CONNECTING
COLLEGE READINESS
STANDARDS™
TO THE CLASSROOM
For Language Arts Teachers/
Reading
ACT endorses the Code of Fair Testing Practices in
Education and the Code of Professional Responsibilities
in Educational Measurement, guides to the conduct of
those involved in educational testing. ACT is committed
to ensuring that each of its testing programs upholds the
guidelines in each Code.
A copy of each Code may be obtained free of charge
from ACT Customer Services (68), P.O. Box 1008,
Iowa City, IA 52243-1008, 319/337-1429.
Visit ACT’s website at: www.act.org
© 2009 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.
13351
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
The College Readiness Standards Report for EXPLORE Reading . . . . . 2
Description of the College Readiness Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Description of the EXPLORE Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
The Need for Thinking Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Thinking Your Way Through the EXPLORE Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Assessment-Instruction Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using Assessment Information to Help Support
Low-Scoring Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Instructional Activities for EXPLORE Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Putting the Pieces Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Appendix: Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions . . . . . 70
List of Tables
1 The College Readiness Standards for the
EXPLORE Reading Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 EXPLORE Reading Test Content Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3 EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
4 College Readiness Benchmark Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5 Estimated PLAN Composite Score Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 The Link Between ACT Composite Scores and
College Admission Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
INTRODUCTION
ACT has developed this guide to help classroom
teachers, curriculum coordinators, and counselors
interpret the College Readiness Standards Report
data for EXPLORE® Reading. The guide includes:
■
A description of the College Readiness
StandardsTM and Benchmarks for EXPLORE
■
A description of the EXPLORE Reading Test
■
A set of sample test questions
■
A description of the AssessmentInstruction Link
■
A set of classroom instructional activities
The College Readiness Standards for EXPLORE
are statements that describe what students who score
in the four score ranges 13–15, 16–19, 20–23, and
24–25 are likely to know and to be able to do. The
statements are generalizations based on the
performance of many students scoring in these four
score ranges. College Readiness Standards have not
been developed for students whose scores fall in the
1–12 range because these students, as a group,
do not demonstrate skills similar to each other
consistently enough to permit useful generalizations.
The College Readiness Standards for EXPLORE
are accompanied by ideas for progress that help
teachers identify ways of enhancing student learning
based on the scores students receive.
The College Readiness Standards Report for
EXPLORE provides the percentage of your students in
each College Readiness Standards score range in
each of the four content areas the EXPLORE test
measures—English, Mathematics, Reading, and
Science. The report provides data that compare the
performance of your school’s students with all
students in a nationally representative comparison
group (norm group).
Local comparisons to the national norm group are
most appropriate when EXPLORE is administered
under conditions similar to those in the norming
study—with all four tests administered in a single
session in the standard order.
Eighth-grade students who test in August through
January will receive Fall Eighth-Grade Norms. Eighth
graders who test in February through July will receive
Spring Eighth-Grade Norms. Ninth-grade students
will receive Ninth-Grade Norms regardless of their
test date. (If your school chooses to test ninth-grade
students in the spring, keep in mind that these
students will have had several more months of
instruction than the norm group. Therefore, springtested ninth graders may show higher levels of
achievement when compared to the fall-tested norm
group than if they had tested in the fall.) Students who
are not in the eighth or ninth grade when they take
EXPLORE will receive Fall Eighth-Grade Norms on
their student reports.
EXPLORE is a curriculum-based assessment
program developed by ACT to help eighth and ninth
graders devise a high school course work plan that
prepares them to achieve their post-high school
goals. As part of ACT’s Educational Planning and
Assessment System (EPAS®), EXPLORE is complemented by PLAN®, ACT’s tenth-grade program, and
by the ACT®, for eleventh and twelfth graders. We
hope this guide helps you assist your students as they
plan and pursue their future studies.
“The role of standardized testing
is to let parents, students, and
institutions know what students
are ready to learn next.”
— Ralph Tyler, October 1991
Chairman Emeritus of
ACT’s Board of Trustees
1
THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS
REPORT FOR EXPLORE READING
The College Readiness Standards Report data
for EXPLORE Reading allow you to compare the
performance of students in your school with the
performance of students nationwide. The report
provides summary information you can use to map
the development of your students’ knowledge and
skills in reading. Used along with your own classroom
observations and with other resources, the test results
can help you to analyze your students’ progress in
reading and to identify areas of strength and areas
that need more attention to ensure your students are
on track to be college ready by the time they
graduate from high school. You can then use the
Standards as one source of information in the
instructional planning process.
A sample report appears on the next page.
An explanation of its features is provided below.
COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS RANGES
Down the sides of the report, in shaded boxes,
are the five score ranges reported for the College
Readiness Standards for EXPLORE. To determine the
number of score ranges and the width of each score
range, ACT staff reviewed normative data, college
admission criteria, and information obtained through
ACT’s Course Placement Service. For a more detailed
explanation of the way the score ranges were
determined, see page 5. For a table listing the
College Readiness Standards by score range for
Reading, see page 8. For a discussion of College
Readiness Benchmark Scores, see page 27.
2
LOCAL
AND
NATIONAL STUDENT RESULTS
In the center of the report, the percent of students
who scored in a particular score range at an
individual school (Local) is compared with the percent
of all students in the norm group (National) who
scored in the same range. The percent of students for
the norm group is based on the most current set of
nationally representative norms.
THE COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDS
The College Readiness Standards were
developed by identifying the knowledge and skills
students need in order to respond successfully to
questions on the EXPLORE Reading Test. The
Standards are cumulative, which means that if
students score, for example, in the 16–19 score
range, they are likely to be able to demonstrate most
or all of the knowledge and skills in the 13–15 and the
16–19 score ranges. Students may be able to
demonstrate some of the skills in the next score
range, 20–23, but not consistently enough as a group
to reach that score range. A description of the way
the College Readiness Standards were developed
can be found on pages 5–6. A table listing the
College Readiness Standards for Reading can be
found on page 8.
3
COLLEGE
DESCRIPTION OF THE
READINESS STANDARDS
WHAT ARE THE COLLEGE
READINESS STANDARDS?
The College Readiness Standards communicate
educational expectations. Each Standard describes
what students who score in the designated range are
likely to be able to do with what they know. Students
can typically demonstrate the skills and knowledge
within the score ranges preceding the range in which
they scored, so the College Readiness Standards are
cumulative.
In helping students make the transition to high
school, teachers, counselors, and parents can use
the College Readiness Standards for EXPLORE to
interpret students’ scores and to understand which
skills students need to develop to be better prepared
for the future.
HOW WERE THE SCORE RANGES
DETERMINED?
To determine the number of score ranges and the
width of each score range for EXPLORE, ACT staff both
reviewed EXPLORE normative data and considered the
relationship among EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT.
In reviewing the EXPLORE normative data, ACT
staff analyzed the distribution of student scores across
the score scale. Because EXPLORE and PLAN have a
common score scale, ACT can provide EXPLORE
examinees with an estimated PLAN Composite score.
When the score ranges were being determined,
therefore, both the EXPLORE score scale, 1–25, and
the PLAN score scale, 1–32, were reviewed side by
side. And because many students take PLAN to
determine how well they might perform on the ACT,
the course-placement research that ACT has
conducted over the last forty years was also reviewed.
ACT’s Course Placement Service provides colleges
and universities with cutoff scores that are used to
place students into appropriate entry-level courses in
college; and these cutoff scores were used to help
define the score ranges.
After analyzing all the data and reviewing different
possible score ranges, ACT staff concluded that
using the five score ranges 1–12, 13–15, 16–19,
20–23, and 24–25 would best distinguish students’
levels of achievement so as to assist teachers,
administrators, and others in relating EXPLORE test
scores to students’ attainment of specific skills and
understandings.
HOW WERE THE COLLEGE READINESS
STANDARDS DEVELOPED?
After reviewing normative data, college admission
criteria, and information obtained through ACT’s
Course Placement Service, content experts wrote the
College Readiness Standards based on their analysis
of the skills and knowledge students need in order to
successfully respond to the test questions in each
score range. Experts analyzed numerous test
questions that had been answered correctly by 80%
or more of the examinees within each score range.
The 80% criterion was chosen because it offers those
who use the College Readiness Standards a high
degree of confidence that students scoring in a given
score range will most likely be able to demonstrate
the skills and knowledge described in that range.
“The examination should describe
the student in meaningful terms—
meaningful to the student, the parent,
and the elementary and high school
teacher—meaningful in the sense
that the profile scores correspond
to recognizable school activities,
and directly suggest appropriate
distributions of emphasis in learning
and teaching.”
— E. F. Lindquist, February 1958
Cofounder of ACT
5
As a content validity check, ACT invited nationally
recognized scholars from high school and university
English, Reading, and Education departments to
review the College Readiness Standards for the
EXPLORE Reading Test. These teachers and
researchers provided ACT with independent,
authoritative reviews of the ways the College
Readiness Standards reflect the skills and
knowledge students need to successfully respond to
the questions on the EXPLORE Reading Test.
Because EXPLORE is curriculum based, ACT and
independent consultants conduct a review every three
to four years to ensure that the knowledge and skills
described in the Standards and outlined in the test
specifications continue to reflect those being taught in
classrooms nationwide.
HOW SHOULD THE COLLEGE
READINESS STANDARDS BE
I NTERPRETED AND USED?
The College Readiness Standards reflect the
progression and complexity of the skills measured in
EXPLORE. Because no EXPLORE test form measures
all of the skills and knowledge included in the College
Readiness Standards, the Standards must be
interpreted as skills and knowledge that most
students who score in a particular score range are
likely to be able to demonstrate. Since there were
relatively few test questions that were answered
correctly by 80% or more of the students who scored
in the lower score ranges, the Standards in these
ranges should be interpreted cautiously. The skills
and understandings of students who score in the
1–12 score range may still be evolving. For these
students the skills and understandings in the higher
score ranges could become their target achievement
outcomes.
It is important to recognize that the EXPLORE Test
does not measure everything students have learned
nor does any test measure everything necessary for
students to know to be successful in high school. The
EXPLORE English Test includes questions from a
6
large domain of skills and from areas of knowledge
that have been judged important for success in high
school and beyond. Thus, the College Readiness
Standards should be interpreted in a responsible way
that will help students understand what they need to
know and do if they are going to make a successful
transition to high school. As students choose courses
they plan to take in high school, they can use the
Standards to identify the skills and knowledge they
need to develop to be better prepared for their future.
Teachers and curriculum coordinators can use the
Standards to learn more about their students’
academic strengths and weaknesses and can then
modify their instruction and guide students
accordingly.
HOW ARE THE COLLEGE READINESS
STANDARDS ORGANIZED?
As content experts reviewed the test questions
connected to each score range, distinct yet
overlapping areas of knowledge and skill were
identified. For example, there are many types of
questions in which students are asked to identify the
main idea of a paragraph or passage. Therefore, Main
Ideas and Author’s Approach is one area, or strand,
within the College Readiness Standards for EXPLORE
Reading. The other strands are Supporting Details;
Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect
Relationships; Meanings of Words; and
Generalizations and Conclusions.
The strands provide an organizational framework
for the College Readiness Standards statements.
As you review the Standards, you will note a
progression in complexity within each strand. For
example, in the 13–15 range for the Main Ideas and
Author’s Approach strand, students are able to
“recognize a clear intent of an author or narrator in
uncomplicated literary narratives,” while in the 24–25
range, students are able to “infer the main idea or
purpose of straightforward paragraphs in more
challenging passages.”
WHAT ARE THE “DESCRIPTIONS OF
THE EXPLORE READING PASSAGES”?
A guiding principle underlying the development of
the College Readiness Standards was that reading
well depends on a range of flexible, adaptable
strategies and that good readers work actively to
construct meaning. As students progress in their
learning, they encounter different types of discourse
and read texts that vary in complexity. Effective
readers adjust their reading to fit the type of text
and employ specific tactics when they encounter
sophisticated text. Because the complexity of a
passage on the EXPLORE Reading Test plays such
a key role in students’ ability to successfully negotiate
the passage (and the test questions), the College
Readiness Standards for EXPLORE Reading also
include Descriptions of the EXPLORE Reading
Passages. These descriptions clarify what kinds of
passages are referred to in the College Readiness
Standards as Uncomplicated or More Challenging
Literary Narratives and Uncomplicated or More
Challenging Informational Passages.
teacher-developed assessment tools, as well as
standardized tests—to accurately reflect what each
student knows and can do. The Standards and the
ideas for progress, used in conjunction with
classroom-based and curricular resources, help
teachers and administrators to guide the whole
education of every student.
WHAT ARE THE EXPLORE
READING TEST COLLEGE
READINESS STANDARDS?
Table 1 on pages 8–13 suggests links between
what students are likely to be able to do (the College
Readiness Standards) and what learning experiences
students would likely benefit from.
The College Readiness Standards are organized
both by score range (along the left-hand side) and by
strand (across the top).
The Standards are complemented by brief
descriptions of learning experiences from which
students might benefit. Based on the College
Readiness Standards, these ideas for progress are
designed to provide classroom teachers with help for
lesson plan development. These ideas, which are
given in Table 1, demonstrate one way that
information learned from standardized test results
can be used to inform classroom instruction.
The ideas for progress are also arranged by score
range and by strand. Although many of the ideas
cross more than one strand, a primary strand has
been identified for each in order to facilitate their use
in the classroom. For example, the statement in the
20–23 range “synthesize information from challenging
texts to clarify understanding of important concepts
and ideas” brings together concepts from several
strands, such as Main Ideas and Author’s Approach;
Supporting Details; and Generalizations and
Conclusions. However, this idea is primarily linked to
the Main Ideas and Author’s Approach strand.
Because students learn over time and in various
contexts, it is important to use a variety of instructional
methods and materials to meet students’ diverse
needs and to help strengthen and build upon their
knowledge and skills. The ideas for progress offer
teachers a variety of suggestions to foster learning
experiences from which students would likely benefit
as they move from one level of learning to the next.
As you review the table, you will note that ideas
for progress have been provided for the 24–25 score
range, the highest score range for EXPLORE.
EXPLORE is designed to measure knowledge and
skills achieved through the eighth grade. Ideas for
progress for the 24–25 score range are shown to
suggest educational experiences from which students
may benefit before they take PLAN and the ACT.
Because learning is a complex and individual
process, it is especially important to use multiple
sources of information—classroom observations and
7
Table 1:
EXPLORE
READING TEST
The College Readiness Standards
The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to
be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students’ learning based
on the scores students receive. The score range at the Benchmark level of achievement is highlighted.
Main Ideas and
Author’s Approach
1–12
13 –15
Supporting Details
Standards
■
Students who score in the 1–12 range are most likely beginning to develop the knowledge
and skills assessed in the other score ranges.
ideas for progress
■
locate details in a literary text that suggest
the author’s or narrator’s intent
■
speculate about an author’s or narrator’s
beliefs, motives, or thinking
■
write, exchange, and answer a series of
questions that examine significant details
presented in a text
■
locate and discuss details presented in a
text (e.g., who, what, where)
Standards
■
Recognize a clear intent of an author
or narrator in uncomplicated literary
narratives
■
Locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates,
events) clearly stated in a passage
ideas for progress
■
work with peers to create logical
statements about the main idea or
purpose of simple paragraphs
■
determine which details in a text are
essential to understanding the author’s or
narrator’s intended message
■
scan a text in order to locate specific
details (e.g., dates, specialized terms,
facts)
■
identify the author’s or narrator’s reasons
for including specific information in the text
Descriptions of the EXPLORE Reading Passages
Uncomplicated Literary Narratives refers to
excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that
tend to use simple language and structure, have a
clear purpose and a familiar style, present straightforward interactions between characters, and employ
only a limited number of literary devices such as
metaphor, simile, or hyperbole.
8
More Challenging Literary Narratives refers to
excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that
tend to make moderate use of figurative language,
have a more intricate structure and messages
conveyed with some subtlety, and may feature
somewhat complex interactions between characters.
Table 1:
The Standards and the Pathways for Transition
Sequential, Comparative, and
Cause-Effect Relationships
■
■
use various strategies (e.g., timelines,
event chains, discussion) to determine
whether an event occurred and, if so,
when it occurred
Meanings of Words
■
Generalizations and Conclusions
use various resources (e.g., dictionary,
thesaurus) to explore connotations of
familiar words or descriptive language
discuss an issue of interest,
determining how past events affected
the present
■
locate evidence in a text that explicitly
states why an event or a series of
events occurred
■
search for patterns or clues (e.g.,
signal words) that indicate cause-effect
relationships
■
Determine when (e.g., first, last, before,
after) or if an event occurred in
uncomplicated passages
■
Recognize clear cause-effect
relationships described within a
single sentence in a passage
■
analyze how an author or narrator uses
description, dialogue, and action to
suggest relationships between
characters in written or nonprint
sources (e.g., films, ads)
■
select phrases or statements from a
literary text that illustrate how a specific
character feels toward others in the text
■
■
■
recognize generalizations about the
main character in a literary text
■
combine several pieces of information
to make a reasonable generalization
about a specific character
■
make predictions about characters and
events presented in a literary text,
verifying or rejecting those predictions
and making new ones as they read
■
Understand the implication of a
familiar word or phrase and of simple
descriptive language
■
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about the main characters
in uncomplicated literary narratives
■
examine specific language in a text
and propose plausible interpretations
based in part on their own viewpoints
and experiences
■
analyze the reasonableness of
generalizations by reviewing
information presented in the text
and from other sources
■
compose generalizations that include
qualifying language (e.g., a few,
sometimes) when limited evidence is
presented by the author or narrator
read portions of a literary text,
predicting how a person’s actions or
words would likely impact a specific
situation
■
determine what a literary narrative is
generally about, organizing the text’s
information into general statements that
are supported by details from the text
use various strategies (e.g.,
questioning, role-playing) to determine
plausible cause-effect relationships
■
draw reasonable conclusions about
people and situations using evidence
presented in a text
Uncomplicated Informational Passages
refers to materials that tend to contain a limited
amount of data, address basic concepts using
familiar language and conventional organizational
patterns, have a clear purpose, and are written to
be accessible.
