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K-4 Grade Level Illinois Alternative Assessment Program Scoring Rubric ITEM: Mr. Tyler's Farm This item presents the student with the situation of Mr. Tyler, a farmer who wants to sell his 150 acre farm located at the edge of a growing urban area, such as Springfield. Students are asked to identify four different people who want to buy the land and to discuss how each would use it. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of basic principles of urban growth in mid-sized urban centers in the United States to complete the task. Level Four Performance In the Level Four response, students often identify people who want to buy the land whose occupations depend on urban growth, e.g., real estate, construction, manufacturing. All four suggested uses of Mr. Tyler's farm are consistent with those most frequently found around growing urban centers of 80,000 to 100,000 people, e.g., manufacturing, housing subdivisions, golf courses, shopping centers. Reasons for wanting to purchase the land given by the student are consistent with the occupations of would-be purchasers, e.g., a school superintendent who wants to build a new school. Student suggestions also evidence an awareness of scale. For example, suggesting that a housing subdivision would be built on the 150 acres is more realistic than suggesting that a jewelry store or a theatre would occupy the land. In addition, the Level Four student shows a rudimentary understanding of the increased value of the land as a result of its closer proximity to the urban center, e.g., suggesting the building of a shopping center as opposed to a wildlife park for abused animals. All responses are well organized and related to a central idea. Level Three Performance The Level Three response provides three suggested uses for Mr. Tyler's land that are consistent with those most frequently associated with growing urban areas the size of Centerville. One suggestion is considerably less plausible than the others, e.g., an amusement park or a fast food restaurant. Reasons for wanting to purchase the land are given, but not all of them are consistent with the occupation of the purchaser or plausible given the particular urban growth context of Centerville, e.g., "She wants to raise cattle. She loves animals. Mrs. Brown is a veterinarian. She just lost her job and now she wants to live away from the city." Awareness of scale is revealed in three of the four responses and some understanding of the economic value of the land is evident. Not all responses are well organized around a central idea. Some may contain extraneous information. Level Two Performance The Level Two response provides two valid suggested uses for the land. The other two responses demonstrate little understanding of the urban growth principles associated with Centerville's expansion over the past twenty years, e.g., suggesting that a restaurant or a jewelry store be built on the land. Frequently no reasons are given for any of the suggested uses of Mr. Tyler's land making it difficult to determine student understanding of urban growth principles applicable to cities such as Centerville. Organization of the response is lacking. Often students only suggest uses for the land; consequently, there is no development of their ideas. Level One Performance The Level One response may suggest only one valid use for the land. Often, all four suggestions are for keeping the land for some type of farming activity, indicating very little or no understanding of urban growth principles. Sometimes, only two or three suggested uses are given. No reasons are provided for the suggested uses of the land. Organization of the response is absent or very poorly done.