What`s New in Social Studies - Darlington County School District

Transcript What`s New in Social Studies - Darlington County School District

What’s New in Social Studies?

August 15, 2013 Darlington County Schools Kathy Hogan

Introductions • • • • •

Former SS Coordinator for Lexington/Richland School District 5 in Irmo 2003-2013 Teacher – Dutch Fork HS 1992-2005 Member of the SS Standards development (2005) and revision (2011) committees Member of the Standard Support Document writing teams (2008 and 2011).* Member of assessment item review committees.

Welcome!

Introduce new members of the Social Studies Teams at each school.

Darlington HS Darlington MS Hartsville HS Hartsville MS Lamar HS Mayo HS for Science/Math Rosenwald MS Spaulding MS

What will we do today?

• • • • • • •

Review the 2011 changes to the Standards and the SSDs Review the role of SS in the CCSS and share resources Break Look at the data Share methods for improving data Discuss ways to improve data in Darlington Begin to work on these projects

Thomas B Fordham Institute A national, conservative think tank

SSD: What’s New!!!

• http://ed.sc.gov/ changes to the SCDE website • Turn to your neighbor and talk about the 2 changes to the format of the Support Documents and why these changes are important.

• Share out.

Why include the “Enduring Understanding?”

• • Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe Understanding by Design knowledge which can be transferred the “Big Idea” • • • Three questions to ask before you teach… What do students need to know for the state test? (“Essentials to Know”) What do students need to know to be successful at the next grade level? (“Previous/Future Knowledge”) What do students need to know to be successful in the real world? (skills and Common Core State Standards)

Social Studies Literacy Skills for the Twenty-First Century Grades K-3 Grades 4-5 Distinguish between past, present and future time.

Measure and calculate calendar time.

Grades 6-8 High School Establish the chronological order in reconstructing a historical narrative.

Explain changes and continuity over time and across cultures.

Create and interpret data in time lines.

Interpret parallel time lines from different places and cultures.

Examine the relationship of the present to the past and use a knowledge of the past to make informed decisions in the present and to extrapolate into the future.

Trace and describe continuity and change across cultures.

Common Core State Standards

http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards

LITERACY IN HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, AND OTHER TECHNICAL SUBJECTS (adapted from Common Core State Standards)

Grades K–3

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate his or her understanding of a text, using the text as the basis for the answers.

Grades 4–5

Cite details from a text to support conclusions made from that text.

Grades 6–8

Cite specific textual evidence to support the analysis of primary and secondary sources.

High School

Utilize contextual information to support the analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Use visual elements as aids to under stand where, when, why, and how. Interpret visual information to deepen his or her understanding Integrate information from a variety of media sources with print or digital text in an appropriate manner. Synthesize ideas and data to determine their validity and authenticity http://ed.sc.gov/agency/se/Instructional-Practices-and Evaluations/documents/FINALAPPROVEDSSStandardsAugust182011.pdf

Grade 4 8 12

Common Core State Standards 5 Shifts for ELA

Literary 50% 45% 30% Informational 50% 55% 70% Shift 1: Informational Text Shift 2: Increasing Text Complexity Shift 3: Academic Vocabulary* Shift 4: Text-Based Answers Shift 5: Writing from Sources Shift 6: Shift 6: Literacy Instruction in all Contents Grade 4 8 12 Opinion/ Argument 30% 35% 40% Informational/ Expository 35% 35% 40% Narrative 35% 30% 20%

Text Complexity of History Reading •

Often adheres to one or more structures: – Description – Sequence – Cause/Effect – Problem/Solution – Compare/Contrast – Listing – Narrative – Argument Text Patterns & GO’s

How can Social Studies teachers support the CCSS?

• • • •

as always

Use multiple texts and other SS sources (maps, charts, political cartoons etc.) Focus on critical thinking: analysis, synthesis, evaluation

with the addition of

Teach discipline specific approaches to text Teach discipline specific strategies

Teaching students to learn to read and read to learn simultaneously • • • •

With all informational text (including the textbook)

Demonstrate (think aloud) how comprehending strategies such as determining importance, summarizing, synthesizing, gathering information are important to the comprehending of informational text.

