Ohio Achievement
Test Preparation
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Answering Short Answer and
Extended Response Items
Goals
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Review suggestions from ODE
Analyze 5th and 8th Grade Blue prints
Study Performance Verbs (Skill Identifiers)
Explore strategies on how to teach
students to answer 2 and 4 point OAT
Constructed Response Items.
Responding to Constructed Response Questions
From the ODE, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Tips for preparing students for the OAT and OGT
The work of Jim Burke, Kathryn Au and Taffy Raphael was used in the development of this article.
According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, constructed response questions prepare students for realworld writing which will require them to synthesize, summarize and
analyze information or ideas on a regular basis. On Ohio’s Achievement
Tests, these questions are open-ended and require students to
demonstrate in-depth understanding. The written responses may include
explanations, as well as appropriate charts, tables, graphs or graphic
organizers.
Constructed response questions ask students to communicate
understanding of important information by focusing on the key ideas
presented, and use provided information for a variety of tasks, including
solving problems, analyzing data, supporting conclusions,
comparing/contrasting and making connections to other situations or
contexts.
How can educators help students become more successful? One
way is to make sure they understand these principles and regularly
incorporate certain strategies when they are developing an answer.
Responding to Constructed Response Questions
From the ODE, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Tips for preparing students for the OAT and OGT
The work of Jim Burke, Kathryn Au and Taffy Raphael was used in the development of this article.
Constructed response strategies include the following:
• Students should pay attention to the language used in the item. Watching for
key, or trigger words, is important. Have students look at practice tests and
identify key words such as explain, identify and compare. They also should
make note of words that signal multiple tasks such as first, then and next.
• Students should paraphrase the question when they design their answers. The
paraphrase does not earn additional points, but it helps students focus on
the concepts or ideas being assessed and serves to organize and structure their
written responses.
• Students should reread their responses once they have completed them. This
will help ensure that the required task is completed thoroughly and accurately.
• Remind students to read each question carefully. Cursory reading often causes
students to miss important parts of the questions or to misunderstand what is being
asked. Some students may need to read the question “out loud” in their heads.
Sub-vocalizing may help the student hear key words and focus on specific content.
• Students should use information from the presented material (e.g., reading
selections, laboratory scenarios, mathematical problems, geographical discussions)
to frame or support their answers.
• Students should label answers and use specific nouns (instead of pronouns)
when referring to a concept, character or idea. Doing so not only helps the scorers
who are evaluating responses, it also forces students to make conscious decisions
when answering multi-layered questions.
Clues from the 5th Grade OAT Blueprint
Helpful Information: According to the OAT Blue Print there will always be 1
Short Answer and 1 Extended Response from the History Standard and 2
Short Answer Questions from SS Skills and Method Standard. This means
that there will be 1 Short Answer Item and 1 Extended Response Item pulled
from the other 5 Standard areas.
Clues from the 8th Grade OAT Blueprint
Helpful Information: According to the OAT Blue Print there will always be 1
Short Answer and 1 Extended Response from the History Standard and 2
Short Answer Questions from SS Skills and Method Standard. This means
that there will be 1 Short Answer Item and 1 Extended Response Item pulled
from the other 5 Standard areas.
OAT Answer Space / Box
Write your response to question ___ in the space below.
Performance Verbs (Skill Identifiers)
Analyze
To examine parts and see how they fit together
Compare
To look at similarities and differences
Construct
To make or create
Describe
To show what something is like
Evaluate
Make a decision or judgment
Explain
To make clear by giving reasons
Formulate
To develop an idea based on information
Identify
To name or list
Infer
To draw a conclusion beyond what is stated
Interpret
To explain the meaning of
Predict
To tell what will happen next
Summarize
To briefly state the main points
Support
To give facts or examples
Trace
To describe a path or sequence
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
1. Analyze and Plan
2. Write Your Answer
3. Review and Revise
From Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Based on the “Box Strategy” Discussed in Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social
Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Example Item for Introducing the Graphic Organizer
3. You have been chosen to lead a discussion with a small
group of classmates.
In your Answer Document, describe two strategies or
techniques you would use to lead the group discussion in a
constructive way. (2 points)
From Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Example with Highlights
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
First strategy to # 1 - Set Goals and Rules for the
constructively
group to achieve and follow.
lead a group
discussion
Second
strategy to
constructively
lead a group
discussion
#2 – Keep the discussion
focused on the topic by
reminding group members of the
group’s goals and by enforcing
the rules.
Based on the “Box Strategy” Discussed in Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies
Achievement Test by Mark Jarrett
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Responding to Short-Answer or
Extended Response Questions
Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade
4. Before Europeans settled in Ohio, forests covered most of the area. Today,
much of that forest is gone.
In your Answer Document, identify two ways that settlers or later Ohioans
used the forests.
Then choose one of the ways and explain a positive consequence and a
negative consequence of using the forest that way.
(4 points)
Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade
8. Flagstone Middle School pays for new band instruments with profits from its
vending machines. The biggest seller is Monster Cola. But a recent study
reports that drinks with caffeine, such as Monster Cola, may cause
children’s sleep problems. Flagstone’s principal wants to remove Monster
Cola and other caffeinated drinks from the school’s vending machines.
In your Answer Document, identify one possible disadvantage of the
principal’s decision and explain why it is a disadvantage. (2 points)
Sample OAT Questions – 5th Grade
13. In your Answer Document, construct a time line that has evenly spaced
intervals of time and label them. (2 points)
Place these events on the time line in the correct order:
• 1803 – Ohio becomes the 17th state
• 1763 – Treaty of Paris is signed
• 1787 – Northwest Territory is formed
• 1795 – Treaty of Greenville is signed
* Constructing a timeline in may be difficult for some students to fit within the provided Answer Box.
Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade
6. The Framers began writing the Constitution of the United States in May
1787, but it was not ratified by all thirteen states until May 1790. One of the
issues debated during the Constitutional Convention was the congressional
representation of enslaved Africans.
In your Answer Document, explain the positions of both Northern delegates
and Southern delegates on the issue of congressional respresentation of
enslaved Africans. (4 points).
*87% of Ohio 8th Grade Students received a score of 0 on this particular item.
Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade
11. Between 1519 and 1605, the American Indian population in Central Mexico
decreased from approximately 25 million to 1 million people.
In your Answer Document, identify and describe one reason why this
population decline was so extreme. (2 points)
Sample OAT Questions – 8th Grade
21. The British Parliament’s decision to tax the American colonists caused
conflict between the colonies and Britain. Read the following quotations from a
British newspaper and a Massachusetts colonist.
“The Colonies were acquired with no other view than to be a convenience to
us, and therefore it can never be imagined that we are to consult their interest.”
—The London Chronicle, 1764
“If our trade be taxed, why not our lands, or produce ... in short, everything we
possess? They tax us without having legal representation.”
—Samuel Adams, 1765
In your Answer Document, compare how these two authors differ in their
opinions about taxing the colonies. (2 points)
Sources
•Mastering Ohio’s Grade 5 Social Studies Achievement Test – Jarrett Publishing
•Mastering Ohio’s Grade 8 Social Studies Achievement Test – Jarrett Publishing
•ODE IMS Website
•ODE Practice Tests – Fall 2006
•ODE Released OAT Tests – May 2007
•Ides of ODE