Tip from the Scoring Center: Answering “Why?”

Over the years, we have seen numerous items that ask students to choose the best option or the most appropriate method and to explain their answer. Unfortunately, many students have shown a tendency to choose the best option or select the most appropriate method but fail to explain why. These students cannot achieve the highest score for the item because, despite their correct choice, they do not include an explanation. There is a difference between just “choosing the right answer” and providing a full explanation for that answer: Students need to be reminded about that difference.

Other types of questions ask students to support their explanation with details. Often the details are not included either, and students fail to receive valuable points. Teachers can help their students to achieve higher scores on such items by practicing with similar questions in the classroom and ensuring that the “why” is answered every time. Once they recognize that answering the “why” is often as important as choosing the right answer, students will receive those additional points on the state test.