Think About What You Will Encounter in Grades 11 and 12

The following charts include the Grade 11 and 12 benchmarks. These benchmarks can give you an idea of what Ohio colleges and employers expect you to be able to do. English Language Arts Benchmarks (Reading) It is amazing how often we use our reading skills in the course of a day. Much of the reading you do is academic, but there are many situations outside the classroom that force you to use your reading skills. Maybe you have to figure out how to use a new software program to calculate your taxes or you are navigating technical manuals for using your computer, MP3 player, and video games. Maybe you want to read up on colleges that interest you, or need to look through the classified ads for an after school job. In these and many others situations, it is important to make sure that you understand and can act upon what you read.

In Grades 11 and 12, you will encounter the following standards and benchmarks.

Acquisition of Vocabulary, Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text

Reading Applications: Literary Text

Verify meanings of words by the author's use of definition, restatement, example, comparison, contrast and cause and effect. Distinguish the relationship of word meanings between pairs of words encountered in analogical statements. Explain the influence of the English language on world literature, communications and popular culture. Apply knowledge of roots, affixes and phrases to aid understanding of content area vocabulary. Use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary. Apply reading comprehension strategies to understand grade-appropriate texts. Demonstrate comprehension of print and electronic text by responding to questions (e.g., literal, inferential, evaluative and synthesizing). Use appropriate self-monitoring strategies for comprehension. Analyze the features and structures of documents and critique them for their effectiveness. Identify and analyze examples of rhetorical devices and valid and invalid inferences. Critique the effectiveness and validity of arguments in text and whether they achieve the author's purpose. Synthesize the content from several sources on a single issue or written by a single author, clarifying ideas and connecting them to other sources and related topics. Analyze an author's implicit and explicit philosophical assumptions and beliefs about a subject.

Analyze and evaluate the five elements (e.g., plot, character, setting, point of view and theme) in literary text. Explain ways characters confront similar situations and conflict. Recognize and analyze characteristics of subgenres and literary periods. Analyze how an author uses figurative language and literary techniques to shape plot and set meaning. Critique an author's style.

English Language Arts Benchmarks (Writing) No matter what you decide to do after high school, your writing skills might be the first way you are judged. Whether it is on a college application essay, a business letter or a résumé, what you write and how you write it is often the first thing others see about you.

In Grades 11 and 12, you will encounter the following standards and benchmarks.

Writing Processes, Writing Applications

Writing Conventions

Formulate writing ideas and identify a topic appropriate to the purpose and audience. Select and use an appropriate organizational structure to refine and develop ideas for writing. Use a variety of strategies to revise content, organization and style, and to improve word choice, sentence variety, clarity and consistency of writing. Apply editing strategies to eliminate slang and improve conventions. Apply tools to judge the quality of writing. Prepare writing for publication that follows an appropriate format and uses a variety of techniques to enhance the final product. Compose reflective writings that balance reflections by using specific personal experiences to draw conclusions about life. Write responses to literature that provide an interpretation, recognize ambiguities, nuances and complexities and that understand the author's use of stylistic devices and effects created. Produce functional documents that report, organize and convey information and ideas accurately, foresee readers' problems or misunderstandings and that include formatting techniques that are user friendly. Produce informational essays or reports that establish a clear and distinctive perspective on the subject, include relevant perspectives, take into account the validity and reliability of sources and provide a clear sense of closure. Use a range of strategies to elaborate and persuade when appropriate, including appeal to logic, use of personal anecdotes, examples, beliefs, expert opinions or cause-effect reasoning.

Use correct spelling conventions. Use correct punctuation and capitalization. Demonstrate understanding of the grammatical conventions of the English language.

Math Benchmarks Think about how key your math skills are when you are calculating the amount of interest you will have to pay on a student loan or a car loan. Consider the importance of your spatial reasoning skills as you reorganize the furniture in your room. Math, quite simply, is everywhere.

In Grades 11 and 12, you will encounter the following standards and benchmarks.

Number, Number Sense and Operations, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense Patterns, Functions and Algebra, Data Analysis and Probability

Mathematical Processes

Demonstrate that vectors and matrices are systems having some of the same properties of the real number system. Develop an understanding of properties of and representations for addition and multiplication of vectors and matrices. Apply factorials and exponents, including fractional exponents, to solve practical problems. Demonstrate fluency in operations with real numbers, vectors and matrices, using mental computation or paper and pencil calculations for simple cases and technology for more complicated cases. Represent and compute with complex numbers. Explain differences among accuracy, precision and error, and describe how each of those can affect solutions in measurement situations. Apply various measurement scales to describe phenomena and solve problems. Estimate and compute areas and volume in increasingly complex problem situations. Solve problem situations involving derived measurements; e.g., density, acceleration. Use trigonometric relationships to verify and determine solutions in problem situations. Represent transformations within a coordinate system using vectors and matrices. Analyze functions by investigating rates of change, intercepts, zeros, asymptotes, and local and global behavior. Use the quadratic formula to solve quadratic equations that have complex roots. Use recursive functions to model and solve problems; e.g., home mortgages, annuities. Apply algebraic methods to represent and generalize problem situations involving vectors and matrices. Create and analyze tabular and graphical displays of data using appropriate tools, including spreadsheets and graphing calculators. Use descriptive statistics to analyze and summarize data, including measures of center, dispersion, correlation and variability. Design and perform a statistical experiment, simulation or study; collect and interpret data; and use descriptive statistics to communicate and support predictions and conclusions. Connect statistical techniques to applications in workplace and consumer situations.

