Study Guide

Field 078: Dance
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

The following materials contain:

Test Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment

This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You are to prepare a written response of approximately 300–600 words on the assigned topic. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.

Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response.

As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the content area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factual information.

Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

PURPOSE: the extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
SUPPORT: quality and relevance of supporting details
RATIONALE: soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

The constructed-response assignment is intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the scoring criteria. Your response should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your written response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.

Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

Subarea II
Creating and Analyzing Dance
Use the information below to complete the exercise that follows.

Some dance works are choreographed for a group of dancers, emphasizing the overall design and movement of the group rather than the personalities of individual dancers.

Other dance works are choreographed to emphasize the individual personalities of one or two dancers within the overall design and movement of the work.

Using your knowledge of dance analysis and criticism, write an essay in which you:

Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work.

Choreographers who create works for groups of people on stage may have several concerns, and one is the sense of gestalt or cohesion, often found through repetition or unison movement. The other is the sense of individuality, in which emphasis is less on the movement and more on the personalities of the dancers themselves.

In Paul Taylor's Esplanade, to a Bach violin concerto, a large group of dancers in bright, solid colors walk, skip, hop, and leap in simple yet beautiful ordered patterns about the stage. Their costuming suggests that they are of one unit. Though we see occasional solos and duets, such as one woman jumping over a line of dancers who are lying on the ground, we get the sense that the dance is about the unity of this group, working together. The movement is simple, oftentimes a walk that changes to one direction or another, but all dancers move with identical technique. All arms swing to the same high angle as they run across stage. In catches or falls, each stops with perfect time.

The Bach music itself suggests a high degree of order, and this order suggests a world of perfect harmony. Following the music, there are three sections: andante, adagio, and allegro. There are changes of mood, of speed, of feeling, of design, yet all dancers on stage share the same emotion, be it joy, or pensiveness in the middle section. Whether in unison, or canon, or variation, each dancer closely mimics the movements of everyone else on stage, so that the overall effect is a dance about dancing to the music.

In Paul Taylor's Big Bertha, by contrast, three dancers on stage are costumed completely differently from one another. Set to calliope music, the dance presents us with a pair of young, innocent lovers in 1950s-era summer clothing who approach a giant, coin-operated amusement park device. When they put a coin in, out comes the antagonist, a robotlike mannequin, who performs for them. At first the dance seems comical, but as the dance progresses it becomes darker and darker as the mannequin's strange power takes control and wreaks havoc among the two lovers.

In this piece, facial expression and individual movement for each character are present in a way not seen in a more musical group piece. The movement comes more out of real-life gesture than from standardized technique. Movements do not always match the music – the dance itself tells a story in a way that the more abstract Esplanade and others like it do not. We see facial expressions of delight, of love, of horror, or of rage that are specific in their source and motivation (e.g., we know why the lovers are frightened) versus the generic sense of joy in Esplanade. The set and costumes give us a place and time and specificity as well; the music lets us know we are in an amusement park.

Esplanade takes place simply on stage, in no place or time other than the here and now. Both dances require from the dancers strong technique and performance skills, in one case requiring them to blend with one another in harmony, in the other requiring them to contrast with one another. In Big Bertha, the choreographer presents something more than movement: there is a plot, a political idea, a moral tale. Each person on stage has a different goal.

Both dances share Paul Taylor's love for musicality and visual form, for strong technique, and even for specific movement styles. Yet they are powerfully opposite experiences for the viewer.

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the constructed-response assignment.

Characteristics that guide the scoring of responses
Purpose The extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
Subject Matter Knowledge The accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
Support The quality and relevance of supporting details
Rationale The soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matter

Scoring Scale

Scores will be assigned to each response to the constructed-response assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Scale with description for each score point.
Score Point Score Point Description
4  start bold The "4" response reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is fully achieved.
  • There is a substantial, accurate, and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is sound; there are high-quality, relevant examples.
  • The response reflects an ably reasoned, comprehensive understanding of the topic.
3  start bold The "3" response reflects a general knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is largely achieved.
  • There is a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence generally supports the discussion; there are some relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a general understanding of the topic.
2  start bold The "2" response reflects a partial knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is partially achieved.
  • There is a limited, possibly inaccurate or inappropriate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence is limited; there are few relevant examples.
  • The response reflects a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the topic.
1  start bold The "1" response reflects little or no knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. end bold 
  • The purpose of the assignment is not achieved.
  • There is little or no appropriate or accurate application of subject matter knowledge.
  • The supporting evidence, if present, is weak; there are few or no relevant examples.
  • The response reflects little or no reasoning about or understanding of the topic.
U The response is unscorable because it is illegible, not written to the assigned topic, written in a language other than English, or lacking a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.