Attached below are the pre-assessment, post-assessment, and the study guide the students took in this unit.
Pre-Assessment: The students completed the pre-assessment individually before any instruction was taught. The grades were not added into their gradebook, so students felt no pressure, they simply showed me what they knew.
Study Guide: The students have one week to work on the study guide. They may use notes, the textbook, their peers, and myself to help them solve each problem. The students grade their study guides themselves so they are able to self-assess whether they know the material well for the test.
Post-Assessment: The students completed the post-assessment individually. This grade is calculated by myself and entered into the gradebook.
All of the assessments are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (the standards that are applicable to this unit) as well as the topics the students learned in class. The pre-assessment focused on my second goal of matrices, while the study guide and the post-assessment really focused on both of my goals. I was able to assess all four methods of solving systems of linear equations in the study guide and post-assessment as well as the students understanding of matrices. The pre-assessment was appropriate for where the students were developmentally. They had very little prior knowledge of matrices as well as solving systems of linear equations that were larger than 2 equations. Thus, I made sure the pre-assessment was appropriate in assessing the basics of the unit I was going to teach them. The study guide was also very appropriate because it allowed them to practice difficult problems of the methods they learned in class. They were allowed many resources to help them solve the problems, thus it was fine for them to be more difficult and involve fractions and harder numbers. The post-assessment was greatly aligned with the study guide. The students are aware that the study guide greatly reflects the post-assessment, thus they are prepared, and usually over-prepared, to take the test if they have completed the study guide well. The post-assessment really shows me if they understand the concepts rather than if they can solve really complicated problems. Thus, the answers usually turn out in whole numbers and there are not any tricks in the test. I feel this is appropriate for the amount of time the students have to complete the problems as well as the stress involved in taking a test.