Construct algorithms for multi-step and non-routine problems. Construct logical verifications or counter-examples to test conjectures and to justify or refute algorithms and solutions to problems. Assess the adequacy and reliability of information available to solve a problem. Select and use various types of reasoning and methods of proof. Evaluate a mathematical argument and use reasoning and logic to judge its validity. Present complete and convincing arguments and justifications, using inductive and deductive reasoning, adapted to be effective for various audiences. Understand the difference between a statement that is verified by mathematical proof, such as a theorem, and one that is verified empirically using examples or data. Use formal mathematical language and notation to represent ideas, to demonstrate relationships within and among representation systems, and to formulate generalizations. Communicate mathematical ideas orally and in writing with a clear purpose and appropriate for a specific audience. Apply mathematical modeling to workplace and consumer situations, including problem formulation, identification of a mathematical model, interpretation of solution within the model, and validation to original problem situation.

Social Studies Benchmarks In social studies, we combine our knowledge of geography, economics and government with our understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens within nations. To draw conclusions about current issues, we need to analyze, organize and evaluate a wealth of information. We generate our own ideas from the information, and present them to others in order to be informed citizens of the world.

In Grades 11 and 12, you will encounter the following standards and benchmarks.

History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

Social Studies Skills and Methods

Explain patterns of historical continuity and change by challenging arguments of historical inevitability. Use historical interpretations to explain current issues. Analyze how issues may be viewed differently by various cultural groups. Identify the causes of political, economic and social oppression and analyze ways individuals, organizations and countries respond to resulting conflicts. Explain the role of diverse cultural institutions in shaping American society. Explain how the character and meaning of a place reflect a society's economics, politics, social values, ideology and culture. Evaluate the consequences of geographic and environmental changes resulting from governmental policies and human modifications to the physical environment. Use appropriate data sources and geographic tools to analyze and evaluate public policies. Analyze how scarcity of productive resources affects supply, demand, inflation and economic choices. Identify factors which inhibit or spur economic growth and cause expansions or recessions. Explain how voluntary worldwide trade, specialization and interdependence among countries affect standards of living and economic growth. Analyze the role of fiscal and regulatory policies in a mixed economy. Explain the use of a budget in making personal economic decisions and planning for the future. Evaluate, take and defend positions about issues concerning the alignment of the characteristics of American democracy with realities in the United States today. Explain how the U.S. Constitution has evolved including its philosophical foundations, amendments and court interpretations. Analyze how citizens participate in the election process in the United States. Evaluate various means for citizens to take action on a particular issue. Explain how the exercise of a citizen's rights and responsibilities helps to strengthen a democracy.

Obtain and evaluate information from public records and other resources related to a public policy issue. Critique data and information to determine the adequacy of support for conclusions. Develop a research project that identifies the various perspectives on an issue and explain a resolution of that issue. Work in groups to analyze an issue and make decisions.

Science Benchmarks By now you may have realized that science is much more than a series of facts; it is an on-going quest for new knowledge. Science shows you how to ask questions about the world, analyze evidence and solve problems. As an informed, scientifically-literate citizen, you also consider the benefits and risks of technology to society and the environment.

In Grades 11 and 12, you will encounter the following standards and benchmarks.

Earth and Space Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Science and Technology, Scientific Inquiry

Scientific Ways of Knowing

Explain how technology can be used to gather evidence and increase our understanding of the universe. Describe how Earth is made up of a series of interconnected systems and how a change in one system affects other systems. Explain that humans are an integral part of the Earth's system and the choices humans make today impact natural systems in the future. Summarize the historical development of scientific theories and ideas and describe emerging issues in the study of Earth and space sciences. Explain how processes at the cellular level affect the functions and characteristics of an organism. Explain how humans are connected to and impact natural systems. Explain how the molecular basis of life and the principles of genetics determine inheritance. Relate how biotic and abiotic global changes have occurred in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Explain the interconnectedness of the components of a natural system. Explain how human choices today will affect the quality and quantity of life on earth. Summarize the historical development of scientific theories and ideas within the study of life sciences. Explain how variations in the arrangement and motion of atoms and molecules form the basis of a variety of biological, chemical and physical phenomena. Recognize that some atomic nuclei are unstable and will spontaneously break down. Describe how atoms and molecules can gain or lose energy only in discrete amounts. Apply principles of forces and motion to mathematically analyze, describe and predict the net effects on objects or systems. Summarize the historical development of scientific theories and ideas within the study of physical sciences. Predict how human choices today will determine the quality and quantity of life on Earth. Make appropriate choices when designing and participating in scientific investigations by using cognitive and manipulative skills when collecting data and formulating conclusions from the data.

Explain how scientific evidence is used to develop and revise scientific predictions, ideas or theories. Explain how ethical considerations shape scientific endeavors. Explain how societal issues and considerations affect the progress of science and technology.