SOCIAL STUDIES TEST

TEST SAMPLER DRAFT

The University of the State of New York

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Albany, New York 12234

CARL T. HAYDEN, Chancellor, A.B., J.D. ................................................................Elmira

DIANE O’NEILL MCGIVERN, Vice Chancellor, B.S.N., M.A., Ph.D ......................Staten Island

J. EDWARD MEYER, B.A., LL.B. ......................................................Chappaqua

ADELAIDE L. SANFORD, B.A., M.A., P.D. .....................................Hollis

SAUL B. COHEN, B.A., M.A., Ph.D................................New Rochelle

JAMES C. DAWSON, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D...........................................................Peru

ROBERT M. BENNETT, B.A., M.S. ....................................Tonawanda

ROBERT M. JOHNSON, B.S., J.D. ............................................................................Lloyd Harbor

ANTHONY S. BOTTAR, B.A., J.D. ....................Syracuse

MERRYL H. TISCH, B.A., M.A. ................. ..................................New York

ENA L. FARLEY, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. ......................................................Brockport

GERALDINE D. CHAPEY, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ....................................Belle Harbor

RICARDO E. OQUENDO, B.A., J.D. ................................................Bronx

ELEANOR P. B ARTLETT, B.A., M.A. ................................................Albany

ARNOLD B. GARDNER, B.A., LL.B. .....................................................Buffalo

President of The University and Commissioner of Education
RICHARD P. MILLS

Chief Operating Officer
RICHARD H. CATE

Deputy Commissioner for Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education
JAMES A. KADAMUS

Assistant Commissioner for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
ROSEANNE DEFABIO

The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services, and activities. Portions of this publication can be made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print or audio tape, upon request. Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 152, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234
Assistant Commissioner for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

March 2000

To:           District Superintendents of Schools
                Superintendents of Public and Nonpublic Schools
                Principals of Public and Nonpublic Elementary Schools

From:       Roseanne DeFabio

Subject:    Change in the date for the first administration of the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test;
                Release of Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test Sampler Draft

The Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test originally scheduled to be given to all grade 5 students in November 2000 will now be administered for the first time to all grade 5 students in November 2001. This change will give school districts additional opportunities to align their instructional program with the elementary social studies standards and will allow the Department time to finalize question formats and scoring materials for this test.

In November 2000, the Department will administer several Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies field tests to a scientifically selected sample of elementary schools for the purpose of further refining question formats and scoring materials. Only schools that the Department selects to participate in this field testing program will be asked to administer a Grade 5 test in November 2000. Once administered and returned to the Department, these field tests will be scored and evaluated and one form will be released to all public and non-public elementary schools in spring 2001 as a second Grade 5 social studies test sampler.

This first test sampler draft is being released to assist districts in preparing to assess the elementary social studies
standards beginning in November 2001. One copy of this test sampler draft is being distributed to each elementary School and middle school with a grade 5 enrollment, with the expectation that copies will be made available to all Elementary teachers. The sampler includes examples of the types of questions, formats, and scoring rubrics that are being developed for the elementary social studies test. It is the result of the collaborative efforts of the State Education Department, Erie I BOCES, social studies teachers, and supervisors. Teachers and supervisors have developed and reviewed the test items and scoring rubrics, pre-tested items with their students, and selected and annotated the samples of student work included in the test sampler. Teachers and supervisors will continue to develop and Pretest different types of multiple-choice questions, constructed response questions, and document-based essay questions for future elementary social studies tests.

We invite you and the members of your staff to provide the Department with feedback on these preliminary materials. A comment sheet is included on the inside back cover of the test sampler so that you may forward your responses to us. The comment sheet may be faxed to (518) 473-4884 or mailed to the address listed below:

New York State Education Department
Office of State Assessment
Room 760 EBA
Albany, New York 12234

The New York State Education Department acknowledges the significant contributions made by teachers, supervisors, and other educators who contributed to the development of the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test Sampler Draft. These contributions include the development and shaping of the elementary social studies Score curriculum, the development of the components of the new elementary social studies test, the development of the elementary social studies test specifications grid, the development of test items, and the scoring rubrics.

