Ohio Achievement Test Preparation

Answering Short Answer and Extended Response Items

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• Review suggestions from ODE

• Analyze 5th and 8th Grade Blue prints

• Study Performance Verbs (Skill Identifiers)

• Explore strategies on how to teach students to answer 2 and 4 point OAT Constructed Response Items.

Goals

Responding to Constructed Response QuestionsFrom the ODE, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Tips for preparing students for the OAT and OGTThe work of Jim Burke, Kathryn Au and Taffy Raphael was used in the development of this article.

According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, constructed response questions prepare students for real-world writing which will require them to synthesize, summarize and analyze information or ideas on a regular basis. On Ohio’s Achievement Tests, these questions are open-ended and require students to demonstrate in-depth understanding. The written responses may include explanations, as well as appropriate charts, tables, graphs or graphic organizers.

Constructed response questions ask students to communicate understanding of important information by focusing on the key ideas presented, and use provided information for a variety of tasks, including solving problems, analyzing data, supporting conclusions, comparing/contrasting and making connections to other situations or contexts.

How can educators help students become more successful? One way is to make sure they understand these principles and regularly incorporate certain strategies when they are developing an answer.

Responding to Constructed Response QuestionsFrom the ODE, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Tips for preparing students for the OAT and OGTThe work of Jim Burke, Kathryn Au and Taffy Raphael was used in the development of this article.

Constructed response strategies include the following: • Students should pay attention to the language used in the item. Watching for key, or trigger words, is important. Have students look at practice tests and identify key words such as explain, identify and compare. They also should make note of words that signal multiple tasks such as first, then and next. • Students should paraphrase the question when they design their answers. The paraphrase does not earn additional points, but it helps students focus on the concepts or ideas being assessed and serves to organize and structure their written responses. • Students should reread their responses once they have completed them. This will help ensure that the required task is completed thoroughly and accurately. • Remind students to read each question carefully. Cursory reading often causes students to miss important parts of the questions or to misunderstand what is being asked. Some students may need to read the question “out loud” in their heads. Sub-vocalizing may help the student hear key words and focus on specific content. • Students should use information from the presented material (e.g., reading selections, laboratory scenarios, mathematical problems, geographical discussions) to frame or support their answers. • Students should label answers and use specific nouns (instead of pronouns) when referring to a concept, character or idea. Doing so not only helps the scorers who are evaluating responses, it also forces students to make conscious decisions when answering multi-layered questions.

Clues from the 5th Grade OAT Blueprint

Helpful Information: According to the OAT Blue Print there will always be 1 Short Answer and 1 Extended Response from the History Standard and 2 Short Answer Questions from SS Skills and Method Standard. This means that there will be 1 Short Answer Item and 1 Extended Response Item pulled from the other 5 Standard areas.

Clues from the 8th Grade OAT Blueprint

Helpful Information: According to the OAT Blue Print there will always be 1 Short Answer and 1 Extended Response from the History Standard and 2 Short Answer Questions from SS Skills and Method Standard. This means that there will be 1 Short Answer Item and 1 Extended Response Item pulled from the other 5 Standard areas.

OAT Answer Space / Box

Write your response to question ___ in the space below.

Performance Verbs (Skill Identifiers)

Analyze To examine parts and see how they fit together

Compare To look at similarities and differences

Construct To make or create

Describe To show what something is like

Evaluate Make a decision or judgment

Explain To make clear by giving reasons

Formulate To develop an idea based on information

Identify To name or list

Infer To draw a conclusion beyond what is stated

Interpret To explain the meaning of

Predict To tell what will happen next

Summarize To briefly state the main points

Support To give facts or examples

Trace To describe a path or sequence

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

1. Analyze and Plan 2. Write Your Answer 3. Review and Revise

From Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Based on the “Box Strategy” Discussed in Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

From Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett

Example Item for Introducing the Graphic Organizer

3. You have been chosen to lead a discussion with a small group of classmates.In your Answer Document, describe two strategies or techniques you would use to lead the group discussion in a constructive way. (2 points)

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Example with Highlights

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

First strategy to constructively lead a group discussion

# 1 - Set Goals and Rules for the group to achieve and follow.

Second strategy to constructively lead a group discussion

#2 – Keep the discussion focused on the topic by reminding group members of the group’s goals and by enforcing the rules.

Based on the “Box Strategy” Discussed in Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Responding to Short-Answer or Extended Response Questions

Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade

4. Before Europeans settled in Ohio, forests covered most of the area. Today, much of that forest is gone.

In your Answer Document, identify two ways that settlers or later Ohioans used the forests.

Then choose one of the ways and explain a positive consequence and a negative consequence of using the forest that way. (4 points)

Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade

8. Flagstone Middle School pays for new band instruments with profits from itsvending machines. The biggest seller is Monster Cola. But a recent studyreports that drinks with caffeine, such as Monster Cola, may causechildren’s sleep problems. Flagstone’s principal wants to remove MonsterCola and other caffeinated drinks from the school’s vending machines.

In your Answer Document, identify one possible disadvantage of theprincipal’s decision and explain why it is a disadvantage. (2 points)

Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade

13. In your Answer Document, construct a time line that has evenly spacedintervals of time and label them. (2 points)

Place these events on the time line in the correct order:• 1803 – Ohio becomes the 17th state• 1763 – Treaty of Paris is signed• 1787 – Northwest Territory is formed• 1795 – Treaty of Greenville is signed

* Constructing a timeline in may be difficult for some students to fit within the provided Answer Box.

Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade

6. The Framers began writing the Constitution of the United States in May 1787, but it was not ratified by all thirteen states until May 1790. One of the issues debated during the Constitutional Convention was the congressional representation of enslaved Africans.

In your Answer Document, explain the positions of both Northern delegates and Southern delegates on the issue of congressional respresentation of enslaved Africans. (4 points).

*87% of Ohio 8th Grade Students received a score of 0 on this particular item.

Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade

11. Between 1519 and 1605, the American Indian population in Central Mexico decreased from approximately 25 million to 1 million people.

In your Answer Document, identify and describe one reason why this population decline was so extreme. (2 points)

Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade

21. The British Parliament’s decision to tax the American colonists caused conflict between the colonies and Britain. Read the following quotations from a British newspaper and a Massachusetts colonist. “The Colonies were acquired with no other view than to be a convenience to us, and therefore it can never be imagined that we are to consult their interest.” —The London Chronicle, 1764

“If our trade be taxed, why not our lands, or produce ... in short, everything we possess? They tax us without having legal representation.”—Samuel Adams, 1765

In your Answer Document, compare how these two authors differ in their opinions about taxing the colonies. (2 points)

Sources

•Mastering Ohio’s Grade 5 Social Studies Achievement Test – Jarrett Publishing

•Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test – Jarrett Publishing

•ODE IMS Website

•ODE Practice Tests – Fall 2006

•ODE Released OAT Tests – May 2007

•Ides of ODE