Student Work Calibration Protocol
Purpose: To calibrate the scoring of student work on the BM Free Response questions and to consider the
instructional implications of the prompt or task, student work, and rubric.
Procedure:
1) Select a facilitator for the group.
2) Read over the full procedure. When everyone has finished reading the procedure, the facilitator
should check for understanding.
3) Examination: Group members silently examine the prompt (including any associated texts or
graphics), rubric, and anchor paper. Jot down any questions or comments.
4) Discuss: The facilitator will ask the following questions and guide the team to develop a
consensus about what constitutes a proficient student response.
 What did this question ask students to do?
 What is considered proficient performance on this assignment? Exactly what did
students need to say or write for to consider their work proficient?
5) Read and Score: Using the rubric, group members independently and silently read and score the
Student Work Sample #1. Scorers should make notes to explain and justify their scores. The
scoring rubric and evidence in the student work should always be the basis for the score, rather
than the relative strength or weakness of a piece.
6) Score Sharing: One at a time, team members share their score for each of the rubric categories –
without explanation. One person should record all of the scores.
7) Discussion:
a. The facilitator invites the group to consider where the differences in the scores occurred
and why people scored differently for each rubric area – particularly the highest and
lowest scores. Consider the following:
 What did the student demonstrate that they knew?
 What misconceptions or wrong information did the student have?
 What did the student not demonstrate?
b. Group members explain and justify scores by pointing to specific language in the rubric
and evidence in the student work.
c. Discuss the student work, resolving issues centered on either the meaning of the rubric
or the merit and validity of the evidence in the student work until consensus is reached.
d. Room Leader reveals the actual score for student work and teachers discuss.
8) Repeat Steps #5-7 with the remaining 2 Student Work Samples and the Remaining FreeResponse Questions for your BM.
9) Grading Own Student Work: Each teacher should grade his/her own student work using the
agreed upon rubric and expectation. Teachers may consult one another if they come up with
questions about new scenarios that arise. Enter the scores into the appropriate place in Engrade.
10) Debrief: Discuss the following questions after the calibration and have one group member post a
summary of the responses in the Haiku discussion.
 What are some trends that you noticed in your student work?
 What would be the next steps for preparing students for this kind of a task?
 What revisions should be made to the question and instructions that were provided
to the students?
 What are the implications for our instructional practice?
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BM1 Science Gr. 6 2014-15 Free Response Scoring
Question #3
“What did you do this summer?” Luis asked his friend Daisy.
“ I visited my grandparents in Bogotá, Colombia during July. It was great,” replied Daisy.
“Colombia in the summer - it must have been so hot! When I visited my family in Barranquilla last year,
we were soaked in sweat all day,” Luis remarked.
Daisy responded, “It wasn’t hot at all. We actually had to wear a jacket most of the time.”
“It must have been winter there,” added Luis. “I remember learning in my science class that the seasons
are the opposite above and below the equator.”
The students pull up the following maps on their iPads.
3) Can the cold weather in Bogotá in July be explained by the seasons? Explain your reasoning using
evidence from the maps above.
Rubric (Take the Average Score of Each Indicator for 3 Points Total)
1
2
3
Claim
Evidence
Reasoning
Does not make a claim or
makes an inaccurate claim.
States that the cold
weather in Bogota in July
CAN be explained by the
seasons.
Does not provide
evidence, or only provides
inappropriate evidence
(evidence that does not
support claim).
Makes an accurate but incomplete
claim.
States that the cold weather in Bogota
in July MAY POSSIBLY be explained by
the seasons.
Makes an accurate and complete
claim.
States that the cold weather in Bogota
in July CANNOT be explained by the
seasons.
Provides appropriate but insufficient
evidence to support claim. May include
some inappropriate evidence.
Cites specific evidence about how
Bogota is located slightly North of the
Equator OR that it is Summer in July.
Provides appropriate and sufficient
evidence to support claim.
Cites specific evidence about how
Bogota is located slightly North of the
Equator, which means it is Summer in
July.
Does not provide
reasoning or only provides
reasoning that does not
link evidence to claim.
Repeats evidence and links it to the
claim. May include some-but not
sufficient scientific principles.
Provides accurate and complete
reasoning that links evidence to claim.
Includes appropriate and sufficient
scientific principles.
Explains how since it is Summer in
Bogota in July, it does not explain the
cold weather since weather is typically
warmest in the Summer.
2
Anchor Paper
The cold weather in Bogota in July cannot be explained by the seasons. Bogota is
located slightly north of the equator. Because it is so close to the equator, you would
not expect to see major temperature shifts due to seasons and you would expect
warmer weather year-round since areas close to the equator receive a similar amount
of sunlight intensity all year. Also, since Bogota is north of the equator, you would
expect it to be summer in July since the summer in the Northern Hemisphere goes from
June to September. In summer, the climate is typically at its warmest, so the season
does not explain the cool weather.
Student Work #1
Student Work #2
Student Work #3
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Question #6
“Well that explains why it was so hot in Barranquilla when I visited during the Summer. I still wonder why
it was cold in Bogotá,” remarked Luis. “ Maybe they were just having strange and stormy weather. That
happens sometimes here in Los Angeles too.”