Joan Andrejko Cohoes City School District
Mark Basehart Sweet Home Central School District
Cate Bernardo Shenendahowa Central School District
John-Paul Bianchi Community School District #8, NYC
Marna Burstein Buffalo Public School District
Barbara Chesley Albany City School District
Courtney Ciepinski Cheektowaga Central School District
D. Joseph Corr North Colonie Central School District
Sr. Kathleen FitzSimms, CND Archdiocese of New York
Ann Fronckowiak Erie I BOCES
Kathy Gray Jordan-Elbridge Central School District
Sally Hardenburg Erie I BOCES
Ruby N. Jackson Buffalo Public Schools
Joanie Kipling North Shore Central School District
Lucinda Lisanto North Rose-Wolcott Central School District
Benita Lopez-Rasool Buffalo Public Schools
Keith Lunn Chazy Union Free School District
Patricia Macormack St. Mark School, Brooklyn
John McKinney Green Island Union Free School District
Bernice Mahar Rochester City School District
Zandra Molinaro Union-Endicott CCentral School District
Naomi Nadata Cahal Elementary School, Far Rockaway
Linda Pacelli Liverpool Central School District
Georgina Schor Beth Jacob of Boro Park, NYC
Kathleen Steed Union Endicott Central School District
Elizabeth Voetsch Bethlehem Central School District
Susan Wasserman Valley Stream Union Free School District

New York State Education Department staff:

Annette Argyros
George Gregory
Sharon Holder
Jo Ann Larson
Elaine Morris
Mary Oliver
Gary Warren
Doris Hill-Wiley

Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction

SAMPLE TEST ITEMS

• Part I: Multiple-Choice
• Part II: Constructed Response
• Part III: Document Based Question (With Generic Scoring Rubric)
  -Part A (Notes)
  -Part B (Essay)

SAMPLE SCORING MATERIALS

• Part I: Multiple-Choice
  Scoring Key
• Standard and Unit Being Tested (By Item)
• Part II: Constructed Response
  -Scoring Guidelines
  -Scoring Guide
• Part III: Document-Based Question
• Part A (Notes) Scoring Guide
• Part B (Essay) Generic -Scoring Rubric
• Samples of Student Work with Scoring Commentaries

Appendices

• Appendix A
  Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test
  Specifications Grid (Revised 12/15/99)
• Number of Items by Standard and Unit (Multiple-Choice)

• Appendix B
  Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test Specifications Grid
• Multiple-Choice Items in this Sampler by Standard and Unit

• Appendix C
  Components of the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test

The new Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test has been developed to reflect the social studies content
and intellectual skills described in the five social studies standards. This new assessment will provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Questions on this examination will focus on the student’s knowledge of elementary social studies skills and content emphasized in the Social Studies Resource Guide with Core Curriculum for grades K-4 . Items for this new assessment resulted from the collaborative efforts of New York State teachers, school districts, State Education Department staff, and staff of ERIE I BOCES.

The revised Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test Specifications Grid (see Appendix) indicates a range of
specific multiple-choice items from each social studies unit and social studies standard that can be included in Part I of this examination. Teachers should review the social studies skills section and the K-4 content understandings of the Social Studies Resource Guide with Core Curriculum for additional information about what might be asked on future elementary examinations. The multiple-choice items and constructed response items are designed to assess both the students’ understanding of K-4 social studies content and their ability to apply the content understandings to the interpretation and analysis of reading passages, graphs, political cartoons, maps, charts, and diagrams.

Students will be expected to apply the intellectual skills (taken from the elementary-level performance indicators) in completing the document-based question included on the elementary social studies assessment. Document-based questions require students to identify and explore events or issues by examining, analyzing, and evaluating textual and visual primary and secondary source documents. At this time the exact format of an elementary-level document-based question is yet to be finalized. This winter the State Education Department will be pre-testing DBQs, using multiple formats. Both the process writing model and the scaffold model (similar to the format used for the grade 8 and commencement-level social studies assessments) will be pre-tested and scored to determine if one is more appropriate for grade 5 students than another. We will also be looking at the possible use of graphic organizers with document-based questions. In November 2000, the Department will administer several Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies field tests to a scientifically selected sample of elementary schools for the purpose of further refining question formats and scoring materials.

The elementary social studies test will be administered to grade 5 students in November of each year. This
test will be given in two sessions of 1 to 1 1/2 hour each on two consecutive days as determined by the New York State Education Department. Day one will include the multiple-choice and constructed response portions of the test (Parts I and II), and day two will include the DBQ portion (Part III). Students must take all three sections of the test. Students will be required to answer all of the questions on the test. The first administration of this test is now scheduled for November 2001.

