High School Philosophy, Course Requirements & Grading Rubric

Suffield High School

MISSION STATEMENT

Suffield High School strives to foster academic excellence and responsible behavior in all students by encouraging them to be effective thinkers and active citizens. (adopted 2005)

SCHOOLWIDE ACADEMIC EXPECTATION:

By the end of Grade 12, students will know the basic concepts of, and the interrelationships among, biology, chemistry, physics, and earth (including ecology) and space sciences, and will be able to apply scientific skills, processes and methods of inquiry to real world settings. (adopted 2004)

All Science Courses will prepare students by using the following course wide goals:

1) Use knowledge of science to make and support informed judgments about current issues and problems.

2) Identify and solve problems through scientific experimentation: formulate hypotheses, design experiments, use technology, analyze data, and make and communicate conclusions.

3) Apply the scientific process to critically evaluate data, its sources, and its validity in constructing theories and models.

4) Assess and apply knowledge of safe scientific procedures, both to the classroom and to everyday life.

5) Select and use appropriate laboratory equipment, technology, and units to measure scientific properties.

Instructional Strategies:

Science uses instructional strategies and resources to promote thinking about the content, and students are encouraged to critically discuss ideas, seek information and validate explanations.

Concepts: The overall instructional strategy for teaching science skills and concepts is that of learning by doing. Abstract concepts in science are explained in class through the use of diagrams, models, simulations, and a variety of media. Students take notes in class, and participate in class discussions. There are questions asked of the students daily, both written and oral, that ask them to explain concepts and relate scientific behavior to real life phenomena. The teacher models the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis through some problem solving strategies in class, which the students then practice, both in groups and individually.

Labs: In each unit of study, students participate in laboratory investigations at least once a week. The lab investigations are sometimes set procedures in which the students practice the skills of observation, measurement, and data analysis. Many other lab experiences ask the students to design their own safe experiment: formulating hypothesis, controlling variables, and communicating and explaining their results and conclusions. The lab experiences directly relate to the concepts as well as show real life applications of science concepts. Students explore phenomena and collect empirical evidence to support their own explanations

Real Life: Students apply the knowledge they have learned by using science concepts to make decisions about current issues in each unit. They write persuasive essays, conduct collaborative and independent research, and participate in forums and debates. The students are expected to synthesize information from various resources and construct carefully reasoned opinions about the issue. There are case studies and simulations that require students to learn and apply their science knowledge and make judgments.

The emphasis in all the instructional activities is to promote higher order thinking skills and making connections. Students learn how to use resources, rather than memorizing many facts, and apply their laboratory experiences to other situations.

Assessment Strategies:

Students are assessed with a variety of methods on their knowledge of science concepts and skills and how they apply to the real world. Daily classwork and homework is used to check for understanding of main ideas and application of the techniques and skills of science. These daily assessment tools include a mixture of written explanations, diagrams, model building and problem solving. Students are assessed on their laboratory skills through the use of rubrics and class monitoring. Students are assessed on their ability to explain unit-related concepts and their conclusions on experimentation results by written lab reports, written explanations on quizzes and tests, as well as occasional oral explanation of laboratory ideas and procedures.

There are periodic unit quizzes and tests which assess students’ skills and knowledge in a similar manner to their daily instructional activities. The written quizzes and tests include a mixture of knowledge and comprehension questions, as well as questions which require students to demonstrate knowledge of inquiry skills, explanation of concepts, as well as making connections to other concepts and everyday experiences. The assessment tools include questions about cause and effect, steps of scientific processes, and explanation of phenomena, and are not focused on just vocabulary and word problem solving. Tests and quizzes, as well as midterm and final exams, may include a lab performance component.

Students are assessed on their ability to explain science ideas, do research, and defend decisions about scientific issues by the use of projects and class simulations. Projects require some level of judgment and thinking by the students and extend beyond research into analysis and synthesis. Group and interpersonal skills are included. Rubrics detailing students’ ability to present, discuss, and use scientific research, both lab results and issues, are used by students, peers, and the teacher.

The criteria for the students’ overall performance level in the course will focus on the science skills developed, explanation and understanding of science concepts, and use of science skills and concepts in real life situations.

SCIENCE

Scientific literacy is a necessity for all our citizens. The rapid changes occurring in technology and the environment require that today’s graduates recognize these impacts on their lives if they are to implement effective change.

In all courses students will:

use knowledge of science to make and support informed judgments about current issues and problems;

identify and solve problems through scientific experimentation: formulate hypotheses, design experiments, use technology, analyze data, and make and communicate conclusions;

apply the scientific process to critically evaluate data, its sources, and its validity in constructing theories and models;

assess and apply knowledge of safe scientific procedures, both to the classroom and to everyday life and

select and use appropriate laboratory equipment, technology, and units to measure scientific properties.

