Class Rubrics

Writing a/an hypothesis

A hypothesis  is a scientific prediction that can be tested.  For this class you will often be asked to identify the relationship between two variables and provide a scientific reason for this relationship.  An easy way to remember this is with the statement:

If MANIPULATED then RESPONDING, because SCIENCE

• Scientific Hypothesis 3 points
• If-Then Statement (2 points): Makes a prediction on the change in the responding variable based on the changes to the manipulated variable. 
• Correctly identifies manipulated and responding variable (1)
• Identifies the predicted relationship between the two variables. (1)  
• Types of relationship:
• None  (Output does not Change)
• Direct (Output Increases)
• Square (Output Increases Rapidly)
• Inverse (Output Decreases) 
• Inverse Square (Output Decreases Rapidly)
• States supporting scientific idea relevant to the If-Then Statement (1 point)

Writing a Conclusion

Conclusions are graded on a five point scale. You need to state the relationship between the manipulated and responding variables, and then support that conclusion citing data from your experiment. Finally you need to cite the scientific principal or idea that supports your conclusion.

• Conclusive Statement 5 points
• Conclusion Relates manipulated and responding variable (1)
• Conclusion correctly identifies the relationship between the two variables. (1)
• Student cites data from experiment (1)
• This should be actual data from the lab, not just "as you can see from the data"
• Evidence cited supports conclusive statement (1)
• Look at key data points.  (i.e. when you double or triple an input, what did the output do?)
• Student cites supporting scientific idea relevant to the conclusion (1)
• Additionally, if you wrote a hypothesis for the investigation, then the first sentence in your conclusion must be a statement of support/non-support.  I.e.  "The Hypothesis was supported."  Note:  it is "THE" hypothesis not "MY" hypothesis and "SUPPORTED" not "CORRECT"

Diagram and Explain Questions

Diagram and explain questions require you to express a complex idea using images as well as text.  Students often struggle with making appropriate diagrams.  These are evaluated on a four point scale:

• 4 (EXCELLENT) - Diagram demonstrates a clear understanding of the concepts and enhances written information
• 3 (PROFICIENT)- Diagram relates to and supports written information
• 2 (BASIC) - Diagram is present and has little relationship to information
• 1 (UNSATISFACTORY)- Diagram is present but has no relationship to information

Data Analysis

A similar scale is used when evaluating students Data Analysis responses.

• 4 -Demonstrates precise and clearly explained relationships using appropriate vocabulary (i.e. direct, inverse, square)
• 3 -Uses evidence/data to demonstrate an understanding of relationship between evidence/data and conclusions
• 2 -Cites evidence/data but weak understanding of relationship to conclusions
• 1- Didn’t cite evidence/data to support conclusions