The document-based essay will be scored holistically using clearly defined criteria as described in the scoring
rubrics and commentaries. Tests will be scored by teachers in their districts, following guidelines designed to produce reliable scores. These guidelines require that all scorers complete a local training session before scoring student papers.

In accordance with Commissioner’s Regulation 100.2, students who score below the State designated performance level on the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test must be provided academic intervention services (AIS) by their school by the start of the second semester of the 2001-2002 school year. The State designated performance level will be established by a standard-setting process using student responses from grade 5 social studies field tests.

Test modifications must be consistently provided to students with disabilities when it is determined that such accommodations are necessary. These modifications must be documented in either an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or in a Section 504 Accommodation Plan. The various State assessments are being developed by both special and general educators to ensure that they are appropriate for students with disabilities.

The tasks in this sampler may be administered in the classroom to help teachers plan for instruction. Sometime before taking the sample test, students should be introduced to the test format and general scoring guide-lines. Teachers are encouraged to use the scoring guides and sample papers in this document for practice in scoring the essay portion of the DBQ.

In considering implications of student results on the elementary social studies test for curricular planning, teachers may want to answer the following questions:

• Is your local elementary social studies curriculum aligned with the State learning standards for social studies
  as detailed in the K-4 core curriculum?

• On which components did students seem to be most successful? least successful?

• To what extent did students follow the guidelines included with each question type?

• To what extent did students use the notes (or scaffolding if provided) portion of the document-based question
   to respond properly to the larger question presented in the document-based essay?

• What learning experiences will students need to perform well on each question?

• What opportunities do K-4 students have to engage in a social studies instructional program that includes
  writing in the content area, using documents of all kinds, and engaging in activities requiring higher-order
  thinking skills?

Students will benefit from having multiple opportunities to answer document-based questions and construct-ed
response items. Test-taking strategies can be taught and students who have practiced answering these types of
questions will be better prepared for this assessment.

Directions (Questions 1-20): Each question is followed by four choices. Read each question carefully. Decide
which choice is the correct answer. Mark your answer on the separate answer sheet by filling in the circle that has the same letter as the answer you have chosen. Use pencil to mark your answer sheet.

Look at the sample question below.

S-1         Which city is the capital of New York State?

A             Utica
B             New York City
C             Buffalo
D             Albany

The correct answer is Albany, which is next to letter D. On your answer sheet, you would fill in the circle for
letter D.

Answer all 20 questions on Part I of this test. Fill in only one circle for each question. Be sure to
erase completely any answer you want to change. You may not know the answers to some of the questions, but do the best you can on each one.

1         On which map below does the shaded area best show the original 13 American colonies?

2         Which statement is true about the first Africans who arrived in North America?

A         They were looking for religious freedom.
B         They were looking for free or inexpensive land.
C         They came as slaves and some as indentured servants.
D         They came to claim land for farming.

Base your answers to questions 3 and 4 on the graph below.

3         Which statement about the number of immigrants who came to the United States from 1820 to 1859 is
            true?

A         The number kept decreasing.
B         The number kept increasing.
C         The number increased and then decreased.
D         The number remained the same.

4         How many immigrants came to the United States between 1840 and 1849?

A        200,000
B        500,000
C        1,500,000
D        2,800,000

5         The way of life for a group of people is called its

A         environment
B         climate
C         culture
D         shelter

Base your answers to questions 6 through 8 on the map of New York State below.

6         What city is located closest to 43° N latitude, 76° W longitude?

A         Buffalo
B         Troy
C         Yonkers
D         Syracuse

7         If  Tom is in Binghamton, in which direction would he go if he were traveling directly to Jamestown?

A         south
B         west
C         north
D         east

8         Which city shown on the map is farthest north of the Equator?

A         Watertown
B         Oswego
C         Albany
D         New York City

Base your answers to questions 9 through 11 on the United States product map below.

9         Based on this map, what is a major source of income for New York State?

A         mining
B         tourism
C         industry
D         fishing

10         According to this map, where does most of the farming take place in the United States?

A         along the east coast
B         along the west coast
C         in the central and southern states
D         near the Mexican border

11         The United States lumber supply comes mostly from which part of the country?

A         southeast
B         northeast
C         southwest
D         northwest

12         A community is best defined as a

A         place where people live and work together
B         continent with the same climate
C         type of map that lists the populations of a country
D         nation with one culture

13         Rivers, climate, and natural resources are all examples of

A         culture
B         civic duties
C         civilizations
D         geographic factors

14        Scarcity is a problem when

A         wants are unlimited and resources are limited
B         wants are limited and resources are unlimited
C         wants and resources are balanced
D         no wants and no resources exist

15        Some statements made by students are shown below.

            Jon:     "I always let the water run when I'm washing the dishes."

