English PLDs
Productions of Writing (POW) Students apply their understanding of the rhetorical
purpose and focus of a piece of writing to develop a topic effectively. They use various
strategies to achieve logical organization, topical unity, and general cohesion in grade-level
appropriate narrative and informational texts.
Conventions of Standard English (CSE) Students apply their understanding of the
conventions of Standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics to revise and edit grade-level
appropriate narrative and informational texts.
Knowledge of Language (KLA) Students demonstrate effective language use through
ensuring precision and concision in word choice and maintaining consistency in style and tone
in grade-level appropriate narrative and informational texts.
Grade 3 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines how individual sentences contribute to the focus of a paragraph.
• determines where a sentence best fits in a paragraph to improve focus and cohesion.
• provides a sentence that clearly introduces the main idea of a paragraph.
• provides a concluding sentence that logically fits with the main idea of the paragraph.
• logically orders a simple sequence of actions within a sentence.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• uses appropriate conjunctions to join two short, independent clauses.
• recognizes and corrects obvious errors in subject-verb agreement, irregular plural nouns, and pronoun case in a
simple sentence.
• identifies the correct form of comparative and superlative adjectives.
• identifies the appropriate word in word pairs that are frequently confused by third-grade students.
• recognizes and corrects obvious punctuation and capitalization errors in a simple sentence, including correctly
capitalizing titles and using commas in a series.
KLA
There is no Knowledge of Language PLDs for third grade.
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Grade 4 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines the best place to add or delete a sentence so that it completes or connects ideas in a paragraph.
• provides a sentence that logically introduces or concludes a paragraph by summarizing its main idea.
• uses a transition word to logically connect two closely related sentences within a paragraph.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• revises a phrase in a sentence to express a simple idea more precisely.
• uses words and phrases within a sentence that are consistent with the formal or informal tone of the paragraph
containing the sentence.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• uses a verb that agrees with its subject and is consistent with verb tense established in the sentence.
• forms regular and irregular plural nouns and common verbs.
• recognizes and corrects common errors in comparative and superlative adjective or adverb forms in simple
sentences. • uses prepositions appropriate to the context.
• recognizes and corrects obvious errors in sentence structures, such as fragments.
• recognizes and corrects comma errors in a compound sentence.
• uses apostrophes to indicate possession when the possessive relationship is clear.
Grade 5 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines the author’s purpose in an essay as a whole and provides a supporting reason.
• determines the purpose of a specific word or phrase within the context of a paragraph.
• determines where a sentence best fits within a paragraph in order to complete or connect main ideas.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• combines two simple sentences, using a conjunction to express a contrast between the ideas in the two
sentences.
• uses descriptive language within a sentence that is consistent with the overall formal or informal tone of
multiple paragraphs.
• draws on the context of multiple sentences to make precise word choices.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• recognizes and corrects inappropriate shifts in verb tense in a short paragraph.
• uses the appropriate word in word pairs that are frequently confused by fifth-grade students.
• uses an appropriate preposition to introduce a modifying phrase.
• recognizes and corrects comma errors involving restrictive clauses and items or phrases in a series.
• uses end punctuation to split a run-on sentence into two sentences.
• uses an apostrophe to correctly form a contraction.
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Grade 6 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• revises, adds, or deletes a sentence to enhance the focus and cohesion of a simple paragraph.
• determines the purpose of a sentence within a somewhat complex paragraph.
• provides a sentence that logically concludes the final paragraph of an essay.
• uses a transition word or phrase to logically connect two closely related paragraphs.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• uses the appropriate word or phrase to precisely express a relationship between ideas within a sentence, while
at the same time ensuring the clarity of the paragraph containing the sentence.
• recognizes and revises a redundant phrase to make a paragraph more concise.
• uses descriptive language within a sentence that is consistent with the tone of the paragraph containing the
sentence (when the tone is informal).
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• recognizes and corrects sentence fragments in sentences of varying lengths and structures.
• recognizes and corrects consistent verb tense in a sentence with a structure that is somewhat complex for sixthgrade students.
Grade 7 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines whether a sentence in a paragraph contributes to the overall purpose of an essay.
• uses a word to achieve a particular rhetorical purpose in the context of a paragraph.
• determines whether or not a sentence relates to the focus of a paragraph, drawing on the context of the essay
as a whole.
• determines where to place a sentence to ensure the logical progression of ideas across paragraphs.
• provides a sentence that introduces the main idea of a somewhat complex paragraph.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• chooses language that concisely communicates ideas in the context of a longer informational paragraph,
avoiding redundancy or unnecessary wording.
• maintains a consistent tone in an informational paragraph when the tone is formal/academic.
