Sample Items for Grade 6: Excerpt from “Julie of the Wolves” by Jean Craighead George Sample Item 3: Questions and Standards Part A Question: Choose one word that describes Miyax based on evidence from the text. There is more than one correct choice listed below. Sample Item 3: Advances and Answers Part A Item Advances: The skills of rereading carefully to find specific information and of applying understanding of a text are essential college and career skills. This Evidence-­‐Based Selected-­‐Response question allows students to demonstrate understanding of the main character of the text, recognizing that a. reckless characters are multi-­‐dimensional. Rather than offering a single right answer, b. lively this item allows students to explore different solutions and to generate varying c. imaginative* insights about Miyax’s character traits. Students are allowed to choose the word d. observant* they believe they can defend through citation of evidence in Parts B and C. e. impatient Part A of the item sets the stage for Parts B and C, where students are asked to f. confident prove their answer through citing textual evidence, an advance in PARCC assessments. Part A Answer Choice Rationales: Option A is not supported by textual evidence because this excerpt does not indicate why Miyax is in her situation—
through recklessness or something else. Option B is incorrect because although Miyax is still alive, she’s trembling and hungry, not lively. Option E is incorrect because textual evidence shows Miyax being very patient as she waits to establish communication with the black wolf. Option F is incorrect because Miyax is not confident that she can establish communication with the black wolf, since she doesn’t have her father’s knowledge of nature. Options C and D are plausible adjectives for Miyax that have supporting textual evidence to back them up. Parts B and C Item Advances: Parts B and C of this Evidence-­‐Based Selected-­‐
Part B Question: Find a sentence in the passage with Response question take the item in a new direction by asking students to show details that support your response to Part A. Click on the evidence they used to help them choose an adjective that could describe that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below.
Miyax. Students not only must choose an adjective (Part A) but also must provide the context used to establish the accuracy of their answer. Parts B and C ask s tudents to find a quotation from the text that supports their answer in Part Part A, illustrating one of the key shifts in CCSS assessment: use of textual evidence. C Question: Find another sentence in the passage with details that support your response to Part A. Additionally, this item demonstrates meaningful use of technology to enable students to interact closely with the text. Rather than limiting students to just a Click on that sentence and drag and drop it into the box below. few options from which they can choose, this item requires students to reread the text to locate textual information to drag and drop into the evidence boxes, giving them an opportunity to add to their understanding of the text. Parts B and C Answer Choice Rationales: Possible Answers (Among Others) for “Imaginative” (C): She had been watching the wolves for two days, trying to discern which of their sounds and movements expressed goodwill and friendship OR The black wolf also possessed wisdom, she had observed. Possible Answers (Among Others) for “Observant” (D): She had been watching the wolves for two days, trying to discern which of their sounds and movements expressed goodwill and friendship OR She had chosen him because he was much larger than the others, and because he walked like her father, Kapugen, with his head high and his chest out. Sample Item 3: Alignment Explanation of Alignment: The item meets the PARCC Assessment Reading Literature Claim, as the question is based on a literary passage. Additionally, the item is aligned well to the two standards and the evidence statements listed because it asks students to read carefully and choose a word that could be used to describe Miyax. Given the facets of Miyax’s character and the requirement to cite evidence to support the answer the student chose in Part A, this item demonstrates a level of complexity not seen in traditional tests of the past. PARCC Assessment Claim, Standards and Evidence Statements Assessed PARCC Assessment Claim: Reading Literature: Students read and demonstrate comprehension of grade-­‐level complex literary text. Standard RL.6.3: Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward resolution. Evidence Statements for RL.6.3: The student’s response • Provides a description of how the characters respond or change as the plot moves towards a resolution. Standard RL.6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Evidence Statement for RL.6.1: The student’s response • Provides cited textual evidence to support analysis of inferences drawn from the text. Sample Item 3: Scoring Points and Rationale Scoring Rationale: In order to receive full credit for Scoring Points: this item, students must choose two supporting facts • 2 points are awarded when the student chooses two sentences from the that support the adjective chosen for Part A. Unlike text that accurately support the adjective selected in Part A to describe tests in the past, students may not guess on Part A and Miyax. receive credit; they will only receive credit for the • 1 point is awarded if the student correctly chooses one sentence from the details they’ve chosen to support Part A. text that supports the adjective selected in Part A. • 0 points are awarded if neither sentence correctly supports the adjective. Copyright © PARCC 2012