Teach students to summarize and take notes; don’t do it for them!

Demonstrate the use of text features and text structures and their importance to comprehending the text.

Establish tasks that support explicit practice of using text structures and features in connection with comprehension.

Argumentative Writing

• • • • •

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

Common Core

Literacy in History/ Social Studies • • • • • • • Cite textual evidence Comprehend complex texts independently.

Summarize central idea.

Evaluate author’s point of view.

Evaluate multiple sources.

Integrate info from diverse sources.

Write using evidence.

Common Core

Literacy in History/ Social Studies • • • • • • • Cite textual evidence Comprehend complex texts independently.

Summarize central idea.

Evaluate author’s point of view.

Evaluate multiple sources.

Integrate info from diverse sources.

Write using evidence.

ocument

ased

uestions!!

http://www.dbqproject.com/

Reading Like A Historian

• • • • • • • • • • • Identify text structures.

Be aware of the source of the text.

Look for corroboration of the text.

Use/cite evidence from the text.

Be able to put the text into a time and place (contextualize) Use background knowledge to evaluate the text.

Reading Like a Historian from Stanford University Beyond the Bubble: A New Generation of History Assessments Historical Thinking Matters AP Central (USHC, World History, European History Government, Economics, Human Geography) use only some of the docs USC Digital Academy http://library.sc.edu/blogs/academy/browse by-standard/

Directions: Look at the painting below and evaluate the claim that follows.

Source: The First Thanksgiving 1621, was created in 1932 by J. L. G. Ferris.

Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #6 (Gr. 6-8), #7 (Gr. 6-8)

• • • •

Question:

The painting The First Thanksgiving 1621 is a useful resource for historians who wish to understand the relationship between the Wampanoag Indians and the Puritan settlers in 1621.

Do you agree or disagree? (Circle one.) Turn to your neighbor and explain your thinking.

The painting The First Thanksgiving 1621 is a useful resource for historians who wish to understand the relationship between the Wampanoag Indians and the Puritan settlers in 1621. Do you agree or disagree?

Source: The First Thanksgiving 1621, was created in 1932 by J. L. G. Ferris.

Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #6 (Gr. 6-8), #7 (Gr. 6-8)

Proficient Student Response

This is an example of sourcing a document.

Directions: Use the letter below to answer the questions that follow.

• • "Well we are trying to get a long the best we can and I tell you that is poor a nough. The troops all Seem to be discouraged Since the last battle at Fredericksburgh. I tell you that they hadent better ever take this army back to Alexandria or they will all [desert] and go home. I dont see what our government is doing." Source: Letter from Joseph F. Green, a soldier in the Union Army, to his friend Julia Reynolds on January 2, 1863.

Question 1: Explain why a historian might not think that Joseph F. Green’s letter reflects the morale of the entire Union Army.

Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #8 (Gr. 9-10), #9 (Gr. 11-12)

Proficient Student Response:

Corroborate

Question 2: Three documents are described below. Explain whether each document could be used to support Joseph F. Green’s claims about the morale of the Union Army.

a. An 1863 public speech by President Lincoln that describes the Union soldiers as brave.

b. An 1863 document from the US government that shows that many Union soldiers had recently deserted. c. An 1861 letter from a Confederate soldier to his mother that describes how two of his friends had deserted .

Turn to your neighbor and explain your answer.

Using Documents as Evidence

• Document A: The following is an excerpt from sworn testimony given before the U.S. Senate by Corporal Richard O’Brien in 1902. O’Brien was called to testify in a Senate investigation of alleged war crimes committed by American soldiers in the Philippine-American War.

