Download Understanding and Using Constructed Response Items

Assessment for Learning Series
Module 3: Understanding and Using Constructed Response
Items in High School Classrooms
Georgia Department of Education
Assessment and Accountability Division
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Definition
Constructed response is a general term for items that require the student to
generate a response as opposed to selecting a response. Constructed response
items require more elaborate answers and explanations of reasoning. They
allow for multiple correct answers and/or varying methods of arriving at the
correct answer.
Examples of skills required on constructed response tasks include, but are not
limited to:
• English Language Arts
– Utilize close analytic reading
– Compare and contrast ideas and themes
– Synthesize ideas and concepts across a single or multiple texts
• Mathematics
– Apply mathematical procedures and skills to real world problems
– Express mathematical reasoning by showing work or explaining an answer
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Using Assessment for Learning in Classrooms
A Continuous Cycle
Assess
Current
Knowledge
Create
Lesson &
Assessment
Provide
Feedback
Deconstruct
Standard
Redesign
and Teach
Teach
Assess
Learning
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
ELA Sample Item Set
Grade 9-10
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Standards to be Assessed
ELACC9RL.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.
ELACC9RI.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.
ELACC9RL.2: Determine theme or central idea of text and analyze in
detail its development over the course of the text, including how it
emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
ELACC9L.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
ELACC9L.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Passage
Paired Passage #1: An informational essay about
a science teacher’s exploration of The Great
Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. A detailed
description of the characteristics of coral reefs is
given.
Paired Passage #2: A poem entitled “The
Aquarium” which gives a detailed, colorful
description of the tank’s inhabitants.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Constructed Response Task
ELACC9RL.1; ELACC9RI.1; ELACC9RL.2; ELACC9L.1; ELACC9L.1
This task has more than one (1) part. Read each part carefully and respond.
Part A
Identify and list colors mentioned in the article and poem. In your list, include the phrases
in which these colors are described.
Part B
Using the above list, analyze how the authors’ use of color helps the reader imagine
marine life.
Be sure to complete ALL parts of the task.
Use details from the text to support your answer.
Answer with complete sentences, and use correct punctuation and grammar.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Rubric
Score
4
3
2
1
0
Designation
Thoroughly
Demonstrated
Description
The student demonstrates a thorough understanding of the article and
poem by correctly identifying and listing colors mentioned in the texts. The
student lists the phrases in which the colors are described. The student
also explains how the authors’ use of color helps the reader to imagine
marine life. The response includes many specific details from the texts and
correct sentence, punctuation and grammar.
Clearly Demonstrated The student demonstrates a clear understanding of the article and poem
by correctly identifying and listing colors mentioned in the texts. The
student lists most of the phrases in which the colors are described. The
student states how the authors’ use of color helps the reader to imagine
marine life. The response includes a few relevant details from the texts;
some details may be general. The student uses mostly correct sentences,
punctuation and grammar.
Basically
The student demonstrates a basic understanding of the article and poem
Demonstrated
by identifying a few of the colors mentioned in the texts. The student
includes a few of the phrases in which the colors are described. The
student states how the authors’ use of color helps the reader to imagine
marine life. The response includes minimal support; some support may be
incorrect or irrelevant. The student uses some correct sentences,
punctuation and grammar.
Minimally
The student demonstrates little understanding of the article and poem by
Demonstrated
correctly identifying one color, phrase mentioned in the texts, but does
not state how the authors’ use of color helps the reader to imagine marine
life. The response includes no support from the texts and has significant
errors in sentence construction and/or in using correct punctuation and
Dr. John D. Barge, State School
Superintendent
grammar.
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Incorrect or
Irrelevant
The response is incorrect or irrelevant.
Exemplar Response
The
response
completes
Part A by
listing many
colors from
the text and
gives the
detail from
Part B.
Part A
scarlet reds
amethyst purples
emerald greens
sapphire blues
yellow iridescence
silver shiftings
Remember:
white bubbles
There can be
more than one
grey shadows
correct
straw-coloured
answer for
constructed
shimmer
response
smear of rose, black items.
gold lawn
Part B
The authors’ use of details that describe bright,
radiant colors helps the reader to imagine marine
life by illustrating its vividness and beauty. For
example, the poet helps the reader imagine a
specific type of fish by describing them as “Blue
brilliance cut by black bars/An oblong pane of
straw-coloured shimmer….”
In the article, the author helps the reader to
imagine the coral reef’s “scarlet reds, amethyst
purples, emerald greens, and sapphire blues….”
Just like a painter uses colors to bring her canvass to
life, the authors describe different colors to bring
their texts to life.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Student Response
Score 3
Part A: In the article the author describes coral and
algae with colors like scarlet red, amethyst purple,
emerald green, and sapphire blue. In the poem colors
and phrases are used to describe fish and the ocean
with, green and yellow iridescence, silver, gold, greygreen opaqueness, blue shadows against silver saffron
water, oblique grey shadows, green man-eting eels,
metallic blue, yellow fins like oriental fans, brilliant
blue, rose black, silver, mauve, purple, green, pearl,
amethyst, white jerks, and long blue waves.
