Hello,
I was wondering if those who have taught AP CSP before give time limits for the assessments (EG: Unit 1 Chapter 1 Test) on code.org. Do you set an amount of time for students to complete the test?
I was also wondering what else you used as a means of summative assessment if anything. There is a lot of formative assessment in the course but not as much summative.
Anyone have any ideas/recommendations or documentation on this?
I would love an answer on this as well.
I think the assessment from Unit 1, Chapter 1 should take no longer than 15 minutes (I was able to do it confidently in less than 5 minutes, so tripling that for students who just learned the material gives 15 minutes). I suspect that most students will finish most of their productive work in 10 minutes. At the pace students are expected to work on the AP exam at the end of the year, students would have 120/74*10 ~= 16.22 minutes (though many questions on the AP exam are more involved). I think I’ll give students 20 minutes this year and see how they do.
I think you make a great point about how it compares to the “real” thing. One thing to consider is that at the beginning of the year, our expectations for how students read and respond to questions may be different than at the end of the year.
This is my 4th year teaching the course and I always find that this “Unit 1” built in assessment is a little rough for students and it seems to be linked to their reading and vocab skills. In the past, I have made it a “partner” task which has helped them think out loud and a little more confident in their answers. I found the learning that takes place (how to be a critical test reader) tends to be more powerful than the assessment itself. Sometimes this takes longer but it seems to pay off in the end.