• “The first thing we saw was a boy ... and the first sergeant shot at the boy. Everybody fired at him. That brought the people in the houses out . . . [and] the town was fired on ... Two old men came out, hand in hand ... they had a white flag, they were shot down. At the other end of the town we heard screams, and there was a woman there; she was burned up, and in her arms was a baby, and on the floor was another child ... The fighting was continued until everybody had fled or everybody was killed ... There was not a shot fired on the part of the Filipinos.” Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #4 (Gr. 6-12), #6 (Gr. 6-12), #8 (Gr. 11-12), #9 (Gr. 9-12)

• • Document B: The following is an excerpt from a letter to the editor of the Kansas City Journal by Colonel Frederick Funston on April 22, 1899. Funston, who was a war hero for his extensive service in the Philippine-American War, wrote and spoke often about the Philippine-American War in order to increase public support for American involvement in the conflict.

“I am afraid that some people at home will lie awake [at] night worrying about the ethics of this war, thinking that our enemy is fighting for the right to self-government ... [The Filipinos] have a certain number of educated leaders – educated, however, about the same way a parrot is. They are, as a rule, an illiterate, semi-savage people who are waging war not against tyranny, but against Anglo-Saxon order and decency . . I, for one, hope that Uncle Sam will apply the chastening rod good, hard and plenty, and lay it on until they come in to the reservation and promise to be good ‘Injuns.’”

• • •

Question 1: Many Americans opposed the war in the Philippines. How does Document A provide evidence that many Americans opposed the war?

Question 2: How does Document B also provide evidence that many Americans opposed the war in the Philippines?

Turn to your neighbor and explain your thinking.

Many Americans opposed the war in the Philippines. How does Document A provide evidence that many Americans opposed the war?

How does Document B also provide evidence that many Americans opposed the war in the Philippines?

“I am afraid that some people at home will lie awake [at] night worrying about the ethics of this war, thinking that our enemy is fighting for the right to self-government ... [The Filipinos] have a certain number of educated leaders – educated, however, about the same way a parrot is. They are, as a rule, an illiterate, semi savage people who are waging war not against tyranny, but against Anglo-Saxon order and decency . . I, for one, hope that Uncle Sam will apply the chastening rod good, hard and plenty, and lay it on until they come in to the reservation and promise to be good ‘Injuns.’”

Proficient Student Response:

Putting a Source into the Context of Time and/or Place

Directions:

Use the source information, your knowledge of history, and the poster to answer the questions below.

Source:

This is a poster for a play written in 1936 that celebrates the abolitionist John Brown, who tried to start a slave revolt in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 .

Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #4 (Gr. 6-12), #6 (Gr. 6-8), #7 (Gr. 6-8)

Question 1: When was the play written?

Question 2: Which two of the facts below might help explain why the authors wrote this play?

1. Slaves made up nearly 40% of Virginia’s population in 1859.

2. One of the play’s authors, Michael Gold, was a member of the Communist Party, which protested against lynching in the 1930s.

3. After taking power in 1933, Adolf Hitler enacted racist policies in Germany. 4. After seceding from the Union in 1861, Virginia became the largest state in the Confederacy and the home of its capital, Richmond.

Turn to your neighbor and explain your thinking about these questions.

Proficient Student Responses:

Using Background Knowledge and Periodization

Directions: The following two letters are both from the archives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and were written over twenty years apart. Read the letters and determine which was written first. Then explain your answers using evidence from the letters and your knowledge of history.

Common Core: #1 (Gr. 6-12), #4 (Gr. 6-12), #5 (Gr. 11-12), #9 (Gr. 9-12)

• •

Source:

Letter A: First Lady of the United States to Walter White, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, addressing the lynching situation.

Letter B: Daisy Bates to Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, describing the conditions of black children in a previously all-white school.

Proficient Student Responses:

•

Video: Developing Narrative Understanding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeYP92T0rms

What’s the Elephant in the room?

• • •

I am not a reading teacher!

How can I teach with text and still cover all of the “stuff” that is in the SSD to be ready for PASS or EOCEP?

“This too shall pass.”

•

Let’s take a short break!

• • • •

Lets’ take a closer look at the changes to the SSD…

Focus on the “Enduring Understanding” and the Literacy Elements Avoid just naming a bit of info in order to promote understanding of the underlying concept such as “subsidies in the form of land grants” [Pacific Railway Act]; “Tribal lands were divided into farm parcels” [Dawes Severalty Act] Many details moved to the “Non-Essentials” such as names of labor organizations (4.4) Improved connections between content of the indicator and previous indicators; referenced ( ) to emphasize the themes implicit in the standards.