The student demonstrates a
clear understanding of the
article and poem by correctly
identifying the colors
mentioned in the texts.
The student lists most of the
phrases in which the colors are
described. The student also
explains how the authors’ use of
color helps the reader to imagine
marine life
Part B: The author uses many different colors and
The response includes a few relevant
descriptions to help the reader visualize marine life.
with the use of bright colors and similes to objects like details from the text with the use of
metal, the sun, and gemstones gives the reader a clear bright colors and similes to objects.
picture of the bright and beautiful colors residing in
the fish, coral, and algae.
The response demonstrates a command
of the conventions of standard English.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Teacher Feedback for Score Point 3
• The teacher commends the student for
identifying and listing the color phrases from
both passages.
• The teacher commends the student for being
able to explain how the authors describe
marine life using the similes from the color
descriptions.
• The teacher advises the student that more
specific details are needed to make it a “4”
paper.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Student Response
Score 2
Part A: In the article, the writer describes
the "bleached coral" which appears to be
"sucked dry" of all its colors. The writer
also explains that the pictures look as if
they were drawn by an artist "with a fistful
of crayons. In the poem the writer
describes the "streakes of green and yellow
iridescence" on the fish, "green bead
eyes", and also the "blue and gold lawn"
which they swim about.
The student demonstrates a basic
understanding of the article and
poem by identifying a few of the
colors mentioned in the poem and
includes the phrases in which the
colors are described.
The student states how the authors’ use of
color helps the reader to imagine marine
life.
Part B: When the author uses such a
variety of color to describe each and every
The response demonstrates a command of the
detail in coral reef, I can image it in my
conventions of standard English. Though
head. I can see the blue fish with the green
there are a few minor errors in grammar and
eyes swimming through the "long blue
usage, meaning is clear.
waves" with colorful
coral
surrounding.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Teacher Feedback for Score Point 2
• The teacher tells the student a few color
phrases have been identified.
• The teacher models how to find additional
phrases and develop proper explanations
about their use.
• The teacher indicates that English conventions
need improvement.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Student Response
Score 1
part A- the colors mentioned
are streaks of green and
yellow,silver-gold,grey-green
opaqueness,sharp white
bubbles,.
part2- the author uses the
colors to help the reader
visualize what the author is
talking about.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
The student demonstrates a
little understanding of the
article and poem by correctly
identifying a few colors and
most of the phrases in which
these colors were described.
Although the response includes an
attempt to analyze how the authors’
use of color helps the reader to
imagine marine life, it is not supported
with details from the texts.
The response is too brief to
demonstrate more than an
inconsistent command of the
conventions of standard
English.
Teacher Feedback for Score Point 1
• The teacher commends the student for
correctly identifying some of the color phrases
in the passages.
• The teacher recommends working with one
passage at a time.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Mathematics
Sample Item Set
Analytic Geometry
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
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Standards to be Assessed
S.CP.1: Describe events as subsets of a sample space (the set
of outcomes) using characteristics (or categories) of the
outcomes, or as unions, intersections, or complements of
other events (“or,” “and,” “not”).
S.CP.7: Apply the Addition Rule, P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A
and B), and interpret the answer in terms of the model.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Constructed Response Task
S.CP.1; S.CP.7
The total number of full-time and part-time employees at a store is 50. Each
employee works either the morning shift or the afternoon shift. More information
about the employees is given below.
• 15 employees are part-time
• 28 employees are males
• 30 employees work the morning shift
• 6 male employees work part-time
• 12 male employees work the morning shift
The names of each of the 50 employees are written on separate cards. The cards are
shuffled and placed into a container.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Constructed Response Task (cont’d)
S.CP.1; S.CP.7
The names of each of the 50 employees are written on separate cards. The cards are
shuffled and placed into a container.
Part A
If one card is selected at random from all 50 cards in the container, what is the
probability that the employee is part-time or male? Show your work and explain
your answer.
Part B
If one card is selected at random from all 50 cards in the container, what is the
probability that the employee is male or works the afternoon shift? Show your work
and explain your answer.
Part C
If one card is selected at random from all 50 cards in the container, what is the
probability that the employee is a female who does not work the morning shift?
Show your work and explain your answer.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Rubric
Score
4
Designation
Thoroughly
Demonstrated
3
Clearly
Demonstrated
2
Basically
Demonstrated
1
Minimally
Demonstrated
0
Incorrect or
Description
The student successfully completes all elements of the
item by demonstrating knowledge and application of
the Addition Rule for finding the probability of
compound events, P( A  B)  P( A)  P(B)  P( A  B) ,
and can interpret the probability in terms of the model
(S.CP.7) and describing events as subsets of a sample
space using characteristics of the outcomes, or as
unions, intersections, or complements of other events
(S.CP.1).
