Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE)

For this task, students will work in teams to examine a specific type of renewable energy source. Student groups will research one renewable energy resource (such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy, hydrogen fuel, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power) and determine the...

In this task, students are asked to construct an argument about the probable cause of death of a fictitious young man who collapsed and died at a local university. Students are given a set of information and will be continuously supplied with new information and the results of lab tests...

Students will write an essay that uses evidence from primary sources and their own background knowledge to make an argument and answer an historical question:

Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were responsible for the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Do you agree with this...

In this task, students will work in teams to develop a new recipe for Milo Bread Company. Currently, Milo produces very good bread, as evidenced by its weekly sales. However, recent sales have dropped and the CEO of Milo wants to improve the recipe. Students are asked to adjust the recipe used...

In this task students read and discuss core texts about personal values from literature, examine how this tradition continues in contemporary essays and in radio broadcasts and filmed interviews, and analyze the techniques an author or speaker uses to develop and support his or her personal...

This task begins with an animated video clip showing a cat jumping into the road, and a car nearly hitting it, which motivates a framing question: Can the driver stop in time? This sets the context for a whole-class brainstorm about what quantities might need to be considered in order to answer...

In this task students will read, analyze, and write about a range of documentary texts from American art and literature that portray the American dream and how people pursue, secure, or are disappointed in their quest for it. Students will then research the life of a person they know ...

In this task, students respond to a geometry problem in which a girl is attempting to find the optimal location to tether her dog so that the dog doesn't dig in the garden, but without reducing the play area for the animal.

Students are given a number of measurements and constraints and...

In this task, students are given a problem about maximizing volume. Students are given a set of construction paper squares with predetermined side lengths. They are asked to determine the length of the side of the square that they must cut out from the corners in order to maximize the volume of...

Students will have the opportunity to explore historical photos and documents that depict life in New York City for young people in the late 1800s. Students will compare the plight of children from that time period to current-day information on the lives of young people in the city. Finally,...

This task teaches the basics of argument and requires students to demonstrate their ability to read a text critically as well as to write an evidence-based essay. Before students complete the task, they will participate in scaffolding and instructional activities. These include developing...

In this task, students will read, analyze, and write about a selection from Susan Bordo’s "Unbearable Weight" in which she makes the argument that texts teach us how to see and think about ourselves and others.

Students will analyze a popular text to explore the idea that texts shape our...