Educational shifts in paradigms: traditional versus performance based assessments in a student-centered classroom

Abstract

As School Administrative Unit #9 shifts to competency-based education the way students are assessed is also evolving. At Kennett High School students' scores on traditional versus performance assessments were compared in a high school chemistry classroom. Students worked at their own pace and acquired knowledge of Chemistry concepts through a variety of modalities: pre-recorded instruction, simulations, POGILs, experimentation n, and practice in a student-centered classroom. For Module 2: The Mole and Chemical Reactions and Module 3: Acid and Bases, students were assessed using a traditional multiple choice and free response assessment. For both modules students were also given a real-world application performance assessment where an investigation was conducted gather data for analysis. For module 2 students had to find the empirical formula of an unknown substance AxBy using the masses obtained before and after heating. For module 3, students performed an acid-based titration to obtain data to determine the molarity of acetic acid us 1M sodium hydroxide. Self-confidence surveys were administered throughout the unit and interviews were conducted after both assessments for each module. The self-confidence survey for module 2 revealed their confidence in calculating the empirical formula using the percent and mass of each element increased from before the quiz to before the assessment. The self-confidence survey for module 3 revealed their confidence increased in the following areas from before the quiz to before the assessment: writing a complete chemical equation for an acid/base reaction, writing a net ionic equation for a weak acid and strong base, and using a chemical equation to solve acid/base titration problems to solve for the molarity of the other substance when given the molarity and volume of one and the volume of the other. However, for the performing an acid/base titration the results were the same for all but one student whose confidence decreases from before the quiz to before the assessment. A matched pair t-test was performed to analyze traditional versus performance assessments scores. For Module 2 the results were not significant, however in Module 3 students scored significantly better on the traditional assessment.