More Challenging Informational Passages
refers to materials that tend to present concepts
that are not always stated explicitly and that are
accompanied or illustrated by more—and more
detailed—supporting data, include some difficult
context-dependent words, and are written in a
somewhat more demanding and less accessible
style.
9
Table 1 (continued):
EXPLORE
READING TEST
The College Readiness Standards
The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to
be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students’ learning based
on the scores students receive. The score range at the Benchmark level of achievement is highlighted.
Main Ideas and
Author’s Approach
16–19
Standards
ideas for progress
20–23
Standards
ideas for progress
10
■
■
Identify a clear main idea or purpose
of straightforward paragraphs in
uncomplicated literary narratives
analyze techniques used by the author of
a text to reveal or conceal his or her point
of view
■
Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward paragraphs in uncomplicated
literary narratives
■
Understand the overall approach taken by
an author or narrator (e.g., point of view,
kinds of evidence used) in uncomplicated
passages
■
determine how an inference might change
based on the inclusion of additional
information
■
synthesize information from challenging
texts to clarify understanding of important
concepts and ideas
■
distinguish between key concepts and
subordinate ideas in a text and write a
concise summary
■
search for clues that suggest the viewpoint
from which a literary text is written or told
and determine whether the author’s or
narrator’s point of view is valid or biased
■
analyze the relationship between an
author’s or narrator’s intended message
and the rhetorical devices used to convey
that message (e.g., language used,
evidence provided)
Supporting Details
■
Locate simple details at the sentence
and paragraph level in uncomplicated
passages
■
Recognize a clear function of a part of an
uncomplicated passage
■
explain in their own words the significance
of specific information in written or
nonprint sources
■
distinguish between what is most and least
important in a text
■
Locate important details in uncomplicated
passages
■
Make simple inferences about how details
are used in passages
■
gather and interpret details presented in a
text, determining the contribution of each
to the author’s or narrator’s intended
message
■
identify details that clearly support the key
point(s) of written or nonprint sources
■
check inferences against information
provided in a text, identifying what is and
is not sufficiently supported by the text
Table 1:
The Standards and the Pathways for Transition
Sequential, Comparative, and
Cause-Effect Relationships
■
Identify relationships between main
characters in uncomplicated literary
narratives
■
Recognize clear cause-effect
relationships within a single paragraph
in uncomplicated literary narratives
■
place events from a literary text in
chronological order by locating
substantial evidence from the text
■
identify similarities and differences
between people, objects, events, or
ideas, drawing accurate conclusions
■
identify interrelationships between and
among people, objects, events, or
ideas in written or nonprint sources
■
determine factors that have clearly
influenced the outcome of a situation
■
identify statements in texts that clearly
state the cause(s) and effect(s) of
specific events
■
Order simple sequences of events in
uncomplicated literary narratives
■
Identify clear relationships between
people, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages
■
Identify clear cause-effect relationships
in uncomplicated passages
■
analyze the sequence of events in
written or nonprint sources
■
map sequences of events in texts or
films or from everyday occurrences,
defending their reasoning
■
evaluate the extent to which
comparisons made by the author or
narrator help clarify specific textual
relationships
■
search for clues embedded in a text
that suggest cause-effect relationships
■
examine events in written or nonprint
sources to determine the precipitating
cause(s) and final outcome(s)
Meanings of Words
Generalizations and Conclusions
■
Use context to understand basic
figurative language
■
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about people, ideas, and
so on in uncomplicated passages
■
clarify the meanings of words or
descriptive phrases by searching
for clues in the text (e.g., sentence
structure, context, prefixes/suffixes,
spelling patterns)
■
make accurate generalizations about
people and events based on evidence
presented in the text
■
identify inaccurate generalizations
(e.g., stereotypes) in written or nonprint
sources
■
identify details in a challenging text
that confirm or disprove conclusions
drawn by the author or narrator and by
the students themselves or their peers
■
make reasoned judgments about ideas
and events based on evidence from
written or nonprint sources
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of some figurative
and nonfigurative words, phrases, and
statements in uncomplicated passages
■
Draw generalizations and
conclusions about people, ideas, and
so on in uncomplicated passages
■
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions using details that support
the main points of more challenging
passages
■
investigate the meanings of words
and their possible effect(s) on the
perceptions and behavior of people
■
■
research words and phrases from
different sources, identifying their
shades of meaning in various
contexts or situations
defend or challenge the author’s or
narrator’s assertions by locating
several key pieces of information in
a challenging text
■
make accurate generalizations based
on implicit information in the text
■
analyze specific parts of a text,
drawing accurate conclusions
■
11
Table 1 (continued):
EXPLORE
READING TEST
The College Readiness Standards
The Standards describe what students who score in the specified score ranges are likely to know and to
be able to do. The ideas for progress help teachers identify ways of enhancing students’ learning based
on the scores students receive. The score range at the Benchmark level of achievement is highlighted.
Main Ideas and
Author’s Approach
24–25
Standards
ideas for progress
12
■
Identify a clear main idea or purpose
of any paragraph or paragraphs in
uncomplicated passages
■
Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward paragraphs in more challenging
passages
■
Summarize basic events and ideas in
more challenging passages
■
Understand the overall approach taken by
an author or narrator (e.g., point of view,
kinds of evidence used) in more
challenging passages
■
develop a reasonable interpretation of the
central theme(s) or main point(s) of a
challenging text
■
divide challenging texts into sections,
determining what the key points are for
each section
■
determine the primary purpose of specific
sections of a text or the text as a whole
■
use two different mediums (e.g., sculpture,
poetry, photography, music) to present a
synopsis of the main idea(s) of a text,
thereby expanding understanding of the
text’s meaning
■
identify subtle evidence that conveys
the author’s or narrator’s point of view in
challenging texts
■
change the wording of a text in order
to convey a different tone or attitude
(e.g., from persuasive to serious)
Supporting Details
■
Locate important details in more
challenging passages
■
Locate and interpret minor or subtly stated
details in uncomplicated passages
■
Discern which details, though they may
appear in different sections throughout a
passage, support important points in more
challenging passages
■
enumerate aspects or characteristics of
people, objects, events, or ideas
■
interpret and integrate details in a text in
order to verify or contradict a specific
point or claim made by the author or
narrator
■
recognize and study the evolution of an
author’s argument(s) as presented in a
complex informational text
Table 1:
The Standards and the Pathways for Transition
Sequential, Comparative, and
Cause-Effect Relationships
■
Order sequences of events in
uncomplicated passages
■
Understand relationships between
people, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages
■
Identify clear relationships between
characters, ideas, and so on in more
challenging literary narratives
■
Understand implied or subtly
stated cause-effect relationships in
uncomplicated passages
■
Identify clear cause-effect relationships
in more challenging passages
■
Meanings of Words
Generalizations and Conclusions
■
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of virtually
any word, phrase, or statement in
uncomplicated passages
■
Draw subtle generalizations and
conclusions about characters, ideas,
and so on in uncomplicated literary
narratives
■
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of some figurative
and nonfigurative words, phrases,
and statements in more challenging
passages
■
Draw generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in more
challenging passages
read texts containing challenging
sequences (e.g., flashback, flashforward), discussing how the order of
events affects understanding of the text
■
develop and use strategies for
deciphering the meanings of words or
phrases embedded in richly figurative
or technical contexts
■
synthesize information in challenging
texts, making valid generalizations
or conclusions about people and
situations
■
explain how altering a series of events
would likely change the outcome of
a situation or the actions of the
characters
■
analyze figurative and technical
language in the media, relating some
instances to a personal experience
■
confirm or disprove generalizations
suggested in texts by providing
examples or counterexamples from
other sources
■
develop an in-depth understanding of
the fine distinctions between literary
characters in a challenging text by
closely examining the language used
by the author or narrator
■
identify relationships between ideas
and/or people in a challenging text and
how those relationships develop over
the course of the text
■
identify clues in a challenging text that
suggest possible motives for and
effects of a person’s actions or words
■
read conflicting viewpoints of an event
and use textual evidence to identify
which one has the most reasonable
explanations of causes and effects
13
DESCRIPTION OF
READING TEST
THE
WHAT DOES THE EXPLORE
READING TEST M EASURE?
Good readers develop an understanding of texts
by becoming actively involved as they read, and in
doing so, they use a range of flexible, adaptable
strategies that influence their “ability to read the lines,
to read between the lines, and to read beyond the
lines” (Gray, 1960, p. 17). “Get[ting] students to build
understanding of text ideas” is a goal of reading
instruction across all grade levels and content areas
(Beck, McKeown, Hamilton, & Kucan, 1998, p. 67).
To meet this goal requires active reading and the use
of various kinds and combinations of skills, skills that
can be assessed using various measures.
The EXPLORE Reading Test, a curriculum-based
assessment, measures the reading comprehension
skills students have acquired in courses taken up to
the beginning of eighth grade. ACT determines the
content of the EXPLORE Reading Test by identifying
the concepts and skills that are taught in classrooms
nationwide and considered necessary for future
academic success. Designed to simulate the types
of reading tasks students encounter in their academic
work and in life outside of school, the Reading Test
EXPLORE
measures students’ literal-level reading skills as well
as their ability to make inferences, draw conclusions,
generalize from specific data, and reason logically.
The passages selected for the Reading Test
are from published works of fiction and nonfiction,
represent diverse points of view, and are produced
by writers who reflect a wide variety of backgrounds.
Students’ reading skills are assessed in three content
areas: Prose Fiction, Humanities, and Social Science.
Each passage is preceded by a heading that
identifies the passage type (e.g., Prose Fiction),
names the author, and may provide a brief note that
helps in understanding the passage. The lines of the
passage are numbered for reference. Table 2 below
provides additional information about the EXPLORE
Reading Test.
“The test should measure what
students can do with what they have
learned.”
— (ACT, 1996a, p. 1)
Table 2: EXPLORE Reading Test Content Areas
30 questions, 30 minutes, 3 passages (500 words each)
Description of Passage
Percentage of Questions
Prose Fiction
The test questions in this category are based on passages
from short stories or novels.
33%
Humanities
The test questions in this category are based on passages
from memoirs and personal essays, and in the content areas
of architecture, art, dance, ethics, film, language, literary
criticism, music, philosophy, radio, television, or theater.
33%
Social Science The test questions in this category are based on passages in
anthropology, archaeology, biography, business, economics,
education, geography, history, political science, psychology,
or sociology.
33%
14
Questions in the Reading Test are classified in the
general categories of Referring and Reasoning.
Referring. The questions in this category ask
about material explicitly stated in a passage. These
questions are designed to measure literal reading
comprehension. A question is classified in the
Referring category if the information required to
answer it is directly given in the passage text. In such
questions, there are usually relationships between the
language of the passage and that of the question,
and the answer to the question is evident in a single
sentence, or two adjacent sentences, in the passage.
Some Referring questions paraphrase the language of
the passage.
Reasoning. The questions in this category ask
about meaning implicit in a passage and require
cogent reasoning about a passage. These questions
are designed to measure “meaning making” by
logical inference, analysis, and synthesis. A question
is classified in the Reasoning category if it requires
inferring or applying a logical process to elicit an
answer from the passage, or if it demands that the
examinee combine many statements in the passage
or interpret entire sections of the text.
15
THE NEED
FOR
THINKING SKILLS
Every student comes to school with the ability
to think, but to achieve their goals students need
to develop skills such as learning to make new
connections between texts and ideas, to understand
increasingly complex concepts, and to think through
their assumptions. Because of technological
advances and the fast pace of our society, it is
increasingly important that students not only know
information but also know how to critique and manage
that information. Students must be provided with the
tools for ongoing learning; understanding, analysis,
and generalization skills must be developed so that
the learner is able to adapt to a variety of situations.
HOW ARE EXPLORE TEST
QUESTIONS LINKED TO THINKING
SKILLS?
Our belief in the importance of developing
thinking skills in learners was a key factor in the
development of EXPLORE. ACT believes that
students’ preparation for further learning is best
assessed by measuring, as directly as possible, the
academic skills that students have acquired and that
they will need to perform at the next level of learning.
The required academic skills can most directly be
assessed by reproducing as faithfully as possible the
complexity of the students’ schoolwork. Therefore, the
EXPLORE test questions are designed to determine
how skillfully students solve problems, grasp implied
meanings, draw inferences, evaluate ideas, and
make judgments in subject-matter areas important
to success in intellectual work both inside and
outside school.
16
Table 3 on pages 17–21 provides sample test
questions, organized by score range, that are linked
to specific skills within each of the five Reading
strands. It is important to note the increasing level of
skill with reading that students scoring in the higher
score ranges are able to demonstrate. The questions
were chosen to illustrate the variety of content as well
as the range of complexity within each strand. The
sample test questions for the 13–15, 16–19, 20–23,
and 24–25 score ranges are examples of items
answered correctly by 80% or more of the EXPLORE
examinees who obtained scores in each of these
four score ranges.
As you review the sample test questions, you
will note that each correct answer is marked with
an asterisk. Also note that each sample test question
includes the passage content area and subcategory
for the corresponding passage as well as the page
number where the passage is located in the
appendix.
“Learning is not attained by chance,
it must be sought for with ardour and
attended to with diligence.”
— Abigail Adams in a letter to
John Quincy Adams
Table 3:
Score
Range
EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range
Main Ideas and Author’s Approach Strand
Main Ideas and Author’s Approach
Sample Test Questions
13 –15
Recognize a clear intent of an author
or narrator in uncomplicated literary
narratives
Due to the secure nature of the test, it was not
possible to provide a sample test question for
this skill.
16 –19
Identify a clear main idea or purpose
of straightforward paragraphs in
uncomplicated literary narratives
Due to the secure nature of the test, it was not
possible to provide a sample test question for
this skill.
20 –23
Understand the overall approach
taken by an author or narrator (e.g.,
point of view, kinds of evidence used)
in uncomplicated passages
Whether the game that prompted the writing of this
passage actually happened as described is a matter of:
24 –25
Summarize basic events and ideas in
more challenging passages
*A. opinion, since the writer wonders whether he has
remembered the event properly.
B. opinion, since the game probably looked quite a bit
different to the major league scouts in attendance.
C. opinion, since the mother remembers quite a bit about
the game, but what she remembers is different.
D. fact, since the writer feels quite certain of all the facts
he has presented here.
The main point of the second paragraph (lines 19–32) is
that:
*A. some people weren’t sure starlings should have been
imported into the U.S.
B. starlings had been despised in Europe for thousands of
years before coming to the U.S.
C. starlings have competed with songbirds for many
centuries in the U.S.
D. the starling is a very impressive and unusual bird.
Passage
Information
page 75
Humanities
Personal Essay
page 72
Social Science
History
17
Table 3:
Score
Range
13 –15
EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range
Supporting Details Strand
Supporting Details
Sample Test Questions
Locate basic facts (e.g., names,
dates, events) clearly stated in a
passage
The area under the stage was traditionally referred to as
the:
20 –23
Locate simple details at the sentence
and paragraph level in uncomplicated
passages
Locate important details in
uncomplicated passages
page 76
Humanities
A.
B.
C.
*D.
16 –19
Passage
Information
Basement.
Grave.
Hut.
Hell.
Squeaky would most likely describe her running as a:
A.
*B.
C.
D.
boring hobby.
serious sport.
stressful undertaking.
good defense.
According to the passage, where did Milton Snavely
Hershey learn about chocolate making?
Theater
page 24
Prose Fiction
Short Story
page 73
Social Science
A.
B.
C.
*D.
24 –25
18
Locate and interpret minor or subtly
stated details in uncomplicated
passages
At a German chocolate-making factory
At his own plant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
At a British chocolate-bar factory
At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
According to the passage, what is Broadway?
*A.
B.
C.
D.
A busy city street
A tall building
An island
A picnic area
History
page 24
Prose Fiction
Short Story
Table 3:
EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range
Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect Relationships Strand
Score
Range
Sequential, Comparative, and
Cause-Effect Relationships
13 –15
Recognize clear cause-effect
relationships explicitly described within
a single sentence in a passage
16 –19
Identify relationships between main
characters in uncomplicated literary
narratives
Sample Test Questions
Passage
Information
Squeaky gets her name because of the:
page 24
A.
B.
*C.
D.
The relationship described in the most detail in the passage
is that between:
Order simple sequences of events in
uncomplicated literary narratives
Identify clear cause-effect
relationships in more challenging
passages
Squeaky and her father.
Squeaky and Raymond.
Raymond and his father.
Squeaky’s parents.
In Squeaky’s opinion, if Squeaky, her father, and Gretchen
all ran in a race together, what would the outcome be?
A.
B.
*C.
D.
24 –25
Prose Fiction
Short Story
page 24
Prose Fiction
A.
*B.
C.
D.
20 –23
way she runs.
way she looks.
way she talks.
kind of breathing exercises she does.
Squeaky first; Squeaky’s father second; Gretchen third
Squeaky first; Gretchen second; Squeaky’s father third
Squeaky’s father first; Squeaky second; Gretchen third
Gretchen first; Squeaky second; Squeaky’s father third
The passage mentions the rumor that Eugene Schieffelin’s
scheme was to:
A. show Americans what a fascinating bird the starling is.
*B. import all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works
to the U.S.
C. control the Japanese beetle and cutworm problem in
the U.S.
D. demonstrate to U.S. citizens how beautiful the
starling’s song is.
Short Story
page 24
Prose Fiction
Short Story
page 72
Social Science
History
19
Table 3:
Score
Range
13 –15
EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range
Meanings of Words Strand
Meanings of Words
Sample Test Questions
Understand the implication of a
familiar word or phrase and of simple
descriptive language
It can reasonably be inferred from the second “Mine?”
(line 63) uttered by Jody that he:
Use context to understand basic figurative language
page 70
Prose Fiction
A.
*B.
C.
D.
16 –19
Passage
Information
won’t curry the horse after school.
can hardly believe the pony is his.
is wondering how he’s going to afford the pony.
is embarrassed by what his father has done.
As it is used in the passage, the phrase “the cheapest part
of the house” (lines 19–20) most nearly means the:
Novel
page 76
Humanities
A.
