Self-Assessment Rating: 3

At Pinecrest Academy of Nevada - Cadence Campus, assessing STEM learning is multi-faceted and occurs throughout the learning process. Therefore, students are given opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in a multitude of ways. The open-ended design process utilized in PAC STEM-Infused Units engages students in self-evaluation of their growth as critical and creative thinkers. It also provides an opportunity to assess collaboration and communication skills. STEM design challenges also result in an end product which is assessed for specific criteria based on the parameters set forth in the individual challenges. Students are guided to use various combinations of notes, reflective journals, charts, diagrams, graphs, demonstrations, and presentations to provide evidence of their learning.

Students utilize technological tools to generate presentations at various stages of their learning. Whether it is before, during, or at the fruition of projects, teachers use the information from digital platforms to assess students' developing understanding of cross-cutting concepts. Additionally, PLTW guides teachers to assess for the ability of a student to contribute to a team, maintain effective logs, reflect and present on work, and exhibit scientific thinking.

Cyber Security National Competition

2019 State Silver Level

National Center for Women & Informational Technology

2018 Aspirations in Computing Award

Sabrina Shultz

UNLV Regional Science Fair Winners in 2017, 2018, 2019

Pinecrest students compete in STEM challenges such as the UNLV Regional Science Fair and the National Cyber Security Competition. STEM competitions provide our future scientists and engineers the opportunity to hone their presentation skills and get feedback from industry leaders outside their school community. It also allows our students to interact with, and observe the work of, other scholars from around the country.

As a school committed to community outreach, PAC believes in promoting the involvement of stakeholders to enhance our STEM culture. Pinecrest brings the community together at various times of the year to celebrate student STEM outcomes. The Science Fair Exhibition and STEM Showcases give students the opportunity to present their STEM Designs to families and fellow students. It is our vision to provide additional opportunities for students to interact with the larger community to gain feedback for design improvement.

• Implementation of STEM "feedback" partnerships between primary and intermediate students as well as elementary and secondary students to allow our scholars to get real-time feedback on projects to help improve their designs
• Extend secondary options for working with outside agencies to help solve real-world problems impacting our community