Assessment of Module Goals

Unit 4: Water Balance in a California drought is the summative assessment for the module. In it, students analyze a variety of data that are relevant to basin-scale water budget. The assessment culminates in students writing a synthesis report for water policy makers. Refer to Unit 4 for details on that primary component of the summative assessment.

The summative assessment is designed to assess the overarching module goals:

1. Analyze and integrate observations that describe the state of the hydrosphere at regional scales.
2. Quantitatively compare and contrast different data types, and their uncertainty, for use in the context of the water balance equation.
3. Critique/evaluate the utility of traditional versus geodetic data for quantifying fluxes and storage.
4. Compare the magnitude of human use in the basin to deficits associated with drought.
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   Supports Earth Science Big Ideas ESBI-1-Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet, ESBI-3-Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and life, ESBI-4-Earth is continuously changing, ESBI-5-Earth is the water planet, ESBI-7-Humans depend on Earth for resources, and ESBI-9-Humans significantly alter the Earth and Climate Literacy Principles CLP-2-Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth system, CLP-4-Climate varies over space and time through both natural and man-made processes, CLP-5-Our understanding of the climate system is improved through observations, theoretical studies, and modeling, and CLP-6-Human activities are impacting the climate system. (link opens in new window)