B.
*C.
D.
20 –23
24 –25
20
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of some
figurative and nonfigurative words,
phrases, and statements in
uncomplicated passages
Use context to determine the
appropriate meaning of virtually any
word, phrase, or statement in
uncomplicated passages
most inexpensive part of a home to build.
least valuable room in a home.
least expensive area in the theater.
backyard of a home.
As it is used in line 7, the phrase common boundary most
nearly means:
Theater
page 74
Social Science
A.
*B.
C.
D.
natural cutoff point.
shared border.
ordinary limitation.
average line.
As it is used in line 31, the word private most nearly
means:
Geography
page 24
Prose Fiction
A.
B.
*C.
D.
unimportant.
shameful.
confidential.
sincere.
Short Story
Table 3:
Score
Range
13 –15
EXPLORE Sample Test Questions by Score Range
Generalizations and Conclusions Strand
Generalizations and Conclusions
Sample Test Questions
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about the main characters
in uncomplicated literary narratives
Squeaky’s body type would most accurately be described
as:
Draw simple generalizations and
conclusions about people, ideas, and
so on in uncomplicated passages
Draw generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages
Draw subtle generalizations and
conclusions about characters, ideas,
and so on in uncomplicated literary
narratives
Short Story
page 24
Prose Fiction
cautious.
intellectual.
timid.
self-confident.
According to the passage, Squeaky’s relationship with her
brother Raymond could best be described as:
Short Story
page 24
Prose Fiction
A.
*B.
C.
D.
24 –25
muscular.
large.
slight.
very tall.
Squeaky’s personality would most accurately be described
as:
A.
B.
C.
*D.
20 –23
page 24
Prose Fiction
A.
B.
*C.
D.
16 –19
Passage
Information
easygoing yet distant.
challenging but affectionate.
intolerable and one-sided.
awkward and regrettable.
The narrator implies in lines 43–47 that the nun’s reaction
was one of:
Short Story
page 71
Prose Fiction
A.
B.
C.
*D.
excitement.
sadness.
resignation.
disbelief.
Novel
21
THINKING YOUR WAY THROUGH
THE EXPLORE TEST
In our increasingly complex society, students’
ability to think critically and make informed decisions
is more important than ever. The workplace demands
new skills and knowledge and continual learning;
information bombards consumers through media and
the Internet; familiar assumptions and values often
come into question. More than ever before, students
in today’s classrooms face a future when they will
need to adapt quickly to change, to think about
issues in rational and creative ways, to cope with
ambiguities, and to find means of applying information
to new situations.
Classroom teachers are integrally involved in
preparing today’s students for their futures. Such
preparation must include the development of thinking
skills such as problem solving, decision making, and
inferential and evaluative thinking. These are, in fact,
the types of skills and understandings that underlie
the test questions on EXPLORE.
answer. The descriptions provide a series of
strategies students typically might employ as they
work through each test question. Possible flawed
strategies leading to the choice of one or more
incorrect responses also are offered. Analyzing test
questions in this way, as test developers do to
produce a Test Question Rationale, can provide
students with a means of understanding the
knowledge and skills embedded in the test questions
and an opportunity to explore why an answer choice
is correct or incorrect.
Providing students with strategies such as these
encourages them to take charge of their thinking and
learning. The sample test questions that appear in
Table 3 on pages 17–21 can be used to develop
additional Test Question Rationales.
“Learning is fundamentally about
HOW CAN ANALYZING TEST
QUESTIONS BUILD THINKING SKILLS?
making and maintaining connections . . .
On pages 24–25 you will find a passage and
some sample test questions. The sample test
questions provide a link to a strand, a Standard, and
a score range. Each sample test question includes a
description of the skills and understandings students
must demonstrate in order to determine the best
— American Association for Higher Education,
American College Personnel Association,
& National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators, June 1998
among concepts, ideas, and meanings.”
23
PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from Toni Cade
Bambara’s short story “Raymond’s Run” (©1972 by Toni Cade
Bambara).
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
24
I don’t have much work to do around the house
like some girls. My mother does that. And I don’t have
to earn my pocket money. And anything else that’s got
to get done, my father does. All I have to do in life is
mind my brother Raymond, which is enough.
Sometimes I slip and say my little brother
Raymond. But as any fool can see he’s much bigger and
he’s older too. But a lot of people call him my little
brother cause he needs looking after cause he’s not
quite right. And a lot of smart mouths got lots to say
about that too. But now, if anybody has anything to say
to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they
have to come by me. And I don’t play the dozens or
believe in standing around with somebody in my face
doing a lot of talking. I much rather just knock you
down and take my chances even if I am a little girl with
skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got
the name Squeaky. And if things get too rough, I run.
And as anybody can tell you, I’m the fastest thing on
two feet.
There is no track meet that I don’t win the first
place medal. I used to win the twenty-yard dash when I
was a little kid in kindergarten. Nowadays, it’s the
fifty-yard dash. And tomorrow I’m subject to run the
quarter-meter relay all by myself and come in first, second, and third. The big kids call me Mercury cause I’m
the swiftest thing in the neighborhood. Everybody
knows that—except two people who know better, my
father and me. He can beat me to Amsterdam Avenue
with me having a two fire-hydrant headstart. But that’s
private information. So as far as everyone’s concerned,
I’m the fastest and that goes for Gretchen, too, who has
put out the tale that she is going to win the first-place
medal this year. Ridiculous. In the second place, she’s
got short legs. In the third place, she’s got freckles. In
the first place, no one can beat me and that’s all there
is to it.
I’m standing on the corner admiring the weather
and about to take a stroll down Broadway so I can practice my breathing exercises, and I’ve got Raymond
walking on the inside close to the buildings, cause he’s
subject to fits of fantasy and starts thinking he’s a circus performer and that the curb is a tightrope strung
high in the air. And sometimes after a rain he likes to
step down off his tightrope right into the gutter and
slosh around getting his shoes and cuffs wet. Or sometimes if you don’t watch him he’ll dash across traffic to
the island in the middle of Broadway and give the
pigeons a fit. Then I have to go behind him apologizing
to all the old people sitting around trying to get some
sun and getting all upset with the pigeons fluttering
around them, scattering their newspapers and upsetting
the waxpaper lunches in their laps. So I keep Raymond
on the inside of me, and he plays like he’s driving a
stage coach which is O.K. by me so long as he doesn’t
run me over or interrupt my breathing exercises, which
I have to do on account of I’m serious about my running, and I don’t care who knows it.
Students reading this passage will recognize it as
a prose fiction narrative. The passage is written in the
first person, and much of the pleasure of reading it
comes from the personality of the narrator, Squeaky,
and the reader’s ability to see the world through her
eyes. Many of the corresponding test questions touch
upon how well the student-readers are able to
understand Squeaky, her interests, and her
responsibilities.
To answer the questions that correspond to this
prose fiction passage, students need to rely on
various kinds and combinations of thinking skills.
Some questions focus on literal reading skills, such as
the ability to recognize explicitly stated material. Other
questions require more complex reading strategies,
such as recognizing how details relate to the main
idea of a passage, drawing conclusions implied but
not explicitly stated in the passage, and recognizing
appropriate generalizations. These are but a few
examples of the types of questions that examine the
ability of students to analyze and synthesize the
information and rhetorical structure of a passage.
For students to read inferentially, they must
connect explicit information in a text to relevant
world knowledge or to other parts of the text in
order to make logical interpretations. Inferring is a
meaning-making process because a reader expands
his or her knowledge by proposing and evaluating
hypotheses about the meaning of the text; to infer well
requires the thoughtful use of such strategies.
Test Question Rationale
Sequential,
Comparative, and
Cause-Effect
Relationships
■ Identify relationships
between main characters
in uncomplicated literary
narratives
■ 16–19 score range
1. The relationship described in the most detail in the
passage is that between:
A.
*B.
C.
D.
Squeaky and her father.
Squeaky and Raymond.
Raymond and Gretchen.
Raymond and his father.
Question 1 is an example of an item that requires
students to decide which relationship is described in
the most detail in the passage. To select the best
answer, choice B, students must recognize that
Squeaky is the narrator and that in most of the
passage (the exception is the third paragraph) she is
describing her relationship with her brother Raymond.
Although Squeaky talks about her father (a few lines
in the first and third paragraphs) students should be
able to see that that relationship is less central to this
particular passage than her relationship with
Raymond, thus ruling out choice A. The passage
does not indicate that Raymond and Gretchen have a
relationship, which rules out choice C. Finally, nothing
is mentioned about Raymond’s relationship with his
father, which rules out choice D.
Test Question Rationale
Sequential,
Comparative, and
Cause-Effect
Relationships
■ Understand implied or
subtly stated cause-effect
relationships in
uncomplicated passages
■ 24–25 score range
2. Squeaky sometimes has to apologize to “the old people
sitting around trying to get some sun” (lines 50–51)
because:
F.
*G.
H.
J.
she had disturbed them by running by.
Raymond has disturbed the pigeons.
Raymond scared them by running across the street.
she knocked over their lunches.
To select the best answer, choice G, the reader
must infer the cause-effect relationships implied in that
part of the passage. Lines 38–58 in the fourth
paragraph indicate that Raymond has an active
imagination and that he is full of energy. For example,
the text states that Raymond “starts thinking he’s a
circus performer and that the curb is a tightrope
strung high in the air.” In addition, Raymond likes to
“dash across traffic to the island in the middle of
Broadway and give the pigeons a fit.” Students must
interpret this information, drawing the conclusion that
Raymond has disturbed the pigeons by running
quickly past them or through them, which,
consequently, disturbs the people who are sitting in
the sun near the pigeons. The text implies that
Squeaky feels the need to apologize to the old people
because the disturbed pigeons are flying around the
people “scattering their newspapers and upsetting
the waxpaper lunches in their laps.” Choices F and J
are incorrect because Raymond, not the narrator,
caused the disturbance. The text does not provide
any evidence to support the conclusion in choice H.
Test Question Rationale
Generalizations
and Conclusions
■ Draw generalizations and
conclusions about people,
ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated passages
■ 20–23 score range
3. Squeaky’s feelings toward Raymond would most accurately be described as:
A.
B.
*C.
D.
jealous.
modest.
protective.
ashamed.
The last example from this prose fiction passage,
question 3, taps the critical comprehension skills of
the reader. To select the best answer, choice C,
students must determine the narrator’s attitude toward
Raymond, as it is implicitly presented in the passage.
Choice C is supported by information presented in the
first, second, and fourth paragraphs. The last
sentence of the first paragraph states that Squeaky’s
primary responsibility is to “mind my brother
Raymond.” Information in the second paragraph
suggests Squeaky’s protectiveness toward her
brother. For example, the narrator says that “a lot of
people call him my little brother cause he needs
looking after…” and “if anybody has anything to say
to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they
have to come by me.” The fourth paragraph also
describes how Squeaky takes care of her brother.
For example, in lines 40–42 Squeaky indicates that
she keeps “Raymond walking on the inside close to
the buildings, cause he’s subject to fits of fantasy.”
All of this information rules out choice A. Choice B
is inaccurate, as a person can’t feel “modest” about
another person. Choice D might be something
students imagine as possible, but it is not supported
by evidence in the passage.
25
The Assessment-Instruction Link
THE ASSESSMENT-INSTRUCTION LINK
WHY I S IT I MPORTANT TO LINK
ASSESSMENT WITH I NSTRUCTION?
Assessment provides feedback to the learner and
the teacher. It bridges the gap between expectations
and reality. Assessment can gauge the learners’
readiness to extend their knowledge in a given area,
measure knowledge gains, identify needs, and
determine the learners’ ability to transfer what was
learned to a new setting.
When teachers use assessment tools to gather
information about their students, then modify
instruction accordingly, the assessment process
becomes an integral part of teaching and learning.
Using assessment to inform instruction can help
teachers create a successful learning environment.
Students can use assessment as a tool to help
them revise and rethink their work, to help integrate
prior knowledge with new learning, and to apply their
knowledge to new situations. Connecting assessment
to classroom instruction can help both teachers and
students take charge of thinking and learning.
“Every objective, every lesson plan,
every classroom activity, and every
assessment method should focus on
helping students achieve those
[significant] outcomes that will help
students both in the classroom and
beyond.”
— Kay Burke, editor of Authentic
Assessment: A Collection
26
As teachers review student performances on
various measures, they can reexamine how to help
students learn. As Peter Airasian, the author of
Classroom Assessment, says, “Assessment is not an
end in itself, but a means to another end, namely,
good decision making” (p. 19). Linking assessment
and instruction prompts both teachers and students to
take on new roles and responsibilities. Through
reflecting together on their learning, students and
teachers can reevaluate their goals and embark on a
process of continuous growth.
ARE YOUR STUDENTS DEVELOPING
N ECESSARY SKILLS?
THE
EXPLORE can be administered in eighth or ninth
grade to provide students with an early indication
of their educational progress in the context of the
post-high school educational and career options
they are considering. The results from EXPLORE can
be used to help students make adjustments in their
course work to help ensure that they are prepared for
what they want to do in and after high school.
EXPLORE and PLAN are developmentally and
conceptually linked to the ACT and thus provide a
coherent framework for students and counselors and
a consistent skills focus for teachers from Grades 8
through 12.
Because EXPLORE is linked to PLAN, students
receive an estimated PLAN Composite score along
with their EXPLORE scores. These scores can be
used to evaluate students’ readiness for high school
and to plan an appropriate course of study.
As students and others review test scores from
EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT, they should be aware
that ACT’s data clearly reveal that students’ ACT test
scores are directly related to preparation for college.
Students who take rigorous high school courses,
which ACT has defined as core college preparatory
courses, achieve much higher test scores than
students who do not. ACT has defined core college
preparatory course work as four or more years
of English, and three or more years each of
mathematics, social studies, and natural science.
ACT works with colleges to help them develop
guidelines that place students in courses that are
appropriate for their level of achievement as
measured by the ACT. In doing this work, ACT has
gathered course grade and test score data from a
large number of first-year students across a wide
range of postsecondary institutions. These data
provide an overall measure of what it takes to be
successful in a standard first-year college course.
Data from 98 institutions and over 90,000 students
were used to establish the ACT College Readiness
Benchmark Scores, which are median course
placement scores achieved on the ACT that are
directly reflective of student success in a college
course.
placement values for these institutions and as such
represent a typical set of expectations.
College Readiness Benchmark Scores have also
been developed for EXPLORE and for PLAN, to
indicate a student’s probable readiness for collegelevel work, in the same courses named in the previous
paragraph, by the time the student graduates from
high school. The EXPLORE and PLAN College
Readiness Benchmark Scores were developed using
records of students who had taken EXPLORE, PLAN,
and the ACT (four years of matched data). Using
either EXPLORE subject-area scores or PLAN subjectarea scores, we estimated the conditional probabilities
associated with meeting or exceeding the
corresponding ACT Benchmark Score. Thus, each
EXPLORE (1–25) or PLAN (1–32) score was
associated with an estimated probability of meeting or
exceeding the relevant ACT Benchmark Score. We
then identified the EXPLORE and PLAN scores, at
Grades 8, 9, 10, and 11, that came the closest to a
0.5 probability of meeting or exceeding the ACT
Benchmark Score, by subject area. These scores
were selected as the EXPLORE and PLAN
Benchmark Scores.
All the Benchmark Scores are given in Table 4.
Note that, for example, the first row of the table
should be read as follows: An eighth-grade student
who scores 13, or a ninth-grade student who scores
14, on the EXPLORE English Test has a 50 percent
probability of scoring 18 on the ACT English Test; and
a tenth-grade student who scores 15, or an eleventhgrade student who scores 17, on the PLAN English
Test has a 50 percent probability of scoring 18 on the
ACT English Test.
Success is defined as a 50 percent chance that a
student will earn a grade of B or better. The courses
are the ones most commonly taken by first-year
students in the areas of English, mathematics,
social studies, and science, namely English
Composition, College Algebra, an entry-level College
Social Studies/Humanities course, and College
Biology. The ACT scores established as the ACT
College Readiness Benchmark Scores are 18 on the
English Test, 22 on the
Mathematics Test, 21 on
Table 4: College Readiness Benchmark Scores
the Reading Test, and 24
on the Science Test. The
College Readiness
EXPLORE
PLAN
Benchmark Scores were
Test Score
Test Score
based upon a sample of
Subject Test
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
postsecondary institutions
from across the United
English
13
14
15
17
States. The data from
Mathematics
17
18
19
21
these institutions were
weighted to reflect
postsecondary institutions
nationally. The Benchmark
Scores are median course
ACT
Test Score
18
22
Reading
15
16
17
19
21
Science
20
20
21
23
24
27
USING ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
HELP SUPPORT LOW-SCORING
STUDENTS
Students who receive a Composite score of 13 or
below on EXPLORE will most likely require additional
guidance and support from their teachers and family
in order to meet their academic goals, particularly if
one of those goals is to attend a four-year college or
university.
Because EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT share
a common score scale, each student who takes
EXPLORE receives an estimated PLAN Composite
score range. This estimated score range predicts how
a student might expect to perform on PLAN as a high
school sophomore. The estimated score ranges, for
both eighth-grade test takers and ninth-grade test
takers, are reported in Table 5.
Table 5 indicates that, for an EXPLORE Composite
score of 12 when EXPLORE is taken in Grade 8, the
lower limit of the estimated PLAN Composite score
range is given as 13 and the upper limit is given as 16.
That is, an estimated PLAN Composite score range of
13 to 16 is reported for eighth-grade students with
EXPLORE Composite scores of 12. Similarly, when
EXPLORE is taken in Grade 9, a student’s EXPLORE
Composite score of 12 results in an estimated PLAN
Composite score range of 11 to 14.
Since both EXPLORE and PLAN are designed
to be curriculum-based testing programs, some
students’ performance on PLAN will fall outside their
estimated PLAN Composite score range. If students
do not maintain good academic work in school, their
actual PLAN Composite scores may fall short of their
estimated score ranges. Conversely, some students
who improve their academic performance may earn
PLAN Composite scores higher than their estimated
score ranges.
