Score for Sample Student Response #1: Rubric Score 0

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response is irrelevant to the question.

Score for Sample Student Response #2: Rubric Score 0

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response is completely incorrect.

Score for Sample Student Response #3: Rubric Score 1

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a minimal understanding of the text. The student uses minimal information to explain why the solution is mysterious, “…you never know what they might turn out to be…liquidy or solid.”

Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader responds that thixotropic solutions can be "mysterious because you never know what they might turn out to be." The reader continues that the solution "could be liquidy or solid." To improve this response, the reader should provide text support by giving examples of these types of solutions and indicating that just looking at a thixotropic solution is not a good indication of what it might become.

Score for Sample Student Response #4: Rubric Score 1

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a minimal understanding of the text. The student uses minimal information to explain why the solution is mysterious, “…it does not know wich one it wants to be solid or liquid…appear in strang places like our body.”

Score for Sample Student Response #5: Rubric Score 2

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a general understanding of the text. The student uses text-relevant information to explain why the solution is still mysterious. “Why can’t they make up there minds…solid or liquid…Why is ketchup so hard to pour out of the bottle?”

Score for Sample Student Response #6: Rubric Score 2

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a general understanding of the text. The student agrees that the solution is mysterious,”…because they can be a solid or a liquid.” The student uses text-relevant information to explain how this is possible, “…form a long chain to be a solid…break apart and become a liquid.”

Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader answers that "mysterious" is a good adjective because a thixotropic solution "can be a solid or a liquid" and continues with a description of how a solid can become a liquid. The reader concludes with two examples of thixotropic solutions. To improve this response, the reader might clarify that thixotropic solutions can change their states in different ways: shaking, stirring, or sudden jarring.

Score for Sample Student Response #7: Rubric Score 3

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student states that thixotropic solutions are mysterious. The student effectively uses text-relevant information to clarify why they are mysterious, “…like a solid (like yogurt when it has been sitting out) or like a liquid (like when yogurt has been stirred).” The student extends this understanding by adding that, “This is very mysterious because usually objects would just be a liquid or a solid, not in between the two.”

Score for Sample Student Response #8: Rubric Score 3

Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student states that the article does not give, “…information that supports that Thixotropic solutions are mysterious.” The student effectively uses text-relevant information to clearly explain the information in the article, “…Molecules…tend to form in long chains…stirred or shaken, the chains break apart…answers our questions…aren’t mysterious.

Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader responds in the negative that thixotropic solutions are not a mystery because we know how they change their states. Since our questions are answered, there is no mystery. To improve this response, the reader might support his assertion by referencing the last paragraph of the text: "Now you know all about the mysterious, helpful, and sometimes frustrating behavior of thixotropic solutions…" The reader could conclude that since the text states that a reader "know(s) all about" this solution, there can be no confusion. A reader who is a real wordsmith might look at the way the word "mysterious" is used in the last paragraph and determine that mysterious means strange or peculiar but not unsolvable.

Score 3

The response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text.

• Addresses the demands of the question
• Effectively uses text-relevant¹ information to clarify or extend understanding

Score 2

The response demonstrates a general understanding of the text.

• Partially addresses the demands of the question
• Uses text-relevant¹ information to show understanding

Score 1

The response demonstrates a minimal understanding of the text.

• Minimally addresses the demands of the question
• Uses minimal information to show some understanding of the text in relation to the question

Score 0

The response is completely incorrect, irrelevant to the question, or missing.²

Note 1:

Text-relevant: This information may or may not be an exact copy (quote) of the text but is clearly related to the text and often shows an analysis and/or interpretation of important ideas. Students may incorporate information to show connections to relevant prior experience as appropriate.

Note 2:

An exact copy (quote) or paraphrase of the question that provides no new relevant information will receive a score of "0".

Rubric Document Date: June 2003