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.
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Countries of the World (Y8) The Countries of the World (Y8) task allows students to demonstrate their knowledge of significant features of different countries. Students will complete this task working in teams. The resources required for this task are seven green labels,forty picture cards, and a recording sheet. This task is a part of the Place and Environment task series from 2001. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Creating Columbus Day 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 President Harrison declared Columbus Day a national holiday in 1892. Students with a strong understanding of contextualization will be able to explain how the fact that Catholic voters comprised an important voting block in the pending election might have affected Harrison's decision to honor an Italian Catholic explorer. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Daffodils and Tulips In this task, students around the world will plant either tulips of daffodils, record data, and compare when they bloom. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Debate Over the League of Nations This task measures students’ ability to source and contextualize a document. Students read a 1919 opinion column from The Evening Missourian. Students must then select the two facts that help them determine whether the opinions expressed in the column were typical or atypical of American attitudes about joining the League of Nations at the time. Resources available for this task include downloadable PDF versions of both the assessment as well as the Rubric with benchmark descriptors. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Declaration of Independence This task measures students’ ability to source a document. When historians interpret a document, they first look to find out who wrote it and when. This assessment gauges whether students understand an important aspect of sourcing: the time elapsed between when a document was produced and the event that it depicts- and how this might affect its reliability. Students are asked to agree or disagree with a claim regarding the usefulness of a painting for historians who wish to understand the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Students who understand the importance of when a document was produced will see that this painting is of minimal use for that purpose because it was produced over 50 years after the event. The task includes a range of supplementary materials, all accessible and available for download with the creation of a free account through the site:
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Dig Deep (G7) In this task students will select and explore a historical question from multiple perspectives and then take and support a position on this question using primary sources as their evidence. They will then write a paper or make a presentation. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Do You Speak Climate Change? In this task, students will research how climate change has effected Spanish-speaking countries. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Do You Speak Climate Change? In this task, students will research how climate change has effected Spanish-speaking countries. This task includes: |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Drinking Fountain The Drinking Fountain task allows students to demonstrate their ability to suggest solutions to address a problem. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. There are no resources required for this task. This task is a part of the Interaction and Change task series from 1997 by NEMP. |
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Source Subject Grade Level |
Early New Zealanders The Early New Zealanders task allows students to demonstrate their understanding of migration to settle in New Zealand. Students will complete this task working one on one with a teacher-administrator. The resources required for this task are two pictures. This task is a part of the Time, Continuity, and Change task series from 2005. This task is classified as a trend task by NEMP. Trend tasks are used to examine trends in student performance: whether they have improved, stayed constant or declined over the four-year period since the previous assessments. |
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.
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