Please note that many tasks were constructed prior to Common Core and the task alignments to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were not identified in the task materials. To search for the performance tasks explicitly aligned to the CCSS, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), or College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, please go to CCSS, NGSS, and C3 tabs.
| Source | Task |
|---|---|
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Seventh Grade Standards 5 and 8 The Seventh Grade Standards 5 and 8 includes two tasks and use King George III. In Task 1, students will write an explanatory essay in which they analyze how the author has structured a specific passage and the effect of that structure on the reader. In Task 2, students will explaining the meaning of a phrase in context of the reading and explain how it connects to the central ideas of the passage. This assessment includes a rubric. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Seville Quran This task assesses students' knowledge of the time period of Muslim presence in Europe (1200’s)—but rather than measure rote recall of decontextualized facts, this assessment requires students to make connections across time and construct an argument about how events are connected. Students with a strong understanding of the past will explain that the fact the featured source—the Quran—was made in Seville, points to the Islamic presence in the city in 1226. As an Islamic city in Iberia, it was the target of the Reconquista, which was raging at the time this Quran was completed. A strong response to the second question in this task might explain that in the 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate expanded to Seville and beyond, establishing Islam as the dominant religion in Seville for centuries to come. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment with source materials, as well as the Rubric containing benchmark descriptors. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Sixth Grade Common Core Assessment The Sixth Grade Common Core Assessment includes three tasks. In Task 1, students will watch a short video clip twice and fill out the outline in their booklet. They will then read an article and gather information for their essay. In Task 2, students will read another article and gather information for their essay. In Task 3, students will write an essay, using the information they gathered in Tasks 1 and 2, to write a convincing argument. This task includes a rubric and an alternate text with a task. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Slave Quarters This task reveals students' ability to source a document, in order to see both its values and limitations. Students will be able to explain how a photograph of former slave quarters provides some evidence of the living conditions of slaves. They will also observe how the fact that the photograph was taken decades after the abolition of slavery limits its usefulness as evidence of antebellum living conditions. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, many available for download with the creation of a free account:
|
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Standard Oil Company This task assesses students' ability to evaluate the relevance of contextual information for determining the motivations of an author. Students must select two facts from a cartoon made by Udo Keppler in 1904, and explain how they shed light on his depiction of Standard Oil. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the company's growing control over the oil industry, and Tarbell's muckraking reports on Standard Oil, may have influenced Keppler's depiction. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
Tennis Court Oath This task assesses students' knowledge of the past—but rather than measure rote recall of decontextualized facts, this assessment requires students to make connections across time and construct an argument about how events are connected. Students with a strong sense of the past will explain that the representatives depicted signed the Tennis Court Oath, which rejected the doctrine of divine right and pronounced that political power came from the people and their representatives. A strong response to the second question may explain that the huge cost of the Seven Years’ War contributed to a financial crisis in France. This resulted in higher taxes and anger among the public, creating popular discontent. The Tennis Court Oath was a product of this discontent. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment with source materials, as well as the Rubric containing benchmark descriptors. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
The Case of the Clock This task assesses students' ability to evaluate the relevance of contextual information for determining the motivations of an author. Students must select one fact, and explain how it sheds light on why Edward Curtis altered a photograph of Native Americans before publishing it. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the popular belief that Indians did not understand modern technology might have influenced Curtis's decision to alter the photograph. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
The First Thanksgiving This task measures students’ ability to source a document. When historians interpret a document, they look at who wrote it and when. Source information presents clues about whether the document provides reliable evidence about the past. This task gauges whether students understand an important aspect of sourcing: the time elapsed between when a document (in this case, a painting) was produced, and the event it depicts. To accomplish this, students must agree or disagree with a claim about the usefulness of the source, and explain their thinking. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, many available for download with the creation of a free account:
|
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
The KKK in the 1870's This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how an 1872 editorial describing the organization of the Ku Klux Klan, and a testimony given before Congress describing Klan intimidation, both support the conclusion that Americans were concerned about the KKK during the 1870's. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
|
Source Subject Grade Level |
The Role of Women This task assesses students’ ability to reason how evidence supports a historical argument. Students must explain how a conservative political cartoon about women's societal roles, and feminist writing by radical feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both support the conclusion that many Americans opposed the shift of women's roles from the private sphere to the public. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. Also included are links to the original primary sources through the Library of Congress. |
If you would like to recommend additional open-sourced performance task banks to be included in the database, or if you would like to report a broken link, please email Pai-rou Chen.
© Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305