Writing
Reading
Mathematics
Citizenship
Science

Ninth Grade Proficiency Tests Requirements

The following learning outcomes are recommended by the Ohio Department of Education:

WRITING

The student will produce a piece of writing that:

1. Conveys a message related to the prompt (topic or description of a situation).
2. Includes supporting ideas or examples.
3. Follows a logical order.
4. Conveys a sense of completeness.
5. Exhibits word choice appropriate to the audience, the purpose, and the subject.
6. Includes clear language.
7. Contains complete sentences and may contain purposeful fragments.
8. Exhibits subject-verb agreement.
9. Contains standard forms of verbs and nouns.
10. Exhibits appropriate punctuation.
11. Exhibits appropriate capitalization.
12. Contains correct spelling.
13. Is legible.

READING

Given a fictional selection, the student will demonstrate an integrated understanding of the language, elements of plot, possible themes, likely motives and traits of characters, and the effect of setting, by responding to items regarding:

1. The meaning of an unfamiliar word (i.e., uncommon or low-frequency word).

2. The meaning of a multiple-meaning word.

3. Details (e.g., who, what, when, where, how, or problem/solution).

4. Sequence of time, places, events, and ideas.

5. Stated or implied main ideas.

6. Most-probable outcomes.

7. Cause-and-effect relationships.

8. The difference between statements based on fact and statements based on inference.

9. Predictions about whether certain information is likely to be included in material.

10. The identification of questions that will demonstrate comprehension of the main idea and supporting details.

Given a nonfictional selection, the student will demonstrate an integrated understanding of the major concepts, the evidence that supports those concepts, the possible application for the concepts, and the possible purposes the selection might serve, by responding to items regarding:

11. Details (e.g., who, what, when, where, how, or problem/solution).

12. Stated or implied main ideas.

13. Cause-and-effect relationships.

14. The difference between statements based on fact and statements based on inference.

15. Whether a statement is a fact or an opinion.

16. Predictions about whether certain information is likely to be included in materials.

17. Details that either support or do not support the main idea.

18. The author's purpose for writing the selection.

19. The best summary for a specific audience.

20. The author's attitude toward a topic.

Given everyday/functional reading materials, the student will identify, locate, and use information in items regarding:

21. Directions of two or more steps.

22. The selection and use of appropriate reference sources and illustrative materials.

1. Examples of reference sources/illustrative materials would be dictionary, encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, phone book, card catalog, periodical/newspaper, schedule, table of contents, and index.
2. Examples of skills/processes would be using alphabetical order; skimming and scanning; reading charts, tables, diagrams, graphs, maps, labels, and signs.

23. The meaning of vocabulary words used on an application form.

24. The use of propaganda.

MATHEMATICS

The student will:

1. Compute with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.

2. Compare, order, and determine equivalence of fractions, decimals, percents, whole numbers, and integers.

3. Solve and use proportions.

4. Round numbers to the nearest thousand, hundred, ten, one, tenth, and hundredth.

5. Solve problems and make applications involving percentages.

6. Select and compute with appropriate standard or metric units to measure length, area, volume, angles, weight, capacity, time, temperature, and money.

7. Convert, compare, and compute with common units of measure within the same measurement system.

8. Read the scale on a measurement device to the nearest mark and make interpolations where appropriate.

9. Recognize, classify, and use characteristics of lines and simple two-dimensional figures.

10. Find perimeters (circumference) and areas of polygons (circles).

11. Find surface areas and volumes of rectangular solids.

12. Read, interpret, and use tables, charts, maps, and graphs to identify patterns, note trends, and draw conclusions.

13. Use elementary notions of probability.

14. Compute averages.

15. Solve simple number sentences and use formulas.

16. Evaluate algebraic expressions (simple substitutions).

CITIZENSHIP

The student will:

1. Identify the major significance of the following historic documents: Northwest Ordinance, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights.

2. Know that many different peoples with diverse backgrounds (cultural, racial, ethnic, linguistic) make up our nation today.

3. Identify various symbols of the United States: flag, national anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, Independence Day.

