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9-12 Grade Level Illinois Alternative Assessment Program Scoring Rubric ITEM: A View From Above This item asks the student to study and analyze a satellite image of a major urban area of the United States (Boston), to name and describe three major regions on the image, and to list specific features that distinguish it as a region. In addition to good observation and interpretation skills, students are expected to use their knowledge of the structure and organization of large urban areas of the United States and their understanding of the concept of region to complete the task. Level Four Performance The Level Four response is characterized by accurate identification of the different features shown on the satellite image, e.g., harbor, transportation, commercial, and residential areas. Students use the alpha-numeric designators on the map to correctly reference the location of different regions and they point out most of the specific features that identify an area of the image as a region, e.g., for the residential region in A2, students point out street patterns, the small, closely-spaced low rise buildings, and the public park areas. Names given to regions reflect their predominant features and functions, e.g., the mostly commercial/business region in A1. Responses are organized according to the designated order specified in the question, e.g., for each of three regions a name and location is provided, followed by a listing of the specific features. Level Three Performance At this level, students identify and locate regions on the image, and provide names for them, but the names may not be appropriate, e.g., using SW as a regional label for the residential region in A2. The responses suffer somewhat from lack of detail. For example, the student identifies the airport area in B1 as a transportation region, but ignores other forms of transportation as features of that area. Also, names given to regions may not reflect adequately their features and functions, e.g., reference to the area in both A1 and A2 as the "land and town" region. Generally, students use the alphanumeric designators on the map to reference specific regions. As in Level Four, responses are generally organized according to the designated order specified in the question. Level Two Performance At this level, students locate and label regions, but the names used for some are inappropriate or inaccurate, e.g., reference to an "agricultural region" in B1 with "few roads or development" and "mostly open land." Frequently, responses are brief and provide minimal identification of features unique to a region. Often students refer to a whole quadrant of the image as a region, ignoring the fact that several regions exist within it, e.g., "1A appears to be an industrial region." Sometimes, students cite features in a quadrant, but do not name the region, e.g., "A2 is clustered with small buildings." Some students fail to use the alphanumeric designators on the map to reference regions they identify. Organization of responses does not always follow the prescribed order in the question. Level One Performance Student responses at this level are characterized by inaccurate, inappropriate, and/or insufficient information. Students often misinterpret the image. For example, students may identify the water area as wilderness. In many cases students ignore the instructions in the question, e.g., "the city might be Chicago" and "the bodies of water could be Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan." Frequently, only brief responses in list form are provided, e.g., "water, shipping, airport, long strips." And often little use is made of the alphanumeric designators to reference specific areas of the image. Organization of the response seldom follows the directions in the question.