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 Activities

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

• Governments may take different forms (e.g., constitutional, totalitarian, democratic, republic).

• Recognize and use appropriate means of resolving conflict. (2.14)
• Analyze issues from multiple perspectives. (2.14)
• Compare Democratic and non-democratic political systems (e.g., parliamentary government, dictatorship, monarchy). (2.15)

Culture and Society

Sample Culture and Society Open Response Question

Standard II: Culture is the way of life shared 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

• Culture in the modern world is influenced by language, literature, arts, beliefs, and behaviors, and may result in unique perspectives.
• All cultures develop institutions, customs, beliefs, and holidays, reflecting their unique histories, situations, and perspectives.
• Various human needs are met through interaction in and among social institutions and groups (e.g., family, schools, teams, clubs, religious groups, governments)
• Compromise and cooperation are possible choices for positive social interaction and resolution of conflict.

• Examine the consequences of prejudice and discrimination (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity) on social systems. (2.16)
• Compare the social institutions of different cultures. (2.16)
• Analyze the impact of social institutions (e.g., religious, educational, occupational and political systems) in society. (2.16)
• Analyze cultural differences. (2.17)
• Develop strategies to work cooperatively with cultural diverse groups. (2.17)
• Communicate understanding for complex ideas, issues, or events from multiple perspectives. (6.1)
• Create a new solution/ idea/ product. (5.2)
• Predict consequences for solutions and establish evaluative criteria. (5.4)
• Examine factors (e.g., prejudice, age, socioeconomic, culture), which influence perspectives. (6.1)

Economics

Sample Economics Open Response Questions

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

• Productive resources (land, labor, capital) are limited and do not satisfy all the wants of individuals, societies, and governments (scarcity).
• To make informed choices, consumers must analyze advertisements, consider personal finances, and examine the opportunity cost.
• Economic systems include traditional, command, or market. Modern economies use a "mixed system" that has features of all three.
• The hope of earning profit motivates businesses to take the risks involved in producing goods and services.
• Prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand. The market price is reached when quantity supplied equals quantity demanded.
• Personal, national and international economic activities are interdependent.
• The basic economic issues addressed by producers are production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

• Analyze the effects of economic factors (e.g., supply and demand, wants and needs) on decision making in the modern world. (2.18)
• Predict consequences of personal or group economic choices (e.g., spending versus saving, economic development versus environmental preservation). (2.18)
• Analyze relationships among economic factors, (e.g., political structure, natural resources, population, technology) and the interdependence of nations. (2.18)
• Examine ways cultural heritage influences economic decisions. (2.18)
• Organize information into categories. (5.3)
• Recognize options; gather information; propose alternative options. (5.4)
• Define a problem; gather and organize information about the problem. (5.5)
• Select an appropriate strategy to acquire specific new information. (6.2)

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

• Maps (e.g., map projections--Mercator and Robinson), globes, photographs, models, satellite images are representations of Earth with different characteristics and uses.
• Different factors (e.g., rivers, dams, developments) affect where human activities are located and how land is used in urban, rural, and suburban areas.
• Places can be made distinctive by human activities (e.g., building houses, stores, roads, railroads, irrigation) that alter physical features.
• Regions can be different in size and defined in different ways.
• Technology assists human modification of the physical environment (e.g., damming a river, irrigating a desert, cooling or heating a living area).
• The natural resources of a place or region impact its political, social and economic development.
• Individual perspectives impact the use of natural resources (e.g., watering lawns, planting gardens, recycling paper).

• Analyze geographic characteristics (e.g., land forms, waterways, climate, and natural resources) to explain human and regional relationships. (2.19)
• Examine ideas/objects/situations for patterns, discern discrepancies. (5.1)
• Gather information from multiple sources to derive meaning. (5.3)
• Analyze relationships among people, places, and events using geographic skills and resources. (2.19)
• Analyze relationships among people, places, and events using geographic skills and resources. (2.19)

History

Sample History Open Response Question

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

• History is a series of connected events shaped by multiple cause-and-effect relationships, tying the past to the present.

• Evaluate the impact of historical factors on the development of current issues. (2.20)
• Analyze cause-and-effect relationships. (5.1)
• Discover relationships among existing knowledge and new ideas, objects, and actions. (6.3)
• Access and use information. (6.1)