The primary purpose of the exemplars is to provide resources for staff development. It is suggested that you use these exemplars in conjunction with the nine public release tasks from the 1992 and 1993 MSPAP, as well as those that will be released in the future. Although these exemplars have undergone limited field testing, they are not necessarily appropriate for use in all classrooms or for all students at the designated grade levels. Teachers must make instructional decisions regarding the relevance of a particular exemplar, where it fits into local school system curriculum and how it matches the developmental levels of the students they teach. These exemplars focus on instructional strategies and methodologies that can be used with younger children to provide a foundation to begin building knowledge and skills for mastery of the Maryland Learning Outcomes. Early primary instruction, by its very nature, often requires that students complete performance products with limited use of paper and pencil. This idea is especially central to the kindergarten task, “A Shelter for Morty”, and the first grade task, “Carts, Candles and Cabbages”.

The format for the exemplars is designed to serve two major functions: to support the MSPAP format, and to create a flexible framework for a variety of teaching styles, approaches and methodologies. It is not intended as an exclusive model of performance- based instruction or assessment.

The exemplars in this packet include four instructional tasks and one assessment task. It is important to note some differences and similarities between instructional tasks and assessment tasks. Instructional tasks require extended teacher involvement as the task progresses, and teacher decision-making related to reteaching and revision as appropriate for an individual student or group of students. Assessment tasks are not meant to instruct, but to evaluate mastery of particular outcomes. They therefore require little teacher involvement during student completion of activities. Other significant differences can include time allotments for completion of activities, types of cooperative learning that can be used and the range of learning experiences, resources and materials that can be provided. A comparison of the third grade instructional task “Games People Play” and the third grade assessment task “Games People Play” will illustrate several of these differences.

The most significant similarities are that all tasks focus on Maryland Learning Outcomes, emphasize understanding by engaging students in thoughtful application of knowledge, processes and skills, and result in student products and performances.

“Performance-Based School Improvement Exemplars, Social Studies, Grades K-3,” is part of the set of social studies exemplars prepared for publication, and is being released along with exemplars for grades 4-5 and 6-8. Exemplars in mathematics and science grades K-3 are also ready for release. Exemplars in mathematics and science grades 4-8 were released in February 1995. The next phase of the project will focus on Reading and Writing exemplars, with a planned release date in spring 1996.