Test Information Guide

Field 06: History
Sample Open-Response Item

The following materials contain:

Sample Test Directions for Open-Response Items

This section of the test consists of two open-response item assignments. You will be asked to prepare a written response of approximately 150–300 words for each assignment. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response for each assignment. You must write responses to both of the assignments.

For each assignment, read the topic and directions carefully before you begin to work. Think about how you will organize your response.

As a whole, your response to each assignment must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge of the field. In your response to each assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the subject area by applying your knowledge rather than by merely reciting factual information.

Your response to each assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

The open-response item assignments are intended to assess subject knowledge. Your responses must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the evaluation criteria by scorers. Your responses should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of each response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your responses should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topics. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses.

Sample Open-Response Item

Objective 0018
Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to one or more of the following: U.S. history; world history; geography, government, and economics.

Read the information below; then complete the exercise that follows.

Between 800 B.C.E. and 300 B.C.E., the Aegean peninsula witnessed one of the great flowerings of human civilization. In art, architecture, science, literature, government, and philosophy, ancient Greece produced masterpieces of human thought and creativity.

Using your knowledge of world history, write a response in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Open-Response Item

The sample response below reflects a strong knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

A number of factors influenced the emergence of ancient Greek civilization. One was geography. The Greek peninsula has numerous mountain ranges, limited natural resources, and a shortage of fertile soil. This prompted the Greeks to look beyond their homeland and engage in seagoing trade, a form of enterprise that seemed particularly appropriate for a peninsular nation comprised of many islands. This tendency to look outward also encouraged the establishment of foreign colonies.

The independent status of the Greek polis was a second factor. These small city-states acted as laboratories for social, economic, and political experimentation. It was here that Greek government developed and achieved a variety of forms, including monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy, the most notable political achievement of the ancient Greeks.

A third factor that influenced the development of ancient Greek civilization was warfare. The most important of these conflicts were the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. It was during the decades following the defeat of the Persians that Athenian democracy reached its greatest heights under the leadership of Pericles. The Pelopennesian War, which pitted Athens against Sparta, ended in the Spartan defeat of Athens and the beginning of a period of political instability that ultimately resulted in the unification of Greece under Philip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great.

Alexander's conquests carried Greek art, architecture, literature, and philosophy into Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, launching the Hellenistic Age. When Rome began to dominate the eastern Mediterranean during the first century B.C., the Romans appropriated much of Greek culture and spread it throughout their expanding empire. It is not too much to say that the civilization that developed in Greece became the cultural and intellectual foundation of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the open-response item(s).

Performance Characteristics
Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment.
Subject Matter Knowledge Accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge.
Support Quality and relevance of supporting details.
Rationale Soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter.

Scoring Scale

The scoring scale below, which is related to the performance characteristics for the tests, is used by scorers in assigning scores to responses to the open-response item(s).

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
  • There is substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.
3 The "3" response reflects an adequate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
  • There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is adequate; there are some acceptable, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an adequately reasoned understanding of the topic.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved.
  • There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate, application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.
1 The "1" response reflects a weak knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is not achieved.
  • There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples.
  • The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.
U The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, primarily in a language other than English, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.