Assessment - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 187

Then, one test is selected on which all groups will work during the next
stages. It is recommended to let the students select the test on which they will
work. However, if the students do not reach a conclusion, the instructor of the
MTCS course can choose one test, explaining his or her considerations. For
example, the selection can be based on the variety of questions, reasonable
amount of material covered by the test, and so on. Alternatively, the test on
which the students will work can be formed by integrating questions taken
from tests presented by different groups.
• Stage E: Test solving, individual work
The students are asked to work individually and to solve the selected test.
This process of test solving aims at increasing the students' awareness to
a variety of topics (such as, the relevance of the questions to what was
learned in class, the solution complexity, the scope of the solution, learn-
ers' potential mistakes, and more) that they will have to consider in the
next stage in which they construct an evaluation rubric for the test.
• Stage F: Design of an evaluation rubric, group work
An evaluation rubric is a set of guidelines that a teacher uses in the grad-
ing process of a specific test. The actual preparation of evaluation rubrics
encourages teachers (a) to realize what the test actually checks and if it
matches their pedagogical intentions, (b) to verify that there is a match
between the grades the learners will get and their actual knowledge, and
(c) to ensure (as much as it is possible) that all learners' exams are checked
uniformly by the same criteria.
In addition, teachers can share the evaluation rubric with their pupils, when
they wish to deliver what they consider important with respect to the test con-
tent or when they wish to explain to their pupils how their grades were calcu-
lated. When the evaluation rubric is shared with the pupils, it is not necessary
to indicate all its details; rather, each teacher should select the level of detail
he or she shares with his or her pupils according to the class characteristics
and his or her personal pedagogical considerations. In any case, it should be
delivered to the students that it is important for their future pupils to be famil-
iar with their evaluation principles.
When an evaluation rubric is designed, a teacher should consider several
aspects:
− Point Accumulation Should points be gathered (i.e., a pupil starts with zero
points and collects points according to his or her answers) or should points
be reduced (i.e., a pupil starts with 100 points, and mistakes reduce his or
her grade)? Each approach is appropriate as long as it is based on relevant
pedagogical considerations.
− What Is Considered a Mistake For example, if a pupil wrote a correct
computer program but did not use meaningful names for methods, should