Carla McSwain

Module 6-1: Table of Specifications and Blueprint for Creating a Selected Response
Assessment

US History: 11th Grade: US History

Specific Content:

Prosperity and Depression (1919-1939) - The learner will appraise the economic, social, and
political changes of the decades of "The Twenties" and "The Thirties."

Objectives

9.01 Elaborate on the cycle of economic boom and bust in the 1920's and 1930's.

9.02 Analyze the extent of prosperity for different segments of society during this period.

9.03 Assess the impact of New Deal reforms in enlarging the role of the federal government in
American life.

Content Knowledge Comparative Evaluative Total

1920s 5 3 2 10
1930s 5 3 2 10
/Depression
Hoover 5 3 2 10
FDR / New Deal 5 3 2 10
Totals 20 12 8 40

Write down and describe the standard or benchmark you chose for this assessment.
Prosperity and Depression (1919-1939) - The learner will appraise the economic, social, and
political changes of the decades of "The Twenties" and "The Thirties."

9.01 Elaborate on the cycle of economic boom and bust in the 1920's and 1930's.

9.02 Analyze the extent of prosperity for different segments of society during this period.

9.03 Assess the impact of New Deal reforms in enlarging the role of the federal government in
American life.
 What Knowledge do students need to have to meet this standard. Write 5 to 8 proposition statements describing the
knowledge students will need to meet this standard. DO NOT write more than 8 proposition statements - stay
focused on the important knowledge and vocabulary students will need to meet this standard.

1. The 1920s had the following trends: Economic: Extreme consumerism and seemingly unlimited buying on
credit, misleading prosperity. Social: Social changes for African Americans (migration to North, Harlem
Renaissance), Bold attitudes of women (resulting from voting, working during WWI, etc) Political:
Republican Laisse-faire policies, unregulated stock market and isolationism in foreign affairs

2. The causes of the Great Depression of the 1930s were rooted in behaviors from the 1920s: (greed,
consumerism, buying on credit, over speculation of stock market, overproduction, high tariff policy,
worldwide postwar depression, agriculture slump).

3. Suffering during the Great Depression of the 1930s was widespread, evidenced by farm prices and
foreclosures, unemployment, homelessness (Hoovervilles), and starvation.

4. Hoover’s policy of rugged individualism proved to be too little and too late in dealing with the problems of
the Depression.

5. FDR and the New Deal brought an abundance of experimental programs to address the problems of the
Depression: (Social Security, FDIC, TVA, etc., many of which still survive today)

What is the Big Idea, important concept, principal or set of procedures that students need to understand to meet this
standard? Each standard should be focused on no more than one or two big ideas. Most standards are focused on
just one big idea, concept, theory or principle. Write a proposition statement (or several proposition statements if
you need them) describing the big idea students need to UNDERSTAND.

1. Much of the behavior and trends of the 1920s led to the causes and suffering of the Great Depression.
2. Hoover’s relatively limited attempts to curb the worsening economic state of the country seem too little and
too late compared to FDR’s massive and experimental New Deal programs.
3. Though the New Deal did not end the Great Depression, pride was restored in the country, and a legacy of
government intervention was begun.

What reasoning skills are required by this standard. Read the standard carefully and include in your Blueprint the
specific forms of reasoning that are part of the standard. For example, if the standard requires that students Compare
and Contrast, you must use that type of reasoning in your Blueprint.

1. Compare and Contrast the economic, political, and social characteristics of the 1920s with the 1930s.
2. Compare and Contrast the policies of Herbert Hoover and FDR in dealing with the problems of the
Depression
3. Evaluate the cause and effect relationship between the 1920s and 1930s.
 4. Evaluate the New Deal Policies, which programs were more important than others, what are your
criteria for determining the importance of the programs, defend your position.

What other forms of reasoning are required to meet the standard. Your blueprint needs to include 2 forms of
reasoning. Read the standard carefully, identify one other form of reasoning students would have to use to meet the
standard and include this type of reasoning in your blueprint. Then, describe why you chose the type of reasoning
you did - what was it about the standard that made you feel the type of reasoning you chose was important.

Two types of reasoning used in this testing specifications blueprint are comparative reasoning and evaluative. The
decades of the 1920s and 1930s are compared using all range of categories such as economic, social, and political
characteristics. The programs, leadership styles, and effectiveness of Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt are
compared. The causes of the Great Depression as they pertain to the effects of the 1920s behavior and other
conditions are evaluated by students. Finally, the students will evaluate the legacy of the New Deal in terms of the
most important programs and determine criteria for their evaluations and defend them.

Your reflection should explain why you assigned the number of test items you did to each content area on the
blueprint, and to each type of reasoning.

An equitable number of knowledge and reasoning questions were determined necessary for this blueprint to allow
for a broad range of achievement targets. Students must master a good bit of knowledge concerning the 1920s and
1930s in order to make the comparisons and evaluations required. Fewer numbers of comparative reasoning
questions were included because student reasoning will be assessed also in the evaluative portion. Also due to time
constraints of a single block, reasoning questions might require more time and fewer were included. Finally, only a
few evaluative questions were created because these questions will assess only prerequisite knowledge and the
defense of the evaluation will come in the form of an essay assessment.

Finally, please explain your reasons for choosing the total number of test items that you did. As you do this, you
should include a description of your students and any other information you feel is important about the students
you teach. The time you have to give a quiz or test and the students you teach are important factors in choosing the
number of questions in a test.

A total number of 40 questions was considered a reasonable amount for the selected response assessment format
because there would be time remaining in a single 90 minute class block to adequately complete an essay portion of
the evaluative reasoning assessment. These are eleventh grade US history students, perhaps even honors level who
are expected to demonstrate essay writing skills and evaluative reasoning. In the case of exceptional students with
identified learning disabilities, this assessment with modifications also should be reasonable for a single class block.

COURSE GOAL ALIGNMENT:

ASSESSMENTS ARISE FROM AND REFLECT CLEAR LEARNING TARGETS

ACCURATE ASSESSMENT USES APPROPRIATE METHODS GIVEN THE CONTEXT

AND SAMPLE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT APPROPRIATELY.