Ohio Graduation Test for Social Studies – March 2008 Annotated ...

Ohio Graduation Test for Social Studies – March 2008Annotated Item 19Standard and Benchmark Assessed:Standard: Social Studies Skills and MethodsBenchmark: A. Evaluate the reliability and credibility of sources.Multiple Choice Question:Commentary:This multiple-choice question asks students to explain why one source would be more crediblethan another source for learning about living conditions in particular town during World War II.The answer is D. One criterion for determining credibility is the qualifications of the writers.Letters from people who lived in the town during the time in question would be more likely toreflect firsthand knowledge of developments in that town than a general description found in ahistory book written more than 60 years after the war. Response A is incorrect. Evidence ofbias is another criterion for determining credibility. But there is nothing to indicate that either ofthe sources mentioned would be any less biased than the other. Response B is incorrect. Thedegree to which a source is easy to understand is not a criterion for determining if a source iscredible. Response C is incorrect. This response also speaks to the qualifications of thewriters. However, all of the letter writers, representing an array of town residents experiencingone aspect of a much larger event, are not likely to be experts on the history of the entire warthrough which they lived.Performance Data:The percent of public school students selecting answer choice D for question 19 on the March2008 Ohio Graduation Test was 91%.Source: Ohio Department of Education July 08

Ohio Graduation Test for Social Studies – March 2008Annotated Item 19Keywords: Credibility, qualifications of the writerSource: Ohio Department of Education July 08