Replaced Assessment in Lesson 2.9: Analyzing Product Markets

We’ve revised the mid-unit assessment in Lesson 2.9 to better align with the goals of Unit 2 and to support stronger student thinking.

Where We Saw Room to Grow

In the previous version of this assessment, An Economic Story, students were asked to write a story that integrated explanations of multiple economic concepts.

As we reviewed student work and reflected on how An Economic Story functioned in classrooms (both those we observed and those we received feedback from) we noticed many students struggled to balance generating a story with clearly explaining the economics.

What We Changed

In the new assessment, Analyzing a Product Market, students are provided with four product market models and asked to explain what happened in one of the markets. 

Students focus on using economic language to

• describe the shift shown in the model
• explain a realistic cause of that shift
• analyze how the change affects equilibrium price and quantity
• use the concept of shortage or surplus to explain how the market adjusts

This shift keeps the focus on analyzing supply and demand, rather than creating a narrative.

We also included an optional set of sentence starters to support students in organizing their thinking without reducing the rigor of the task. 

Why It Matters

By reducing cognitive load, students are better able to focus on cause-and-effect reasoning and transfer their understanding of economic models to real-world situations. As a result, the assessment better reflects the curriculum’s emphasis on using economics to understand everyday life.

We'd love to hear how this new assessment works for your students. Please share your thoughts using the feedback form.