The
e New
w York Ciity
De
epartment of Educ
cation
Grade
G
e 4 Englis
sh La
anguage Arts
(ELA)
) Ben
nchm
mark Asse
essm
ment
Te
each
her Guide
e
Sprin
S
ng 20
013
Feb
bruarry 11–
–Marc
ch 19,, 2013
3
Table of Contents
Test Design and Instructional Purpose ....................................................................... 3
Test Content .................................................................................................................. 3
Passages ....................................................................................................................... 4
Standards Alignment .................................................................................................... 4
Rubrics for Scoring Short-Response & Extended-Response/
Performance Task Items ...................................................................... 5
Test Design and Instructional Purpose
The English Language Arts (ELA) Benchmark Assessment is designed to help you collect
some information about your students’ progress toward meeting the Common Core
expectations for fourth grade.
There are two ELA Benchmark Assessments available—one for the fall and one for the
winter. The question types and complexity of the texts reflect what we anticipate will be on
the Grade 4 Common Core Learning Standards-aligned New York State test over the next
two years. The test contains the following item types:



Multiple choice
Short answer constructed response
Extended response/performance task
These items are designed to provide evidence of students’ skills in reading comprehension,
critical thinking, and answering text-dependent questions. The extended response/
performance task items require comparison, analysis, synthesis, and/or opinion or
argumentation.
These Benchmark Assessments provide an objective measure of your students’ performance
on cognitively rich tasks based on complex grade-level texts without scaffolding or support. In
other words, these assessments provide information on what your students can accomplish
independently and their mastery of the Common Core Learning Standards. They look at how
well students can transfer skills they’ve learned to new situations. Additionally, the
assessments allow grade-level teams to look at student work across classes to identify
learning trends and to develop strategies to address key areas of need.
No single test, including this Benchmark Assessment, can cover all skills and concepts
contained within the Common Core Learning Standards. Therefore, it is best to analyze this
assessment along with evidence collected from daily observation, class work, homework, and
school- or teacher-made assessments.
Test Content
The ELA Benchmark Assessment is designed to take two full 40-minute class periods. On the
first day, students read two passages and answer 4–7 multiple-choice questions and two
short-response questions. On the second day, students re-read the same two passages and
complete an extended response/performance task linking the two passages.
The passages and questions of the ELA Benchmark Assessment are designed to embody
three key shifts at the heart of the ELA Literacy Standards:

Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text(s). The multiple-choice, shortresponse, and extended-response/performance task questions are designed to
provide students opportunities to make explicit the evidence that supports their close
analysis of a specific text and, in some cases, of multiple texts.
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3

Regular practice with complex text and academic vocabulary. Texts were selected in
accordance with the quantitative and qualitative requirements of the Common Core
Learning Standards.

Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts. Text
passages represent a greater emphasis on nonfiction and informational texts.1
Passages
This Grade 4 Benchmark Assessment has two passages:

Island of Hope: an article about immigrants’ experiences as they entered the United
States through Ellis Island after it was opened in 1892.

