Answering Constructed Response Questions:

1. Answering Constructed Response Questions: Preparing your students for Georgia’snew assessment

2. Your Presenter is.. Dawn Bennett, Ed.S., NBCT • Program Specialist, West Central GLRS • Former Title I Needs Improvement School Improvement Specialist, West Ga. RESA • Former administrator • Former K-5 teacher

3. Learning Targets: • I can explain the importance of teaching students how to answer constructed response questions. • I can define constructed response questions and the types of constructed response questions. • I can explain the components of exemplary constructed response questions. • I can explain specific strategies to use in the classroom to teach students how to answer constructed response questions. • I can score a constructed response question using a rubric and give feedback.

4. Why do I need to teach my students how to answer CRQ’s? • Federal requirements for Race to the Top states (by 2014-2015 school year): High quality assessments • Consolidate ELA, Reading, Writing into a single measure • Increase rigor to align with college and career expectations • Consistent alignment with external measures Georgia Department of Education, 2014

5. HOW DO WE MEASURE UP? Achievement of Georgia Students in Mathematics 2013 NAEP – Grade 8: 29% at/above proficient CRCT – Grade 8: 83% met/exceeded Coordinate Algebra EOCT: 37% met/exceeded SAT – Class of 2013: 42% college ready benchmark* ACT – Class of 2013: 38% college ready benchmark** 2012 PSAT – sophomores: 35% on track to be CCR • Georgia Department of Education

6. Overall ELA Phase II Pilot Summary Data • Georgia Department of Education

7. Overall Mathematics Phase II Pilot Summary Data • Georgia Department of Education

8. Why do you think students do so poorly on constructed response questions? Discuss with a partner…….

9. Some of the reasons kids do poorly on CRQ’s… • Many students don’t answer the question. • Some responses are very shallow and need more details. • Some students get off topic. • Spelling and handwriting may impact a student’s score. • Students don’t understand what the question is asking. • Instead of writing about what the passage talked about , students write about what they know about the topic. • Students don’t think about their audience.

10. What do you know about constructed response questions? (CRQ’s) Constructed Response Questions

11. Constructed Response Questions (CRQ) Constructedresponsequestions are assessment items that ask students to apply knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities to real-world, standards-driven performance tasks. Constructed response questions are so named because there is often more than one way to correctly answer the question, and they require students to “construct” or develop their own answers without the benefit of any suggestions or choices. (Tests That Teach by Karen Tankersley)

12. What’s in a Prompt? • Background information “Birds’ babies hatch from eggs. Birds have wings, but not all adult birds fly. They live all over the world, even in Antarctica.” • Petitions“Explain how birds protect themselves.” • Questions“What is migration?” Better Answers: Written Performance That Looks Good and Sounds Smart, Ardith Davis Cole

13. Academic Vocabulary • Traits (most students below grade 7 struggle with this word) • Qualities • Evidence • Sequence • Stanza • Line • Infer • Point of View • Support • Simile • Metaphor • Figurative language

14. Strategies for Answering CRQ • RACE • ACE (math)

15. RACE steps for answering CRQ • Reword/restate the question • Provide an Answer • Cite using evidence from text • Explain how the evidence supports your answer CREATE A FLOW MAP OF THESE STEPS

16. A Text-Based Example Prompt: (after reading “Little Red Riding Hood”) knew How did LittleRedRidingHood know thecharacterinthebedwasnothergrandmother? Little Red Riding Hood knew the character in the bed was not her grandmother because . . . Not “She knew…. (avoid pronouns) Use specific nouns, proper nouns

17. USE TRANSITIONS A Boost into the Right Answer • Little Red Riding Hood was not afraid of the wolf because . . . • The wolf ran to Grandmother’s house to . . . • Father got rid of the wolf by . . . • Little Red Riding Hood was afraid when . . . • Little Red Riding Hood would not have been bothered by the wolf if . . . • Little Red Riding Hood did not leave Grandmother’s house until . . .

18. Return to the prompt and mark the words used. Mark all restated words: Prompt: I What do you do intheevening I when you gethomefromschool? Restatement: In the evening when I get home from school I . . .