Eighth or ninth grade is a good time for students,
parents, counselors, and teachers to take stock of a
student’s progress. EXPLORE test scores and other
performance indicators should be discussed in the
context of the student’s future goals, previous
academic preparation, and plans for future high
school course work.
28
TO
Table 5: Estimated PLAN
Composite Score Ranges
EXPLORE
Composite
Score
Estimated PLAN Composite
Score Range
for 8th Graders
for 9th Graders
Low
High
Low
High
1
8
11
8
12
2
8
11
8
12
3
8
11
8
12
4
8
11
8
12
5
10
13
8
12
6
10
13
9
12
7
10
13
9
12
8
10
13
9
12
9
10
13
9
12
10
11
14
10
13
11
12
15
11
14
12
13
16
11
14
13
14
17
12
15
14
15
18
13
16
15
16
19
14
17
16
17
20
15
18
17
18
21
16
19
18
19
23
18
21
19
19
23
19
22
20
20
24
20
24
21
21
25
21
25
22
23
27
22
26
23
24
28
23
27
24
25
29
24
28
25
27
30
26
30
As educators and parents look over a student’s
academic performance, the way the student’s scores
and goals match up can suggest a course of action.
For example, a student who wishes to become a
journalist will need a solid reading background. A
high Reading Test score can be used as evidence
that the goal is realistic. A low score suggests the
student should consider ways of improving his or her
reading skills through additional course work and/or
additional assistance in the area.
First, using the College Readiness Standards,
school personnel might explain EXPLORE scores to
students and parents. Then, using reports and test
data from classroom teachers, grade point averages,
and data from district and state tests, educators and
parents can help students make decisions about
which academic areas students might need additional
assistance with, which student goals might need to be
redirected, and which junior high or high school
courses to take.
“A rigorous high school curriculum is often the
strongest predictor of entering college and earning a
degree. . . . This suggests that for students who plan
to go to college, demanding coursework as early as
eighth grade will increase their chances for college
success. As [high school] course requirements
become standard, it is important to ensure that the
corresponding course content prepares students for
the rigors of college” (Noeth & Wimberly, 2002, p. 17).
In addition to planning for high school course work,
taking remedial classes if necessary, and beginning to
match career goals to known talents, eighth-grade
students who want to attend a four-year college or
university should begin educating themselves about
such schools. Some students, particularly those whose
parents did not attend college, may not have access
to information about postsecondary education.
“Though many students . . . attending urban schools
may have the desire and expectation, they may not
have the skills, knowledge, and information they need
to enter and complete a postsecondary program.
Many . . . do not have the informational resources,
personal support networks, continual checkpoints, or
structured programs to make college exploration and
planning a theme throughout their daily lives. . . .
Students need their schools, parents, and others to
help them plan for college and their future careers”
(Noeth & Wimberly, 2002, p. 4).
College admission policies vary widely in their level
of selectivity. ACT Composite scores typically required
by colleges having varying levels of selectivity are
shown in Table 5. This information provides only
general guidelines. There is considerable overlap
among admission categories, and colleges often make
exceptions to their stated admission policies.
Table 6: The Link Between ACT Composite Scores and College Admission Policies
Admission
Policy
Typical Class Rank
of Admitted Students
Typical ACT Composite Scores
of Admitted Students
Highly Selective
Majority of accepted freshmen in top 10%
of high school graduating class
25–30
Selective
Majority of accepted freshmen in top 25%
of high school graduating class
21–26
Traditional
Majority of accepted freshmen in top 50%
of high school graduating class
18–24
Liberal
Some of accepted freshmen from lower
half of high school graduating class
17–22
Open
All high school graduates accepted
to limit of capacity
16–21
29
WHAT DOES IT M EAN TO BE
LOW-SCORING STUDENT?
Low-achieving students tend to be those students
who score low on standardized tests. Students who
slip behind are the likeliest to drop out of school and
least likely to overcome social and personal
disadvantages.
According to Judson Hixson, a researcher at the
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
(NCREL), students who are at risk should be
considered in a new light:
Students are placed “at risk” when they
experience a significant mismatch between
their circumstances and needs, and the
capacity or willingness of the school to accept,
accommodate, and respond to them in a
manner that supports and enables their
maximum social, emotional, and intellectual
growth and development.
As the degree of mismatch increases, so does
the likelihood that they will fail to either
complete their elementary and secondary
education, or more importantly, to benefit from
it in a manner that ensures they have the
knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary
to be successful in the next stage of their
lives—that is, to successfully pursue postsecondary education, training, or meaningful
employment and to participate in, and
contribute to, the social, economic, and
political life of their community and society as
a whole.
30
The focus of our efforts, therefore, should be
on enhancing our institutional and professional
capacity and responsiveness, rather than
categorizing and penalizing students for
simply being who they are. (Hixson, 1993,
p. 2)
A
Hixson’s views reveal the necessity of looking at all
the variables that could affect students’ performance,
not just focusing on the students themselves.
Low-achieving students may demonstrate some of
the following characteristics:
■
difficulty with the volume of work to be completed;
■
low reading and writing skills;
■
low motivation;
■
low self-esteem;
■
poor study habits;
■
lack of concentration;
■
reluctance to participate in class or to ask for help
with tasks/assignments; and
■
test anxiety.
Many of these characteristics are interconnected.
For example, a low-scoring student cannot complete
the volume of work a successful student can if it takes
a much longer time for that low-scoring student to
decipher text passages because of low reading skills.
There is also the issue of intrinsic motivation: students
may have little desire to keep trying if they do not
habitually experience success.
Some low-scoring students may not lack
motivation or good study habits, but may still be in the
process of learning English; still others may have
learning disabilities that make it difficult for them to do
complex work in one or two content areas.
Again, we must not focus only on the students
themselves, but also consider other variables that
could affect their academic performance, such as
■
job or home responsibilities that take time away
from school responsibilities;
■
parental attitude toward and involvement in
students’ school success;
■
students’ relationships with their peers;
■
lack of adequate support and resources; and
■
lack of opportunities.
For example, some students who score low on
tests are never introduced to a curriculum that
challenges them or that addresses their particular
needs: “Much of the student stratification within
academic courses reflects the social and economic
stratification of society. Schools using tracking
systems or other methods that ultimately place lowincome and marginal students in lower-level
academic courses are not adequately preparing them
to plan for postsecondary education, succeed in
college, and prepare for lifelong learning” (Noeth &
Wimberly, 2002, p. 18).
As Barbara Means and Michael Knapp have
suggested, many schools need to reconstruct their
curricula, employing instructional strategies that help
students to understand how experts think through
problems or tasks, to discover multiple ways to solve
a problem, to complete complex tasks by receiving
support (e.g., cues, modifications), and to engage
actively in classroom discussions (1991).
Many individuals and organizations are interested
in helping students succeed in the classroom and in
the future. For example, the Network for Equity in
Student Achievement (NESA), a group of large urban
school systems, and the Minority Student
Achievement Network (MSAN), a group of school
districts in diverse suburban areas and small cities,
are organizations that are dedicated to initiating
strategies that will close the achievement gap among
groups of students. Many schools and districts have
found participation in such consortia to be helpful.
According to Michael Sadowski, editor of the
Harvard Education Letter, administrators and teachers
who are frustrated by persistent achievement gaps
within their school districts “have started to look for
answers within the walls of their own schools. They’re
studying school records, disaggregating test score
and grade data, interviewing students and teachers,
administrating questionnaires—essentially becoming
researchers—to identify exactly where problems exist
and to design solutions” (Sadowski, 2001, p. 1).
A student may get a low score on a standardized
test for any of a number of reasons. To reduce the
probability of that outcome, the following pages
provide information about factors that affect student
performance as well as some suggestions about what
educators and students can do before students’
achievement is assessed on standardized tests like
EXPLORE.
31
WHAT ARE SOME FACTORS THAT
AFFECT STUDENT PERFORMANCE?
Many factors affect student achievement. Diane
Ravitch, a research professor at New York University,
has identified several positive factors in her book The
Schools We Deserve: Reflections on the Educational
Crisis of Our Time (pp. 276 and 294). These factors,
which were common to those schools that were
considered effective in teaching students, include
■
a principal who has a clearly articulated vision for
the school, and the leadership skills to empower
teachers to work toward that vision;
■
a strong, clearly thought-out curriculum in which
knowledge gained in one grade is built upon in
the next;
■
dedicated educators working in their field of
expertise;
■
school-wide commitment to learning, to becoming
a “community of learners”;
■
a blend of students from diverse backgrounds;
■
“high expectations for all” students; and
■
systematic monitoring of student progress through
an assessment system.
There are also factors that have a negative impact
on student achievement. For example, some students
“may not know about, know how, or feel entitled to
take academic advantage of certain opportunities, like
college preparatory courses, college entrance exams,
and extracurricular learning opportunities” (Goodwin,
2000, p. 3).
32
All students need to be motivated to perform well
academically, and they need informed guidance in
sorting out their educational/career aspirations.
Teachers who challenge their students by providing a
curriculum that is rigorous and relevant to their world
and needs (Brewer, Rees, & Argys, 1995; Gay, 2000),
and who have a degree and certification in the area in
which they teach (Ingersoll, 1998) and ample
opportunities to collaborate with their peers
(McCollum, 2000), are more likely to engender
students’ success in school.
MAKING
THE
I NVISIBLE VISIBLE
Using assessment information, such as that
provided by the EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT tests in
ACT’s Educational Planning and Assessment System
(EPAS), can help bring into view factors that may
affect—either positively or negatively—student
performance. Reviewing and interpreting assessment
information can encourage conversations between
parents and teachers about what is best for students.
Using data is one way of making the assumptions you
have about your students and school, or the needs of
students, visible.
Collecting assessment information in a systematic
way can help teachers in various ways. It can help
teachers see more clearly what is happening in their
classrooms, provide evidence that the method of
teaching they’re using really works, and determine
what is most important to do next. As teachers
become active teacher-researchers, they can gain a
sense of control and efficacy that contributes to their
sense of accomplishment about what they do each
day.
There are many different types of assessment
information that a school or school district can collect.
Some types yield quantitative data (performance
described in numerical terms), others qualitative data
(performance described in nonnumerical terms, such
as text, audio, video, or photographs). All types, when
properly analyzed, can yield useful insights into
student learning. For example, schools and teachers
can collect information from
■
standardized tests (norm- or criterion-referenced
tests);
■
performance assessments (such as portfolios,
projects, artifacts, presentations);
■
peer assessments;
■
progress reports (qualitative, quantitative, or both)
on student skills and outcomes;
■
self-reports, logs, journals; and
■
rubrics and rating scales.
Reviewing student learning information in the
context of demographic data may also provide insight
and information about specific groups of students, like
low-scoring students. Schools therefore would benefit
by collecting data about
■
enrollment, mobility, and housing trends;
■
staff and student attendance rates and tardiness
rates;
■
dropout, retention, and graduation rates;
■
gender, race, ethnicity, and health;
■
percent of free/reduced lunch and/or public
assistance;
■
level of language proficiency;
■
staff/student ratios;
■
number of courses taught by teachers outside
their endorsed content area;
■
retirement projections and turnover rates; and
■
teaching and student awards.
WHAT CAN EDUCATORS AND
STUDENTS DO BEFORE STUDENTS
TAKE STANDARDIZED TESTS?
Integrate assessment and instruction. Because
EXPLORE is curriculum-based, the most important
prerequisite for optimum performance on the test is a
sound, comprehensive educational program. This
“preparation” begins long before any test date. Judith
Langer, the director of the National Research Center
on English Learning and Achievement, conducted a
five-year study that compared the English programs
of typical schools to those that get outstanding results.
Schools with economically disadvantaged and
diverse student populations in California, Florida, New
York, and Texas predominated the study. Langer’s
study revealed that in higher performing schools “test
preparation has been integrated into the class time,
as part of the ongoing English language arts learning
goals.” This means that teachers discuss the
demands of high-stakes tests and how they “relate to
district and state standards and expectations as well
as to their curriculum” (Langer, 2000, p. 6).
Emphasize core courses. ACT research
conducted in urban schools both in 1998 and 1999
shows that urban school students can substantially
improve their readiness for college by taking a more
demanding sequence of core academic courses in
high school. Urban students taking a more rigorous
sequence of courses in mathematics and science and
finding success in those courses score at or above
national averages on the ACT. Regardless of gender,
ethnicity, or family income, those students who elect to
take four or more years of rigorous English courses
and three or more years of rigorous course work in
mathematics, science, and social studies earn higher
ACT scores and are more successful in college than
those who have not taken those courses (ACT &
Council of Great City Schools, 1999). Subsequent
research has substantiated these findings and
confirmed the value of rigor in the core courses
(ACT, 2004; ACT & The Education Trust, 2004).
33
Teach test-taking strategies. Students may be
helped by being taught specific test-taking strategies,
such as the following:
WHAT DO THE EXPLORE READING
TEST RESULTS I NDICATE ABOUT LOWSCORING STUDENTS?
■
Learn to pace yourself.
■
Know the directions and understand the answer
sheet.
■
Read carefully and thoroughly.
■
Answer easier questions first; skip harder
questions and return to them later.
■
Review answers and check work, if time allows.
■
Mark the answer sheet quickly and neatly; avoid
erasure marks on the answer sheet.
■
Answer every question (you are not penalized for
guessing on EXPLORE).
■
Become familiar with test administration
procedures.
■
Read all the answer choices before you decide
which is the best answer.
■
Recognize a clear intent by an author or narrator
in uncomplicated literary narratives
Students are more likely to perform at their best on
a test if they are comfortable with the test format,
know appropriate test-taking strategies, and are
aware of the test administration procedures. Test
preparation activities that help students perform better
in the short term will be helpful to those students who
have little experience taking standardized tests or who
are unfamiliar with the tests’ formats.
■
Locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates, events)
clearly stated in a passage
■
Determine when (e.g., first, last, before, after) or if
an event occurred in uncomplicated passages
■
Recognize clear cause-effect relationships
described within a single sentence in a passage
■
Understand the implication of a familiar word or
phrase and of simple descriptive language
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about the main characters in uncomplicated
literary narratives
Search out other sources of help. School
personnel in urban or high-poverty middle schools
can investigate programs such as GEAR UP, which
“provides federal funds for schools to prepare lowincome middle school students for high school and
college preparation through multiple school reform
efforts. School districts, colleges, community
organizations, and businesses often form partnerships
to provide teachers with enhanced professional
development opportunities to ensure they have the
necessary tools and strategies to teach middle school
and high school effectively” (Noeth & Wimberly, 2002,
p. 18).
34
Students who score 13 or below on the EXPLORE
Reading Test are likely to have some of the
knowledge and skills described in the EXPLORE
Reading College Readiness Standards for the 13–15
range. Low-scoring students may be able to
demonstrate skills in a classroom setting that they
are not able to demonstrate in a testing situation.
Therefore, these students need to develop
consistency in demonstrating these skills. Practicing
these skills, literal and inferential, with various types
and levels of materials (both print and nonprint) will
likely engender transfer of these skills to various
academic contexts and situations.
The EPAS Reading College Readiness Standards
indicate that students who score 13 or below tend to
demonstrate some of the following skills:
Overall, these students likely need additional
assistance reading and interpreting texts that are
more challenging, especially texts in Social Science
and Natural Science, which are two of the four content
areas represented on the Reading Test of the ACT
(ACT’s college admissions test).
ACT Reading Passages. Prose Fiction and
Humanities passages on the ACT Reading Test are
likely to be narratives. While not all of these passages
(especially those in the Humanities) will have all of the
common narrative elements, such as dialogue and
plot, the passages typically have a strong personal
voice and clear point of view. Technical explanations
of the elements of a jazz song or an Impressionist
painting, for example, would generally be avoided,
while an essay by a jazz musician or a painter about
what it is like to be an artist would be used on the test.
Social Science and Natural Science passages are
primarily informational. These passages emphasize
such elements of science as research methods,
hypotheses, theories, experiments, data, analysis,
and conclusions. While first-person elements can be
a part of the passage (for example, a scientist talking
about his or her research methods), the focus is on
information and research, not on personal reactions
or reflections.
Students who score 13 or below on the EXPLORE
Reading Test can benefit from activities designed to
help them develop critical thinking and reading skills.
Some students are uncertain and lack confidence to
respond analytically to inferential questions. What
these students need is practice making inferences—
understanding characterization, drawing conclusions,
forming generalizations, and reaching judgments
about an author’s methods and goals—in both
narrative and informational contexts.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS
PROFICIENT READER?
OF
A
Although there are many definitions of a proficient
reader, within the various definitions are readily
identified commonalities. One organization, the
Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (NWREL),
conducted a study in the mid-1990s to answer the
question “What do good readers know and what are
they able to do?” (Dwyer & Thompson, 1999, p. 2).
After reviewing state standards documents and
making observations of student readers, NWREL
identified six interconnected traits of an effective
reader:
Reading the Lines
■
decoding conventions (conventions of texts),
■
establishing comprehension (creating meaning
from written texts),
Reading Between the Lines
■
realizing content (exploring layers of meaning),
■
developing interpretations (making inferences
about texts),
Reading Beyond the Lines
■
integrating for synthesis (synthesizing information
to compare and extend meaning), and
■
critiquing for evaluation (evaluating the quality and
effectiveness of a text) (Dwyer & Thompson, 1999,
pp. 3–4).
According to Kevin Dwyer and Leslie Thompson,
authors of The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom,
“the traits identify the six critical reading skills
necessary to develop readers who can process
knowledge from print material, make meaning of it,
and apply this meaning to other situations” (Dwyer
& Thompson, 1999, p. 2).
The skills in the first two categories, Reading the
Lines and Reading Between the Lines, are measured
either directly or indirectly by the EXPLORE Reading
Test. Some of the skills in the third category, Reading
Beyond the Lines, are measured by the EXPLORE
Reading Test, such as identifying how parts of the text
work together, and thinking metaphorically. However,
it’s important to note that the passages in the Reading
Test are self-contained, which means that the
questions corresponding to each passage can
be answered using only the text provided; prior
knowledge of the topic is not required to answer
the test questions.
