Florida US History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications

Guidelines for Item Writers
U.S. History item writers must have a comprehensive knowledge of the assessed history
curriculum and a strong understanding of historical concepts. Item writers should know and
consistently apply the guidelines established in the Specifications as well as contribute to the goal
of developing test content that allows students to perform at their best. Item writers are also
expected to use their best judgment in writing items that measure the history benchmarks of the
NGSSS without introducing extraneous elements that reflect bias for or against a group of
students.
Item writers for the U.S. History EOC Assessment must submit items in a particular format and
must include the following information about each item. Because items are rated by
committees of Florida educators following submission to the DOE, familiarity with the
directions for rating items (found in Appendix A) would prove useful to all item writers.
Format
Sources
Correct
Response
Submission
of Items
Item writers must submit test items in the agreed-upon template. All
appropriate sections of the template should be completed before the items
are submitted.
Item writers are expected to provide sources for all verifiable information
included in the test item. Acceptable sources include scholarly historical
studies and/or Internet sites maintained by reputable organizations such as
government agencies, universities, or research centers.
Item writers must supply the correct response. Each distractor should be a
believable answer for someone who does not know the correct answer.
Rationales must include explanations for these errors.
When submitting items, item writers must balance several factors. Item
submissions should:
• include items of varying difficulty;
• include items of varying cognitive complexity;
• include items from varying content focus;
• include the content source(s) for the item;
• have a balance in location of the correct answer within benchmarks; and
• be historically accurate.
6 | U.S. History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications Florida Department of Education