The student shows clear understanding of the
standards listed above, but one of the explanations or
work shown is insufficient
Or
All parts of the item are correctly done except for a
minor computational error
Or
The student successfully completes two of the three
parts of the item and partially completes the other
part.
The student shows basic understanding of the
standards listed above, but two of the explanations or
work shown is insufficient
Or
The student successfully completes one of the three
parts of the item and partially completes the other
parts.
The student shows minimal understanding of the
standards listed above and completes only one of the
three parts
Or
The student partially completes two of the three parts.
The response is incorrect or irrelevant to the skill or
School Superintendent
concept being measured.
Dr. John D. Barge, State
irrelevant
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Exemplar Response
Part A
37
or 74%.
50
To find this answer, use the general Addition Rule for the union of two events:
The probability that the selected employee is part-time or male is
P(part-time or male) = P(part-time) + P(male) – P(part-time and male)
P(part-time or male)  15  28  6  37
50
50
50
50
This
response has
successfully
completed all
computations
and
explanations
for all parts
of the task.
Part B
16
or 64%.
25
To find this answer, use the general Addition Rule for the union of two events:
The probability that the employee is male or works afternoons is
P(male or afternoons) = P(males) + P(afternoons) – P(male and afternoons)
28
20
16
32
16
P(male or afternoons) =




50
50
50
50
25
Part C
The probability that the employee is female who does not work mornings is
2
25
or 8%.
To find this answer, we can reason from the given information that there are
22 female employees and 20 employees work afternoons. Since 12 males work
mornings out of the 30 morning employees, 18 females work mornings. That
leaves 4 females who work afternoons.
Or, we can use the general Addition Rule for the union of two events and the
complement:
P(female who doesn’t work mornings) is equal to P(female and afternoons)
P(female and afternoons)=P(not(male or mornings)) = 1 - P(male or mornings)
4
2
 28 30 12 


P(female who doesn’t work mornings) = 1  
  50  25
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent  50 50 50 
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Remember:
There can be
multiple correct
responses for
constructedresponse
items, just as
there can be
more than one
way at arriving
at a correct
answer.
Student Response
Score 3
In Part A, the student
successfully finds the
correct probability of
37/50 and converts it to
74%.
In part B, the student partially
completes the process, but
does not find the final correct
answer.
In Part C the student successfully
finds the correct probability of
4/50 and converts to 8%.
The student demonstrates a clear understanding of the mathematical concepts
being measured by successfully completing two parts of the three parts of the
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
item.
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Teacher Feedback for Score Point 3
• The teacher commends the student on having
correct responses in Parts A and C.
• The teacher feedback states that the student
partially completed the process in Part B.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Student Response
Score 2
In parts A and B, the
student partially
completes the
process, but does
not find the correct
final answers.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Student Response
Score 2
In part C, the student successfully finds the
probability of 4/50 and successfully converts
to the correct probability of .08
The student demonstrates a basic understanding of the mathematical concepts being
measured by successfully completing one part of the item and partially completing the
other two parts.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Teacher Feedback for Score Point 2
• The teacher commends the student for
providing correct computations and answers
for Part C.
• The teacher provides scaffolded instruction to
assist the student with the computations and
explanations for Parts A and B.
Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent
“Making Education Work for All Georgians”
www.gadoe.org
Ways to Use
Constructed Response Items
• Demonstration lesson with active discussion
• Whole class instruction/direct instruction
• Small, cooperative group activity where students examine sample
responses and their rubric components
• Parent conferences
• Inclusion classes with multiple adult supervisors/coaching
• Homework (only following extensive explanation and experience with
open-ended items provided by the teacher in the classroom)
• Parent Night activity where parents and their children work together
• No grades----rubric score accompanied by written and/or oral feedback
highly suggested because students are in the process of learning the
standards and improving based on feedback
How Teachers Use Student Responses
• Determine students’ progress towards mastery of standards
and readiness to proceed to next level
• Provide students with oral and written feedback specific to the
standard
• Design instructional next steps, which includes re-teaching,
remediation, and differentiation
• Self-assess professional growth needs, such as additional
professional learning, collaboration, classroom materials and
resources
Close-out
• Constructed response items require students to
construct an answer for the formative task and are
scored based on criteria defined in rubrics.
• Constructed response items can be used formatively to
learn how well students are progressing in mastery of
standards.
• Student performance on constructed response items
gives teachers information to adjust instruction and
know if students are able to demonstrate complex
thinking.
References
• Ericsson, K. A., & et al., (1993). The role of deliberate practice
in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review,
100(3), 363-406.
• Georgia FIP Module 4: Analyzing evidence and providing
effective feedback. www.gadoe.org/GeorgiaFIP
• Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium General Item
Specifications. (April 2012). Retrieved from:
http://www.smarterbalanced.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/TaskItemSpecifications/ItemSpecific
ations/GeneralItemSpecifications.pdf
• Universal design for learning. Center for Applied Special
Technology (CAST) http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html