• • •

Talk to your grade level team and share the content changes that you noticed in the SSD for your grade level.

How can these changes be reconciled with the CCSS?

Be prepared to report out.

Government and Economics •

Emphasis on founding documents

United States History and Constitution

• • • • Focus on the Enduring Understanding (democracy) 10 standards to 8 standards – Ex. New Spain and New France; impact of the DOI on the world at large; development of the Articles Combination of some indicators – Ex. 1.4 Analyze how dissatisfaction with the government under the Articles of Confederation were addressed with the writing of the Constitution… Improved the narrative and brought it to more recent times – 3.5 Evaluate the varied response of African Americans to the restrictions imposed on them in the post Reconstruction period… – Conservatives and liberals

World History: the Making of the Modern World • • • •

Starts at 1300 Thematic, not chronological* Have you substituted these for the 2005 Global Studies standards?

Greater inclusion of United States history

World Geography • • •

Completely new standards Thematic, not regional Emphasis on concept not place

8 th Grade: South Carolina History South Carolina: ONE of the United States 8-1.2 Compare the motives, activities and accomplishments of the exploration of South Carolina and North America by the Spanish, French and English.(not just settlements in SC)

8-1.3 Summarize the history of English settlement in New England, the mid-Atlantic region, and the South with an emphasis on SC as an example of a distinctly southern colony.

8-1.6 Compare the development of representative government in SC to representative government in other colonial regions…

8-5.6 Compare migration patterns of SC to such patterns throughout the

7 grade Contemporary Cultures: 1600 to the Present

6 Grade Early Cultures to 1600

• 6-4.4 Explain the contributions, features, and rise and fall of the North American ancestors of the numerous Native American tribes, including the Adena, Hopewell, Pueblo, and Mississippian cultures.

A closer look at the EU!

• • • • •

Work with your grade level team to read and discuss the “Enduring Understanding” for Standard 1.

How well does each indicator support the EU?

How might you improve the EU?

How might you communicate the EU to your students?

Report out

So… • • •

Focus on the big ideas and enduring concepts, not merely on information. Facts = evidence of the Big Idea Include some SS literacy element in each lesson.

– Text: secondary and primary sources – Maps, charts, graphs pictures, political cartoons … Emphasize evidence from text or other resources and include reading and writing in your lessons. (CCSS)

What does the data tell us?

http://ed.sc.gov/data/esea/2012/district.cfm?SID=3205 http://ed.sc.gov/data/esea/2013/district.cfm?SID=1601

Darlington Elementary Schools -2013

Darlington Elementary Schools- 2013

Darlington Middle Schools -2013

Darlington Schools – 6 th Grade http://ed.sc.gov/data/pass/2013/show_district_pass_scores_standard.cfm?ID=1601

Darlington Schools – 7 th Grade http://ed.sc.gov/data/pass/2013/show_district_pass_scores_standard.cfm?ID=1601

Darlington Schools – 8 th Grade http://ed.sc.gov/data/pass/2013/show_district_pass_scores_standard.cfm?ID=1601

Darlington High Schools - 2013

Darlington County -2012

South Carolina -2012

How to improve scores… •

Think of the EOCEP as an EOC in Social Studies not in USHC!

How to improve scores… • •

Think of the EOCEP as an EOC in Social Studies not in USHC!

Understand and use the standards and the Standard Support Documents. http://ed.sc.gov/agency/se/Instructional-Practices-and Evaluations/SocialStudiesSupportDocuments.cfm

Assessment Guidelines:

Appropriate classroom assessments

could

require students to be able to:

Analyze

Differentiate Organize Attribute Or any verb from the

Understand

Remember

cognitive process dimensions.

Changes to the SSD

How to improve scores… • • •

Think of the EOCEP as an EOC in Social Studies not in USHC!