4. Locate the United States, the nation's capital, the state of Ohio, and Ohio's capital on appropriate maps of the nation, hemisphere, or world.

5. Demonstrate map-reading skills, including finding directions, judging distances, and reading the legend.

6. Know the following economic concepts:

1. All levels of U.S. government assess taxes in order to provide services.
2. Individuals and societies make choices to satisfy wants with limited resources.
3. Nations become interdependent through trade.

7. Identify the main functions of each branch of government (executive, legislative, judicial) at the national, state, and local levels.

8. Identify major economic systems: capitalism, socialism, communism.

9. Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of federalism by identifying the level of government (local, state, national) responsible for addressing the concerns of citizens.

10. Distinguish the characteristics, both positive and negative, of various types of government: representative democracy, monarchy, dictatorship.

11. Describe the process for making, amending, or removing laws.

12. Know how the law protects individuals in the United States by:

1. Give examples of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
2. Apply the concept of justice, including due process and equity before the law.
3. Know the importance of a learning or work environment free of discrimination against individual differences.
4. Identify legal means of dissent and protest against violation of rights.

13. Understand the major role of political parties in a democracy is to provide a choice in governmental leadership (i.e., candidates and platforms).

14. Understand the role of public officials in government by:

1. Distinguishing between elected and appointed officials.
2. Describe the ways officials can be elected or appointed.
3. Evaluate the actions of public officials on the basis of a given set of criteria.

15. Know that voting is both a privilege and a responsibility of U.S. citizenship.

1. Recognize that property ownership, race, gender, literacy, and certain tax payments no longer affect eligibility to vote.
2. Identify the qualifications for voting.

16. Demonstrate the ability to use information that enables citizens to make informed choices:

1. Use more than one source to obtain information.
2. Identify points of agreement and disagreement among sources.
3. Evaluate the reliability of available information.
4. Draw conclusions by reading and interpreting data presented in charts and graphs.
5. Identify and weigh alternative viewpoints.

17. identify opportunities for involvement in civic activities.

SCIENCE

1. Devise a classification system for a set of objects or a group of organisms:

Use common characteristics to group items.

2. Distinguish between observation and inference given a representation of a scientific situation:

Tell the difference between facts and assumptions.

3. Identify and apply science safety procedures:

Identify the safety precautions needed when doing an experiment.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of measuring devices and report data in appropriate unit:.

Choose an instrument to make a certain measurement.

5. Describe the results of earth-changing processes:

Describe changes taking place in the earth's surface.

6. Apply concepts of the Earth's rotation, tilt and revolution to an understanding of time and season:

Explain how seasons change.

7. Describe interactions of matter and energy throughout the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere:

Explain materials cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen), currents, and weather on the land, in the water, and in the air.

8. Apply the use of simple machines to practical situations:

Describe how a lever or pulley can make a task easier.

9. Apply the concept of force and mass to predict the motion of objects:

Describe the motion of a thrown ball.

10. Apply the concepts of energy transformations in electrical and mechanical systems:

Describe how the energy in a flashlight battery is transformed into heat and light.

11. Apply concepts of sound and light waves to everyday situations:

Describe how light and sound travel through different materials.

12. Describe chemical and/or physical interactions of matter:

Describe how a cube of sugar dissolves in water, how metals rust, and how things burn.

13. Trace the flow of energy and/or interrelationships of organisms in an ecosystem:

Identify the food chain in a lake.

14. Compare and contrast the characteristics of plants and animals:

Tell how plants and animals are alike and different.

15. Explain biological diversity in terms of the transmission of genetic characteristics:

Explain why there are different breeds of dogs or kinds of plants.

16. Describe how organisms accomplish basic life functions at various levels of organization and structures:

Describe a life function like digestion complete with the appropriate anatomy.

17. Describe the ways scientific ideas have changed using historical contexts:

Describe how explanations of eclipses have changed over time.

18. Compare renewable and nonrenewable resources and strategies for managing them:

Compare oil and sunlight as sources of energy.

19. Describe the relationship between technology and science:

How do science and inventions affect each other.

20. Describe how a given environmental change affects an ecosystem:

Describe how a flood or drought affects plant and animal life.