ASPECTS THAT CONCERN ASSESSING LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT THE PHYSICS NATIONAL CONTEST EXEMPLIFICATION FOR THE 7TH GRADE

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri

The article analyzes results from 7th grade students who participated in the 50th Physics National Contest held in Cluj-Napoca from April 6 to April 11, 2014. It highlights that 71% of contestants were awarded and examines score differences between practical and theoretical testing. Practical performance shows 93.3% scoring above half, while 50.56% do so in theory. The evaluation also examines how tasks and marking schemes align with curricula competences and appropriate scientific language for grade-level requirements.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

7th Grade Assessment

Subjects

Practical Test

Theoretical Test

ASPECTS THAT CONCERN ASSESSING LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT THE PHYSICS NATIONAL CONTEST EXEMPLIFICATION FOR THE 7TH GRADE Gabriel Florian Abstract: In the present article, we aim at analysing the results obtained by the 7th grade students who participated in the 50th edition of the Physics National Contest, which took place in ClujNapoca between the 6th and the 11th of April, 2014. Why have we chosen the 7th grade? One of the reasons is represented by the good results obtained by the contestants, 71 % of the students having been awarded. The second reason is the significant difference of the score got by the students, between the practical test and the theoretical one: 93,3 % of the students got more than half of the score related to the practical test and 50,56 % of the contestants got more than half of the score related to the theoretical test. The analysis of students’ results show that the subjects and the marking schemes for both tests (practical and theoretical) did not put students into great difficulty. The analysis of the subjects demonstrates that the way they were formulated respected the specific competences and the contents associated to the present Physics curricula and that the enunciations formulated by the authors for the subjects concerning both tests (practical and theoretical) did not surpass the scientific language required from the 7th grade students who participated in the contest. Key words: Physics, performance, scientific language, specific competences, contents, assessment 1. Introduction The objectives aimed at in [1] are of high interest as far as students’ performance at Physics is concerned, namely: 􀁸 Forming and developing competences specific to the science field, to students with abilities and who are motivated for this field: problem solving, making experiments, interpreting and communicating, in writing, the results, critical and analytical thinking. 􀁸 Attracting students, beginning with the 6th grade, to sciences study, in general, and to Physics study, in particular. 􀁸 Identifying students capable of performance in the field of Physics, Sciences and Astrophysics. 􀁸 Stimulating and motivating teachers’ training for approaching differentiated didactic methods, oriented to identifying and preparing students capable of performance. 􀁸 Motivating teachers for specialty, theoretical and experimental training, by approaching advanced topics included in the curriculum for the international stage of the contest. For the 7th grade students as well as for all the other classes students who participate in the National stage of the Physics Contest in accordance with [1], it is compulsory to be tested both practically and theoretically, the former being the practical test. The practical test ends up by achieving a written paper which may be marked with a maximum of 20 points, 2 points being given for granted. The theoretical test consists of 3 subjects and each subject within this test may be marked with a maximum of 10 points, 1 point being given for granted. Both tests last 3 hours. For each of the 6th to 12th grade, the set of topics which is compulsory for the Physics National Contest is included in [1] and it is in accordance with the specific competences and the contents associated to the present Physics curricula [2, 3, 4, 5, 6] . 2. 7th Grade Assessment Subjects For the 7th grade students who participated in the Physics National Contest, the subjects for the practical test have been presented in Annex 1 and the subjects for the theoretical test have been presented in Annex 2. For both tests, the subjects were achieved within the Central Board of the Physics National Contest, 2014 Edition. The total number of 7th grade contestants was 89, both for the theoretical and practical test. For our study, the subjects for both tests, practical and theoretical, were taken from the contest site [7] and translated into English. Practical Test The results obtained by

FAQs

What contest and grade level does the article focus on?

It focuses on 7th grade students participating in the 50th edition of the Physics National Contest.

How do practical and theoretical test results compare?

93.3% of students scored more than half in the practical test, while 50.56% achieved more than half in the theoretical test.

Why does the article suggest students performed well in the practical test?

It attributes strong practical results largely to the experimental topic about determining friction quotient, which students found less difficult due to familiarity from the lower secondary Physics curriculum.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri