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5-8 Grade Level Illinois Alternative Assessment Program Scoring Rubric ITEM: Calories Around the World This item asks the student to interpret a bar graph showing the percentage of calories in diets from plant and animal protein foods in different world regions, to list those regions where people receive less than 20% of their calories from animal protein, and to explain why in a written essay. Students must use graph reading skills and their understanding of different world cultures to respond to the question. Level Four Performance The Level Four response is characterized by an accurate interpretation of the graph, the listing of all world regions with under 20% caloric intake from animal protein, and an explanation that is consistent with a well developed knowledge of the physical and human geography of the regions. For example, students would mention that religious customs, population pressures, poverty, and the fact that, on a given area of land, higher populations can be supported by plant foods than by animal foods as major reasons for the lack of animal protein in the diets of people in the areas identified. The response addresses the information called for in the item and uses complete sentences in a well organized paragraph. Level Three Performance The Level Three response is characterized by an accurate interpretation of the graph, the listing of all world regions with under 20% caloric intake from animal protein, and an explanation that is partially correct. The student may know that plant foods are more important than animal foods in the regions, but is unable to provide a complete explanation. Often the response contains mis-perceptions of the physical and human geography of the regions or broad generalizations that oversimplify, e.g., "...their countries all have very warm climates..." or "...the people are all vegetarians...” Usually, the response contains two accurate reasons. The response uses complete sentences, but lacks organization of thought and may not conform to the prescribed order in the question. Level Two Performance The Level Two response is characterized by an accurate interpretation of the graph and the listing of all world regions with under 20% caloric intake from animal protein, but the explanation provided indicates little or no understanding of the phenomena. Some responses reveal that students are guessing. e.g., "...there are probably no animals in the areas." or "...most of their animals could have diseases or rabies, so they don't use their animal protein." Others show a lack of knowledge of the physical and human geography of the regions, e.g., "Most of the people who are 3rd world are starving and do not eat much meat.", "They have a very hot and dry climate and not many animals like that climate." Organization of the response is lacking. Students use listing and incomplete sentences in the response. Level One Performance The Level One response is characterized by an inaccurate interpretation of the graph, or an incomplete listing of the world regions with under 20% caloric intake from animal protein. Often no explanation is offered for the phenomena. When one is attempted, it does not address the question, is usually irrelevant to the topic, or demonstrates no understanding of the physical and human geography of the world regions portrayed, e.g., "In Asia and Africa, they hunt more and eat more animals as opposed to plants." Organization of the response is poor and incomplete.