To successfully complete this assessment, students must consider the strengths and limitations of Mary Bowden Carroll’s book as evidence of what life was like in the Santa Clara Valley in the early 1900s. For Question 1, students should explain that Carroll was a society reporter and a longtime resident, so she was in a strong position to know about life in the Santa Clara Valley. For Question 2, students should explain that Carroll aimed to use the book to recruit residents to the Valley, so she had a reason to embellish or emphasize good aspects of the Valley.
Level: Proficient
Question 1: Student identifies relevant source information and explains why it might lead them to trust Carroll’s book.
Question 2: Student identifies relevant source information and explains why it might call the reliability of the document into question.
Level: Emergent
Question 1: Student identifies source information that might lead them to trust Carroll’s book but does not provide a complete explanation.
Question 2: Student identifies source information that might call the reliability of the document into question but does not provide a complete explanation.
Level: Basic
Question 1: Student does not identify source information that might lead them to trust Carroll’s book.
Question 2: Student does not identify source information that might call the reliability of the document into question.
