Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Grade 8 Civics Test Design and Development

Test Design

The MCAS Grade 8 Civics assessment allows students to use their civics content knowledge and skills to explain and describe civics concepts, support claims with evidence, and analyze sources and graphics. It is made up of two components: one state-level performance task and an end-of-course (EOC) test. Both components are administered on TestNav, the same computer platform used for other MCAS tests. The state-level performance task will cover one of the seven civics topics for grade 8 in the 2018 History and Social Science Framework , and the EOC test will cover the full breadth of the grade 8 civics standards. To help to prepare students for the state-level performance tasks, local-level classroom performance tasks have also been developed. More information about these tasks is below.

State-Level Performance Tasks

Each state-level performance task will be centered on one of the seven topics from the grade 8 civics standards:

Topic 1: The philosophical foundations of the United States political system
Topic 2: The development of the United States government
Topic 3: The institutions of United States government
Topic 4: Rights and responsibilities of citizens
Topic 5: The Constitution, Amendments, and Supreme Court decisions
Topic 6: The structure of Massachusetts state and local government
Topic 7: Freedom of the Press and News/Media Literacy

Students will take one state-level performance task. Each task is worth a total of 14 points and consists of the following:

three 1-point constructed-response questions
one 4-point constructed-response question
seven 1-point selected-response questions which include multiple-choice, multiple-select, and technology-enhanced items

The tasks consist of questions based on given primary and secondary sources. It is estimated that one task will take approximately 45–50 minutes to complete.

End-of-Course Test

The end-of-course test will cover the breadth of the civics standards and is made up of multiple-choice, multiple-select, and technology-enhanced questions, totaling 36 operational points (these count towards a student's score). There will also be a set of matrix questions, totaling 6 points. Matrix items are both field test and equating items and do not count towards a student's score. All EOC questions will be machine-scored. Many of these questions will be based on a text source or graphic for students to analyze and evaluate. It is estimated that the EOC test will take approximately 50–60 minutes to complete.

Local-Level Classroom Performance Tasks

The local-level classroom performance tasks were designed to help prepare students for the state-level tasks. They should be administered after the instruction of the civics topic. The tasks can be used for summative or formative purposes and may be adjusted for individual classrooms. These are locally scored, and no data is collected by the state. It is estimated that local-level tasks will take 1–2 class periods to complete. Administration of the local-level tasks is optional, though strongly recommended.

Each task covers one of the seven grade 8 civics topics, similar to the state-level tasks. The tasks include group work and discussions about the civics topic. In addition, the tasks will ask students to analyze and evaluate sources to describe and explain civics concepts. The tasks are available on Grade 8 Civics Local-Level Classroom Performance Tasks.

Reporting Categories

The reporting categories represent the combined points for the state-level performance task and the EOC. Once the test is operational, all students will be given the same state-level performance task each year along with the same EOC test questions.

Civics Content Reporting Categories	Percentage of Test (+/- 5)%	Points (+/- 5)%
Foundations and development of the U.S. political system & government (Topics 1 & 2)	32	16
Institutions and structure of U.S. government & Massachusetts state and local governments (Topics 3 & 6)	33	17
Rights and responsibilities, the U.S. Constitution, and news & media literacy (Topics 4, 5, & 7)	33	17
Total		50

In addition to the content reporting categories, all questions will be coded to an MCAS civics practice category. Each question will be dually coded, meaning that each question will be coded to both a content category and a practice category. The MCAS civics practice categories are listed below.

HSS Practices Reporting Categories
1. Civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions (standard 1)
2. Civics-based questioning and solving civics-related problems (standards 2, 7)
3. Analyzing points of view and credibility from sources (standards 4, 5)
4. Developing explanations using reasoning and evidence from sources (standards 3, 6)

Civics Assessment Timeline

School Year	Activity	Description
2018-19	First Civics Assessment Development Committee Recruited	Recruited grade 8 civics educators to review performance tasks and test questions.
2019-20	Civics Tryout (voluntary)	A few classrooms administered performance tasks. No additional pilot tests were administered due to the pandemic.
2020-21	Civics Pilot (voluntary)	Administered performance tasks and EOC test questions.
2021-22	Civics Pilot (voluntary)	Refined test design and administered additional performance tasks and EOC test questions in expanded pilot. Released practice test (performance task and EOC test).
2022-23	Civics End-of-Course Test Pilot (voluntary)	Administered EOC test questions and released school- and state-level results with test questions.
2023-24	Civics Field Test	Statewide field test for all schools serving grade 8 students.
2024-25	Civics Operational Test	Anticipated first operational year with results reported to schools and districts.

A practice performance-based task and EOC test questions are currently available on our website. Additional released items from the 2023 pilot are also available.

Last Updated: March 26, 2024