3 Mistakes Almost All Students Make on Short Answer Questions
If you’re a New York parent with children from 3rd to 8th grade, your children will take the state test in April. One of the biggest roadblocks that students face is how to respond to short answer questions. Make sure that your child doesn’t make these common mistakes.
1. Not reading the question
This careless error is very common - many students are tempted to rush through questions without taking their time to carefully read each word.
Ex. Why was Sarah angry at Molly?
Sarah seems like she should go to a special doctor because she is so angry. The text says, “Sarah threw the doll at Molly,” and this shows that she was frustrated.
While this answer seems to have a good setup because it gives a quote and explains what that piece of text means, it doesn’t answer why Sarah was angry at Molly and would get little to no credit. It is important to read through every word, especially on a test with unlimited time, where mistakes will prompt graders to take off more points than usual.
2. Including unrelated quotes
Ex. What was the turning point of Dizzy Gillespie’s musical career?
The turning point of Dizzy’s career was when he moved to Philadelphia and played in a band there. For instance, the author says, “Dizzy learned to play the piano at four years old.” This was a turning point. He also says, “Dizzy was famous for playing tricks when he was on stage.” This was also a turning point.
The response starts off fine by giving the correct answer – however, the quotes that the student gives have nothing to do with their answer, preventing the writing from getting a full score.
3. Not explaining quotes
Ex. What does the fox eventually decide to do with the grapes?
The fox decides not to eat the grapes. For example, the author writes “They were probably sour anyway” and “They might give me a stomachache.”
While this example shows that the student answered the question and gave good evidence, in order to get full credit the student also needs to explain how the quotes they chose relate to their answer.
Make sure that your child is familiar with the RACE method of responding to short answer questions (Restate the question, Answer the question, Cite evidence from the text, Explain your evidence) and learns to identify and avoid these mistakes on the day of the test.
1. Not reading the question
This careless error is very common - many students are tempted to rush through questions without taking their time to carefully read each word.
Ex. Why was Sarah angry at Molly?
Sarah seems like she should go to a special doctor because she is so angry. The text says, “Sarah threw the doll at Molly,” and this shows that she was frustrated.
While this answer seems to have a good setup because it gives a quote and explains what that piece of text means, it doesn’t answer why Sarah was angry at Molly and would get little to no credit. It is important to read through every word, especially on a test with unlimited time, where mistakes will prompt graders to take off more points than usual.
2. Including unrelated quotes
Ex. What was the turning point of Dizzy Gillespie’s musical career?
The turning point of Dizzy’s career was when he moved to Philadelphia and played in a band there. For instance, the author says, “Dizzy learned to play the piano at four years old.” This was a turning point. He also says, “Dizzy was famous for playing tricks when he was on stage.” This was also a turning point.
The response starts off fine by giving the correct answer – however, the quotes that the student gives have nothing to do with their answer, preventing the writing from getting a full score.
3. Not explaining quotes
Ex. What does the fox eventually decide to do with the grapes?
The fox decides not to eat the grapes. For example, the author writes “They were probably sour anyway” and “They might give me a stomachache.”
While this example shows that the student answered the question and gave good evidence, in order to get full credit the student also needs to explain how the quotes they chose relate to their answer.
Make sure that your child is familiar with the RACE method of responding to short answer questions (Restate the question, Answer the question, Cite evidence from the text, Explain your evidence) and learns to identify and avoid these mistakes on the day of the test.
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IS YOUR CHILD READY FOR THE COMMON CORE TEST?
“The Common Core Standards raise the bar for educators and students, and in today’s competitive and increasingly global economy, anything less would be a disservice to our youth.”
Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNY Chancellor
•The Common Core Standards are the first learning standards to be back-mapped from the skills and knowledge students need to succeed in college and careers, grade-by-grade all the way back to kindergarten.
•The Common Core Standards are benchmarked to international standards and informed by the best evidence and research.
EngageNY.org
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