Understand and use the standards and the Standard Support Documents. http://ed.sc.gov/agency/se/Instructional-Practices-and Evaluations/SocialStudiesSupportDocuments.cfm

Develop assessments to prepare students for the EOC in Social Studies and give benchmark tests to measure progress.

United States History and Constitution How we did it in Lexington/ Richland 5… Year HS #1 08-09 A 5% B 12% C 30% D 22% F 31% HS #2 08-09 4% 7% 21% 27% 42% HS #3 08-09 4% 7% 14% 21% 55%

United States History and Constitution A B C D Year HS #1 08-09 09-10 HS #2 08-09 09-10 HS #3 08-09 09-10 5%

12%

13%

10%

30%

32%

21%

22%

14%

20%

22%

29%

27%

27%

21%

24%

F 31%

22%

42%

36%

55%

41%

Process •

Started in 2009-10 with USHC In 2011-12 district started the data team initiative so USHC benchmarks were reduced from 4 per year to 2 per year.

Other factors…

In 2011-12 levels were combined.

Process continued… • • • •

2012-13 expanded to other grades World History 8 th Grade 7 th Grade 6 th Grade Developing test bank for 3-5

Developing the test banks… • • •

Search internet for released items from other states , especially NY Regents NAEP Questions tool http://nces.ed.gov/nationasreportcard Sorted questions

Characteristics of Good MC Questions

• • • • • • • • Written at the appropriate cognitive level of Blooms.

Aligned to the standard support document.

Framed as a question.

There is only one possible right answer. (No “all of the above” or “none of the above” or “a and c” answer choices.) Use positive phrasing (no “not” or “except” questions) Avoid similar language in the stem and in any distractor to avoid giving away the answer. Distractors are feasible to the uninformed.

Distractors are of similar length and/or arranged longest to shortest, shortest to longest etc.

Social Studies Multiple Choice Questions •

Include process skills with stimulus (graphs, charts, maps, political cartoons) when appropriate.

•

May use a distractor from an earlier time period.

•

Should include common misunderstandings as distractors.

Developing the test banks…

• Teacher workshops to evaluate and edit questions, highlight the SSD – Summer of 2009 USHC; 2012 –other grades, US – PD: August, October, 2009 and February 2010, all US History teachers – PD: August, November and February, 2012-13, grades 6-8 • Test banks posted to intranet for use in classroom instruction, quizzes and unit tests

Process of benchmarking • • • • • •

Establish the pacing guide Create the test Post test to Achievement Series, run answer forms and tests Give the test Gather (scan answer forms) and analyze the data Meet with teachers to discuss results

What teachers said...

• • • • • These questions are too hard.

Students don’t know how to answer these types of questions.

Students cannot read the test.

Students do not persist.

Students do not remember.... “we talked about that!” • BUT… The benchmark helped to prepare students for the rigor of the EOCEP.

What they say… • • • • •

We have already discussed the data and this is what we are doing next.

Students are missing this question because… What strategy can I use to help students to understand this information?

I have been teaching that wrong!

I have to teach students to reason through the question and the distractors.

What did the benchmarks show?

• • • • • • Pacing is crucial.

Big patterns and enduring understandings must be explicitly taught. Instructional strategies may need to be changed Enduring MIS-understandings Social studies vocabulary Reading and interpreting maps/ having mental maps.

What we are learning about student misunderstandings….

Why did democracy develop in the British colonies in North America?(USHC 1.2) A. colonists learned to cooperate to survive B. colonists developed egalitarian societies C. colonists brought English political traditions with them D. colonists rejected the political traditions of the mother country

USHC

Why did democracy develop in the British colonies in North America?

A. colonists learned to cooperate to survive

B. colonists developed egalitarian societies

130

colonists brought English political traditions with them 397

D. colonists rejected the political traditions of the mother country

531

World History

How did the ideas of democracy spread to the American colonies?

A. emigrants took their political traditions with them.

B. the crown required each colony to have an assembly.

C. by example of various Native American tribes D. new colonies developed idea of representative government independently.