• distinguishes academic language from informal expression.
• uses a word or phrase to precisely express a relationship between ideas in a sentence, drawing on the context of
the paragraph containing the sentence.
• uses parallel verb forms to communicate related ideas within a sentence concisely.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines best placement of modifiers within a sentence with a structure that is somewhat complex for
seventh-grade students.
• recognizes and corrects faulty parallelism between two clauses.
• uses a subordinating conjunction to connect an independent and dependent clause when the relationship
between the ideas in the two clauses is subtle.
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recognizes and corrects errors in subject-verb agreement in a sentence when the subject immediately precedes
the verb.
Grade 7 continued
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chooses the appropriate plural, possessive, or singular noun form when the context is somewhat complex.
chooses a reflexive pronoun to refer to a singular subject.
chooses idiomatically appropriate prepositions to connect words in a sentence with a structure that is
somewhat complex for seventh-grade students.
uses commas to join clauses in a sentence with a structure that is somewhat complex for seventh-grade
students.
uses commas to separate adjectives that describe the same noun in a sentence with a structure that is
somewhat complex for seventh-grade students.
uses commas to set off noun phrases in a series in a sentence with a structure that is somewhat complex for
seventh-grade students.
uses commas to set off a modifying phrase, a nonrestrictive clause, or an appositive in a sentence with a
structure that is somewhat complex for seventh-grade students.
Grade 8 English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines whether an essay accomplishes a specific rhetorical purpose.
• determines whether a sentence should be added or deleted to enhance the overall purpose, unity, and logical
progression of ideas in a paragraph.
• determines the purpose of specific words and phrases within a paragraph and within an essay as whole.
• provides a sentence that introduces a main idea in a complex paragraph.
• uses a transition word or phrase to logically connect ideas across paragraphs when the relationship between
ideas is subtle.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• uses language that concisely communicates ideas in various types of writing.
• maintains a consistent, somewhat subtle tone in various types of writing; uses context to identify and delete
expressions that are too informal.
• recognizes and revises redundant or unnecessary wording within a sentence when the redundancy is subtle.
• uses a word or phrase to make a subtle distinction between ideas within a sentence.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• recognizes and corrects inappropriate shifts in verb tense when the meaning of an entire sentence must be
considered, and the ideas in the sentence are somewhat complex for eighth-grade students.
• uses appropriate punctuation and/or conjunctions to join multiple clauses.
• recognizes and corrects errors in subject-verb agreement in a sentence with a structure that is somewhat
complex for eighth-grade students.
• recognizes and corrects faulty verb formation and inappropriate shifts in verb tense across multiple more
complex sentences.
• chooses the correct pronoun case when a pronoun is the subject of a sentence and there is text between subject
and verb.
• uses the correct comparative form of an adjective in a sentence with a structure that is more complex for
eighth-grade students.
• uses commas to set aside information for emphasis.
• uses apostrophes to form possessive singular and plural nouns.
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EHS (9,10) English
POW
A student performing at the Ready level:
• determines whether an essay accomplishes a specific rhetorical purpose when the purpose is complex or
multifaceted. • determines the rhetorical purpose of individual phrases or words within a paragraph.
• determines whether a sentence, phrase, or word should be added, deleted, or revised to enhance the focus of
ideas in a paragraph.
• determines whether the sequencing of information within a paragraph is logical.
• uses a supporting detail that contributes to the focus of a paragraph.
• provides a sentence that subtly or fluidly introduces the main idea of a complex essay.
KLA
A student performing at the Ready level:
• revises to maintain a consistent style and tone in a sentence or paragraph when the writer’s approach is
somewhat subtle.
• uses words or phrases, considering both connotative and denotative meaning, to precisely express ideas or
actions that build throughout an essay.
• uses appropriate words or phrases to precisely express relationships between two related ideas within a
sentence.
• recognizes and revises unnecessary words and phrases to make a sentence more concise when the context is
somewhat complicated and/or the wordiness is subtle.
CSE
A student performing at the Ready level:
• recognizes and corrects subtle disturbances in sentence structure in sentences with a structure that is somewhat
complex for early high school students.
• recognizes and corrects errors in subject-verb agreement in a sentence with a structure that is complex for early
high school students, including when there is text between subject and verb.
• recognizes and corrects errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement in a sentence with a structure that is complex
for early high school students, including when there is text between pronoun and antecedent.
• recognizes and corrects faulty verb formation and inappropriate shifts in tense and aspect across multiple
sentences in longer paragraphs.
• recognizes errors with misplaced modifiers.
• uses idiomatic language, including prepositions, appropriately in a sentence with a structure that is complex for
early high school students.
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