Study Guide

Field 057: Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Primary Education (PK–5)
Sample Constructed-Response Assignments

The following materials contain:

Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignments

This section of the test consists of two constructed-response written assignments. One is a work product assignment, and the other is a case study, consisting of three charges. You are to prepare a written response of approximately 150–250 words to each assignment.

Read each assignment carefully before you begin to type. Each written assignment appears on the screen with an answer box. Type your response in this answer box.

Each of your responses will be scored on the extent to which you effectively communicate a whole message to the specified audience for the stated purpose. You will be assessed on your ability to apply professional knowledge in your response. Your response to each assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Purpose: The extent to which the response fulfills the assignment
  • Professional Knowledge: The extent to which the response accurately and effectively applies relevant professional knowledge
  • Rationale and Support: The extent to which the response provides sound reasoning and relevant, specific support

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials. Your response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your written response. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited English as used in the United States.

Sample Work Product Assignment

Use the information below to complete the task that follows.

Identify a grade level and content area for which you are prepared to teach, and write a response of approximately 150–250 words in which you:

  • provide opportunities to integrate social interaction into instructional activities throughout the curriculum for students;
  • explain why opportunities for social interaction in lesson design promote students' understanding and learning across the content areas;
  • describe one strategy or method that you could use to support social interaction during instruction that would promote student learning in the content you identified; and
  • explain why the strategy or method would be effective in promoting students' learning and achievement.

Sample Strong Response to the Work Product Assignment

Providing opportunities to integrate social interaction into mathematics instruction for my second-grade class is important because when learners are placed in environments that promote social interaction, they are naturally exposed to a variety of perspectives. This enhances their ability to become critical thinkers and take on more responsibility for their learning. These conditions are integral for truly meaningful learning to occur.

I would incorporate learning centers with activities designed for students to work in small groups on a targeted mathematics skill, such as addition or subtraction. For instance, at one center, students may be charged to work in teams to build visual representations of addition or subtraction problems. A variety of manipulatives or counters can be provided as resources for teams to use. At another center, student pairs would advance through a paper-based maze that requires students to take turns discussing and solving addition or subtraction problems.

Learning centers that target specific skills and enable learners to engage in social interaction are important for growth and learning. The design and implementation of learning centers that require student engagement through social interaction enhance the development of essential skills and conceptual understanding.

Sample Case Study Assignment

Use the case study below to complete the assignment that follows.

A fifth-grade class begins the English language arts period with a quick-write journal activity. First, students will compose a paragraph to share their reflections on one of the poems reviewed in their genre study. The teacher explains there is no right or wrong answer, just the students' ideas about the poem. The students have five minutes for this activity.

During the independent activity, the teacher walks around the room, scanning finished work, encouraging reluctant writers, and answering questions. After five minutes, the teacher explains the second activity. Students will meet with their writing partners and trade journals. They will read their partners' paragraphs, providing feedback on a sticky note in the journal. The teacher asks students to remember that good feedback is helpful, specific, and constructive. Students then meet with their partners for five minutes as the teacher observes their discussions and makes comments as needed.

The teacher is considering ways to assess individual students' knowledge and understanding by using other methods of peer-review assessments in future English language arts lessons.

After reviewing the information provided, write a response of approximately 150–250 words in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Case Study Assignment

The use of questionnaires can serve as an additional peer-review assessment for this fifth-grade class. This assessment method would work well for a language arts lesson that tasks each student to write a persuasive piece supporting a specific point of view. Upon the completion of a draft, students meet with their writing partners, read each other's work, then interview each other about their piece using a questionnaire. Components of the questionnaire would lead each student to assess a peer's draft by identifying the point of view, reasons given, and evidence provided to support the point of view.

Adaptations can be made to the questionnaire to respond to various learning characteristics and needs. For one, the questionnaires do not need to be limited to written responses; writing partners can discuss the questionnaire elements and record video of the discussion so that peer-review feedback is accessible during any revision work on the draft. Additionally, modifications could be made to the questionnaire design via integration of graphics and visual prompts or question stems and organizers to further aid the peer review.

This peer review is effective because the reviewer would be exhibiting knowledge of the attributes of a persuasive piece through their ability to analyze the writing with questionnaire criteria in mind. The pairings allow for discussion that would demonstrate the pair's understanding of the features of a persuasive piece with a specific point of view. The information gathered from this activity can be used to guide future instruction in this area.

Performance Characteristics

Responses are scored holistically based on the following performance characteristics:

Purpose The extent to which the response fulfills the assignment
Professional Knowledge The extent to which the response accurately and effectively applies relevant professional knowledge
Rationale and Support The extent to which the response provides sound reasoning and relevant, specific support

Scoring Scale

The four points of the scoring scale correspond to varying degrees of performance.

Score Point Score Point Description
4
 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response thoroughly fulfills the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate and effective application of the relevant professional knowledge.
  • The response reflects sound, effective reasoning and provides high-quality, relevant support.
3
 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response largely fulfills the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate application of the relevant professional knowledge.
  • The response reflects adequate reasoning and provides general, relevant support.
2
 The "2" response reflects a partial understanding of relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response partially fulfills the purpose of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a partially accurate application of the relevant professional knowledge.
  • The response reflects limited reasoning and provides limited and/or partially irrelevant support.
1
 The "1" response reflects little understanding of relevant knowledge and skills.
  • The response fulfills little of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an inaccurate and/or ineffective application of the relevant professional knowledge.
  • The response reflects poor reasoning and provides little or no relevant support.
U
 The response is unrelated to the assignment, is unreadable, is primarily in a language other than English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B
 There is no response to the assignment.