           Amy:    "I never use the back side of my writing paper."

           Mark:   "Just leave the light on. We'll be back in an hour."

           Luis:     "I'll put these soup cans in the recycling bin."

Based on these statements, which student is conserving natural resources?

A         Jon
B         Amy
C         Mark
D         Luis

16        Which is the best example of interdependence between two countries?

A        Country X goes to war with Country Y.
B        Country X will not let its citizens travel to Country Y.
C        Country X will not let Country Y sell its products there.
D        Country X sells wheat to Country Y, and Country Y sells oil to Country X.

17         What do the stripes on the United States flag represent?

A         the Presidents of the United States
B         the immigrants from around the world
C         the original 13 colonies
D         the wars the United States has fought

18         What is the main function of the legislative branch in New York State government?

A         to make laws
B         to carry out laws
C         to elect the governor
D         to print money

19         What happened on the Fourth of July to make it become an important holiday in the United States?

A         George Washington became President.
B         The Declaration of Independence was signed.
C         The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
D         The American Revolution ended.

20         The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution are called the

A         Declaration of Independence
B         Mayflower Compact
C         Bill of Rights
D         Emancipation Proclamation

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE ITEMS

Directions (Questions 1-12): For each question write your answer in the space provided in the test booklet. You  may use either pen or pencil to write your answers. If you want to change an answer, cross out or erase your original response. You may not know the answers to some of the questions, but do the best you can on each one.

                    The Algonquins were the first people to live in the
                    southeastern part of New York State. Their leader,
                   called a sachem, settled problems with the advice
                   of a council. Although women could not be sachems,
                   they chose the sachem for the tribe.

1.Which letter on the map below shows the area of New York State where the Algonquins lived?_________[1]

2. Who helped the leader in his attempts to settle problems?

____________________________________________________________________________________[1]

3. In Algonquin life, what power did women have in governing the tribe?

____________________________________________________________________________________[1]

4. In which year did the Boston Tea Party take place?_____________________________________ [1]

5. Which event happened about 10 years before the Battles of Lexington and Concord?

______________________________________________________________________________[1]

6. How many years were there between the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Yorktown?
__________ [1]

                                                                                                               Source:—Silver Burdett & Ginn Inc. (Adapted)

7.         In 1980, how many people lived in the United States? ________________________ [1]

8.         In which year were the populations of urban areas and rural areas about equal? ________________ [1]

9.         Did the total population of the United States increase more from 1920 to 1950 or from 1950 to 1970?
           ___________________ [1]

10.    How many days did it take to ship freight the entire length of the Erie Canal during the Canal Era?
        ____________ [1]

11.   _____________________________________________________________________________________

        _________________________________________________________________________[2]

12.   ______________________________________________________________________________________

When you have finished, check your answer paper to make certain you have answered all questions, and close your test booklet.

•         Answers all aspects of the task by using the documents and may bring in relevant outside information
           related to the documents
•         Consistently uses accurate data
•         Develops ideas fully, using such supporting evidence as examples, reasons, details, explanations, and
           generalizations that are relevant and appropriate
•         Demonstrates a logical plan of organization and coherence in the development of ideas
•         Consistently expresses ideas clearly

3

•         Answers most aspects of the task by using the documents
•         Generally uses accurate data
•         Develops ideas satisfactorily with adequate supporting evidence
•         Develops an answer, using a general plan of organization
•         Generally expresses ideas clearly

2

•         Answers some aspects of the tasks by using some of the documents
•         Uses some accurate data
•         Demonstrates weakness in development of ideas with little supporting evidence
•         Attempts to organize an answer but is weak and goes off the topic
•         Attempts to express ideas clearly

1

•         Does not use information to support ideas or uses information which is not relevant
•         Shows limited understanding of the task
•         Fails to use documents or only vaguely refers to the documents
•         Lacks a plan of organization
•         Does not express ideas clearly

0

•         Uses no accurate data
•         Fails to answer question or response is totally unrelated to topic
•         Illegible or so many words cannot be read that no sense can be made of the response
•         Blank paper
•         Is incoherent; i.e., words are legible but syntax is so garbled that no sense can be made of the response

Directions: This part of the test is designed to find out how well you think and write in social studies. You will have about 1 1/2 hours to work on this part of the test.

