Skip to content

1SW CFA: Your IT Future

Common Formative Assessment | 20 minutes | Extended Constructed Response

Administer at the end of 1SW (after Wk5 Cybersecurity). Students work independently with their H&L Climber Profile, engineering notebook, workbook, and Hat Research templates from the block.

Stimulus

You are 25 years old and just moved to Dallas-Fort Worth to start your first full-time job. You want a career in the Information Technology cluster but you need to pick ONE of the five pathways you explored in 1SW:

  1. Information Technology Support and Services
  2. Web Development
  3. Networking Systems
  4. Cybersecurity
  5. Programming and Software Development

Your Wk0 Climber Profile (RIASEC type + top 2 Work Values + Building Blocks) is in front of you. Use it.

Part A — Identify (4 min)

Name the ONE IT pathway you are choosing. Then name TWO specific careers (Hats) within that pathway you explored this six-weeks. (d(1)(B), d(1)(C))

Part B — Compare (6 min)

Pick the two careers from Part A. Build a short comparison:

Career 1: _ Career 2: _
Entry-level DFW salary
Education or certification required
One daily task

Then answer in 1-2 sentences: Which of these two careers has the better value for someone starting a career today in DFW, and why? Cite at least ONE specific number from your table. (d(2)(A), d(2)(B), d(5)(B), d(5)(E))

Part C — Connect to Self (7 min)

In 3-5 complete sentences, explain how the pathway you chose connects to YOUR Wk0 data. Your response must reference:

  • Your RIASEC personality type (Doer, Analyzer, Creator, Helper, Persuader, or Organizer)
  • At least ONE of your top 2 Work Values (Achievement, Independence, Recognition, Relationships, Support, or Working Conditions)
  • At least ONE specific Building Block from your Climber Profile

Use specific evidence. NOT acceptable: "IT fits me because I like computers." Acceptable: "My RIASEC type is Analyzer. Cybersecurity requires daily pattern-recognition on logs and alerts, which matches. My top Work Value of Achievement fits because cybersecurity work has clear results (a breach stopped, a system hardened). My Building Block of 'troubleshooting my family's WiFi' is an early version of the work." (d(1)(A), d(4)(F))

Part D — Forward Action (3 min)

Name ONE concrete step you could take THIS school year (before 8th grade) to move toward this pathway. Your step must include:

  • A specific Irving ISD option if one applies (Singley Academy CS / Cybersecurity / Web Tech pathways, the district Hour of Code club, HOSA-adjacent opportunities, etc.). If no Irving ISD option exists for your pathway, name a specific DFW or free online resource (Google Applied Digital Skills, CyberSeek, Code.org, PBS NOVA Cybersecurity Lab).
  • A specific action verb and time window ("Sign up for..." "Complete 5 levels of..." "Ask my counselor about..."). NOT "Learn more."

(d(3)(A), d(8)(A))

Rubric

Score each part 0-4 using the rubric below. Overall CFA score is the LOWEST score across the four parts.

Part A (Identify) — d(1)(B), d(1)(C)

| 4 | Pathway + 2 specific Hats named correctly with workbook/H&L evidence. | | 3 | Pathway + 2 Hats named, one Hat may be general-sounding. | | 2 | Pathway + 1 Hat only, OR 2 Hats but misplaced in wrong pathway. | | 1 | Only a pathway OR only a career, not both. |

Part B (Compare) — d(2)(A), d(2)(B), d(5)(B), d(5)(E)

| 4 | Full comparison table + judgment with specific number cited. Judgment cites a trade-off ("lower salary but faster entry"). | | 3 | Full table + judgment, but judgment lacks specific number citation. | | 2 | Table partially complete (some cells blank) + thin judgment. | | 1 | No table or judgment says "both are good." |

Part C (Connect to Self) — d(1)(A), d(4)(F)

| 4 | All three required elements (RIASEC + Work Value + Building Block) with specific evidence, not generic language. Connection is concrete (a daily task matches a personality trait). | | 3 | All three elements but one is general ("I like working with others"). | | 2 | Two of three elements, OR all three but all three are general. | | 1 | One or zero elements with evidence. |

Part D (Forward Action) — d(3)(A), d(8)(A)

| 4 | Irving ISD or DFW-specific resource named + concrete action verb + time window. | | 3 | Resource named + action verb, but no time window. | | 2 | Vague step ("Learn more about coding"). | | 1 | No action step or off-topic. |

Teacher Follow-Up (after scoring)

  • If >30% of students score ≤2 on Part A, reteach IT pathway names during 2SW Wk1 Day 1 warm-up.
  • If >30% score ≤2 on Part B, reteach H&L Hat Finder data-citation during 2SW Wk1 Hat Research activity.
  • If >30% score ≤2 on Part C, the Wk0 → 1SW bridge is broken. Flag to the curriculum team and bring back to Wk0 Day 4 data-seeding for the next cohort.
  • If >30% score ≤2 on Part D, add Irving ISD pathway review to 2SW Wk1 Day 5 flex time.

Return the scored rubric to each student. Give them 5 minutes to write ONE thing they would strengthen on a rewrite. Collect these reflections; they become inputs to the 4SW Wk1 Mid-Year Review and 6SW Wk6 Capstone.