Science courses provide a variety of experiences geared toward Honors and Academic students. All science courses utilize laboratory activities and develop critical thinking skills. Lab sciences may be limited in class size. Honors courses are open to students with high motivation and independent work ethic. Students in Honors sections should expect to have more challenging work in greater amounts, to use higher levels of math and reading, and work at a faster pace. Students must be recommended and have the approval of the current instructor before enrolling in Honors courses. All level classes follow the current Suffield High grading policy, AP and Honors classes are harder and receive higher GPA weighting.

Successful completion of one Earth Science, one Biology, and one course in the physical sciences (Chemistry, Physics) is required for graduation from Suffield High School (total of 3 credits).

Students must also meet the science academic expectation by meeting proficiency on the Science section of the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, or enroll in an after school remedial course in junior year, or complete a science Individualized Learning Project in senior year. Every science course, as well as the Individualized Learning Project uses the school-wide rubric to meet our academic expectation.

SCIENCE COURSES AND LEVELS

411H, 413A Integrated Earth Science Grade 9

421H, 423A Biology Grade 10

426H, 424A Agriscience Biology Grade 10

431H, 433A Chemistry Grade 11,12

441H, 443A Physics Grade 11,12

* 460 A Science and Society Grade 11, 12

*461 A Environmental Science Grade 11,12

*450 H AP Biology Grade 12

* Do not satisfy the three year science requirement.

ACADEMIC EXPECTATION:

Know and apply the basic concepts of and the interrelations among biology, chemistry, physics, and earth (including ecology) and space sciences.

Expectation	Insufficient	Limited	Standard	Superior
Completeness	Demonstrates lack of or limited ability to address the question	Demonstrates marginal understanding Demonstrates some elements of proficiency, but may be inaccurate, incomplete and/or inappropriate	Demonstrates proficiency in a correct, complete, and appropriate manner	The student’s work demonstrates an ability to answer questions correctly, completely, and appropriately.
Concept	Demonstrates serious misconceptions	Demonstrates evidence of significant misconceptions	Demonstrates evidence of no major misconceptions and minor inaccuracies may appear	No evidence of misconceptions and demonstrates good ability to make meaningful associations with life
Higher Order Thinking	Demonstrates no evidence of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking or relevant prior knowledge	Demonstrates little, if any, evidence of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking, or relevant prior knowledge	Demonstrates limited evidence of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking, and relevant prior knowledge or other flaws may be more than minor .	Demonstrates evidence of elaboration, extension, and/or evidence of higher-order thinking and relevant prior knowledge.
Experiment Skill	Demonstrates marginal ability to conduct an experiment	Demonstrates ability to conduct an experiment	Demonstrates ability to conduct experiments	Demonstrates ability to conduct, experiments
Experiment Design	Demonstrates no ability to offer any elements of an experiment design	Demonstrates inability to design an experiment but may offer some elements of the design.	Demonstrates inability to completely design experiment without some assistance	Demonstrates ability to design experiments
Experiment Conclusion	Demonstrates inability to analyze the data results	Has difficulty analyzing the results correctly	Demonstrates ability to analyze experiments	Demonstrates ability to analyze experiments

SUFFIELD HIGH SCHOOL

SCHOOL WIDE RUBRIC SCIENCE

Expectation 4:

Know and apply the basic concepts of and the interrelations among Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Earth (including Ecology) and Space Sciences and will be able to apply scientific skills, processes and methods of inquiry to real world settings.

Superior. The student’s work demonstrates and ability to answer questions correctly, completely, and appropriately. The student’s responses to assessment contain elaboration, extension, and/or evidence of higher-order thinking and relevant prior knowledge. The student is able to design, conduct, and analyze experiments.

Standard. The student has shown proficiency in answering science questions in a correct, complete, and appropriate manner although minor inaccuracies may appear. There may be limited evidence in the student’s work of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking, and relevant prior knowledge, or there may be significant evidence of these traits but other flaws (e.g., inaccuracies, omissions, and inappropriateness) may be more than minor. The student can conduct and analyze experiments but may be unable to completely design one without some assistance.

Limited. The student’s work shows marginal understanding. While it may contain some elements of proficiency, the student’s response to assessment is inaccurate, incomplete and/or inappropriate. There is little if any evidence of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking or relevant prior knowledge. There may be evidence of significant misconceptions. The student is able to conduct an experiment but has difficulty analyzing the results correctly. The student is unable to design an experiment but may offer some elements of the design.

Insufficient. The student’s work is unsatisfactory. Student’s responses to assessment may fail to address the question, or may address the question in a very limited way. There may be no evidence of elaboration, extension, higher-order thinking, or relevant prior knowledge. There may be evidence of serious misconceptions. The student is marginally able to conduct an experiment and unable to analyze the data results. The student is unable to offer any elements of an experiment design.