Assessment Plan

 My unit of study focuses on educating students about the origins of the Cold War and American society that surrounded it. The unit will help students prepare for the semester test at the end of the year. Each of the assessments I have developed align to all three of the learning goals that I have for the unit and provide me with an excellent overview of well the students are mastering the content. My assessment plan include a pre-assessment, a post assessment, and formative assessment throughout the unit.

The first assessment that I will administer will be the pre-assessment. It will consist of six matching questions and four multiple choice questions. The students will be required to match the letter with the question number for matching and circle the answer for multiple choice. It will include questions that align with all three history learning goals. The first learning goal for this unit is that students will be able to investigate and analyze the origins of the Cold War. The second learning goal for this unit is that students will be able to identify, assess, and examine international alliances and conflicts and how they affected international relations during the Cold War. The third learning goal for this unit is that students will be able to assess and examing the various changes and influences to society during the 1950s. The students will have had cursory, but minimal, introduction to some of the concepts, terms, and names of the Cold War from previous lessons.

The post assessment will be administered after all the material and lessons have been covered. It will have matching and multiple choice like the pre-assessment, but it will also have the inclusion of True or False. The post assessment will include questions that the students will find on the semester test. This assessment will align with all three of the learning goals for this unit.

The second learning goal will be assessed on the pre-assessment, the post assessment, and with a formative assessment at the end of each lesson. The students will write a newspaper column in response to a press conference that covers the Eisenhower Administration which will have to include one fact with indepth analysis as well as cover various facts covered in the press conference. This will be a formative assessment within the learning goal. The students will have been exposed to this concept during a two day lesson.

The assessments that I will be administering authentically and appropriately measure student learning by using a variety of different methods of assessment. The students will perform formal assessments twice during the unit, as well as miultiple informal assessments. During the unit, I plan to keep a record of scores to help me keep an eye on students who may be having difficulty with the lesson. These scores will determine if I need to spend extra time with a student to help them learn a concept with which they are struggling. Students will be completing homework throughout the unit to serve as formative assessments in the unit. Formal assessments will also be conducted to ensure all students understand and are mastering the lesson objectives.

Most of the students in the selected class are on or below level in history. A few students are what I would describe as above level, but for some reason or another were not placed in the Pre-AP class with those on their level. Because the vast majority are on or below level, I chose to use matching, multiple choice, and true/false instead of short answer or essay on the assessments. I will also ensure I focus on concepts and objectives with students show weakness in understanding in the material. This way the students will be exposed to the material before they are assessed.

When designing the assessment plan, I looked at what would be the best way to assess 

each individual lesson goal and objective to ensure the students had accomplished the learning goal. Since I am looking for a mastery level of 80% on the summative and formative assessments, I must ensure that I have enough time to account for the adaptations for those students who need them. I also insured lesson materials would be taken into account, with a plan to help the students convert their knowledge of the concrete application to the abstract use of paper and pencil.

I will use the answers the students give on the assessment as a way to analyze the assessments. The pre-assessment and post assessment both have multiple choice and matching, with the post assessment adding true/false, so scoring will be a matter checking whether they matched the correct number and letter, circling the correct letter, or choosing correctly between true and false. This will allow me to easily compute the percentage and tell if the students were able to master the concepts at an 80% or higher rate. I will also analyze their homework to track their development of knowledge throughout the unit.

One of the formative assessments is to write a newspaper column using information from a mock press conference the class puts on. The students are to address at least five points discussed in the press conference. On one of the points, the student is to attack or defend the “administrations” position using at least three facts to back up their position.

Another of the formative assessments is a small project as a response to the stories of the Korean War veterans. The students are to use the stories they watched and read by the Korean War veterans and then draw a picture, write a poem, or write a short story about how the stories from the Korean War veterans made the students feel about the Koreans War.

Collecting data on students as they are learning is an important and useful tool. It allows you, as a teacher, to quickly catch those students who are not developing on the subjects as well as the other students, allowing you to further assist on the material or re-teach if necessary. If I did not utilize this tool, I would not be able to discern when students would need the help or how well they were doing on the lessons.

Assessment Plan Table: 9^th Grade US History

Learning Goals	Assessments	Format of Assessments	Adaptations
LG1: Students will be able to investigate and analyze the origins of the Cold War.	Pre Pre assessment – multiple choice, matching Post assessment – multiple choice, matching, true/false Formative assessments – homework assignments, direct inquiry	Checklist: Original documents from George Keenan and Henry Wallace. Worksheet with questions on origins of Cold War CIA memorandum on Berlin Blockade Video on Berlin Airlift Interactive binders to keep homework assignments	Students with ELL will be partnered with students of higher level to help with any language barriers. Teacher will lead class discussions using guided questions.
LG2: Students will be able to identify, assess, and examine international alliances and conflicts and how they affected international relations during the Cold War.	Pre Preassessment – multiple choice, matching Post assessment – multiple choice, matching, true/false Formative assessments – homework assignments, direct inquiry	Checklist: Laptop computers for research Custom notes sheets for Cold War leaders Stories and testimonials from Korean War vets Art supplies Access to computer lab Interactive binders to keep homework assignments	Adapt assignments for ELL and resource students appropriately. Adapt lesson plan to be more teacher-led if the lesson starts to look too difficult for the students.
LG3: Students will be able to assess and examing the various changes and influences to society during the 1950s.	Pre Preassessment – multiple choice, matching Post assessment – multiple choice, matching, true/false Formative assessments – homework assignments, direct inquiry	Checklist: notes on McCarthyism scripts for play on Little Rock Nine	Adapt assignments for ELL and resource students appropriately. Adapt lesson plan to be more teacher-led if the lesson starts to look too difficult for the students.