Health Education Assessment Project

Why Is Assessment Important?

• To help educators guide improvements in health education planning and delivery (curriculum and instruction)

• To ensure students develop lifelong health skills, rather than merely learn health education facts

• Assessment keeps the focus on what’s important!

How do the National Health Education Standards align to California’s Health Framework and the Challenge Standards for Health?

• National Standards are embedded within the content/concepts and skills/behaviors!

Aligning to the National Health Education Standards

Teaching with the End in Mind

“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right

direction.”--from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Teaching With the End in Mind

Health literacy is the capacity of an individual to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health-enhancing.

Joint Committee on Health Education Standards

National Health Education Standards

National Health Education Standards

National Health Education Standards

Aligning Curriculum and Instruction

Types of Assessment

SelectedResponse

ConstructedResponse

PerformanceEvents, Tasks,Portfolios

Task selected answers create shortanswers

create complexproduct

Time 1 class period 1 class period 1 or more classes

Scoring right/wrong content/skills content/skills

Characteristics broad coverage;little depth;objective

some depth; somecoverage;subjective

less coverage;greater depth;subjective

Generallyreveals

what students donot know

what studentsknow

what students cando

Selected Response

To determine the number of calories present in a food product, a person should look at the:

A.   ingredients list of the product.

B.   nutrition facts label of the product.

C.   Food Guide Pyramid.

D.   dietary guidelines.

Constructed Response

Pat has been asked to speak briefly to an eighth grade class about healthy snacking. Write what Pat could say to persuade them to choose healthy snacks. Include a description of healthy snacking and at least three risks associated with choosing snacks that are not considered “healthy.” Be sure to write it in a way that will convince eighth graders to choose healthy snacks.

Performance Event

In a small group you will research food groups from the Food Guide Pyramid. Your teacher will assign the topic to your group. •You will need to research your topic from the resources in the classroom. •Your group will plan an oral presentation to the class about your topic which will include: a description of the food group and the benefits of choosing foods from that group, examples of foods from that food group, and an overhead or handout for the class identifying foods from that food groups that teenagers might enjoy. 

Performance Task

•Record your food intake over a period of three days (at least one of the days needs to be a Saturday or Sunday). Record what you eat, how much, when, and where.•Evaluate your food intake by comparing it to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Food Guide Pyramid. •Determine what nutritional goals you should set based on your evaluation of your food intake•Make a plan for reaching those goals.

The Basics: Performance-based Assessments

How Do You “Grade” Performance Assessment?

A set of criteria for directing student performance and for scoring performance-based tasks

Holistic Rubrics (the tree)

• Provide overall judgment, based onthe whole, about the performance.

• SCASS HEAP holistic rubrics score content and skills.

• Help teachers assess the level ofknowledge and skills students acquire.

• Indicate level of learning (four-point scale).

Analytic Rubrics (the leaves)

• Can be personalized to aspecific prompt or product

• Provide detailed criteriaat every score point

Advantages of Rubrics

• Help students know what to expect

(provides students with clear scoring

criteria prior to beginning their work)• Provide detailed feedback (“objectifies” the

subjective scoring of student work)• Help students see improvement over time• Offer guidance for continuous improvement• Align teaching and learning to standards

Disadvantages of Rubrics

• Time-consuming to score

• Doesn’t translate to letter gradesor norm-referenced grades

Examples of Projects

• Personal plan

• Brochure

• Teaching poster

• Public service announcement

• Role play

Questions Assessment Presents to Us

• How can I best facilitate learning?

• Are students learning?

• Was it worth learning?

• What might I do next time to help students become more proficient?

• What can I do or say to students to provide constructive feedback for improvement?

Exploring HEAP Assessment Materials

Classroom PostersHolistic Content and Skills RubricsAssessment FrameworkProfessional Development MaterialsCD-ROMs

We’re Here to Help

Robin Sinks, Health Curriculum Leader

Long Beach Unified School District

rsinks@lbusd.k12.ca.us

Jeri Day, Consultant,School Health Connections Office

California Department of Education

jday@cde.ca.gov