic knowledge learned during our Basketball unit including 1) terminology, 2) foundations of basketball (history), 3) offensive skills/positions, 4) defensive skills, and 5) rules of the game. Students will create a board game focused on challenging their comprehension of the five topic areas by developing and answering questions that will serve as a review for our upcoming unit exam on Basketball.

Grade Level: 10-12

Materials Needed:

Poster board, markers, tape, glue, ~100 index cards, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, stapler, paper clips, Basics of Basketball handout, computer access.

Assignment Description:

Once in a group with a randomly selected topic, students must work cooperatively within their own group to construct 10 challenging questions related to their topic area. To ensure that the questions will, indeed, act as a review for the Basketball Unit Exam, students must their Basics of Basketball handout, any class notes they've taken, or select websites provided by the teacher on the Acceptable Websites Listing.

Students can write their questions on index cards (one per question). Correct answers to these questions are to be typed on a separate sheet of paper. Both questions and answers, when completed, are to be submitted to the teacher for his/her approval. Once returned by the teacher, students can begin to create their board game for their topic area using the provided poster board and materials.

The game board must meet the following five (7) criterion:

1) Clear instructions and rules governing play

2) The correct answers to each question typed on a separate sheet of paper

3) A clear strategy and overall purpose for the rules governing. In other words, what is the goal when playing the game?

4) A colorful, unique playing board designed by the group of students

5) Creative game pieces to play with (figurines, cards, dice/die). These can be created or brought in. In both cases, however, the pieces should somehow relate to the game of basketball.

6) Questions pertaining to the assigned topic

7) Game does a sufficient job of preparing others for your area of the Basketball unit exam

On the assigned due date, students will place their board games under a clearly marked basketball hoop in the gymnasium designated for their group. Groups will start at one station and progress to other board games at one time in a logical fashion, playing each game for 10 minutes, until all games have been played by all groups. At each station, group members will work together to complete one (1) peer evaluation sheet that will be based on the criteria for the assignment.

Administration Description:

Students will form their own groups of 4 students. Each of these groups will be assigned one of the five topics by randomly drawing topics out of the "lucky basketball shoe". Prior to allowing students to begin creating questions, show students examples of board games created by former students. Also, allow for time to hold a brief question and answer session between the teacher and all groups. The teacher will make sure that the questions are appropriately modeled to fit the content covered in the Basketball unit and that they are, indeed, correctly answered.

On the due date, the teacher will place names of the students composing the various groups under the basketball hoops. Students are to report to their station with their board game. The instructor will monitor time closely, ensuring that each group has about 10 minutes to play each game and correctly fill out their group evaluation sheets at each station. It is during this time that the teacher, too, will rotate about the gymnasium, filling out evaluations for all the board games.

Scoring Method:

Each evaluation sheet will be identical and contains a total of seven questions related to the ability of the other projects to meet the stated criteria. Scoring will be based on a 1 to 5 scale for each of the seven questions in two phases - first, the classmate assessment and second, the teacher evaluation. The total score (with a max score of 35 per group) made by adding the score for each assesment (Teacher assessment score + classmate evaluation score) will be divided by two for the overall project score.

Rubric:

The rubric for scoring is as follows ---

Score Rubric Criteria Covered

5 Excellent Completely

4 Very good Mostly

3 Good Average

2 Fair Somewhat

1 Poor Insufficient/Lacking totally

Total project score, after dividing the sum of all assessment scores by 3, will be based on the following scale:

35 points = Excellent

30-34 points = Very good

25-29 points = Good

20-24 points = Fair

15-19 points = Poor

Story Time

There once was a student named Edgar who strolled casually past the wrought iron gates of his new high school. Coming from a school where he was unsuccessful as an athlete because teachers and coaches told him that his "psychomotor domain is really lacking development"(TS, 5/15/2009), Edgar set out on a quest to prove to his classmates and superiors that, although he was not the athlete he wanted to be, he could prove himself in the classroom.

Troy, a renowned football standout and classmate, made a promise to Edgar that he would work with him on skills that would enable him to become a successful student. When asked about his athletic background, Troy was often quick to say, "My bodily-kinesthetic intelligence has shaped my life because I have always been around sports and athletic competition" (MM, 5/18/09). Shocked at how intelligent Troy sounded, Edgar heavily anticipated learning from such an outstanding student-athlete.

As a tutor, Troy introduced Edgar to the idea of Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which allowed Edgar to realize "that not all people learn the same ways, but may be just as intelligent as another person" (EE, 5/17/09). Edgar responded by saying, "I generally learn information better if I am working in a group of people or talking with another person" (EE, 5/17/09). Since it enabled his interpersonal intelligence to stand out, tutoring quickly lifted Edgar's grades. After seeing the results of his tutoring, Troy, in his usual quick-response fashion, simply told Edgar that if all teachers recognized that "everyone learns differently and that the teaching style used for them should be individually catered to meet their learning needs" (TL, 5/18/09), then tutors like him would most likely be out of business.

