STRATEGIES for ASSESSING Higher-O rDE r Think iNg Create multiple-choice questions using one of the questions from the strategies on the right. 1 Adapt one of the general questions to your content. 3 Provide three or four choices that are plausible and of a similar nature, and one that is clearly the best answer. 4 Provide materials that suit your content: 2 Cartoon Characters • Political Cartoon • Work of Art Experiment and Results • Experimental Design • Graph, Data Table, or Chart Text(s) • Policy • Website Concepts • Principles • Problem • Theory Events • Scenarios Advertisement • Editorial or Other Persuasive Communication • Speech Learn more about the Designing Assessments for Higher-Order Thinking PD Online® course at WWW.ASCD.ORG/HIGHER-ORDER-ASSESSMENTS SOURCE | Adapted from How to Assess Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Your Classroom (pp 144-147), by Susan M. Brookhart, Alexandria, VA: ASCD. © 2010 by ASCD. © ASCD 2015. All rights reserved. To identify or evaluate rhetorical and persuasive strategies, ask: » What is the author trying to persuade readers [viewers] to do [think]? » How persuasive would [some aspect] be with [some audience]? » What imagery [or other strategy] is intended to persuade the audience [to do or think something]? To analyze arguments, ask: » What evidence does the author gives that…? » What is the most critical piece of evidence that…? » On what assumptions does this argument rest? To evaluate materials and methods for their intended purposes, ask: » What is the author trying to accomplish? » What elements in the work [accomplish some purpose]? » How well does the author [accomplish some purpose]? To identify issues or problems, ask: » What is the main issue? » What is the problem? To compare and contrast, ask: » Which elements in [text] are like [or not like]? » Ask for a generalization based on similarities or differences. To evaluate the credibility of a source, ask: » Is the information is believable? » Why is the information believable [or not]? To reason with data: » Solve the problem. » Identify the key information for solving the problem. MATERIALS: MATERIALS: MATERIALS: MATERIALS: MATERIALS: MATERIALS: MATERIALS: SUGGESTED STRATEGIES