American Government
The American Government course focuses on how the American people govern themselves at national, state and local levels of government. Students learn about becoming active and involved citizens.
Ohio's Learning Standards for Government
The American Government standards describe what students should understand and be able to do. Standards do not dictate curriculum or teaching methods. There are twenty-one content statements (standards) for the course. These are organized under eight topics. The content statements are the essential knowledge and skills that are to be learned for this course.
Model Curriculum
The Model Curriculum incorporates the academic content statements (standards), provides curricular and instructional guidance, and informs assessment that will be completed at the local and statewide levels. It also provides instructional strategies and resources.
Practice Test
Students may log into Ohio's State Test Portal to access the American Government practice test. The half length practice test allows students to become familiar with the online test format by showcasing the different item types, features, and functionality available to students during online testing.
Paper versions of the American Government practice test can be accessed on Ohio's State Test Portal page.
Released Test Item Scoring Guides
These documents provide the answer keys and scoring guides for the Spring 2021 American Government test. They include the item type, the content standard and content statement assessed, an answer key (for some item types) and the number of points associated with each item. They also include the guidelines for scoring (i.e., scoring rubrics), sample responses and notes on scoring and rationales that describe why response options are correct or incorrect. Released Test Item Scoring Guides of the American Government test can be accessed on Ohio's State Test Portal page.
Blueprint
The blueprint for the American Government test can be accessed on Ohio's State Test Portal page. It identifies the range and distribution of items and points, grouped into various categories. The specifications also provide specific guidelines for the development of all items used for the American Government test. This document is intended to be a resource not only for item writers and test designers, but for Ohio educators and other stakeholders who are interested in a deeper understanding of the test. The American Government blueprint organizes the content statements into three clusters with a reporting category point range for each cluster.
Performance Level Descriptors for American Government
The Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) are the link between Ohio’s Learning Standards and performance standards. They can be found on the Ohio's State Test Portal page. They were developed by Ohio educators and other content experts to recommend the most appropriate implementation of content and skills for Ohio’s State Tests for Science and Social Studies as part of the Standard Setting process. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Ohio Department of Education assembled panels of Ohio stakeholders to review actual test questions to define what students should know or be able to do at each performance level. The feedback from the Ohio stakeholders during the standard setting process was compiled and analyzed to determine the cut scores to rank student performance. The Ohio stakeholder recommendations for cut scores were shared with the State Board of Education and approved at the September 2015 board meeting.
Instructional Resources
Last Modified: 9/19/2024 7:34:49 AM