35
HOW CAN STUDENTS BETTER
N EGOTIATE LITERARY NARRATIVES
AND I NFORMATIONAL TEXTS?
How a text is organized can affect a reader’s
understanding of the text. So, readers need to be
aware of the qualities or characteristics of literary
narratives (e.g., short stories and novels) and
informational texts (e.g., nonfiction essays and
articles). Since there are always exceptions to the
rule, the textual characteristics outlined below should
be considered generalizations that may not apply to
all passages.
Informational texts can be challenging for readers
to comprehend because of their organizational
structure, abstract or technical vocabulary,
complicated sentence structure, paragraph
structure, density of information, and lack of
imagery. In addition, informational texts are typically
not linked to readers’ life experiences. Therefore,
teachers need to find ways to build upon students’
background knowledge before a text is read so that
the students will better understand the information
and ideas to be learned. Students need time to think
about what they know about a topic or concept, to
make connections between their experiences and the
new information presented in a text, and to reevaluate
their thinking and understanding in terms of what has
been learned. This is equally true for reading and
interpreting complex literary narratives.
Generally speaking, the organization of ideas
in texts does not follow a standardized structure or
pattern. In fact, texts typically use more than one type
of organizational structure and may blend structures
together within a paragraph. Following is a list of the
most common ways in which an author can organize
his or her ideas within a text (Piccolo, 1987):
■
Description: The author provides a mental picture
and at times conveys his or her mood or tone
about the topic.
■
Sequence: The author presents information in a
sequential order.
36
■
Enumeration: The author provides a compilation of
the main ideas, sometimes in list form.
■
Cause-effect: The author identifies relationships
among the ideas or facts presented.
■
Problem-solution: The author presents a problem
or two, provides evidence, and presents possible
solutions.
■
Comparison-contrast: The author identifies the
similarities and differences about a specific topic
or concept.
For example, informational texts, and narrative
texts as well, require readers to be aware of language
that communicates or gives cues related to the
organization of ideas. For instance, words or phrases
such as but, on the other hand, or however
(comparison-contrast) and by, consequently, or
because (cause-effect) signal relationships among
the ideas presented in a text. Students can learn to
use these signal words to help them understand a
passage. Research has shown that readers more
readily recognize and understand these types of
organizational structures when they have used them
in their own personal writing (McGee & Richgels,
1985; Piccolo, 1987; May, 1990). So, students
whose Reading score is at or below 13 should be
encouraged to write in a variety of forms on a
daily basis, experimenting with varying combinations
of organizational structures.
Texts frequently include technical terms, slang,
or specialized vocabulary. These words may be
abstract or unfamiliar and may represent ideas or
concepts that can only be made real to students by
illustrating situations in which the word would apply.
Therefore, students’ attention needs to be focused
on key words before they read. This can be done
by role-playing, discussions, visual tools (webs, maps,
organizers), etc. Students can be helped to develop
a repertoire of strategies for determining and
remembering the meanings of unfamiliar words
or phrases.
Texts students will be expected to read in high
school and beyond tend to contain challenging
sentence structures and constructions that are not
typically used in students’ writing or heard in everyday
conversation. One way students can become more
aware of complex sentence structures is to start with
a kernel of an idea, a simple sentence such as
“Dogs drool.” Then students could continue to add
to the sentence (adjectives, adverbs, clauses, etc.),
determining how each addition or modification
expands or alters the meaning and clarity of the
sentence. For instance, students might add adjectives
to the sentence, “Big yellow dogs drool,” as well as
adverbs “Big yellow dogs drool tacitly and constantly.”
In addition, the students could try different clauses
such as “Because big yellow dogs drool tacitly and
constantly, they need to stay outside.” or “If you had
big yellow dogs that drool tacitly and constantly on
the carpet, you would most likely be spending your
day cleaning up their messes.”
Another challenge is the way in which paragraphs
are structured in sophisticated texts. Texts do not
always contain topic sentences or introductory
statements at the beginning of each paragraph.
There is not always coherence among the sentences
in a paragraph nor do all paragraphs state the main
idea(s) explicitly. Therefore, students need to learn
strategies that will help them determine what is
important and to look for evidence that supports or
contradicts their assumptions. As a result, students
must be flexible as they read. They must consider
the relationships between and among sentences,
determine how the ideas presented fit together as a
whole, try various reading strategies to comprehend
the text (e.g., rereading, asking questions, changing
rate of reading), rethink their assumptions and
viewpoints, and wait to make a final decision
about the meaning of the text.
Students need to read carefully when text is
dense, composed of abstract concepts and myriad
details and facts that are interrelated to the main
idea(s) of the passage. Students also need time to
determine “the picture” the author is trying to convey.
With informational texts, teachers can emphasize
special features such as section headings,
illustrations, tables, charts, graphs, maps, and
diagrams to help students develop a better
understanding (visualize an image) of specific ideas
or key points to be learned. With narratives, teachers
can engage students in discussions that relate plot
and character to the students’ own experiences,
creating opportunities for understanding and
stimulating students to read more.
The type of material, the reader’s interest in the
material, together with the purpose for reading,
influence how a reader will approach a text. Typically,
the purposes of informational writing are to explain
facts or concepts, tell the reader about new ideas, or
persuade the reader to rethink or change his or her
viewpoint. Students need to be given guidance when
reading in order to determine whether they must
concentrate on important details, broad ideas, or
both. But motivating students—getting them
enthusiastic about learning—is the key.
The kinds and combinations of skills students
need in order to read a narrative passage are often
similar to the ones they need in order to read and
understand an expository passage. The distinctions
between these two types of skills are related to the
degree to which the skills are applied. Indeed, the
characteristics of narrative and expository texts often
lead to specific types of questions. Informational texts
tend to include a sizable amount of data and facts,
and test questions developed for these types of texts
typically probe for understanding of important facts
and concepts. So a teacher can find out what
interests students, what the students already know a
good deal about, and play to those strengths—such
as by finding more challenging readings on the same
or similar subjects and having the class discuss them.
A similar strategy can bring students along in their
appreciation and understanding of narratives.
37
WHAT ARE SOME STRATEGIES
H ELPING STUDENTS READ
EFFECTIVELY?
FOR
Reading is a recursive process, one in which
students make meaning by becoming actively
involved as they read—noting facts and ideas and
determining how that information is related; making
and verifying predictions when reading; and
reassessing their understanding as they gain new
knowledge, information, and insights.
Students should be actively engaged when
reading, involved in a variety of activities that will build
their understanding of a text before, during, and after
reading. Prereading strategies help students to
access and build upon their prior knowledge,
preparing them to read. During-reading strategies
build students’ conceptual understanding of a text,
developing their fluency and comprehension.
Postreading strategies encourage students to
synthesize and summarize the information read and
to extend the reading experience (Guillaume, p. 483).
The strategies below could be used before,
during, and after reading a text. These strategies
could help students develop literal-comprehension
and reasoning skills similar to those listed in Table 1
(pages 8–13) in this guide.
Prereading strategies:
Previewing the Text. Students could preview a
text, noting the title, authors’ names, and date of the
publication. In addition, the students and their teacher
could scan the passage, noting topics introduced and
the organizational structure(s) used in the passage.
Students could also search for words and phrases
that are italicized as well as those that stand out as
intriguing or unfamiliar.
Asking Questions. Students could generate a list
of questions based on their preview of the passage.
Students could revisit their list of questions after
reading the passage, identifying which questions
are and are not sufficiently answered by information
in the text.
38
During-reading strategies:
Asking Metacognitive Questions. The teacher
could help his or her students develop metacognitive
skills—to know when they do and do not understand
a text—developing a range of strategies to help them
better comprehend a text. Students could be
reminded to ask and answer three questions as they
read a text: What strategies am I using to help myself
understand the text? Why did I select those particular
strategies? How well did the strategies help me, if at
all? Students could share the strategies they used,
evaluating the effectiveness of each strategy in terms
of building their understanding of the text.
Being Alert to Imagery. Students could reread a
text, searching for phrases or sentences that provide
sensory details—details that help them to see, hear,
or feel what the author is trying to say. Students could
also identify parts of the text that were confusing to
them, perhaps working with a group of peers to come
up with analogies that would help them visualize the
ideas or concepts being discussed in the text.
Postreading strategies:
Synthesizing. Students could take the information
or skills they have learned and apply it to a new
situation.
Making Connections. Students could compare
information stated in a passage to what is stated
in a textbook or other source. Students could be
encouraged to recognize and determine similarities
(consistencies and agreements) and differences
(inconsistencies and contradictions) between the
texts.
WHAT KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ARE
LOW-SCORING STUDENTS READY TO
LEARN?
WHAT STRATEGIES/MATERIALS CAN
TEACHERS USE IN THEIR
CLASSROOMS?
For students who score 13 or below on the
EXPLORE Reading Test, their target achievement
outcomes could be a combination of the College
Readiness Standards listed in the 13–15 (on p. 34)
and 16–19 (below) ranges. Additional information will
need to be reviewed to determine which skills in the
13–15 range students can and cannot demonstrate.
For example, if there are several skills students cannot
demonstrate in the 13–15 range, students should
focus on them first, and then possibly work on some
from the 16–19 range as needed. The College
Readiness Standards for the 16–19 range include
the following:
According to Bryan Goodwin, senior program
associate at the Mid-continent Research Education
Laboratory (McREL), “it is important to note that
improving the performance of disenfranchised
students does not mean ignoring other students.
Indeed, many of the changes advocated—such as
making curricula more rigorous and creating smaller
school units—will benefit all students” (Goodwin,
2000, p. 6). Means and Knapp (1991) express a
similar view:
■
Identify a clear main idea or purpose of
straightforward paragraphs in uncomplicated
literary narratives
■
Locate simple details at the sentence and
paragraph level in uncomplicated passages
■
Recognize a clear function of a part of an
uncomplicated passage
■
Identify relationships between main characters in
uncomplicated literary narratives
■
Recognize clear cause-effect relationships within
a single paragraph in uncomplicated literary
narratives
■
Use context to understand basic figurative
language
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated
passages
By no means should these be seen as limiting or
exclusive goals. As stated earlier, it is important to use
multiple sources of information to make instructional
decisions and to recognize that individual students
learn at different rates and in different sequences.
What’s important is to get students reading—and
writing.
A fundamental assumption underlying
much of the curriculum in America’s schools is
that certain skills are “basic” and must be
mastered before students receive instruction
on more “advanced” skills, such as reading
comprehension, written composition, and
mathematical reasoning. . . . Research from
cognitive science questions this assumption
and leads to a quite different view of children’s
learning and appropriate instruction. By
discarding assumptions about skill hierarchies
and attempting to understand children’s
competencies as constructed and evolving
both inside and outside of school, researchers
are developing models of intervention that
start with what children know and provide
access to explicit models of thinking in areas
that traditionally have been termed
“advanced” or “higher order.” (p. 1)
Pages 42–51 provide a teacher-developed activity
that could be used in a classroom for all students, not
just those who have scored low on a standardized
assessment like EXPLORE. This activity encourages
students to develop a better understanding of theme
by having them view one or more video clips,
participate in class discussions, and read and
interpret one or more texts. In addition, students use
the think-aloud method to work through a text and its
meaning, journal writing to help develop their personal
interpretation of a text, and art to represent key
passages in a text and to articulate the theme(s)
presented. The activity provides both embedded and
summative assessments to evaluate student learning.
39
HOW I S
THE
ACTIVITY ORGANIZED?
A template for the instructional activity appears on
page 41. Since the instructional activity has multiple
components, an explanation of each is provided
below.
A
The primary Reading Strands are displayed
across the top of the page.
The Guiding Principles section consists of
one or more statements about instruction,
assessment, thinking skills, student learning, and
other educationally relevant topics.
B
The Title and Subject Area(s)/Course(s)
information allows you to determine at a glance
the primary focus of the activity and whether it might
meet the needs of your student population.
C
The Purpose statement describes knowledge
and skills students may have difficulty with and
what will be done in the activity to help them acquire
that knowledge and skills.
D
The Overview section provides a brief
description of how the knowledge and skills
listed in the purpose statement will be taught and
suggests an estimated time frame for the
entire activity.
E
The Links to College Readiness Standards
section indicates the primary knowledge and
skills the activity will focus on. These statements are
tied directly to the strands listed at the top of
the page.
F
The next section, Description of the Instructional
Activity, is divided into three interrelated parts:
Materials/Resources, Introduction, and Suggested
Teaching Strategies/Procedures. The section provides
suggestions for engaging students in the activity, and
gives related topics and tasks. The activity addresses
a range of objectives and modes of instruction, but
it emphasizes providing students with experiences
that focus on reasoning and making connections,
use community resources and real-life learning
techniques, and encourage students to ask
questions—questions leading to analysis, reflection,
and further study and to individual construction of
meanings and interpretations.
G
40
Valuable Comments/Tips from Classroom
Teachers are provided for the activity. As the
title indicates, this text box includes ideas from current
classroom teachers.
H
The Suggestions for Assessment section offers
ideas for documenting and recording student
learning. This section describes two types of
assessments: Embedded Assessments and
Summative Assessments. Embedded Assessments
are assessments that inform you as to where your
students currently are in the learning process
(a formative assessment that is primarily teacher
developed and is integral to the instructional
process—at times the instruction and assessment are
indistinguishable). The second type of assessment is
a Summative Assessment (a final assessment of
students’ learning), which provides a description
of the knowledge and skills students are to have
mastered by the end of the activity and the criteria
by which they will be assessed.
I
The Links to Ideas for Progress section provides
statements that suggest learning experiences
(knowledge and skills to be developed) that are
connected to the Suggested Strategies/Activities.
J
The Suggested Strategies/Activities section
provides a brief description of ways to reteach
the skills or content previously taught or to extend
students’ learning.
K
This teacher-developed activity provides
suggestions, not prescriptions. You are the best judge
of what is necessary and relevant for your students.
Therefore, we encourage you to review the activity,
modifying and using those suggestions that apply,
and disregarding those that are not appropriate for
your students. As you select, modify, and revise the
activity, you can be guided by the statements that
appear in the Guiding Principles box at the beginning
of the activity.
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strand(s):
A
Guiding Principles
Suggestions for Assessment
I
Embedded Assessment (name of assessment)—
■
Embedded Assessment (name of assessment)—
B
Summative Assessment (name of assessment)—
■
ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING
Links to Ideas for Progress
J
■
TITLE
C
Subject Area(s)/Course(s)
Purpose
D
Overview
E
■
■
Suggested Strategies/Activities
K
Links to College Readiness Standards
F
■
■
■
Description of the Instructional Activity
Materials/Resources
G
■
■
■
Introduction—
Suggested Teaching Strategies/Procedures—
Comments/Tips from Classroom Teachers
H
41
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Supporting Details; Generalizations and Conclusions
Guiding Principles
Links to College Readiness Standards
■
Locate simple details at the sentence and
paragraph level in uncomplicated passages
■
Recognize a clear function of a part of an
uncomplicated passage
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, an so on in uncomplicated
passages
■
Draw subtle generalizations and conclusions
about characters, ideas, and so on in
uncomplicated literary narratives
■ “As a critical thinker, you do not simply . . .
form an interpretation to see what it is based
on and whether that basis is adequate.”
(Paul & Elder, 2001, p. 171)
■ “If students are to craft a more enriched
understanding they must be taught how to
experience a broad continuum of thoughts,
bordered on one side by authors’ intended
meanings and on the other side by their
personal applications of text to their lives.”
(Block, 1999, p. 99)
Description of the Instructional Activity
Materials/Resources
THEME? WHAT’S IT HAVE TO DO
WITH M E?
■
DVD or VCR player and video clips
■
“Theme? I Can’t Even Think of a Title . . .”
by Becci Davis
Purpose
■
Index cards
Identifying and expressing a story’s theme can be
difficult for students. This activity can help students to
identify and connect key pieces of information in a
text (ideas and details). Students will develop a
personal interpretation—explain the meaning of a text
based on their views or life experiences—and then
work to identify and express the theme(s) in the text
as suggested by the words or images presented by
the author.
■
Pencils and erasers
■
Copies of a short story for entire class
(see suggestions on p. 44)
■
Short stories or novellas (student choice)
■
Journal Entry Sheet (p. 49)
■
Watercolor paper or heavy-gauge paper
■
Watercolor paints, brushes, and palettes
■
Plastic cups, water, and paper towels
■
Optional Assessments:
Eighth- and Ninth-Grade English/Language Arts
Overview
Students will think and talk about the concept of
theme and then examine a literary text with the help of
their teacher and peers. They will select a short story
or novella to read independently and then write a
series of journal entries that will lead to a final,
cumulative entry. The entries will help students
examine ideas (images and details) they find
significant and meaningful, allowing them to make
personal connections to the text and to determine a
story’s theme(s). This two-week activity (ten 45-minute
class periods) utilizes several instructional methods,
including discussion, writing, and painting.
42
✓
Post-Discussion Reflection Sheet (p. 47)
✓
Teacher-Student Conference Notes (p. 48)
✓
Checklist for Daily Journal Entries (p. 50)
✓
Rating Scale for Final Journal Entry (p. 51)
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Supporting Details; Generalizations and Conclusions
Introduction—To begin the activity, view portions
of one or more video clips (e.g., an animated cartoon,
television show, or scenes from a movie). While
watching the clip, students should think about (and
be prepared to answer) the following questions, which
will help develop their ability to make reasonable
conclusions and generalizations:
■
What images or details are revealed in the clip?
■
What do these images/details seem to convey
about life or human nature?
■
What life experiences have you had that may have
shaped your thoughts/observations?
Have students share their thoughts about each
question with a peer first and then with the class;
record students’ responses to the second question
on the board. Encourage students to think of other
movies (or books) they have recently reviewed that
have a similar message. Time permitting, introduce
(or review) the term theme—defined here as a
unifying observation about life or human nature that is
supported by elements in a text. Then, read aloud to
students all or portions of an article by Becci Davis in
which she questions her understanding of theme
(“Theme? I Can’t Even Think of a Title . . .” can be
accessed at http://www.hodrw.com/theme.htm).