World History: Enduring MIS-understanding

How did the ideas of democracy spread to the American colonies?

emigrants took their political traditions with them 133 (27%)

B. the crown required each colony to have an assembly. 54 C. by the example of various Native American tribes 32 D. new colonies developed idea of representative government independently

276

8 Grade

What did the colonists mean by “no taxation without representation”?

A. Only the Parliament, not the king, could impose taxes B. Colonists wanted representation in Parliament C. Only their colonial assemblies could pass tax laws D. Colonists were opposed to all taxes.

8 Grade

What did the colonists mean by “no taxation without representation”?

A. Only the Parliament, not the king, could impose taxes.

B. Colonists wanted representation in Parliament.

821 C. Only their colonial assemblies could pass tax laws. 143

D. Colonists were opposed to all taxes.

Question #11 2009

• • “We hold these truth to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This quotation reflects beliefs mainly derived from which of the following?

A. the Magna Carta B. the divine right of monarchs of Europe C. John Locke’s theory of natural rights D. Marxist philosophy.

Question #11 2009

A. the Magna Carta

157

B. the divine right of monarchs of Europe

C. John Locke’s theory of natural rights

1007

D. Marxist philosophy.

Question #11 2010

What did John Locke’s theory of the social contract, as developed in the United States Declaration of Independence, say?

The people should revolt against a government that did not protect their rights.

655

Monarchs could rule autocratically, but they had to grant certain rights to their subjects.

Legislatures should have more power than kings. D. Government should guarantee equal economic conditions to all people.

323 69

USHC 1.7 Summarize the expansion of the power of the national government as a result of Supreme Court decisions under Chief Justice John Marshall, such as the establishment of judicial review in

Marbury v. Madison

and the impact of political party affiliation on the court.

Question #34= 66% Question #35 = 61% Question # 36= 41%

What was a lasting impact of the decisions of the United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall? (USHC 1.7) A. extension of the Bill of Rights to enslaved persons

175

B. expansion of the power of the Federal Government

472(41%)

C. restriction of the authority of Congress

431

D. promotion of the views of the President

USHC Benchmark #2 2009: What was the effect of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation?

A. Slaves were freed only in states that remained in the Union.

696

B. Slave owners were given financial compensation for the loss of their slaves.

C. Southern states were persuaded to surrender in order to keep their slaves.

139

D. Any chance that foreign powers would support the Confederacy was ended.

297

Which of the following is true of the Emancipation Proclamation?

A. It freed all slaves in the South immediately.

233

B. It freed slaves in the north and in the south.

262

C. It freed slaves only in the border states and the western territories.

283

D. It freed slaves only in those areas in which the federal government exercised no control.

489

Benefits

• • • • Common assessments provide a common understanding of how to use the Standard Support Document.

Conversations around selecting common items serve as staff development for teachers new to the content.

Results provide a common measurement of student achievement of the standards prior to summary state assessments, in time for re-teaching. (data team model) Improving assessments will impact students’ achievement.

•Instructional practices that maximize student achievement* Category Identifying similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Ave. Effect Size 1.61

1.00

Percentile Gain 45 34 Reinforcing effort and providing recognition Homework and practice Nonlinguistic representation Cooperative learning

Setting objectives and providing feedback

Generating and testing hypotheses Questions, cues and advance organizers .80

.77

.75

.73

.61

.61

.59

29 28 27 27

23 22 *Marzano, Robert et al. Classroom Instruction that Works; Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 2001.

Predicted increase in student achievement when teacher’s skill in classroom assessment increases Marzano, Robert J. Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work. Alexandria, Va: ASCD, 2006.

Teacher skill improvement

49%

Teacher skill improvement

34%

Teacher skill in assessment starting %ile

50%

Student achievement gain Student achievement gain Student achievement starting %ile

28% 13% 50%

Do teachers need to get better at assessments?

What is BUS?

When was Charles I beheaded?

A. 1608 B. 1649 C. 1776 D. 1066

What did South Carolina colonists call the rice that they grew?

A. nice rice B. yummy rice C. yellow rice D. Carolina Gold

What should the common assessments look like?