8 Concepts

There are 8 elements or concepts critical to the contemporary idea of assessment in today's schools, these being NCLB, alternative assessment, traditional assessment, norm- and criterion-referenced measurements, IDEA, universal design, and standards-based education reform. Of these eight, I feel that teachers often lack an understanding of universal design and alternative assessment. As both of these concepts are vital to teaching for success, and understanding of their meanings and implications is, undoubtedly, necessary.

In my opinion, alternative assessment is largely overshadowed by traditional assessment in the majority of classrooms today, due to both a lack of knowledge and teachers becoming stagnant in their practices. Traditional assessments, of course, are often made up of multiple-choice and/or true/false questions. The decision by teachers to administer these types of assessments surely puts restraints on their students by limiting their abilities to express what they know. These tests, instead provide a short list of acceptable answers and insist the student chooses just one. Alternative assessment, on the other hand, gives students the variety from which to choose how to best express their knowledge and skills. Alternative assessments take on multiple forms, including creating poems, music, essays, pieces of art, oral presentations, demonstrations, exhibitions, and more. It is not so much a matter of teachers not being aware of these alternative forms of assessment, but rather taking the time and dedication to change their curriculum to include these forms.

Also, I firmly believe that teachers have little knowledge of the application of universal design to assessment. Despite the vast differences in abilities due to any given reason in a classroom, bearing in mind a universal design approach to curriculum and instruction will help serve to meet the needs of all of unique individuals. All learners, then, would be more likely to experience success in the form of meeting classroom goals and objectives.

Finally, NCLB is often too simplified by schools, teachers, and administrators. Many fail to realize that their colleagues (physical education, art, and music teachers) would lose valuable class time to make up for the newfound emphasis on reading, science, and mathematics. With a critical obesity epidemic taking shape amongst very young children in this country, physical education cannot be cut short to increase time in science or math class. Likewise, is losing valuable education in the arts the proper way to establish more focus on math, science, and reading?

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

After completing a number of readings on Multiple Intelligence Theory, it is evident that understanding the concepts behind this theory are paramount to the success experienced by all teachers. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences centers around the idea that students, and all individuals for that matter, have uniquely different learning styles. Howard Gardner's proposed eight different intelligences - Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist - and has recently posited the need for a ninth - Existential. Humans, according to Gardner, have a wide range of abilities or "intelligences" that they use to help overcome problems or issues and also create items throughout their lives.

Although all people possess all eight intelligences, some are more of a strongpoint for any given individual than the others. Likewise, the weaker intelligences for one person may likely be a strength of another. In other words, the intelligences can be thought of as many "ways of being smart". For example, it has been revealed that I process information largely through the Bodily-Kinesthetic, Spatial and Musical intelligences. I feel that my ability to take in and process information in a Body-Kinesthetic manner has largely shaped my current and future life. As I found it to be a passion of mine to be athletic, remain fit, and express myself and learn through physical activity inspired me to choose to become a physical and health educator. Also, as having been involved in instrumental music since 3rd grade, music continues to be a love of mine and will, rightfully, find its place within my classroom in the future.

In my opinion, Multiple Intelligence Theory plays an enormous role in both the development of curriculum, assessment, evaluation, and grading within health and physical education. Teachers are quick to forget the differences in learning styles between any two of their students. Curriculum, for instance, should be varied in the sense that unit and lesson plans ought to address the needs of learners who may have strength in any given one of the eight intelligences. This type of method may help avoid biases to include only commonly-addressed intelligences such as linguistic and logical-mathematical. Assessments, too, should allow students to choose (from a set list) the type of assessment (project, test, exam, portfolio, essay, movie, music, poem, etc) that they could complete to meet the standard for passing the course. This provides students with the necessary variety that would hopefully allow students of differing "intelligences" to still be successful.

Finally, evaluation and grading should be done using similar techniques. Evaluations and grades could be done using creative scales developed by or simple observations done by an instructor. These scales could be individualized to whatever assessment is being performed, considering, for example, that a scale for the performance the physical skills of basketball would not be the same as writing to describe how basketball relates to jazz music. It is essential that, when assigning grades, and developing curriculum and assessments, a teacher bear in mind the strengths and weaknesses his or her students exhibit in the way they take in information. Although more work may be required on the part of the teacher to meet the needs of all the different intelligences in her classroom, creating assessments and curriculum to meet these needs will ultimately prove successful for keeping students interested and performing at an exceptional level.

An essay on Bloom's taxonomy

Bloom is, perhaps, best known in education for having recognized three distinct domains of learning. These three domains are the Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor realms of educational activities. When focusing strictly on the Cognitive domain, it is imperative to remember that this area focuses solely on knowledge and intellectual skils.

The six major behavioral categories that fall under the Cognitive domain are uniquely independent, yet mastery of one must precede the next. The most basic type of learning that students perform, according to the hierarchy of the Cognitive domain, is Knowledge. Knowledge is synonymous with the recollection of data or information. Students who are able to successfully complete learning tasks dealing with knowledge will be able to complete objectives that contain verbs such as "describes", "identifies", "names", "or recalls". Comprehension is the next category in the ladder of higher order thinking skills. Comprehension, then, deals with the ability to understand, interpret, translate, and estimate. An example of a lesson objective describing Comprehension is "The student will be able to explain the directions of the game of basketball in their own words."