Suggested Teaching Strategies/Procedures—
Briefly summarize what was taught the day before
and complete the activity, if necessary. Then,
distribute index cards to the class, giving students
five minutes to write down at least one question or
comment they have about theme. These questions or
comments will be used by students as they engage in
a whole-class Socratic seminar (for more information
about Socratic teaching, see http://www.uu.edu/
centers/faculty/resources/article.cfm?ArticleID=73 or
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ctl/documents/
Socratic%20Seminar/socraticsemwkshpinfo.htm).
Have students turn in the index cards at the end
of the period.
Help facilitate the whole-group discussion by
asking a key question and then encouraging students
to share their thoughts or pose their own questions.
The purpose of a Socratic seminar is to help students
to explore key aspects of a topic or issue, express
their ideas/opinions in a clear manner, and evaluate
the logic of their own and others’ thinking. If students
have difficulty with the key question—in this case
“What is theme?”—follow up with a related question,
such as “When you watch a video or read a piece of
fiction, what are you hoping to discover (see, feel, or
learn)?” If a student’s response to a question or
comment seems unclear or unrelated to the topic,
either restate the question or restate the student’s
response. Alternatively, ask the student to either
provide additional supporting information or give
an example to clarify the response. It is helpful to
construct a list of questions prior to the discussion,
using these questions when appropriate. For
example, you could raise some of the following
questions (adapted from Paul, Binker, Martin, &
Adamson, 1995) during the discussion:
■
Is theme like the moral of a story (a statement
usually at the end of the story that indicates a
lesson to be learned)? Why or why not?
■
What is the difference between the moral of a
story and the main idea of a text?
■
Could a piece of art, the decorations selected for
a school dance, or an advertisement have a
theme? Why or why not?
■
Are there themes that are universal (experienced
by many people from different cultures)?
■
Where could we look to verify our interpretation or
definition of theme?
■
Why should we study the concept of theme?
■
Which of the student-generated statements
recorded during the previous day’s session do you
think are good examples of theme? Why or why
not?
After the discussion, give students the PostDiscussion Reflection Sheet on page 47 to complete
as a homework assignment; this sheet would help to
gauge students’ current level of understanding about
the concept of theme.
43
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Supporting Details; Generalizations and Conclusions
The next part of the activity (a think-aloud) could
take two full class periods. Read aloud and analyze
portions of a short story such as “Raymond’s Run” by
Toni Cade Bambara or “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
while students follow along with their copy. After
reading the first paragraph, stop and model the
thinking being done. For example, when applicable
■
share the images the paragraph evoked,
■
restate the information presented in the
paragraph,
■
identify parts of the paragraph that are confusing,
■
identify and demonstrate strategies that might
alleviate the confusion (e.g., reading on),
■
determine the primary function of the paragraph
(e.g., to introduce a main point or a recurring idea,
add supporting details, describe a character or
situation),
■
■
predict the paragraph’s importance to the story as
a whole, or
draw conclusions about the literary elements used
in the paragraph.
Encourage students to pose questions during and
after the think-aloud, such as “Can you explain that a
little more?” or “Could the paragraph also mean…?”
(for more information about think-alouds see
http://www.indiana.edu/~crls/rogerfarr/mcr/usingta/
usingta.html). After modeling the think-aloud for
several paragraphs (and provided that the class
understands the process), ask students to assume
the teacher’s role. The class would continue to listen
as each paragraph is read aloud by a volunteer (or
the teacher); pairs of students would be assigned a
specific paragraph from the short story to think-aloud.
After finishing the story, have students form small
groups to determine the theme(s) of the story and
how to clearly express them in writing. Each group
member could write a paragraph to turn in that
explains one of the story’s themes and how it relates
to his or her life.
After students have internalized the think-aloud
method, have them select their own short story or
novella to read in class (and complete out of class, if
necessary). For the next two or three class periods,
students will read independently, stopping periodically
44
to identify passages in their text that they feel are
significant and to record their thoughts in a journal
(see the Journal Entry Sheet on page 49). These
entries will help students to identify and express the
theme(s) of the story, which they will also represent
through painting. While the teacher can set a specific
length for the journal entries, leaving the length up to
the students allows them the freedom to more fully
explore their ideas. To assist students in their journal
writing, the teacher and students could collaborate to
produce a sample journal entry using the text from the
think-aloud activity. The daily journal entries require
the following elements:
■
passages copied from the text (a phrase,
sentence, or even a paragraph, with page
references for each quotation) that the student
finds significant or meaningful;
■
an explanation of what each selected passage
means and its relationship (importance) to the
story; and
■
a description of why each selected passage is
significant to the student.
Depending on how much time is available, students
may use 10–20 minutes working on their journal
entries. Time could also be set aside for a periodic
group sharing or discussion of students’ journal
entries.
After finishing their reading selection, the students
will review their journal entries, working to synthesize
the information recorded into a final entry. The final
entry should summarize the main points of the text,
describe the relationship between ideas, and provide
a general statement that expresses the theme(s).
Some students may need to spend an entire class
period thinking, writing, and revising their writing. Bind
each student’s entries together and then assess them
using a checklist like the one located on page 50 for
the daily entries and the rating scale on page 51 for
the final journal entry. The checklist primarily focuses
on students’ thought processes and ability to support
their thinking rather than the mechanics of the writing.
Use the last two class periods for students to
create a visual representation of their journal ideas
(a sketch or collage of pencil sketches to be painted).
Each student should begin by creating one or more
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Supporting Details; Generalizations and Conclusions
pencil sketches that reflect his or her interpretation of
the short story or novella read (adapted from Short,
Harste, & Burke, 1988, pp. 528–536). The sketches
should represent those the student described in the
journal entries. Some of the passage text could also
be incorporated into the images, if desired, with
appropriate documentation included.
Comments/Tips from Classroom Teachers
Students who do not like to draw or paint
could be allowed to use a computer to create
a digitized collage, or to use found objects
or materials—like string, newspapers,
photographs, etc.—to create a collage.
After completing the final journal entry, every
student could be given a piece of paper, brushes,
and enough paint to share with a small group.
Another way to manage the supplies is to break into
small groups and have one student from each group
collect enough materials for his or her group. A group
of four can share two watercolor palettes, but
everyone will need paper and a brush. A paper towel
placed under each piece of paper will minimize the
mess. When they are ready to paint, the students can
begin to fill in their collage. Fortunately, watercolor
paints are very forgiving, and errors and accidents
can be easily fixed with a bit of paper towel or with
water. The paintings will need to dry overnight. In the
morning, pigments should be dry enough to safely
continue working without ruining the previous day’s
work. Alternatively, the teacher could invite the high
school art teacher, a parent or volunteer, or a local
artist to assist with this part of the activity.
As an option, students could present their images
to the class and discuss the choices they made in
designing them. For example, the students could
describe the images they drew to symbolize key
parts of the text or the colors they used to connote
a specific mood, tone, or theme. After presentations
conclude, all the images could be posted on a
bulletin board or chalkboard to exhibit the works,
or the images could be used as the cover for the
students’ series of journal entries.
Suggestions for Assessment
Embedded Assessment (Class Discussion)—
A Socratic seminar can be assessed using several
methods. The teacher could look at the effectiveness
of students’ participation (e.g., responding to and
extending ideas of others, proposing counterexamples) or could assign specific roles to different
students. For example, one or more students may be
asked to only observe the discussion, looking for
“spark plugs”—innovative ideas that cause the whole
group to look at something in a new way. The
observers would be responsible for jotting down the
person’s name, what he or she said, and what impact
it had on the discussion. Each observer would share
his or her thoughts with the class after the discussion.
A final option is to have students complete a PostDiscussion Reflection Sheet (see page 47). This
worksheet requires students to reflect on their past
and current thinking about the concept of theme.
Embedded Assessment (Informal Teacher
Notes)—While the class is reading silently, hold brief
conferences with individual students (see TeacherStudent Conference Notes on page 48). Ask each
student to talk about a portion of the text currently
being read. Jot down notes as to how well each
student is comprehending the text, identifying
significant points, and connecting the information
to what has previously been read.
Summative Assessment (Checklist for Daily
Journal Entries)—A checklist, which should be given
to students prior to their journal writing, could be used
to assess students’ journal entries (see page 50). This
type of assessment allows you to assess students’
understanding of their selected text, their concept of
theme, and their ability to apply that knowledge to
their reading selection.
Summative Assessment (Rating Scale for Final
Journal Entry)—A rating scale, which should be given
to students before they write their final journal entry,
could be used to assess students’ writing (see
page 51). This type of assessment allows you to
assess students’ ability to connect key pieces
of information in order to arrive at a plausible
interpretation and to support their interpretation
using evidence from their selected text.
45
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Supporting Details; Generalizations and Conclusions
ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING
Links to Ideas for Progress
■
Identify details in a challenging text that confirm
or disprove conclusions drawn by the author or
narrator and by the students themselves or their
peers
■
Explain in their own words the significance of
specific information in written or nonprint sources
■
Identify interrelationships between and among
people, objects, events, or ideas in written or
nonprint sources
46
Suggested Strategies/Activities
An essay that focuses on ideas or questions
raised by the students (in their journal entries) or by
the teacher (in class) is a challenging way to extend
the assignment. Any text that engages students and
allows them to connect their own lives to the
characters, plot, and themes, regardless of the
difficulty level, provides an excellent opportunity to
examine patterns and relationships. Using evidence
(details) from the text just read, students could
connect one or more themes of the text to their own
life, or they could describe something they learned
from the text and how it might impact their attitude
or behavior toward others.
Post-Discussion Reflection Sheet
Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _________________ Date: _________________
Directions: Write a thoughtful response to what went on during the class discussion by answering the
following questions.
1. What were your thoughts about the concept of theme before the discussion?
2. What did you learn during the discussion that you did not know or consider before?
3. What was the most important point you made during the discussion? OR Was there a point that you
wanted to make but were uncomfortable voicing to the group?
4. What questions do you have about theme that are still unanswered?
5. Based on your current understanding of theme, what features would you say distinguish it from the
concept of main idea?
47
Teacher-Student Conference Notes
Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _________________ Date: _________________
Directions: Note students’ thoughts based on the prompts below.
1. Tell me about the paragraph you are currently reading, including any questions or concerns you
have.
2. Does this paragraph contain key pieces of information? Please explain.
3. How does this paragraph (information you just learned) relate to the previous sections of the short
story?
4. What observations about life or human nature does the text support so far?
48
Journal Entry Sheet
Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _________________ Date: _________________
Directions: Copy passages from the text (a phrase, sentence, or even a paragraph) that you find significant or
meaningful, including the page number from which each passage (quotation) is taken. Provide an explanation
of the meaning of each selected passage, including its relationship to the story, and why it is significant to you,
personally.
Title of Short Story or Novella:
Page
Passage (quotation) copied
from the text word for word
Explanation of selected
passage (quotation), including
its relationship to the story
Significance of selected
passage (quotation) to you
49
Summative Assessment—Checklist for Daily Journal Entries
Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _________________ Date: _________________
Directions: Read each criterion and then circle either Y for Yes or N for No for each day’s journal entry. Subtotal
the number of Yeses circled for each criterion and then add the total number at the bottom of the sheet.
Comments can be provided to the right of each criterion.
Criteria
Scoring
Daily Journal Entries:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
Y or N
1. Recorded passages from their
selected text on a daily basis
Subtotal (Yeses):
2. Documented passages from text
appropriately (page references
provided)
Subtotal (Yeses):
3. Located meaningful
(thought-provoking) passages
from the text
Subtotal (Yeses):
4. Provided a clear explanation of
each passage’s meaning
Subtotal (Yeses):
5. Provided clear, logical reasons
for selecting each passage
Subtotal (Yeses):
Total:
50
Comments
Summative Assessment—Rating Scale for Final Journal Entry
Name: ______________________________________________ Period: _________________ Date: _________________
Directions: Read each criterion and then note the degree of evidence a student has demonstrated for each
using the following rating scale: Exemplary evidence (3), Partial Evidence (2), Little Evidence (1). Comments can
be provided to the right of each criterion. Provide student with a rating based on his or her total score.
Criteria
1.
Rating
Comments
Provided a brief summary of the
main points of the text, using
previous entries
2.
Explained relationship between
the passages recorded and the
text as a whole
3.
Focused final entry on key areas
of the text
4.
Developed a general statement
that suggests the underlying
theme(s) of the story
5.
Incorporated specific ideas/details from
text (passages previously recorded) to
support generalization
Total Score
Rating for Journal Writing (circle one):
Novice (1–5)
Practitioner (6–10)
Advanced (11–15)
51
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR
EXPLORE READING
WHY ARE ADDITIONAL
I NSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
I NCLUDED?
The set of instructional activities that begins on
page 54 was developed to illustrate the link between
classroom-based activities and the skills and
understandings embedded in the EXPLORE
Reading Test questions. The activities are provided
as examples of how classroom instruction and
assessment, linked with an emphasis on reasoning,
can help students practice skills and understandings
they will need in the classroom and in their lives
beyond the classroom. It is these skills and
understandings that are represented on the
EXPLORE Reading Test.
A variety of thought-provoking activities, such
as small- and large-group discussions, analysis
of materials read, and both independent and
collaborative activities, are included to help
students develop and refine their skills in many
types of situations.
The instructional activities that follow have a
similar organizational structure as the one in the
previous section. Like the other activity, these
activities were not developed to be a ready-to-use
set of instructional strategies. ACT’s purpose is to
illustrate how the skills and understandings
embedded in the EXPLORE Reading Test questions
can be incorporated into classroom activities.
For the purpose of this part of the guide, we have
tried to paint a picture of the ways in which the
activities could work in the classroom. We left room for
you to envision how the activities might best work for
you and your students. We recognize that as you
determine how best to serve your students, you take
into consideration your teaching style as well as the
academic needs of your students; state, district, and
school standards; and available curricular materials.
The instructional activities are not intended to help
drill students in skills measured by the EXPLORE
Reading Test. It is never desirable for test scores or
test content to become the sole focus of classroom
instruction. However, considered with information from
a variety of other sources, the results of standardized
tests can help you identify areas of strength and
weakness. The activities that follow are examples of
sound educational practices and imaginative,
integrated learning experiences. As part of a carefully
designed instructional program, these activities may
result in improved performance on the EXPLORE
Reading Test—not because they show how to drill
students in specific, isolated skills but because they
encourage thinking and integrated learning. These
activities can help because they encourage the kind
of thinking processes and strategies the EXPLORE
Reading Test requires.
53
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Supporting Details; Generalizations
and Conclusions
■
What words would you use to describe the mood
created by the piece?
■
Which details seem to convey that feeling?
■
What is the artwork’s overarching theme or
message?
Guiding Principles
■ “[Summarizing] involves evaluating the
importance of each piece of information in the
text, identifying high-level, general concepts
that organize low-level details, and then
integrating all the important information into a
coherent schema.” (Chapman, 1993, p. 56)
■ “Just like reading words, reading the world
requires understanding the symbolic nature of
objects as signs to be interpreted.” (Kutz &
Roskelly, 1991, p. 191)
■ “Balancing the immersion in direct experience
must be opportunities for learners to look
back, to reflect, to debrief, to abstract from
their experiences what they have felt and
thought and learned.” (Zemelman, Daniels, &
Hyde, 1993, p. 7)
CRAFTING EFFECTIVE TITLES
College Readiness Standards
■
Recognize a clear intent of an author or narrator in
uncomplicated literary narratives
■
Locate important details in uncomplicated passages
■
Locate and interpret minor or subtly stated details
in uncomplicated passages
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about people, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated
passages
Description of the Instructional Activity
The teacher might contact several local artists
(or the art teacher and student artists from the
school’s art department) who work in different
mediums (e.g., painting, drawing, sculpture,
photography). The teacher could invite them to the
class on different days, asking them to bring a
completed artwork (or a small selection of works).
Students could form small groups, analyzing each
artist’s work and discussing the following questions:
■
54
What do you see? Feel? Hear?
Each group could record their answers to assist
them in synthesizing their ideas and predicting the
artwork’s title. The groups could compare titles,
discussing their impressions of and perspectives on
the artwork, how their interpretations are influenced by
their personal experiences, and how a title can serve
varied purposes (e.g., to inspire, to inform). Afterward,
each artist could discuss his or her work with the
class, disclose the title and identify its significance,
and give his or her purpose for creating the piece.
Students could talk with each artist, asking questions
about his or her work and discussing the limitations
and strengths of the medium (what can and cannot
be done in the medium). Students could apply what
they have learned as they study various literary
genres, responding to such questions as “What can
you do with a poem that you can’t do with a novel?” or
“What happens when you take an idea from an essay
and turn it into a play script?” (Pirie, 1997, p. 25).
Next, students could analyze the title of a cassette
or CD that they are unfamiliar with. Each student
could write informally on the following questions and
then exchange his or her viewpoint about the title in a
small group:
■
What is the intended purpose of the title?
■
What images does the title evoke?
■
What does the title imply about the artist or the
songs included on the cassette or CD?
Each group could be given the list of songs
included on the cassette or CD and a copy of a
different song’s lyrics. Each group could review its
song, identifying words or phrases that either support
or contradict its title. The groups could come together
to share their insights about their songs as well as to
determine the intended goal or purpose of the
cassette or CD title (e.g., to summarize the type of
songs on the cassette or CD, to pique listeners’
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Supporting Details; Generalizations
and Conclusions
interest). Students could be encouraged to look at the
title from other viewpoints (e.g., those of the artist, a
parent, a corporate sponsor), considering how social
and economic factors can affect one’s perceptions.
For example, an artist may select a title that indicates
how changes in his or her life have affected his or her
music, whereas a marketing executive might select a
title that is catchy and will be easily remembered.
Finally, each student could read a novel of his or
her choice or from a teacher-generated list. The novel
should contain chapters that are numbered but not
titled, as do The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth
George Speare and Tangerine by Edward Bloor.
Students could read each chapter, stopping
throughout to question, to reflect, and to identify key
ideas and how these ideas contribute to the meaning
of the book as they are coming to understand it.