Angel Island's Immigration History: a history of Chinese immigrants’ experiences
entering the United States through Angel Island in the early 1900s.
These passages were chosen to align to genres and text types specified in the Grade 4
PARCC Model Content Framework.2
Standards Alignment
The items associated with this assessment are aligned to the following Common Core
Learning Standards:
4.RI.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details;
summarize the text.
4.RI.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical
text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
4.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
4.L.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage
when writing or speaking.
4.L.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases
based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
1InGrades3–5,theFallBenchmarkAssessmentsfocusonfictionpassages,andtheWinterBenchmarkAssessments
focusoninformationalandnonfictionpassages.InGrades6–8,boththeFallandWinterBenchmarkAssessments
focusoninformationalandnonfictionpassages.
2ThePartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeandCareers(PARCC)isacollaborativeeffortamong23
statestodevelopacommonsetofK–12assessmentsinEnglishandMaththataligntotheCommonCoreState
Standards(CCSS).ThePARCCModelContentFrameworks,designedbycontentexperts,arevoluntaryresourcesto
supportimplementationoftheCCSSandtoguidedevelopmentofassessmentsinGrades3–12.Formore
information,referto:
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCC%20MCF%20for%20ELA%20Literacy_Fall%202011%20Rele
ase%20%28rev%29.pdf
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
4
Rubrics for Scoring Short-Response and Extended-Response/Performance Task Items
Item # 4
Key Elements
Supporting details:
1. Immigrants hoped to find a better life.
2. Immigrants had to pass a medical exam, which included checking for illness or
disease.
3. Immigrants also had to answer legal questions to be sure they were not criminals
and would be able to make a living honestly.
4. Immigrants worried that they would not pass the tests.
5. Immigrants feared the process, but most of them would make it through and be
granted entry to the United States.
6. or any other reasonable text-based response
Criteria
2
Proficient
A proficient response:
 Gives sufficient evidence of the ability to summarize important points in
the text and explain how it is supported by key details
 Includes specific inferences that make clear reference to the text
 Adequately supports the inferences with clearly relevant details from the
text
1
Partial
A partial response:
 Gives limited evidence of the ability to summarize important points in a
text and explain how it is supported by key details
 Includes some inferences that make reference to the text
 Supports the inferences with limited details from the text
0
No credit
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to
summarize important points in a text and explain how it is supported by key
details, includes no relevant information from the text, or is vague.
Exemplars
2
The immigrants came to the United States because they wanted to have
a better life than they had in their own country. When they got to Ellis Island
they had to go through an inspections process before they could be allowed
in the country. Doctors checked them for any illness or disease, and other
workers asked them questions to see if they would be able to make a living.
These inspections made them worry that they would be sent back if they did
not pass the tests. Once they successfully answered the legal questions and
showed that they were healthy, they were able to live freely in the United
States and not face the hardships many immigrants faced in the nations they
left behind.
1
Some people who came to live in the United States came through Ellis
Island. They had to pass a medical test and answer questions before they
were allowed in.
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5
0
Ellis Island is in New York Harbor.
Item # 9
Key Elements
Main reasons immigrants were sent back:
1. They were not members of a certain group, such as teachers, students, merchants,
or travelers.
2. They were not healthy. They could be sent back for minor sicknesses (such as eye
infections), if they could not pay for treatment.
3. They did not have a father who was an American citizen. The questions asked of
the immigrant and the father had to match. Often the fathers could not remember
the answers.
4. or any other reasonable text-based response
Criteria
2
Proficient
A proficient response:
 Gives sufficient evidence of the ability to determine the cause or effect of
a situation
 Includes specific explanations that make clear reference to the text
 Adequately supports the explanations with clearly relevant details from
the text
1
Partial
A partial response:
 Gives limited evidence of the ability to determine the cause or effect of a
situation
 Includes some explanations that make reference to the text
 Supports the explanations with limited details from the text
0
No credit
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to determine
the cause or effect of a situation, includes no relevant information from the
text, or is vague.
Exemplars
2
During the examination process at Angel Island, some Chinese
immigrants could not enter the United States. They were sent back to their
homelands because they had minor illnesses such as eye infections, and
they could not afford the treatment. Others were sent back because they did
not have a father who was an American citizen. If an immigrant had a father
who was an American citizen, they both had to answer some questions. If
their answers did not match, the immigrant was sent back to China.
1
Some Chinese immigrants were sent back to China because they were
sick. Others were sent back if they were not the right kind of worker.
0
Some immigrants lived at Angel Island.
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6
Item # 10
Key Elements
Similarities between Ellis Island and Angel Island immigration processes:
1. Immigrants had to have a medical exam at both locations.
2. Immigrants had to be healthy to enter the United States.
3. Immigrants had to answer questions before they could be allowed entry to the
United States.
4. or any other reasonable text-based response
Differences between Ellis Island and Angel Island immigration processes:
1. At Ellis Island, immigrants had to answer questions to prove they would not be a
burden on the United States, could make a living, and were not criminals.
2. At Ellis Island, most immigrants only spent a few hours before they were allowed to
leave.
3. At Ellis Island, immigrants received help from translators and clerks as they worked
through the inspection process.
4. At Angel Island, immigrants were required to have a father who was an American
citizen.
5. At Angel Island, immigrants were sometimes held for several years while waiting
for responses to questions that had been sent to their fathers.
6. At Angel Island, while immigrants waited, they had to experience poor living
conditions (lack of exercise, cramped spaces, bad food, etc.).
7. or any other reasonable text-based response
Criteria
4
Meets Standard (Meets criteria at grade level):
Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs
and sections.
 Introduces the topic in a strong and clear manner.
 Groups related information in paragraphs and sections.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
 Develops the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases
(e.g., another, for example, also, because).
 Links ideas within and across categories of information using words and
phrases, (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about
or explain the topic.
 Uses precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about or
explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
 Provides a concluding statement or section related to the information or
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
7
explanation presented.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 Demonstrates command of the conventions of standard English grammar,
usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
3
Near Standard (Mostly meets criteria):
Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs
and sections.
 Introduces the topic acceptably, but may lack some strength and/or clarity.
 Groups related information in paragraphs and sections most of the time;
organization may be slightly weak in places.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
 Mostly develops the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases
(e.g., another, for example, also, because).
 Mostly links ideas within and across categories of information using words
and phrases, (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about
or explain the topic.
 Mostly uses precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform
about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
 Provides a concluding statement or section that is related to the
information or explanation presented, for the most part.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 Demonstrates fairly good command of the conventions of standard
English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when
writing.
2
Approaching Standard (Partially meets criteria):
Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs
and sections.
 Provides an introduction to the topic that is limited in strength and clarity.
 May attempt to group related information in paragraphs and sections but
is only partially successful.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
 Partially develops the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
8
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases
(e.g., another, for example, also, because).
 Partially links ideas within and across categories of information using
words and phrases, (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about
or explain the topic.
 Uses some precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform
about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
 Provides a concluding statement or section partially related to the
information or explanation presented.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 Demonstrates partial command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
1
Below Standard (Barely meets criteria):
Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs
and sections.
 Provides a vague introduction to the topic.
 Barely groups related information in paragraphs and sections.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
 Minimally develops the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases
(e.g., another, for example, also, because).
 Writing contains few connections among ideas within and across
categories of information.
Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about
or explain the topic.
 Rarely uses precise language or domain specific vocabulary to inform
about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
 Provides a concluding statement or section barely related to the
information or explanation presented.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 Demonstrates minimal command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
9
0
Far Below Standard:
Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs
and sections.
 Provides no introduction to the topic.
 Provides little, if any, grouping of related information in paragraphs and
sections.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
 Provides no development of the topic.
 Provides little, if any, facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or
other information and examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases
(e.g., another, for example, also, because).
 Provides little, if any, connections among ideas within and across
categories of information.
Use precise language and domain specific vocabulary to inform about
or explain the topic.
 Uses little, if any, precise language and domain specific vocabulary to
inform about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or
explanation presented.
 No concluding statement or section related to information or explanation
is provided.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English
grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
 Demonstrates no command of standard English writing mechanics.
Exemplars
4
Immigrants who landed at Ellis Island went through many of the same
processes and obstacles that immigrants at Angel Island went through.
Immigrants' experiences at Ellis Island were better though than what
immigrants at Angel Island experienced. For example, at both stations,
immigrants had to have a medical exam and answer legal questions. These
were very different processes at each place, however.
The text about Ellis Island describes how all immigrants were checked by
a doctor and were sent back if they had a serious illness or disease that
could spread to other people. Doctors even watched how they walked up a
staircase. At Angel Island, the medical test was more difficult. Immigrants had
to pay for their own treatment and could be sent back if they had even a
small infection.
At Ellis Island, workers asked each immigrant about their life to make
sure they would be able to make a living in the United States. Immigrants
were afraid of this process but most of them made it through. At Angel Island,
though, immigrants had to have a father who was a U.S. citizen. They made
the immigrants and their fathers answer the same questions. If the answers
didn’t match, the immigrant would be sent home. Some immigrants had to
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
10
wait for years for the answers from their fathers to arrive.
Another difference is that immigrants at Ellis Island had help from
translators and clerks as they went through the inspections. The text about
Angel Island never says that the Chinese immigrants had that help.
Overall, it seemed easier to get into the United States through Ellis Island
than through Angel Island. It would have been very difficult to try to immigrate
through Angel Island.
3
The immigration process at Ellis Island was similar to the process at
Angel Island, but in general it was more difficult at Angel Island. All
immigrants had to take a medical test and answer some questions.
The medical test at Ellis Island was easier than at Angel Island. Doctors
only looked for serious diseases or illnesses. Most people made it through.
The questions were easier at Ellis Island also. They asked about the
immigrant’s life to make sure they could make it in the United States. But at
Angel Island they had to ask the immigrant and their father the same
questions, and if they didn’t match, the immigrant could be sent home. It was
easier to come to the United States if you immigrated through Ellis Island.
2
At both Ellis Island and Angel Island, the immigrants went through some
of the same things. They had to get checked by a doctor and talk to the
workers and answer some questions. At Ellis Island, the doctors checked to
see if the people were sick. If they were really sick, they could send them
back. The same thing was true at Angel Island, but they also could send
them back if they could not pay for medicine.
At Angel Island, they had to answer some questions. If they couldn’t
answer the questions in the same way as their parents, they had to go back
to China. They could live there for a long time waiting for the answers to
come. The immigrants did not live at Ellis Island.
1
In both places, they had to see a doctor. The doctor could send them back if
they were sick. They also had to answer some questions. Sometimes, they
had to wait a long time to get the answers to the questions, so they had to
live at Angel Island while they waited. So it was harder at Angel Island.
0
They both had to pass some tests and answer some questions. But the tests
and questions were different in both places.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,contacttheNYCAcuityHelpdeskat866‐NYC‐[email protected].
11
The
e New
w York Ciity
De
epartment of Educ
cation
Grade
G
e 4 Englis
sh La
anguage Arts
(ELA)
) Ben
nchm
mark Asse
essm
ment
Te
each
her Guide
e
Sprin
S
ng 20
013
Feb
bruarry 11–
–Marc
ch 19,, 2013
3