“I don’t think so,” replied Daisy. “My grandparents said that it was always a lot colder than Los Angeles.”
The students looked up the average annual weather information for Bogotá.
Figure 1: The average high (red) and low (blue) daily temperatures in Bogotá, Colombia.
6)
Based on this data, does the temperature in Bogotá change significantly during different
seasons? Propose an explanation to support your answer using evidence.
Rubric (Take the Average Score of Each Indicator for 3 Points Total)
1
2
3
Claim
Does not make a
claim or makes an
inaccurate claim.
Makes an accurate but incomplete claim.
Makes an accurate and complete claim.
States that the temperature in Bogota does
not change significantly during different
seasons which most likely occurs since
Bogota is close to the equator.
Evidence
Does not provide
evidence, or only
provides
inappropriate
evidence
(evidence that
does not support
claim).
Provides appropriate but insufficient
evidence to support claim. May include
some inappropriate evidence.
Cites specific temperature range values
for different months/seasons and states
that they are very similar OR states that
Bogota is close to the equator (based on
the maps).
Provides appropriate and sufficient evidence
to support claim.
Cites specific temperature range values for
different months/seasons and states that
they are very similar AND states that Bogota
is close to the equator (based on the maps).
Reasoning
Does not provide
reasoning or only
provides
reasoning that
does not link
evidence to claim.
Repeats evidence and links it to the claim.
May include some-but not sufficient
scientific principles.
Provides accurate and complete reasoning
that links evidence to claim. Includes
appropriate and sufficient scientific
principles.
Explains that locations close to the
equator do not see major shifts in climate
during the seasons b/c they receive
similar sun intensity all year long OR
discusses the location of Bogota and lack
of significant variability between seasons.
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Explains that locations close to the equator
do not see major shifts in climate during the
seasons b/c they receive similar sun intensity
all year long and links to the location of
Bogota and lack of significant variability
between seasons.
Anchor Paper
According to the graph, the temperature in Bogota does not change significantly
throughout the year. For example, in December (which is winter in Bogota) the average
high temperature is 66F and the low is 44F. In July (which is summer in Bogota) the
average high temperature is 64F and the low is 47F. These values are very similar. The
temperatures in Bogota probably do not change much throughout the year because
Bogota is located very close to the equator. Areas that are close to the equator receive a
very similar amount of solar radiation year round, which results in a fairly consistent
temperature pattern throughout the year.
Student Work #1
Student Work #2
Student Work #3
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Question #9
“Well it looks like Bogotá has a cool climate all year long even though it is located very close to the equator. I wonder how that is
possible,” Luis noted.
“I remember learning that there are other factors that affect a region’s climate besides how close it is to the equator and the
season,” Daisy added. “I remember some of the factors were how close an area is the to ocean, altitude, and ocean and air currents.
Maybe one of these factors is responsible for the cool climate in Bogotá.”
The students looked up the following resources:
Figure 2: Map of World Ocean Currents
Figure 3: Global Wind Patterns
City
Los Angeles, USA
Altitude/Elevation
(ft)
233
Barranquilla, Colombia
59
Bogotá, Colombia
8661
Guatemala City, Guatemala
4,900
Mazatlán, Mexico
10
New York City, USA
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Figure 4: Altitude of Various Global Cities
9)
Based on the data and charts above, explain why Bogotá has cool climate year round despite being located close to the
equator. Be sure to refer to specific evidence and explain your reasoning.
Rubric (Take the Average Score of Each Indicator for 3 Points Total)
1
2
3
Claim
Does not make a
claim or makes an
inaccurate claim.
Evidence
Does not provide
evidence, or only
provides
inappropriate
evidence (evidence
that does not
support claim).
Does not provide
reasoning or only
provides reasoning
that does not link
evidence to claim.
Reasoning
Makes an accurate but incomplete
claim.
States that Bogota has a cool climate
year round because it has a high
altitude/elevation (with additional
inaccurate information).
Provides appropriate but insufficient
evidence to support claim. May include
some inappropriate evidence.
Just states that Bogota has a high
elevation without providing specifics or
comparing to other cities.
Makes an accurate and complete claim.
States that Bogota has a cool climate year
round because it has a high
altitude/elevation (with no additional
inaccurate information).
Repeats evidence and links it to the
claim. May include some-but not
sufficient scientific principles.
Provides accurate and complete reasoning
that links evidence to claim. Includes
appropriate and sufficient scientific
principles.
Provides appropriate and sufficient
evidence to support claim.
Cites the data for Bogota’s elevation and
compares to other cities.
Explains how a high altitude results in a
cooler temperature regardless of location
with respect to the equator.
6
Anchor Paper
Based on the data above, the most likely reason that Bogota has a cool climate is
because of its high altitude/elevation. Of the cities that are listed, Bogota has the
highest elevation of 8,661 ft. Other cities have much smaller elevations like Los Angeles
has an elevation of 233ft. High altitudes result in cooler temperatures. According to the
diagram, the wind currents do not flow in a direction that would send cold air over
Bogota and Bogota is not on the ocean, so ocean currents would not likely affect the
local climate.
Student Work #1
Student Work #2
Student Work #3
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