Historical Background: In June 1985, the people living in the town of Rose, New York, were told that the United States Postal Service planned to close their town’s post office. This meant that the people of Rose would have to get their mail from another town’s post office, and would have other post office services (such as buying stamps and sending packages) for only three hours each day with no Saturday service.

The attached documents are from June 1985 through April 1994. They tell and show what the people of
Rose, New York, did in their town after they heard the news.

Task: Write an essay about the people of Rose and their post office. In your essay, tell how the people of Rose felt about their post office and give examples of what the people did together as a community, or separately as citizens, to help save their post office.

Before you write your essay, look at the documents labeled 1 through 8. Then complete the notes.

	Document 3 Rose Residents Save Post Office     Rose residents have fought and are saving the service for their town.

Document 4
Post Office Roof Project The Rose post Office has a new cedar shingle roof. About a dozen volunteers helped in various stages of the project last weekend, taking off old shingles, putting on the new ones, and cleaning up the debris. Part of this was done in the freezing rain in order to get the roof closed in.

Tell how the people of Rose felt about their post office. [Base your answer on the attached documents.]

1 ___________________________________________________________________________________

   ___________________________________________________________________________________

   ___________________________________________________________________________________[1]

Give three examples of what the people of Rose did together as a community, or separately as citizens, to help
save their post office. [Base your answer on the attached documents.]

1 _____________________________________________________________________

   _____________________________________________________________________

   _____________________________________________________________________[1]

2  _____________________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________________[1]

3  ______________________________________________________________________

   _______________________________________________________________________

   ______________________________________________________________________[1]

        Use the ideas you listed in Part A (Notes) to write an essay about the people of Rose, New York, and their
post office.

        In your essay remember to:

        •     tell how the people of Rose felt about their post office

        •     give three examples of what the people did together as a community, or separately as citizens, to
               help their post office.

1         A

2         C

3         B

4         C

5         C

6         D

7         B

8         A

9         B

10       C

11       D

12       A

13       D

14       A

15       D

16       D

17       C

18       A

19       B

20       C

The test design of the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test includes three to four constructed response items.
Each item consists of a single prompt or stimulus (a graph, chart, map, timeline, reading passage, etc.) on which two to four open-ended questions are based. In this sampler, there are four constructed response items. Each item has three questions based on it for a total of 12 questions. In general, short-answer, open-ended questions within a constructed response item are awarded credit in one of two ways. The amount of credit allocated for an individual constructed response question is determined by whether or not the item has a clear-cut answer.

One point is allocated for an individual question that has a clearly defined response and no partially correct response. The correct response is worth one credit and an incorrect response receives zero credits.

Two points are allocated when a question may elicit either a correct response (worth two credits), a partially correct response (worth one credit) or an incorrect response (worth zero credits). When the two-credit option is used, rubrics and/or scoring guides for each question will clearly indicate both the point value of a given question and examples of answers at each score point (see page 24).

For constructed response items in this sampler, questions 1-10 were scored 0-1. Questions 11 and 12 were scored 0-2.

To receive full credit for a response to a constructed response question, the student does not have to develop his or her answer in a complete sentence or sentences. In addition, a correct response copied directly from a passage or paraphrased from a passage should also receive full credit.

1. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for letter D.

2. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for a response such as "the council" or "the tribal council." Award
                                      0 credits for other responses including "the sachem" (he was the leader) or "the tribe"  
                                     (too general a response).

3. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for a response that states that "the women of the tribe chose the 
                                     sachem."

4. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for the response "1773."

5. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for the response "Stamp Act" or "Stamp Act enacted" or "the Stamp
                                     Act was passed."

6. Score 0-1:                 Award 1 credit for the response "6 years" or "6."

7. Score 0-1:             Award 1 credit for the response "226,500,000" or a response that shows that a student
                                  was using the correct portion of the chart such as "about 226 million" or "a little more than
                                  226 million."

8. Score 0-1:             Award 1 credit for the response "1920."

9. Score 0-1:             Award 1 credit for the response "1950 to 1970." Award 0 credits for the response "1950."

10. Score 0-1:                        Award 1 credit for the response "9" or "9 days."

11. and 12. Score 0-2:             Award 2 points for each correct advantage of using the Erie Canal instead of dirt
                                                roads to transport freight during the Canal Era. Examples of correct responses
                                                include:

2-point responses:
            The canal only takes 9 days, and the dirt road takes 15-45 days.
            The canal costs $6/ton, and the dirt road costs $100/ton
             It is cheaper.
             It is a shorter or easier route.
             It is faster.
             Takes less time.
             Costs less money.
             Canal boats (or just "boats") can carry more.
             The Erie Canal is less expensive to use.