Students might use self-stick removable notes,
journals, or graphic organizers (a visual
representation of complex or interrelated ideas) to
record their ideas and impressions. After reading
each chapter, students could create a title for the
chapter; students would need to decide what purpose
each title should play in the novel (e.g., to imply or
explicitly state a main idea, to summarize the
chapter). Students could form small groups to
compare and defend their chapter titles. After
finishing his or her book, each student could develop
a table of contents, using the chapter titles generated
earlier. Students could review their table of contents,
then create a new title for the book, providing a
rationale for their decision (Broida, 1995).
Suggestions for Assessment
Performance Assessment—After reading the
novel and writing the table of contents, each student
could share with the class one chapter title along with
its rationale. Each student’s table of contents and
rationales for the chapter titles could then be turned in
to the teacher for review.
Multiple-Choice Questions—While reading his or
her selected novel, each student could write down
questions about the novel’s plot, characters, or
message. These questions could help students
identify key ideas and how those ideas relate to the
story’s theme. Students might construct multiplechoice answers to their questions, creating a rationale
for each question’s best response.
Peer Evaluation Checklist—Students could be
asked to generate a list of skills necessary for a group
to function productively. Such skills might include
“responds to and extends the ideas of others” and
“takes turns and respects the rights of others.”
The list of skills could be turned into a checklist that
students could use to evaluate their discussion
group’s participation and collaborative skills as they
discuss various types of materials (written or visual).
Ideas for Progress
■
Work with peers to formulate a concise statement
about the central idea(s) suggested in written or
nonprint sources (e.g., films, artwork)
■
Explain in their own words the significance of
specific information in written or nonprint sources
■
Analyze techniques used by the author of a text to
reveal or conceal his or her point of view
■
Write, exchange, and answer a series of questions
that examine significant details presented in a text
Suggested Strategies/Activities
Students could pretend they are analysts,
identifying and evaluating the main ideas and
supporting details presented in a speech. The students
could review various texts to determine the qualities
that make a speech exemplary. Students might also
listen to speeches that are considered exemplary
(http://www.historychannel.com/speeches). Using the
information gathered, the class could create a list of
criteria to evaluate speeches. Then, the class could
listen to and view a recorded speech, stopping the
videotape as needed to ask and answer questions
they have about the speaker and speech: the speaker’s
presentation style and use of nonverbal cues, the
purpose of the speech, the content of the message,
and the main points and supporting details of the
speech. As a group, the students could determine
the effectiveness of the speech and its message.
Students could review the criteria they generated
to determine whether such criteria would also apply
when evaluating editorials in their local newspapers.
Students could respond to an editorial they feel
strongly about, writing their own “letter to the editor,”
which could be sent to the newspapers for possible
publication.
55
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect Relationships; Generalizations
and Conclusions
Guiding Principles
■ “Reading always involves critical perception,
interpretation, and rewriting of what is read.”
(Freire & Macedo, 1987, p. 36)
■ “Anything that we wish to teach or to have
children learn needs to be embedded in
multiple, rich, interactive experiences where
most of what is to be learned is left openended, ready for discovery by and
consolidation within the learner.” (Caine
& Caine, 1997, p. 119)
■ “Assessment is an opportunity to put our
theories rather than our students continually to
the test.” (Bintz & Harste, 1994, p. 276)
TELLING TALES
College Readiness Standards
■
Order sequences of events in uncomplicated
passages
■
Identify clear cause-effect relationships in
uncomplicated passages
■
Understand implied or subtly stated cause-effect
relationships in uncomplicated passages
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about the main characters in uncomplicated
literary narratives
Description of the Instructional Activity
Students could be drawn into a discussion about
folktales or fairy tales, discussing those that were told
or read to them as children. Some possible questions
might be:
■
What is the appeal of tales?
■
What tale(s) do you remember vividly? Why?
■
Is there a character from a tale that you are able
to relate to? Why? Why not?
■
If you had a chance to interview characters from
several tales, whom would you interview and what
questions would you ask?
56
Each student could read a tale of his or her choice
and record the sequence of events, identifying the
event(s) that caused or led to the end result and
determining which event was the most significant.
Using this information, students could create a list of
“what if” questions about their tale, such as: What
would have happened if the wolf had first tried to
blow down the house of the third little pig? . . . if the
magpies had not flown Ling Li’s wedding robe to the
Phoenix Fairy? . . . if Possum, instead of Turtle, had
bragged about slaying the wolf? To help spark
students’ imaginations, the teacher could bring in
books that provide humorous variations on well-known
fairy tale themes, such as The Stinky Cheese Man
and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Scieszka or Wolf
Story by McCleery.
Students could break into small groups to share
the questions they have developed, discussing what
might have happened if the sequence of events had
changed, if one event had not occurred, or if a
different event had taken place. Using a graphic
organizer, each student could map out the events,
then indicate which ones would be affected by each
of their “what if” questions and why and how events
would be affected.
The teacher might read aloud an excerpt from
The Ordinary Princess by Kaye or Building Blocks by
Voigt. Students could identify a connection between
the book and a folktale or fairy tale and then predict
the sequence of events that follows in the book,
proposing possible cause-effect relationships.
Students could be encouraged to read the book to
see if their predictions mirrored the choices made by
the author.
Next, students could listen to a radio or television
broadcast of a news or sports event. Students could
discuss the techniques used by the announcer to
keep listeners tuned in, the perspective (and possible
bias) of the announcer, and the importance of
providing accurate and detailed information to inform
listeners of the events as they are unfolding and the
resulting effects. Imitating the style of the event they
heard, students could pretend to be announcers,
finding partners to be their co-commentators on a
“breaking” folktale or fairy tale. Students could write
their script first, using a familiar tale, and then practice
their commentary. Students could either perform their
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect Relationships; Generalizations
and Conclusions
commentary in front of the class, perhaps even using
microphones as props, or tape record it for the class
to listen to.
Ideas for Progress
■
Identify similarities and differences between
people, objects, events, or ideas, drawing
accurate conclusions
■
Determine factors that have clearly influenced the
outcome of a situation
■
Analyze the sequence of events in written or
nonprint sources
Suggestions for Assessment
Rating Scale —Students could rate their own and
each other’s folktale or fairy tale commentaries using a
rating scale. The scale could assess students’ ability
to maintain the listeners’ attention; to provide specific,
accurate details; and to give thoughtful, evaluative
comments about the sequence of events and causeeffect relationships (e.g., “The ugly duckling is moving
toward the swans; they seem to be talking. It doesn’t
look like the swans are laughing or making fun of the
duckling. I’m not sure the duckling knows what to
think, or how to respond because of all the teasing
and taunting he has received in the past.”).
Scoring Rubric —Students could use their
“what if” questions to rework a folktale or a fairy tale,
changing the events or the sequence of events as
well as writing the tale from a different viewpoint,
such as that of the troll in The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Students could read their stories to elementary-age
students, providing the younger children with a copy
of all the stories for their classroom library. A scoring
rubric could be used by the teacher and students to
assess the organization, mechanics, and creativity of
the stories. The criteria could be generated by the
students and teacher.
Suggested Strategies/Activities
Students could be asked to think about how the
events in a folktale or fairy tale are similar to or
different from cause-effect occurrences in nature or
history (e.g., Chicken Little’s belief that the sky was
falling and the witch trials in the late 1600s; the ugly
duckling turning into a swan and the sky changing
color at sunset).
Working in small groups or independently,
students could take a fairy tale and make it (penciling
it out on paper) into a computer game or board game.
Students would need to determine the events that
could happen, their causes, and the effects. After the
games are completed, students could play the
games, grading them using a student-generated
rubric.
57
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Supporting Details; Meanings of Words
Guiding Principles
■ “Words stand for concepts, which grow as
we do. We acquire new vocabulary only as
we can grasp the concepts denoted, which in
turn depend on our experiences and general
development.” (Tonjes & Zintz, 1987, p. 142)
■ “Emotions engage meaning and predict future
learning because they involve our goals,
beliefs, biases, and expectancies.” (Jensen,
1998, p. 93)
■ “Identifying significant learner outcomes that
provide an adequate basis and framework for
reliable assessment requires careful planning
by educators, parents, students, and
members of the school’s community.” (Baron
& Boschee, 1995, p. 17)
ANALYZING RULES
College Readiness Standards
■
Understand the overall approach taken by an
author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of
evidence used) in uncomplicated passages
■
Locate basic facts (e.g., names, dates, events)
clearly stated in a passage
■
Discern which details, though they may appear in
different sections throughout a passage, support
important points in more challenging passages
■
Understand the implication of a familiar word or
phrase and of simple descriptive language
Description of the Instructional Activity
At the beginning of the school year, the teacher
could engage students in a discussion about rules:
■
Does a society (e.g., a nation, a group) need
rules? Why? Why not?
human graph in which students move to a part of the
room where others who share similar viewpoints are
positioned. In order to better debate the topic,
students could use cue cards to identify key points
in their reasoning. Students could be given time to
search the Internet or other sources for information
that would help them answer questions they have
about rules or the process of creating rules. After
sharing this information in small groups, students
could be encouraged to revisit their initial impressions
about rules.
Each student could select a book of his or her
choice in which the character abides by or questions
the rules, such as The Red Badge of Courage by
Crane or Nothing But the Truth by Avi. Students could
be encouraged to decipher the tone of the writing.
Students could select several words that describe
the tone (e.g., sarcastic, authoritative, analytical),
identifying evidence in the text to support their
conclusions.
Later, students could go for a walk or take a field
trip in order to search for written rules or regulations
in their local environment: signs or notices in
businesses, community buildings, schools, or
recreational areas. (If this is not possible, the teacher
could show slides of rules he or she has found in the
community.) In a log, students could record rules that
contain symbolic, humorous, unfamiliar, ambiguous,
biased, or emotionally charged language. Students
could compare the rules in small groups, noting
similarities and differences in their wording. Each
group could select a rule to analyze in detail (one they
especially like or dislike), with each member reporting
on one of the following topics to the rest of the class:
■
the rule’s purpose and intended audience(s)
■
the tone and wording of the rule
■
the impact certain words or phrases have had or
might have on the thinking or behavior of people
■
the assumptions made about the need for the rule
the implications and consequences of enforcing
the rule
■
Who should be responsible for making and
enforcing rules?
■
■
How are rules created? Worded?
Students could be encouraged to contact those
institutions that have rules they strongly disagree with,
determining the process to be followed in order to
effect change.
Students could be given time to think about
each question, discussing their assumptions and
viewpoints with a partner. The class might create a
58
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Supporting Details; Meanings of Words
Students could also be encouraged to think
about the concept of unwritten rules. Students could
brainstorm a list of social rules that are not written
down but are known and followed by students at their
school. Students could interview their peers about the
meaning and logic of the unwritten rules and the
penalties for breaking them.
Finally, students could review historical documents
that contain rules or regulations from previous
decades, sharing those of interest (e.g., rules that may
seem unusual, outdated, or silly today). Students might
want to investigate why a specific rule existed,
connecting the wording of the rule to the attitude or
point of view that dominated during that particular time
or place. Students could select several unfamiliar or
intriguing words or concepts to study in depth,
searching for their origins and meanings in such books
as The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories
and Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories by Funk.
Suggestions for Assessment
Performance Assessment—Students could
discuss the kind of school they want to have and how
their school’s existing rules and policies help or hinder
progress toward their goal. Students could review
their school’s disciplinary rules, discussing whether
and how they could be worded better. Students could
form small groups, drafting a letter to the principal that
provides reasons for any suggested changes. The
class could merge the ideas generated by each small
group in order to create one letter to send to the
principal. Students could be assessed on their ability
to use language, in both the letter and the rules, that
conveys a specific purpose in an appropriate tone.
Anecdotal Notes—Throughout the school year,
students could be asked to collect words or phrases
from a variety of sources (e.g., field trips,
advertisements, catalogs, articles, books). The words
selected could be unfamiliar, figurative, or intriguing.
Each student (or the class together) could determine
how best to record, classify, and store the words
(e.g., word wall, journal). Students could periodically
share their words with the class, explaining why they
chose a particular word or phrase, identifying its
context and purpose, describing strategies they used
to identify its meaning, identifying word patterns, and
connecting the words to personal experiences.
Students could make informal notes about their word
collection, assessing what they have learned from
putting it together.
Ideas for Progress
■
Investigate the meanings of words and their
possible effect(s) on the perceptions and behavior
of people
■
Identify similarities and differences between
people, objects, events, or ideas, drawing
accurate conclusions
■
Determine how an inference might change based
on the inclusion of additional information
■
Use various resources (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus)
to explore connotations of familiar words or
descriptive language
Suggested Strategies/Activities
Students could form tentative conclusions about
the effects of rules and then conduct an experiment
that would test the extent to which a rule’s wording
(positive or negative) affects people’s compliance with
the rule. After reviewing the results of the experiment,
students could reexamine their prior conclusions,
making changes as needed. If allowed, students
could create a list of rules for a particular class. The
students could discuss how to monitor each rule in
order to determine the effectiveness of each.
The teacher could also share a rule she or he was
asked to obey as a child. The teacher could ask for
students’ help in writing the rule in poetic form as well
as from a teenager’s point of view. Students could be
asked to brainstorm vivid sensory details (e.g., colors,
textures, shapes) and impressions they associate with
the rule. The words and phrases suggested by
students could be listed on the board. Next, the
teacher could share several poems about objects and
places (e.g., All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Worth and Wordspinners by Maybury),
encouraging students to compare and discuss the
forms, cadences, and rhythms the poems have. Then,
the class could create a poem using the words and
phrases brainstormed earlier. Later, students could
select a rule they have at home and experiment with
writing it in poetic form (Marshall & Newmann, 1998).
As an alternative, students could create a public
service announcement about a rule in the form of
a rap.
59
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect
Relationships; Generalizations and Conclusions
Guiding Principles
■ “Readers bring to . . . reading, as they do to
every activity, the accumulated knowledge
and experiences of their lives.” (Kutz &
Roskelly, 1991, p. 189)
■ “Critical thinkers scrutinize generalizations,
probe for possible exceptions, and then use
appropriate qualifications.” (Paul, Binker,
Martin, & Adamson, 1995, p. 69)
■ “The art of teaching for meaning is to activate
and facilitate the self-directed, pattern-finding
nature of the brain.” (Caine & Caine, 1997,
p. 118)
■ “Assessment never gives answers, only data
on which we can make judgments.” (Bintz &
Harste, 1994, p. 274)
EVALUATING CHARACTER TRAITS
College Readiness Standards
■
Understand the overall approach taken by an
author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of
evidence used) in uncomplicated passages
■
Infer the main idea or purpose of straightforward
paragraphs in more challenging passages
■
Understand relationships between people, ideas,
and so on in uncomplicated passages
■
Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about the main characters in uncomplicated
literary narratives
Description of the Instructional Activity
The teacher could begin the class by asking
students to write informally about the following
questions: What qualities (traits) in people do you
admire, respect, or appreciate? Can you think of
instances in which it would not be helpful to have one
of those traits? Students could share their responses
in small groups and then group the qualities into
categories.
60
Students could also be asked to form
generalizations about several of the qualities they
discussed, with and without qualifiers (e.g., Some
people are nice. People are nice.). The class could
compare each group’s categories, discussing the
shades of meaning of words. They could also discuss
how qualifiers (e.g., some, usually) help to clarify
generalizations.
Next, students could look in more depth at the
traits they listed, answering such questions as:
■
What types of activities or situations would foster
the development of some of the traits discussed
earlier?
■
Which qualities would be considered essential
from the viewpoint of a lawyer? A politician? An
entrepreneur?
■
What factors make obtaining these qualities
difficult?
■
What is the relationship among one’s viewpoints,
emotions, and actions?
Students could share their responses to these
questions during a large-group discussion. The
teacher could then read aloud to students the short
novel Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! by
Manes. Students could discuss the kind of person the
main character wants to be and the events that
encourage him to embark on a do-it-yourself course
in becoming perfect. Students could identify the
qualities the main character shows throughout the
story, comparing them to the qualities displayed by
other literary characters that they are familiar with
(e.g., characters who are good and not-so-good).
The students might also discuss the difficulties the
character encounters as he tries to achieve his goal,
comparing those difficulties to ones they have
experienced and identifying reasonable
generalizations expressed by their peers during the
group discussion. Next, students could discuss the
concept of perfection, including how realistic this goal
is and the role the mass media seem to play in
shaping people’s expectations.
Linking Instruction and Assessment
Strands: Main Ideas and Author’s Approach; Sequential, Comparative, and Cause-Effect
Relationships; Generalizations and Conclusions
Later, students could look through catalogs and
advertisements, clipping those pictures that suggest
or represent an image of perfection or that encourage
viewers to strive for perfection. Students could note
the similarities and differences between the ads,
discussing the techniques used to create the image
of perfection, such as the use of emotional appeals,
authority figures, or oversimplified statements.
Students could be encouraged to think about the
underlying purpose(s) of the ads, the credibility of
the sources of information, the accuracy of the
information, the similarities and differences in the
statements made by advertisers of comparable
products, and the factors that can influence a viewer
to accept the ads’ messages.
Suggestions for Assessment
Questionnaire —Students could create and
respond to a questionnaire that encourages them
to reflect on what they have learned about
generalizations, what they still have questions about,
and how the information learned can be applied to
the real world (e.g., interpreting commercials or
political cartoons).
Rating Scale —A rating scale developed by the
students could be used to analyze public service
announcements also written by the students. As a
class, students could select an issue (e.g., working
teens, being a mentor) that each announcement
would address. Each announcement could represent
a different viewpoint: for example, the issue could be
discussed from the viewpoint of a poet, a scientist, or
a comedian. Students could work with partners to
develop the announcement, using the information
learned when they studied advertisements. The rating
scale could assess the content of the announcement,
the reasonableness of the generalizations included in
the announcement, and the effectiveness of the
announcement in representing a particular point
of view.
