Study Guide

Field 107: English 
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

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Test Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment

This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You are to prepare a written response of approximately  300 to 600  words on the assigned topic. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response.

As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the content area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factual information.

Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

 start bold PURPOSE: end bold  the extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
 start bold SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: end bold  accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
 start bold SUPPORT: end bold  quality and relevance of supporting details
 start bold RATIONALE: end bold  soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

The constructed-response assignment is intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the scoring criteria. Your response should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your written response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

subarea roman numeral 5 
Pedagogical Content Knowledge

 start bold Use the data provided to complete the task that follows.  end bold 

Using your knowledge of content and sound pedagogical practices in English language arts and citing evidence from the exhibits provided, write a response of approximately  300 to 600  words in which you:

Be sure to utilize  start bold all end bold  the exhibits in your response.

 start bold Lesson Plan end bold 

You are planning instruction for an eighth-grade English language arts class that aligns with the following standards from the Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts.

 start bold Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing  end bold 

 start bold 8.3.R.4 end bold  Students will evaluate literary devices to support interpretations of literary texts.

 start bold 8.3.W.2 end bold  Students will compose essays and reports about topics, incorporating evidence (e.g., specific facts, examples, details) and maintaining an organized structure and a formal style.

 start bold You have set the following learning goal: end bold 

Students will be able to analyze how an author develops irony to support a theme in a passage.

 start bold You have developed the following student assignment:  end bold 

Read the passage from O. Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi" and write a brief essay about how the author develops irony to support a theme in the passage. Use evidence from the passage to support your analysis.

 start bold Passage from "The Gift of the Magi," a short story by O. Henry end bold 

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.

Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again—you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say 'Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice—what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."

"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.

"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"

Jim looked about the room curiously.

"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.

"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you—sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"

Out of his trance, Jim seemed quickly to wake. ...

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

For there lay The Combs—the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped for long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims—just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.

 start bold Student Writing Sample end bold 

Ironic Twists in "The Gift of the Magi"

Irony makes a reader think that a story will have one ending, but then it has a different ending. In class, we learned that O. Henry's stories usually have a twist at the end. You think that one thing is going to happen, and then something else happens instead. These twists are very clever.

This story is about Jim and Della. They are married and they want to buy each other nice presents for Christmas, but they don't have enough money. Della sells her hair so she can buy a gift for Jim. He sells his watch to buy her combs to wear in her hair. When he comes home, he can't believe his eyes! She cut off her hair! That's why he has "an air almost of idiocy." He isn't really an idiot. He's just shocked. Next comes the twist. Jim gives Della her present and she opens it. She screams with joy. Then she cries because the present is combs to wear in her hair.

The moral of the story is "It's the thought that counts." Della sacrificed her hair to buy Jim a gift because she loves him and wants to make him happy. But she is also selfish. She should hug Jim and thank him for the beautiful gift. Then she should laugh. It's not a tragedy. Her hair will grow back. Instead she cries and feels sorry for herself.

The irony in the story is that Jim and Della love each other and they make sacrifices so they can surprise each other with nice presents. They surprise each other, all right. But the presents are useless. They should realize that it's not the presents that count, it's their love. If they only give each other love, that is enough.

Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

 start bold Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work. end bold 

This student displays several challenges in meeting the learning goal of composing an essay which develops and supports (Standard 8.3W.2) an analysis of how an author develops irony to support a theme. The greatest immediate challenge is in identifying and focusing on the theme in the excerpt from O. Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi." The student does not discuss theme until the third paragraph, where it is inaccurately and simplistically referred to as "the moral of the story." One sentence relates this idea to the story, and then the rest of this paragraph and most of the next devolves into a non-analytical presentation of personal reactions. Since understanding theme underlies almost all literary criticism in high school and generates a broader personal world view, focused attention to it will make further literary study more accessible and meaningful, thus increasing the student's intrinsic motivation.

I would form a small group of students who share this developmentally typical eighth-grade challenge and plan systematic instruction to move from the lower level competence of "comprehension" to the higher level competence of "analysis" (from Bloom's Taxonomy), beginning with explicit instruction explaining the meaning of the term  start italics theme end italics : a statement about a work's central idea that applies beyond the individual work. Instructional context would be group discussion and modeling of questions designed to help students make inferences that will lead them identify the theme in simple tales or folktales. As students become more competent, we would move on to more challenging passages and themes. Because all inference and discussion of theme must arise from the text, we would examine figurative language, symbolism, plot points, and other textual evidence supporting particular themes. Students would practice matching given evidence with a variety of themes before generating their own ideas and organizing their results into a visual concept map (see my paragraph 4). Students would then apply their understanding by outlining revisions to their original essays on "The Gift of the Magi," asking their peers for focused feedback. Finally, all students would write an essay having the same goals as the original assignment but responding to a different story with a similar theme, such as "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant.

The specific strength in critical reading/writing that this student reveals is the ability to comprehend and summarize, simplistically but accurately, the events of the story excerpt (as indicated in most of the student's second paragraph), providing a good basis from which to practice making inferences. In addition, as indicated by the student's statements in the third and fourth paragraphs about what the characters should do ("She should hug Jim and thank him for the beautiful gift. Then she should laugh"; "They should realize that it's not the presents that count, it's their love"), the student is clearly engaged with the text. I would be able to use the student's personal reactions and opinions as a source for relevant discovery of the text's deeper implications and themes.