One proceeds up rest of the hierarchy of Bloom's Cognitive domain with Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Evaluation, in this sense, is the most complex learning that takes place and deals with the ability to judge the value of ideas or materials. . Application is the ability to apply previously learned facts and concepts to solve problems. Analysis can be defined as the ability to distinguish between facts and inferences and recognize organizational structure, while synthesis is the ability to put what you've learned into the form of a culminating summary.

All of these categories have their own set of objective verbs that assist in either recognizing or formulating objectives in different assessments and lesson/unit plans. Also, since Bloom's taxonomy takes on a hierarchical structure, the level of higher order thinking skills becomes evident upon the success or failure of these objectives.

Standards, Objectives, & GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLS *in best soccer sportscaster voice*

A sound understanding of how to formulate standards, goals, and objectives is critical to the success of any professional educator when devising curriculum, unit plans, and individual lesson plans. The proper formulation and execution of all three components will, undoubtedly, ensure that learning is actually taking place among students. Most importantly, perhaps, they allow teachers to witness success in their teaching and also in student learning.

Today's lecture and additional readings, which was a pleasant complement to past courses and instructional content, refreshed me with a solid foundational understanding of how standards, goals, and objectives are intertwined. For example, standards convey the overall knowledge and skills students will have acquired at certain landmarks within their education. I think of goals as being specific to units, as they are broad, generalized statements that fit the mission of the standards. Finally, objectives are specific, measurable, and observable student actions or behaviors upon which some basis is made for the selection of instructional content and assessments. Objectives are, essentially, the things students will be able to do after completing a course.

Further reading allowed me to be exposed to concept I lacked familiarity with - the ABCDs of objective writing. Prior to reading about this topic, I had only heard of the three characteristics of quality objectives being (1) Performance, (2) Conditions, and (3) Criterion. Both expressions seem to convey a similar message, however. Good, precise objectives should address a specific Audience (A), speak about a specified Behavior or task to be performed (B), describe the Condition under which a performance is to be executed (C), and note the Degree (D), or simply the criterion of acceptable performance under your own standards.

Although teachers sometimes struggle with creating quality goals and objectives to meet state and national standards, the ability to devise meaningful goals and objectives is an all-important tool in the teacher's utility belt. These three components provide the basis on which their curriculum, unit plans, lesson plans, and, most importantly, assessments are based. It is key that teachers take the time to center their instruction around meeting daily objectives and unit goals. When this occurs, teachers will get a glimpse at successful instruction techniques and, hopefully, successful student assessments and outcomes.

National & State Standards Analysis

After thoroughly analyzing and comparing state and/or national standards for physical education and health education across the United States, it is evident that there a wide range of commonalities amongst both sets of standards and outcomes.

Since, ultimately, my interests for the future lie primarily with obtaining a career in physical education and, as a secondary goal, health education, I chose to focus my attention on the state physical education standards from California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. All three of these states possess standards that reflect some of my overall goals to be achieved while teaching physical education at any level. At the lower elementary level (K-3), for example, I hope that students demonstrate the motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities. Second, the state of Virginia states that students will understand and apply movement principles and concepts in complex movement activities, particularly at the upper elementary grades 4-6. Finally, Pennsylvania PE standards state that students in grades 7-9 should be able to analyze and engage in physical activities that are developmentally/individually appropriate and support achievement of personal fitness and activity goals. All of these standards mirror closely the goals stated by NASPE at the national level and reflect my personal beliefs in what should be stressed at appropriate times in physical education curriculum.

Upon viewing all the posted messages for today's topic, it is evident that there was little mention of the importance of a standard that recognizes the need for the introduction of lifetime sports and activities during the middle and high school years. Along similar lines, upper elementary students ought to be exposed to some community structured forms of physical activity as well. A strength of the discussions include the fact that the elementary years are an integral time frame for basic motor skills and movement patterns to be introduced and, later on, to become proficient in these skills. Additionally, another strength was the emphasis of state goals on health-enhancing levels of physical fitness that ought to be introduced, explained, and performed during the middle school years.

I feel that, although the majority of state and national standards for PE do, indeed, reflect what students are learning, some schools surely fall short of meeting all standards. For example, with numerous movement patterns and skills often being acquired through simple tumbling/gymnastics units, many schools neglect to incorporate these units into their curriculum. Furthermore, many high schoolers most likely fail to meet the NASPE standard #6, which speaks to recognizing the values of physical activity like social interaction, health benefits, and enjoyment. To meet this type of standards, teachers must work to place heavy emphasis on social concepts of physical activity and sport such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and cooperation.

Overall, however, standards presented by both states and the national organizations present a realistic and wholistic view of goals common to physical education. While some states, such as New York, fail to mention examples of specific outcomes associated with their standards, it is interesting to note that other states, such as California and Pennsylvania give detailed examples of outcomes that may be witnessed by meeting a selected standard.