19. Reword the question/Restate Why were the three bears so upset when they got home?

20. IN THE CLASSROOM… ASSIGN ROLES • RESTATEMENT HELPER (ORAL) • RESTATEMENT MARKER (MARKS ON THE SENTENCE STRIP) • SCRIBE (REWRITES THE STATEMENT ON CHART PAPER)

21. YOUR TURN! CREATE A GROUP OF FOUR, THEN NUMBER OFF 1-4 • 1’S: RESTATEMENT HELPERS (ORAL) • 2’S: RESTATEMENT MARKERS (MARKS ON THE SENTENCE STRIP) • 3’S: SCRIBE (REWRITES THE STATEMENT ON CHART PAPER) • 4’S: Teacher (reads the prompt)

22. Practice First! • Practice this first step by asking students questions and have them respond orallyby restating the question: Example: What did you do last night? • Students should always answer in complete sentences. (written and verbally) • Give students an opportunity to create their own questions and have partners answer them by restating.

23. Provide an Answer • Clarify • Answers why? • Generalize- not details • Makes you want to ask “What do you mean?” or “Where’s your evidence?” The three bears were upset when they got home because someone had been in their house.

24. Practice Answering • Model good vs. bad answers (broad vs. detailed). • Create sample prompts and have students restate and answer giving broad answers. • YOUR TURN…

25. Cite using evidence from text The first thing they noticed was that someone had eaten their porridge. The next thing the bears noticed was someone had been sitting in their chairs. Finally, the three bears found the culprit, a little girl sleeping in their bed!

26. CITING (EVIDENCE) • Use specific evidence from text, not prior knowledge • Remember transition words • YOUR TURN…..

27. Explain how the evidence supports your answer As a result, the three bears were furious with the little girl that came into their home without asking!

28. EXPLAIN (conclude) • Refer to the question again • Don’t construct a new ending to the story • Restate with a touch of your own voice • YOUR TURN…..

29. RACE Checklist Name__________________________ Date__________ Minimally Partially Completely 1 2 3 Restates question _____ _____ _____ Develops a broad _____ _____ _____ Answer Cites using details _____ _____ _____ Draws conclusion _____ _____ _____ Stays on topic _____ _____ _____ Writes neatly _____ _____ _____ Uses proper Conventions_____ _____ _____

30. What about MATH? Answer the question Compute your work (show work) Explain in writing how you got your answer

31. There are 29 NBL teams. Each team is allowed to have 12 active playersand 3 on injured reserve.How many players are in the NBL at any one time? • A…(Answer) 435 players • There are _435_ players in the NBL at any one time. • C… (Compute) or show your work • X = (12+3) 29 • X = (15) 29 • X = 435 • E… (Explain) in writing. 435 First, each team is allowed to have 12 active and 3 reserve players which equals 15 total players on each team. I then multiplied the total number of players (15) by the number of NBL teams (29) to find that 435 players are in the NBL at any one time.

32. Encourage students to EXPLAIN their work - not DESCRIBE it Description: “I multiplied $1.25 and 13 and got $16.25” Explanation “I multiplied the price of gas per gallon ($1.25) and the number of gallons (13) to get the price for the gas used ($16.25).”

33. How are constructed response questions scored? • Holistic rubrics • South Carolina- 3 point rubric • Montana- 4 point rubric • Indiana- 2 point rubric • New York- 2 point rubric • North Carolina- 2 point rubric • Georgia-?????

34. How do you score? • Select one person at your table to read the fable and the prompt. • Read the student response. • Score using your rubric. Discuss the feedback you would give this student. • Be prepared to share.

35. Ideas for Teaching • As a baseline, read a fairy tale to your students and then have them answer one CRQ • Have your students answer your EQ as their exit ticket. • Add constructed response questions to each test or quiz you give. • What other key words (Tier 2 or Tier 3 vocabulary) are important to teach? • Teach students not to skip these questions!

36. More Ideas……. • In math, practice using Exemplars using the gradual release model. Model, guided practice, and independent. • Let your students struggle!! • Begin with simple questions. • Require students to answer questions (orally and written) in complete sentences. • Ask WHY questions • Look at sample questions

37. Where can I find sample questions? • New York • North Carolina • Louisiana • Oregon • Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium • PARCC

38. Excellent Resources for CRQ… • http://writingfix.com/RICA/constructed_response.htm • Tests that Teach, by Karen Tankersley • Better Answers, by Ardith Cole

39. Thank You! Dawn Bennett West Central GLRS dbennett@garesa.org 678-621-3410