Released Items Aligned for PASS 2012

Characteristics of Good Multiple Choice Questions

• • • • • • •

Written at the appropriate cognitive level

Aligned to the standard support document.

Framed as a question.

Avoid similar language in the stem and in any distractor.

There is only one possible right answer.

Distractors are feasible.

Distractors are of similar length and/or arranged longest to shortest, shortest to longest etc.

Alignment….alignment…alignment

Cognitive Process Knowledge Facts

Cognitive Process and Knowledge Dimension

Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Concepts Procedures PASS Metacognition

And also....Analyze the Assessment Results • How well did the class perform on the assessment?

• Were there particular parts of the assessment on which students did better/worse? (Item analysis) What does this mean for instruction?

• What if everyone missed a particular question? What does this mean for instruction?

• What if everyone failed? What does this mean for instruction?

Avoid Narrowing the Curriculum

And the moral of the story is… …include other types of items in your formative assessments and in your tests as well as the multiple choice items in the test bank.

Extended Response Items • • • •

Aligned to the standard support document.

Assesses procedural skills that have been explicitly taught and practiced in class.

Communicates expectations clearly to the student through a detailed rubric as to what constitutes an A, B or C answer Indicates how much each item is weighted.

And don’t forget...

• • •

Engaging classroom learning opportunities that prepare students to understand and remember information and to be successful on the formative and the summative assessment Frequent classroom formative assessments that gauge extent to which the standard/indicator has been mastered.

Frequent, specific feedback to students.

Our work today...

• • • •

Critique the items that we have available today.

Align items to the appropriate standard/indicator using cut and paste.

Make corrections/edits to items.

Mark the standard support document to identify material tested and materials omitted from the assessment.

Practice: Content Alignment

• • 8-2.5 Summarize the role of South Carolinians in the course of the American Revolution, including the use of partisan warfare and the battles of Charleston, Camden, Cowpens, Kings Mountain and Eutaw Springs. Who was the young South Carolinian who delivered a message from Nathanael Greene to Thomas Sumter?

A. Julia Drayton B. Emily Geiger C. Rebecca Motte D. Martha Pinckney

Practice: Context Alignment

What misunderstanding between the King and the Native Americans, combined with an earlier misconception about land ownership, eventually led to war?

A. The colonists promised a vaccine for small pox.

B. The colonists continued to make the Native Americans slaves.

C. The King believed the Native Americans were his subjects.

D. The Spanish promised the Native Americans freedom.

• • • •

Does the question align to the standard and indicator?

Does the question align to the Support Document?

Does the question align to the indicated level of Bloom’s Taxonomy?

Does the question align to appropriate literacy elements?

Practice: Context Alignment

Why did the relationship between the Cherokee and the South Carolinians deteriorate after the death of Governor James Glen ?

A. Glen’s successor (Lyttleton) wanted to make slaves of the Cherokee.

B. Glen’s successor (Lyttleton) did not want to associate with the Cherokee.

C. Glen’s successor (Lyttleton) stopped all trade with the Cherokees and took hostages.

D. Glen’s successor (Lyttleton) wanted the Cherokee to pay taxes on the goods they traded.

Which is a better question?

By the middle of the 18th century most of the people of the Up Country were A. Planters.

B. White Farmers.

C. Merchants.

D. Slaves.

How did the government of Carolina become more democratic or governed by the people?

A. The Anglican Church was made the official church.

B. The Commons House of Assembly was created.

C. Joseph West was chosen as governor.

D. The Goose Creek men lost all of their power.

What did the southerners believe would bring an end to slavery and their way of life?

A. If a Democrat was elected as President.

B. The Compromise of 1850 C. If a Republican was elected as President.

D. Nullification

According to the map, what was the smallest circuit court in area?

A. Beaufort District B. Camden District C. Georgetown District D. Orangeburg District

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Work with your team to evaluate some of the questions that you brought with you today or go to http://www.nysedregents.org/ to find questions.

Eliminate questions that do not align to SC standards.

Turn stems into questions and fix other features to match SC practices.

In your group, develop a test question that assesses students’ knowledge of some element in Standard 1.

Be prepared to share with the group.