Why is...?
What evidence is there that...?
In what way might...?
Give some instance in which...
Which of these would...?
Compare ....
Tell what you think....
Is...greater than...?
Why is it called...?
Explain why...
What caused...?
What conclusions have you reached about...?
Ø Interpret
Ø Analyze
Ø Differentiate
Ø Compare
Ø Contrast
Ø Scrutinize
Ø Categorize
Ø Probe
Ø Investigate
Ø Discover
Ø Inquire
Ø Detect
Ø Inspect
Ø Classify
Ø Arrange
Ø Group
Ø Organize
Ø Examine
Ø Survey
Ø Dissect
Ø Inventory
Ø Question
Ø Test
Ø Distinguish
Ø Diagram
Analyze This involves breaking material into constituent parts and determining how the parts are related to each other an overall structure. Here they may be trying to develop the ability to:
- Distinguish fact from opinion (or reality from fantasy)
- Connect conclusions with supporting statements
- Distinguish relevant from extraneous material
- Determine how ideas are related to one another
- Ascertain the unstated assumptions involved in what is said
- Distinguish dominant from subordinate ides or themes in poetry or music
- Find evidence in support of the author’s purposes
Differentiate: This involves distinguishing the parts of a whole structure in terms of relevance or importance using discrimination
SS: An objective could be to learn to determine the major points in research reports. An assessment requires a student to circle the main points in an archeological report about an ancient Mayan city (such as when the city began, when it ended, the population over its history, the geographic location, physical buildings, economic and cultural functions, social organization, why it was built, why is was abandoned.)
ELA:
SCI: An objective could be to select the main steps in a written description of how something works. The assessment asks a student to read a chapter in a book that describes lightning formation and divide the process into major steps (including moist air rising to form a cloud, creation of updrafts and downdrafts inside the cloud, separation of charges within the cloud, movement of a stepped leader downward from cloud to ground, and creation of a return stroke from ground to cloud.)
Math: An objective could be to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant numbers in a word problem. Assessment requires a student to circle the relevant numbers and cross out the irrelevant numbers in the problem.
Assessment: This can be assessed with constructed response or selection tasks. In CR, the student is given some material and asked to indicate which parts are most important or relevant such as “Write the numbers that are needed to solve this problem: Pencils come in packages that contain 12 each and cost $2.00 for each package. John has $5.00 and wishes to buy 24 pencils. How many packages does he need to buy? A) 12, $2.00, $5.00, 24; B) 12, $2.00, $5.00; C) 12, $2.00, 24; D) 12, 24.”
Organize: This involves identifying the elements of a communication or situation and recognizing how they fit together into a coherent structure. The student builds systematic and coherent connections among pieces of information.
SS: An objective could be to learn to structure a historical description into evidence for and against a particular explanation. An assessment item asks a student to write an outline that shows which facts in a passage on American history support and which facts do not support the conclusion that the American Civil War was caused by differences in the rural and urban composition of the North and South.
ELA:
Math: An objective could be to learn to outline textbook lessons. An assessment task asks a student to read a textbook lesson on basic statistics and generate a matrix that includes each statistic’s name, formula and conditions under which it is used.
SCI: An objective could be to learn to analyze research reports in terms of four sections: hypothesis, method, data, and clonclusion. An assessment item would be for students to produce an outline of a presented research report.
Assessment: This involves imposing a structure on material such as an outline, table, matrix or hierarchical diagram. Thus assessment can be constructed response or selection. In CR, students are asked to produce a written outline. In SR, they may be asked to select which of four alternative graphic hierarchies best corresponds to the material.
Attribute: occurs when a student is able to ascertain the point of view, bises, values or intention underlying communications. This is a process of deconstruction where a student determines the intentions of the author. It is more than understanding, inferring the intention . For example, a student reading a passage on the Civil War battle of Atlanta should be able to determine whether the author takes the perspective of the North or the South.
SS: An objective could beto learn to determine the point of view of the author of an essay on a controversial topic in terms of his or her theoretical perspective. An assessment task asks a student whether a report on Amazon rain forests was written from a pro-environment or pro-business point of view.
SCI:
ELA: An objective could be to learn to determine the motives for a series of actions by characters in a story. A task after reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth is to ask what motive(s) Shakespeare attributed to Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan.
Math:
Assessment: A constructed response task is “What is the author’s purpose in writing the essay you read on the Amazon rain forests?” A selection version of the task is “The author’s purpose in writing the essay you read is to : A) provide factual information about Amazon rain forests, B) alert the reader to the need to protect rain forests, C) demonstrate the economic advantages of developing rain forests, or D) describe the consequences to humans if rain forests are developed.” Or, students might be asked to indicate whether the author of the essay would A) strongly agree, B) agree, C) neither agree nor disagree, D) Disagree, or E) strongly disagree with several statements like “The rainforest is a unique type of ecological system”