Writing constructed response items Module 9 Writing constructed response items

Constructed Response Items A constructed response item is an assessment item that asks students to apply knowledge, skills, and/or critical thinking abilities to real-world, standards driven performance tasks. It requires a brief written response from students. They often have several parts. Students have to write, draw, and/or explain their answers.

Constructed Response Items Sometimes called “open-response” items, constructed response items are so named because they ask students to use their own thinking and background knowledge to develop answers without the benefit of any suggestions or choices. CR items often have more than one way to correctly answer the question. As noted in this slide, constructed response items are often “open-ended” thus requiring a scoring guide or rubric that some knowledgeable person must use to score the students response to the prompt. Acceptable answers should be identified prior to scoring, but flexibility will be needed.

Constructed Response Items CR items are good to use when you want students to: Show their work Explain a process Compete a chart Perform a geometric construction Construct a graph Identify patterns Write an essay

Constructed Response Items Tie constructed response items to higher-level objectives. This type of item is good to use when you want to test a skill that can’t be easily measured with a selected-response item. 1. Generally constructed response items are related to higher-level learning targets; those that are not easily assessed by a multiple choice items or selected response item. CR items often ask students to solve, explain, describe, analyze, draw, extend understanding, etc.

Constructed Response Items Two primary types of constructed response items: Brief Constructed Response Extended Constructed Response

Brief Constructed Response Items Require about 1-3 minutes of student response time Usually represented by one of the following 5 formats: Fill in the blank Short Answer Label a diagram Visual representation Show your work

Brief Constructed Response Items Benefits Can be used to assess higher level thinking Requires students to create correct answers rather than simply recognize them Less dependent on writing skills Tends to be more engaging due to the visual stimulus Allows for a varied view of student knowledge

Brief Constructed Response Items Drawbacks Items must be hand-scored Students, not familiar with the item format, may be negatively impacted. Students are not able to extend their thinking on the content or concept being tested

Brief Constructed Response Items Fill in the blank Asks students to complete a statement or respond to a question with a word, phrase, sentence or number. Requires a very brief response.

Fill in the blank Guidelines Be sure range of responses are open ended; if not consider rewriting item into a selected response item Be explicit in your wording so that response expectations are clear Place your response lines carefully within each item Try to limit the number of response lines in each item to 3

Brief Constructed Response Items Short Answer Asks students to generate a brief text in response to a question or statement. Answers are typically expected to be from a sentence or two to a paragraph in length. This format allows students to select, organize, express, and extend their ideas and understandings around the given concept and/or content.

Short Answer Guidelines Be sure range of responses are open ended; if not consider rewriting item into a selected response item Be explicit in your wording so that response expectations are clear while not eliciting identical responses Use clear cueing verb (i.e., explain, describe, analyze, defend, etc.) to ensure student convey the correct thinking Stress quality over quantity; use numerical cues carefully

Brief Constructed Response Items Label a diagram Asks students to add information to an existing visual stimulus. They may be coupled with a short answer item to allow students to extend their thinking or provide other relevant information

Label a diagram Guidelines Ensure clear directions for completion Use visual stimuli that are clear and sufficiently detailed to ensure proper responses

Brief Constructed Response Items Visual Representation Asks students to create graphics such as charts, graphs and diagrams. The intent is to allow students the opportunity to show what they know in relation to a specific topic or concept.

Visual Representation Guidelines Be explicit in your wording so that response expectations are clear Provide enough direction in terms of space, symbols to be used, etc. to ensure the intended response

Brief Constructed Response Items Show your work Asks students to perform a specific task (or part of a larger task) and provide evidence of the process they utilized while completing that task. A response to these items may result in a visual representation or a label a diagram.

Show your work Guidelines Be sure that words, images, symbols, etc. will provide evidence of understanding Provide clear directions that will ensure the intended response without producing identical answers

Extended Response Items Extended response items require students to provide evidence of understanding regarding a situation that demands more than a selected response or brief constructed response. They usually involve 20-30 minutes of student response time

Extended Response Items May require students to reflect and respond in a variety of contexts, such as: Write an essay from a prompt Take a position on a specific topic and support their stance Solve a problem Respond to findings of an investigation and/ or experiment Respond to written text

Extended Response Items Answers to extended response items are usually written, but can take the form of a performance and/or product in appropriate situations.

Extended Response Items Benefits Drawbacks Often considered more authentic in nature Students are able to provide evidence of understanding and extend and expand on their understanding Items must be hand-scored Students, not familiar with the item format, may be negatively impacted Difficult for students with poor writing skills Time consuming to administer and time consuming to score

Extended Response Items Guidelines Carefully word directions and prompts Allow sufficient time for completion Have resources necessary for item completion on hand and ready for use Share with students elements/characteristics of a successful response, where appropriate

Constructed Response Items When designing common assessments, use a variety of brief constructed response items…(these could include short answers, fill-in-the-blank, show-your-work and visual representations) as well as extended constructed response items. Be sure they are aligned to appropriate (usually higher-level) learning targets

Constructed Response Items The item should be clear and specific about what students should do. A CR item may have several questions. Allow for more than one way for students to respond.

Constructed Response Items Include necessary visual representations such as charts, graphs, pictures, short readings, and cartoons. Determine points possible for each item.

Constructed Response Items Usually CR items are worth 2 or more points depending on the difficulty of the item and the task being performed. Design a scoring protocol, based on the number of points possible, for each constructed-response item. Scoring protocols are typically specific to each individual item

Scoring Rubrics Brief constructed response items usually require a simple scoring guide; while extended response items may require a more detailed scoring rubric.

Scoring Guide Task Specific but Generic Point Scale Purposeful Math Knowledge Strategic Knowledge Explanation

Example: Scoring Guide

Scoring Rubric A good scoring rubric should include the following: Score Points Score Descriptors Exemplars—An Example of a correct answer with all the score descriptors included in the answer.

Example Exemplars It’s not a reasonable estimate because I estimated and added 40 + 30 + 20 + 30 + 10, and it only comes to 130 books sold. The estimate is not reasonable. I rounded the numbers to 40 + 30 + 20 + 30 + 10 = 130. This is much less than 200. 2 The focus of this task is to determine whether a sum computed based on estimated whole numbers is reasonable. The response provides a correct assessment with an adequate explanation. 1 The response demonstrates partial evidence of the determination whether a sum computed based on estimated whole numbers is reasonable. The response may provide an incomplete assessment or slightly flawed explanation. The response demonstrates no evidence of the determination whether a sum computed based on estimated whole numbers is reasonable. The response provides an incorrect assessment with an inadequate explanation characterized by major flaws and errors. Score Point Descriptors Score Points

Constructed Response Items Student work should be scored against the rubric. Scores should be determined as objectively as possible.

References Wahlstrom Book http://mfaa.msde.state.md.us Tests that Teach by Karen Tankersley