A specific learning activity for assisting students in connecting theme with evidence is using a concept map. The theme would be centered on the page or board with magnifying glass shapes surrounding it to indicate how a theme can be supported by the text. These shapes would be labeled as follows: characters' statements; characters' actions; characters' feelings; implications of setting; implications of title; implications of repeated words/images. My planned instruction would include providing definitions and examples of the terms used in the labels. Radiating from each of these shapes would be another ring of shapes indicating how to explain the relevance of the "clue" to the theme. This device would assist visual learners while allowing all students to more completely understand the relationships of interpretation with specific evidence and the need to state the relevance explicitly, and reveal any gaps in their thinking. Finally, it would provide students with a useful tool for structuring their essays.

Rationale for the Sample Strong Response

Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support, and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the examinee attends to the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.

This response achieves the purpose of the assignment by clearly responding to the four tasks of the prompt. The student challenge, the instructional plan, the student strength, and the learning activity are all appropriately identified and discussed.

The discussion demonstrates subject matter knowledge in the areas assessed by this prompt: the ability to read a literary passage for accurate content and understanding of its elements and their effects; the ability to read thoughtfully and evaluate a focused student assignment, recognizing specific strengths and challenges; content area knowledge as evidenced in the accurate definition of the term  start italics theme end italics  and an understanding of the need to tie assertions to text; familiarity with and the ability to incorporate current pedagogical grade-appropriate practices and theory, including small group instruction, scaffolded instruction, student motivation, and specific activities in the English classroom.

Throughout, the response offers support, incorporating specific prompt references and details of student activities. For example, the writer identifies the sources for the assessments being made, pointing to the specific student paragraphs demonstrating accurate though simplistic ability to summarize and the student's lapse into personal emotional response rather than analysis. In addition, the discussion of planned instruction is sufficiently descriptive; the fourth paragraph on the suggested student activity is detailed as to content, process, form, and expected outcomes.

Throughout the response, the writer's commentary clearly provides authentic rationales for making specific choices. For example, the first paragraph identifies the student's problems with theme as developmentally typical for eighth graders and understands that other students will benefit from instruction in that area. In the third paragraph, the writer recognizes how irrelevant personal commentary can be a legitimate source for relevant understanding. Also, the fourth paragraph specifically explains why the learning activity described would be effective. Such ability to see connections and provide explicit rationales reveals a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Sample Weak Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

This student does not include enough references to the actual story. The person reading the essay would have to go back and read the whole story to understand the essay. There's only one quote from the story about Jim seeming like an idiot, which the student explains. But the student could put in more quotes so the reader doesn't have to do all the work. For example, after the sentence in the second paragraph that says "Della sells her hair so she can buy a gift for Jim," the student could add the relevant quote from the story, "I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present."

I would plan instruction for this student and others with the same challenge by putting them in a small group and having them reread the passage more carefully. Next, they would exchange essays with a partner and go through their partner's essay and put an "X" wherever there should be a quote from the text. Finally, the students would practice using quotes appropriately by reading and analyzing a different short story and using direct quotes from the story to support their analysis.

Summarizing is a critical skill for reading and writing. With the exception of the repetitious parts about Della cutting off her hair, the entire second paragraph demonstrates that the student understands the passage and can summarize the important parts of the story.

As I said above, the student learning activity would be to learn from a peer reviewer where to use more textual references as supporting evidence. This would be an effective activity because collaborative learning is often the best way for students to learn. Sometimes they understand their peers better than they understand the teacher.

Rationale for the Sample Weak Response

Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support, and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the examinee attends to the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.

The purpose of the assignment is only partially achieved. The writer identifies a student's challenge in completing the student assignment (i.e., "The student doesn't include enough references to the actual story") without explaining how such references would contribute to the success of the student's argument. The writer suggests a plan of instruction for using peer review as a tool for teaching how to include textual references. However, the writer fails to explain how peer reviewers would be able to evaluate where textual references—and what kind—might be needed. The writer also identifies as a critical reading and writing strength the ability to summarize the story elements.

The writer demonstrates insufficient subject matter knowledge in the three areas assessed by this prompt. In the first paragraph of the response, the writer fails to explain correctly the use of textual support as an element of literary analysis, providing an incorrect example of how and where to employ a quotation that actually offers no support but only reiterates the student's words. The writer also fails to evaluate meaningfully the student's understanding of literary elements, ignoring the student's confusion about what is sufficiently important to include in the summary. For example, in the third paragraph, the writer refers to "the repetitious parts about Della cutting off her hair," clearly missing the significance of Della's hair as an element of plot, character, and theme. Finally, the writer demonstrates insufficient familiarity with current pedagogical practices for motivating and defining learning activities and identifying occasions for collaborative learning.

While the response makes some reference to prompt materials, it offers no explanation or description of how students would be taught how, why, and where to insert text references. Without such instruction, students would be unprepared to successfully accomplish the peer commentary discussed in paragraphs 2 and 4.

The writer's limited understanding of the elements of the assignment interferes with the ability to form a sound rationale to tie information to analysis throughout. The writer fails to offer a rationale for appropriate use of textual support and offers only a general, unsubstantiated statement as a rationale for using peer review.

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the constructed-response assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses
Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
Subject Matter Knowledge The accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
Support The quality and relevance of supporting details
Rationale The soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

Scoring Scale

Scores will be assigned to each response to the constructed-response assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4  start bold The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
  • There is a substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.
3  start bold The "3" response reflects a general knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
  • There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence generally supports the discussion; there are some relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a general understanding of the topic.
2  start bold The "2" response reflects a partial knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved.
  • There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.
1  start bold The "1" response reflects little or no knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is not achieved.
  • There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples.
  • The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.
U The response is unscorable because it is illegible, not written to the assigned topic, written in a language other than English, or lacking a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.