Description Of Bulleted Items In Each Rubric

• The first bullet references the use of content and vocabulary
• The second bullet references the manipulation/application of critical thinking skills.
• The third bullet references communication including organization and clarity.

These rubric bullets are used across the grade levels for all sub-domain open response models, thus providing a grading consistency K-12. The rubric was designed to reflect the proposed performance standards for the CATS open response questions in the social studies section of the state assessment. The proposed state social studies performance standards include:

• Content knowledge
• Decisions, concepts, problems (Critical Thinking Skills)
• Vocabulary
• Communication
• Connections (Critical Thinking Skills)

Government and Civics

Sample Government and Civics Open Response Question

Standard I: The study of government and civics allows students to understand the nature of government and the unique characteristics of American democracy including its fundamental principles, structure and role of citizens.

Academic Expectation 2.14: Students should understand the democratic principles of justice, equality, responsibility and freedom and apply them to real-life situations.

Academic Expectation 2.15: Students can accurately describe various forms of government and analyze issues that relate to the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democracy.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Kentucky state government
  • purpose
  • structure (branches)
  • offices at each branch
• Rights and responsibilities of individuals are determined by specific roles within various groups. (e.g. class, school, community, and state)
• In order for a democratic form of government to function, citizens must play an active and responsible role. (e.g. participating in an election, obeying the law)
• Recognize democratic principals of fairness, freedom, and choice.

• Make informed decisions about school or community concerns
• Determine rights and responsibilities in real life situations.
• Recognize and demonstrate respect for different viewpoints
• Participate in the political life of the school: vote in student elections, run for office, participate in student campaigns
• Demonstrate democratic behavior. (e.g. treating others justly, recognizing authority, and respecting the rights and privacy of others)
• Define a goal, gather information (5.4)
• Predict consequences for solutions (5.4)
• Analyze alternatives, make a decision. (5.4)

Culture and Society

Sample Culture and Society Open Response Question

Standard II: Culture is the way of life by a group of people, including their ideas and traditions. In America’s multicultural society, students need to understand that culture influences viewpoints, social rules and social institutions

Academic Expectation 2.16: Students observe, analyze and interpret human behaviors, social groupings and institutions to better understand people and the relationships among individuals and among groups.

Academic Expectation 2.17: Students interact effectively and work cooperatively with the many diverse ethnic and cultural groups of our nation and world.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Compromise and cooperation are tools for social interaction
• Prejudice Reduction
• Conflict Management
• All cultures develop institutions, customs, beliefs, and holidays reflecting their unique histories, situations, and perspectives.

• Identify cultural bias and stereotyping
• Demonstrate an ability to functions as part of a social system
• Identify a social problem and suggest positive change
• Recognize roles within various social groupings.
• Recognize and respect different view points
• Recognize that culture is learned
• Explore conflict resolution strategies for problems arising from cultural tensions
• Examine cause and effect relationships (5.1)
• Create a new solution or idea (5.1)
• Explore strategies to solve a problem (5.5)
• Consider alternative solutions to a problem (5.5)
• Communicate understanding of an idea or event from multiple perspectives (6.1)

Economics

Sample Economics Open Response Question

Standard III: Economics includes the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Students need to understand how their economic decisions affect them, others and the nation as a whole.

Academic Expectation 2.18: Students understand economic principles and are able to make economic decisions that have consequences in daily living.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• · Kentucky’s economy
• · Economic systems can be as small as individuals or families
• · Profit is the difference between revenues and the costs entailed in producing or selling a good service
• · Producers who specialize create a small range of goods and services instead of producing many different things
• · Natural and human resources affect the economy of an area.

• · Understand the importance of budgeting financial resources
• · Recognize and apply basic marketing strategies (comparing advertisements, prices and products)
• · Develop informed decisions based on a variety of economic considerations.
• · Use data to modify, develop and test concepts (5.3)
• · Examine relevant facts or information needed to make a decision. (6.1)

Geography

Sample Geography Open Response Question

Standard IV: Geography is the study of people, places and environments. Students need geographic knowledge to understand the world and their relationship to it. A geographic perspective also enables students to better understand the past and present and to prepare for the future.

Academic Expectation 2.19: Students recognize and understand the relationship between people and geography and apply their knowledge in real-life situations.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Regions are areas that have one or more physical or human characteristics in common (e.g., physical: geographical regions of Kentucky, South, Midwest, Western Hemisphere; human: Appalachia, Corn belt, Amish country).
• Kentucky geography
• Different factors in one location can have an impact on another location (e.g., natural disasters, damming a river).
• Latitude and longitude

• Compare regions to identify unifying characteristics.
• Describe the connections between people and their environment and predict trends.
• Understand and uses developmentally appropriate geographic vocabulary
• Describe relationships among objects, ideas and actions (6.3)

History

Sample History Open Response Questions

Standard V: History is the interpretation of events, people, ideas and their interaction over time. In order for students to understand the present and make plans for their future, they must understand the past.

Academic Expectation 2.20: Students understand, analyze and interpret historical events, conditions, trends and issues to develop historical perspective.

Core Content

Demonstrators

• Kentucky history
• Exploration and Settlement
• Revolutionary War
• Civil War
• People explored and settled Kentucky for multiple reasons:
  • Freedoms
  • Opportunities
  • Fleeing negative situations
• Kentucky 20^th Century
• History is understood by using a variety of primary and secondary sources
• The way we live has changed over time: communication, technology, homes, transportation, recreation and tradition

• Examine cause and effect and multiple causation.
• Use historical data to make inferences about issues, events or people
• Understand the influence of science and technology over time
• Explore strategies which promote relationships between prior knowledge and information (6.2)
• Analyze a situation from different perspectives (6.1)