During my time teaching AP US History in Brick and Mortar several years ago, my fellow teacher and I would co plan and create common assessments. Below is an example of an assessment we would have used:
Ch. 30 &
31 Quiz
DIRECTIONS:
Write the answer to each question below in the space provided. (100pts)
1. The factor
that played a key role in the economic downturn of 1974 and 1975?
A. the oil
crisis of 1973 -1974
B. the rapid
doubling of national debt
C. the Iran Hostage Crisis
D. Watergate
E. the
Vietnam War
2. All of the following are examples of
the economic problems of the United States in the early to mid 1970s except:
A. American steel dropped from 60 to
17% of the global annual production
B. the US standard of living dropped
to 5th in the world
C.
dependence on foreign oil grew to 1/3rd of total annual
consumption
D. silicon valley lost its production
edge to Japan
E. failure of Ford’s anti-inflation
policies
3. The MOST important factor in the 1976
presidential election was
A. how cute the presidential
nominees were
B. the ongoing economic crisis
C. the public’s mistrust of the
government
D.
the runaway growth of national debt
E. the government abuse of the
environment
4. The three mile island incident
led to
A. massive antinuclear protests
B. more stringent laws against
chemical dumping
C. creation of the atomic energy
commission
D.
the halting of the building of nuclear power plants
E. increased nuclear testing in the
United States
5. President Carter’s greatest foreign
policy achievement was
A. the Panama Canal Treaty
B. ending the Iran Hostage Crisis
C.
ending the oil crisis
D. the Camp David Accords
E. ending the Cold War
6. The one event that contributed
the MOST to the defeat of Carter in the 1980 presidential election was
A. The Love Canal Incident
B. The Three Mile Island incident
C. The Iran Hostage Crisis
D. The Failure of the Camp David
Accords
E. Carter’s support of the ERA
7.
Supply side economics (Reaganomics) favored
A.
increased government spending to stimulate the economy
B.
the proliferation of the rich
C.
high interest rates
D.
moderate tax cuts
E.
economic aid to the poor
8.
During the Reagan years, all of the following suffered severe economic
reductions EXCEPT
A.
urban aid
B.
education
C.
health care
D.
defense
E.
environment
9.
All of the following were supporters of the New Right Movement EXCEPT
A.
Billy Graham
B.
Phyllis Schlafly
C.
Jerry Falwell
D.
Jesse Helms
E.
Henry Kissinger
10. The major
drug problem in the 1980s
A. heroin
B. LSD
C. crack
cocaine
D. marijuana
E. mushrooms
11. George
H.W. Bush, supported all of the following EXCEPT
A. The Americans with Disabilities Act
B. Tripling the budget for the war on
drugs
C. The invasion of Panama to capture
General Noriega
D. The family leave bill
E. The funding of new prisons
12. The
United States’ response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was to
A. Organize immediately an alliance to
force Iraq out.
B. declare war on Iraq in January 1991
C. swiftly bomb the Iraqi’s out of Kuwait
D. recognize Iraq as a Bulwark against
Iran
E. demonize Saddam Hussein in November
justify an attack
13. The
Persian Gulf War
A. was fought almost exclusively by
traditional means
B. brought greater freedom to minorities
in Iraq
C. led to the capture of Saddam Hussein
D. produced extensive ecological damage
E. had surprisingly few civilian deaths
14. In the
1992 campaign, Clinton adopted all of the following positions EXCEPT
A. be tough on crime
B. reduce the bureaucracy
C. privatize Social Security
D. cut taxes for the middle class
E. reforming welfare
15. All of
the following are true of Silicon Valley EXCEPT
A. its early firms began by relying on
military contracts
B. it had no real competition anywhere
C. it benefited from having a cheap,
non-union labor pool
D. its growth exploded with the consumer
electronics revolution
E. it boosted the greatest concentration
of new wealth in the US
16. The boom
of the 1990s
A. left a higher percentage of people in
poverty than ever
B. allowed women to earn much more
compared to men
C. did little to close the gap between
the best and poorest paid
D. promoted real improvement in race relations
E. closed the gap between the best and
poorest paid citizens with the increase in minimum wage
17. Which
event happened last?
A. George W. Bush defeated Al Gore for
president
B. President Clinton is re-elected
C. Republicans announce “Contract with
America”
D. Impeachment trial of President Clinton
E. Terrorist attack New York City and the
Pentagon
18. All of
the following were elements of Reagan’s foreign policy EXCEPT
A. American
intervention in the third world
B. funding
national security programs
C. reduction
of nuclear weapons
D. cold war
patriotism
E. the Star
Wars Program
19. The
leader who initiated in reforms in the Soviet Union
A. Konstantin
Cheropov
B. Mikhail
Gorbachev
C. Yuri
Andropov
D. Leonid
Breschnev
E. Vladimir
Putin
20. All of
the following were involved in the Iran-Contra affair EXCEPT
A. John
Poindexter
B. William
Casey
C. Muamar
Qaddafi
D. Ronald
Reagan
E. Oliver
North
When creating an exam we need to establish the validity and of the exam. Validity is making sure the exam aligns to the standards. We need to make sure our exams are not swamped with level 1 and 2 questions, but a broad variety. Reliability is making sure that the test is fair no matter to which class it is issued to.
During my time as a virtual school teacher we did not create our assessments; this was up to the curriculum team. We did this because no matter which online teacher a student received they would be receiving the exact same course and same testing material. Many brick and mortar schools are going to this same approach. The standards are the same no matter the teacher, which means assessments should be equal among colleagues. Collaborating and teaming together allows for the standards to be assessed in similar fashions and ensure validity and reliability of the teaching.