1-point responses:
            Just "9 days" or "$6/ton" (without any reference to "time" or "costs" of using the dirt road).
            You don't need as much food (without clearly stating why this is an advantage).
            You don’t need as many animals.

0-point responses include:
            1) answers that, while perhaps true, are not related to specific advantages of using the canal
                For example:
                The canal can be used for swimming.
                The canal can be used for going places.
                You don’t get as dirty using the canal.
                You don’t use gas so there is less pollution.
                Horses need to stop and rest.
            2) answers that indicate an advantage of the dirt road over the canal
                For example:
                You have to use 8 horses instead of 2 mules.
                It costs $100/ton instead of $6/ton.

Note:    In this format, the student is awarded 1 credit for each correct response to the 2 questions below. The student can receive a maximum of 4 credits in Part A.

1. Tell how the people of Rose felt about their post office. (Base your answer on the attached
    documents.)

    They were mad (or angry) about losing it.
   They liked it./They wanted to keep it.
   They didn’t want a post office open just 3 hours a day.
   They didn’t want to go to another city to get their mail.

2. Give three examples of what the people of Rose did together as a community, or
   separately as citizens, to help save their post office. (Base your answers on the attached
   documents.)

    They held or attended a meeting (or meetings).
   They formed the "Friends of the Rose Post Office" group.
   They put up posters and signs.
   They ran ads in newspapers.
   They invited their congressman to speak to them.
    They worked to fix up the post office building, put on a new roof, plant new flowers, replace
           the old post office sign.
   They wrote letters.
   They sent letters to post office officials.

4

•     Answers all aspects of the task by using the documents and may bring in relevant outside information
      related to the documents
•     Consistently uses accurate data
•     Develops ideas fully, using such supporting evidence as examples, reasons, details, explanations, and
      generalizations that are relevant and appropriate
•     Demonstrates a logical plan of organization and coherence in the development of ideas
•     Consistently expresses ideas clearly

3

•     Answers most aspects of the task by using the documents
•     Generally uses accurate data
•     Develops ideas satisfactorily with adequate supporting evidence
•     Develops an answer, using a general plan of organization
•     Generally expresses ideas clearly

2

•     Answers some aspects of the tasks by using some of the documents
•     Uses some accurate data
•     Demonstrates weakness in development of ideas with little supporting evidence
•     Attempts to organize an answer but is weak and goes off the topic
•     Attempts to express ideas clearly

1

•     Does not use information to support ideas or uses information which is not relevant
•     Shows limited understanding of the task
•     Fails to use documents or only vaguely refers to the documents
•     Lacks a plan of organization
•     Does not express ideas clearly

0

•     Uses no accurate data
•     Fails to answer question or response is totally unrelated to topic
•     Illegible or so many words cannot be read that no sense can be made of the response
•     Blank paper
•     Is incoherent; i.e., words are legible but syntax is so garbled that no sense can be made of the response
______________
*     On an actual examination, the generic rubric in the rating guide will be replaced by a subject-specific version to further help teachers reliably score this portion of the test.

            Use the ideas you listed in Part A (Notes) to write an essay about the people of Rose, New York, and their post office.

In your essay remember to:

•     tell how the people of Rose felt about their post office
•     give three examples of what the people did together as a community, or separately as citizens, to help
      their post office.

Score Level 4    

Score Level 3

    Score Level 3

Appendices

* Students must answer all questions on each part of the Grade 5 Elementary Social Studies Test. There is
  no choice of questions.

                                                                                                                                    YES/NO                                                                                                                                                  
1. Content—Are the questions generally appropriate in content?                                                        
    Comments:

2. Difficulty—Are the questions generally appropriate in difficulty?
    Comments:

3. Directions—Are the directions in the Test Sampler
    Draft clear and easy for students to follow?
    Comments:

4. Time—Would most of the students be able to complete this
    test (with a total of 35 multiple-choice questions) within
    the time allotted (two sessions of 1 to 1 1/2 hours each)?
    Comments:

5. Additional Comments:

Please fax this sheet to (518) 486-5765 or mail it to the New York State Education Department at the above address.