Test Information Guide

Field 48: Political Science/Political Philosophy
Sample Open-Response Item

The following materials contain:

Sample Test Directions for Open-Response Items

This section of the test consists of two open-response item assignments. You will be asked to prepare a written response of approximately 150–300 words for each assignment. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response for each assignment. You must write responses to both of the assignments.

For each assignment, read the topic and directions carefully before you begin to work. Think about how you will organize your response.

As a whole, your response to each assignment must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge of the field. In your response to each assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the subject area by applying your knowledge rather than by merely reciting factual information.

Your response to each assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

The open-response item assignments are intended to assess subject knowledge. Your responses must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the evaluation criteria by scorers. Your responses should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of each response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your responses should 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 topics. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses.

Sample Open-Response Item

Objective 0018
Prepare an organized, developed essay on topics related to the purpose, history, and experiences of government in human societies and the development and evolution of Western political philosophy.

Read the statement below; then complete the exercise that follows.

There has been no shortage of third parties in U.S. political history. The Anti-Masons (1820s and 1830s), Free-Soilers (1840s and 1850s), Populists (late nineteenth century), Socialists (first half of the twentieth century), and many others have attracted varying degrees of support from voters disillusioned with the two major parties at one time or another. With the exception of the Republican party of the 1850s, however, none of these groups has risen to major party status.

Using your knowledge of U.S. government and history, prepare a response in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Open-Response Item

The sample response below reflects a strong knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

Third parties have developed in the United States when people felt that the major parties were not paying attention to ideas or issues that were important to them. These parties have involved people in politics who might have not otherwise voted. Although third parties have failed to elect presidents they have been able to elect members of Congress and control local politics. They also sometimes cause the dominant parties to adopt some of their ideas.

There are two ways that third parties have had a significant impact on our history. First, the Populist/
Progressive movement of the late 1800's and early twentieth century was able to bring about reform legislation that protected workers on the job and people generally. Such things as safety guidelines at work as well as improvement of pay/length of work week made life better for workers. Improvements in areas such as sanitation in the cities helped people generally. These reforms came about largely because they were advanced by third parties. The second way that third parties have affected U.S. History is by impacting the results of presidential elections. Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose party took votes from the Republicans in 1912 and the Green party took votes from the Democrats recently. If these parties had not existed it is likely that the results of these elections would have been different.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the open-response item(s).

Performance Characteristics
Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment.
Subject Matter Knowledge Accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge.
Support Quality and relevance of supporting details.
Rationale Soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter.

Scoring Scale

The scoring scale below, which is related to the performance characteristics for the tests, is used by scorers in assigning scores to responses to the open-response item(s).

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
  • There is 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 The "3" response reflects an adequate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
  • There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is adequate; there are some acceptable, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an adequately reasoned understanding of the topic.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • 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 The "1" response reflects a weak knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • 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 unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, primarily in a language other than English, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.