Ideas for Progress
■
Analyze the reasonableness of generalizations by
reviewing information presented in the text and
from other sources
■
Identify details in a challenging text that confirm
or disprove conclusions drawn by the author or
narrator and by the students themselves or their
peers
■
Synthesize information in challenging texts,
making valid generalizations or conclusions about
people and situations
Suggested Strategies/Activities
The students could make tentative generalizations
regarding the buying habits of teenagers and their
parents. Then, with the help of the language arts and
the mathematics teacher, the students could develop
a survey that examines the extent to which advertising
affects people’s understanding of the strengths and
weaknesses of similar products and their decision to
buy the products. The students could look at several
types of surveys before designing their own. Students
would need to determine the population(s) to survey
and the sample size. They would also need to discuss
the types of questions to ask (e.g., open or closed),
determining what information they want to learn and
how best to phrase the questions. With the teachers’
help, the students would need to determine which
statistical value, if any, best represents the data:
mean, median, mode, or range. Finally, students
could review consumer reports that compare products
they mentioned in their survey. After reviewing both
sets of information, students could revise their initial
generalizations, making them more valid and
complete.
61
PUTTING
THE
PIECES TOGETHER
ACT developed this guide to show the link
between the EXPLORE Reading Test results and daily
classroom work. The guide serves as a resource for
teachers, curriculum coordinators, and counselors by
explaining what the College Readiness Standards say
about students’ academic progress.
The guide explains how the test questions on
the EXPLORE Reading Test are related to the College
Readiness Standards and describes what kinds
of reasoning skills are measured. The sample
instructional activities and classroom assessments
suggest some approaches to take to help students
develop and apply their reasoning skills.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM H ERE?
ACT recognizes that teachers are the essential
link between instruction and assessment. We are
committed to providing you with assistance as you
continue your efforts to provide quality instruction.
ACT is always looking for ways to improve its
services. We welcome your comments and questions.
Please send them to:
College Readiness Standards
Elementary and Secondary School Programs (32)
ACT
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, IA 52243-0168
“A mind, stretched to a new idea,
never goes back to its original
dimensions.”
— Oliver Wendell Holmes
62
WHAT OTHER ACT PRODUCTS
SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE?
AND
In addition to the College Readiness Standards
materials, ACT offers many products and services
that support school counselors, students and their
parents, and others. Here are some of these
additional resources:
ACT’s Website—www.act.org contains a host of
information and resources for parents, teachers, and
others. Students can visit www.explorestudent.org,
which is designed to aid students as they prepare for
their next level of learning.
The ACT—a guidance, placement, and admissions
program that helps students prepare for the transition
to postsecondary education while providing a
measure of high school outcomes for college-bound
students.
PLAN—a comprehensive assessment program
designed to improve tenth-grade students’ postsecondary planning and preparation and to enable
schools to assist students and their parents in this
important process.
WorkKeys ®—a system linking workplace skill areas to
instructional support and specific requirements of
occupations.
TM
ACT Online Prep —an online test preparation
program that provides students with real ACT tests
and an interactive learning experience.
The Real ACT Prep Guide—the official print guide to
the ACT, containing three practice ACTs.
DISCOVER ®—a computer-based career planning
system that helps users assess their interests,
abilities, experiences, and values, and provides
instant results for use in investigating educational
and occupational options.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
This bibliography is divided into four sections. The first section lists the
sources used in describing the EXPLORE Program, the College Readiness
Standards for the EXPLORE Reading Test, and ACT’s philosophy regarding
educational testing. The second section, which lists the sources used to develop
the instructional activities and assessments, provides suggestions for further
reading in the areas of thinking and reasoning, learning theory, and best practice.
The third section lists diverse literary works suggested by classroom teachers that
could be used in conjunction with the instructional activities on pages 56–63. The
fourth section provides a list of resources suggested by classroom teachers.
(Please note that in 1996 the corporate name “The American College Testing
Program” was changed to “ACT.”)
1. GENERAL REFERENCES
Adams, A. (1973). [Letter to John Quincy Adams, May
8, 1780]. In L. H. Butterfield & M. Friedlaender
(Eds.), Adams family correspondence: Vol. 3, April
1778–September 1780 (p. 313). Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Airasian, P. W. (1991). Classroom assessment. New
York: McGraw Hill.
American Association for Higher Education, American
College Personnel Association, & National
Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
(1998, June). Powerful partnerships: A shared
responsibility for learning. Retrieved June 3, 2005,
from http://www.aahe.org/assessment/joint.htm
American College Testing Program. (1992). Content
validity of ACT’s educational achievement tests.
Iowa City, IA: Author.
ACT. (1996a). Language arts for a successful transition
to college: The content foundations of the ACT
Assessment. Iowa City, IA: Author.
ACT. (1996b). Linking assessment to instruction in your
classroom: Language arts guide to EXPLORE,
PLAN, and the ACT Assessment. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT. (1998). Maintaining the content validity of ACT’s
educational achievement tests. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT. (2000). Content validity evidence in support of
ACT’s educational achievement tests: ACT’s
1998–1999 national curriculum study. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT. (2001). EXPLORE technical manual. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT. (2002). Item writer’s guide for the EXPLORE
Reading Test. Iowa City, IA: Author.
ACT. (2002) Passage selection guide for the EXPLORE
Reading Tests. Iowa City, IA: Author.
63
ACT. (2003). Content validity evidence in support
of ACT’s educational achievement tests: ACT
National Curriculum Survey 2002–2003.
Iowa City, IA: Author.
ACT. (2004). Crisis at the core: Preparing all students
for college and work. Iowa City, IA: Author.
ACT. (2005a). EXPLORE program guide. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT. (2005b). The real ACT prep guide: The only
official prep guide from the makers of the ACT.
[Lawrenceville, NJ:] Thomson Peterson’s.
ACT. (2005c). Your guide to EXPLORE. Iowa City, IA:
Author.
ACT, & Council of Great City Schools. (1999).
Gateways to success: A report on urban student
achievement and coursetaking. Iowa City, IA:
Authors.
ACT, & The Education Trust. (2004). On course for
success: A close look at selected high school
courses that prepare all students for college.
Iowa City, IA: Authors.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Hamilton, R. L., &
Kucan, L. (1998). Getting at the meaning: How to
help students unpack difficult text. American
Educator, 22, 66–71, 85.
Billmeyer, R., & Barton, M. L. (1998). Teaching reading
in the content areas: If not me, then who? Aurora,
CO: Mid-continent Regional Educational
Laboratory.
Brewer, D. J., Rees, D. I., & Argys, L. M. (1995).
Detracking America’s schools: The reform without
cost? Phi Delta Kappan, 77 (3), 210–214.
Burke, K. (1992). Significant outcomes. In K. Burke
(Ed.), Authentic assessment: A collection (pp.
201–203). Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Publishing.
Christenbury, L. (1998). Language arts: A chapter of
the ASCD curriculum handbook. In ASCD
curriculum handbook: A resource for curriculum
administrators (pp. 120–133). Alexandria, VA: The
Association of Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Dwyer, K., & Thompson, L. D. (1999). The journey of a
reader in the classroom. Portland, OR: Northwest
Regional Educational Laboratory.
64
Gay, G. (2000). Improving the achievement of marginalized students of color. In Including at-risk
students in standards-based reform: A report on
McREL’s Diversity Roundtable II (pp. 3–19). (A
research-based paper presented at the November
1999 roundtable). Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/Diversity/
5007IR_DiversityRT2.pdf
Goodwin, B. (2000). Raising the achievement of lowperforming students [policy brief]. Aurora, CO:
Mid-continent Research for Education and
Learning.
Gray, W. S. (1960). The major aspects of reading. In
H. M. Robinson (Ed.), Sequential development of
reading abilities: Proceedings of the annual
conference on reading held at the University of
Chicago, 1960, Vol. 22 (pp. 8–24) (Supplementary
educational monographs, No. 90). Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press.
Guillaume, A. M. (1998). Learning with text in the
primary grades. The Reading Teacher, 51,
476–486.
Hixson, J. (1993). At-risk. An excerpt from Redefining
the issues: Who’s at risk and why. Revision of a
paper originally presented in 1983 at “Reducing
the Risks,” a workshop presented by the Midwest
Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and
Communities. Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/
atrisk/at5def.htm
Holmes, O. W. (1960). The autocrat of the breakfasttable. Everyman’s Library, No. 66. London: J. M.
Dent & Sons. (Original work published 1858)
Ingersoll, R. (1998). The problem of out-of-field
teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 79 (10), 773–776.
Langer, J., Close, E., Angelis, J., & Preller, P. (2000,
May). Guidelines for teaching middle and junior
high school students to read and write well.
Albany, NY: National Research Center on English
Learning & Achievement.
Lindquist, E. F. (1958). Some requirements of and
some basic considerations concerning college
entrance and college scholarship examinations
(pp. 1–6). Unpublished manuscript.
McCollum, P. (2000). Immigrant students and standards-based reform: Examining opportunities to
learn. In Including at-risk students in standardsbased reform: A report on McREL’s Diversity
Roundtable II (pp. 20–34). (A research-based
paper presented at the November 1999
roundtable). Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/Diversity/
5007IR_DiversityRT2.pdf
McGee, L. M., & Richgels, D. J. (1985). Teaching
expository text structure to elementary students.
The Reading Teacher, 38, 739–748.
May, F. B. (1990). Reading as communication: An
interactive approach (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH:
Merrill Publishing Company.
Noeth, R. J., & Wimberly, G. L. (2002). Creating
seamless educational transitions for urban African
American and Hispanic students (ACT Policy
Report with the cooperation of the Council of
Great City Schools). Iowa City, IA: ACT, Inc.
Piccolo, J. A. (1987). Expository text structure:
Teaching and learning strategies. The Reading
Teacher, 40, 838–847.
Ravitch, D. (1985). The schools we deserve:
Reflections on the educational crisis of our time.
New York: Basic Books.
Sadowski, M. (2001). Closing the gap one school at a
time. Harvard Education Letter, 17 (3),1–5.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of
Education.
Means, B., & Knapp, M. S. (1991). Introduction:
Rethinking teaching for disadvantaged students.
In B. Means, C. Chelemer, & M. S. Knapp (Eds.),
Teaching advanced skills to at-risk students: Views
from research and practice (pp. 1–26). San
Francisco & Oxford: Jossey-Bass.
65
2. REFERENCES FOR EXPLORE
READING I NSTRUCTIONAL
ACTIVITIES
Anderson, R. (2002). Ad dissection 101: Exposing
media manipulation. Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://website.education.wisc.edu/rla/ADSITE/
Avi. (1993). Nothing but the truth. New York: Avon.
Bambara, T. C. (1992). Raymond’s run. In Gorilla, my
love (pp. 23–32). New York: Vintage. (Original
work published 1972)
Baron, J. B., & Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Teaching
thinking skills: Theory and practice. New York:
W. H. Freeman and Company.
Baron, M., & Boschee, F. (1995). Authentic assessment: The key to unlocking student success.
Lancaster, PA: Technomic Publishing Company.
Bintz, W. P., & Harste, J. C. (1994). Assessment:
Re-Visioning the future. In B. Harp (Ed.),
Assessment and evaluation for student centered
learning (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA:
Christopher-Gordon.
Block, C. C. (1999). Comprehension: Crafting
understanding. In L. B. Gambrell, L. M. Morrow,
S. B. Neuman, & M. Pressley (Eds.), Best
practices in literacy instruction (pp. 98–118).
New York: Guilford Press.
Brandt, R. (1995). Punished by rewards? A
conversation with Alfie Kohn. Educational
Leadership, 53 (1), 13–16.
Broida, E. (1995). Name that chapter! In National
Council of Teachers of English (Ed.), Teaching
literature in high school: The novel (pp. 41–42).
Standards Consensus Series. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
Caine, R. N., & Caine, G. (1997). Education on the
edge of possibility. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Critical Thinking Consortium. (2004). Journals.
Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/
TRK12-remodelled-lesson-6-9.shtml#Journals
66
Critical Thinking Consortium. (2004). Writing
argumentative essays. Retrieved June 3, 2005,
from http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/
TRK12-remodelled-lesson-6-9.shtml/#Essays
Chapman, A. (Ed.). (1993). Making sense: Teaching
critical reading across the curriculum. New York:
College Entrance Examination Board.
Cisneros, S. (1991). Eleven. In Woman hollering creek
and other stories (pp. 6–9). New York: Random
House.
Crane, S. (1990). The red badge of courage. Mineola,
NY: Dover. (Original work published 1895)
Davis, B. (n.d.). Theme? I can’t even think of a
title. . . . Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://www.hodrw.com/theme.htm
Drummond, T. (1994, 2002). A brief summary of the
best practices in college teaching. Retrieved
June 3, 2005, from http://northonline.sccd.ctc.edu/
eceprog/bstprac.html
Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of
expert consensus for purposes of educational
assessment and instruction (Research findings
and recommendations prepared for the
Committee on Pre-College Philosophy of the
American Philosophical Association). Fullerton,
CA: California State University.
Farr, R., & Conner, J. (n.d.). Using think-alouds to
improve reading comprehension. Retrieved
June 3, 2005, from http://www.indiana.edu/~crls/
rogerfarr/mcr/usingta/usingta.html
Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1987). Literacy: Reading the
word and the world. South Hadley, MA: Bergin &
Garvey.
Funk, W. (1992). Word origins and their romantic
stories. New York: Random House.
Greene, E. (1996). Ling Li and the phoenix fairy: A
Chinese fairy tale. New York: Clarion.
Gubbins, E. J. (1985). Gubbins’ list of thinking skills.
Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Department of
Education, Division of Teaching and Learning.
Herman, J. L., Aschbacher, P. R., & Winters, L. (1992).
A practical guide to alternative assessment.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Kaye, M. M. (1993). The ordinary princess. Friday
Harbor, WA: Turtleback.
Keefe, J. W., & Walberg, H. J. (Eds.). (1992). Teaching
for thinking. Reston, VA: National Association of
Secondary School Principals.
Kurfiss, J. G. (1988). Critical thinking: Theory,
research, practice, and possibilities (ASHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report No. 2). Washington, DC:
Association for the Study of Higher Education.
Kutz, E., & Roskelly, H. (1991). An unquiet pedagogy:
Transforming practice in the English classroom.
Portsmouth, NJ: Boynton/Cook.
McCleery, W. (1988). Wolf story (Reprint ed.). North
Haven, CT: Linnet Books. (Original work published
1947)
McKinney, C. (1995). Finding lessons in song. In
National Council of Teachers of English (Ed.),
Teaching literature in high school: The novel (pp.
70–71). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers
of English.
Manes, S. (1982). Be a perfect person in just three
days! New York: Clarion.
Marshall, S., & Newmann, D. (1998). A poet’s vision.
Voices in the Middle, 1 (4), 7–15.
Marzano, R. J. (1992). A different kind of classroom:
Teaching with dimensions of learning. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Marzano, R. J., Brandt, R. S., Hughes, C. S., Jones, B.
F., Presseisen, B. F., Rankin, S. C., & Suhor, C.
(1988). Dimensions of thinking: A framework for
curriculum and instruction. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Maybury, B. (1981). Wordspinners. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1995). The Merriam-Webster
new book of word histories. Springfield, MA:
Author.
Meyer, C. (1986). Teaching students to think critically.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
National Council of Teachers of English, &
International Reading Association. (1996).
Standards for the English language arts. Urbana,
IL, and Newark, DE: Authors.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1995).
Assessment standards for high school
mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
Newmann, F. M., Secada, W., & Wehlage, G. G.
(1995). A guide to authentic instruction and
assessment: Vision, standards, and scoring.
Madison, WI: Wisconsin Center for Education
Research.
Newmann, F. M., & Wehlage, G. G. (1995). Successful
school restructuring (Report to the public and
educators by the Center on Organization and
Restructuring of Schools). Madison, WI: Wisconsin
Center for Education Research.
Northeastern State University Center for Teaching and
Learning. (n.d.). Conducting successful Socratic
seminars (Engaging students in critical thinking).
Retrieved June 3, 2005, from
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~ctl/documents/
Socratic%20Seminar/socraticsemwkshpinfo.htm
Paul, R., Binker, A. J. A., Martin, D., & Adamson, K.
(1995). Critical thinking handbook: High school.
Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
67
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2001). Critical thinking: Tools for
taking charge of your learning and your life. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
3. SELECTED LITERARY WORKS
SUGGESTED BY CLASSROOM
TEACHERS
Perrone, V. (Ed.). (1991). Expanding student
assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Aaseng, N. (1992). Navajo code talkers. New York:
Walker Publishers.
Pirie, B. (1997). Reshaping high school English.
Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of
English.
Ross, G. (1995). How turtle’s back was cracked: A
traditional Cherokee tale. New York: Dial.
Scieszka, J. (1993). The stinky cheese man and other
fairly stupid tales. New York: Viking Press.
Short, K., Harste, J., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating
classrooms for authors and inquirers (2nd ed.).
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Stiggins, R. J. (1994). Student-centered classroom
assessment. New York: Macmillan College
Publishing Company.
Tonjes, M. V., & Zintz, M. J. (1987). Teaching reading
thinking study skills in content area classrooms
(2nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.
Union University Center for Faculty Development.
(n.d.). Classroom communication: Discussion tips.
Retrieved June 3, 2005, from http://www.uu.edu/
centers/faculty/resources/article.cfm?ArticleID=73
Voigt, C. (1994). Building blocks. Friday Harbor, WA:
Turtleback.
Wolf, J. M. (1997). The beanstalk and beyond:
Developing critical thinking through fairy tales.
Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Worth, V. (1994). All the small poems and fourteen
more. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (1993). Best
practice: New standards for teaching and learning
in America’s schools. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
68
Adoff, A. (1995). Slow dance heart break blues. New
York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard.
Allen, P. G. (Ed.). (1990). Spider woman’s granddaughters: Traditional tales and contemporary
writing by Native American writers. New York:
Fawcett Books.
Alvarez, J. (1992). How the Garcia girls lost their
accents. New York: NAL-Dutton.
Cisneros, S. (1991). The house on Mango Street. New
York: Random House.
De Jong, M. (1987). House of sixty fathers. New York:
Harper Collins Children’s Books.
Fang, L. (1995). The Ch’i-lin-purse: A collection of
ancient Chinese stories. New York: Farrar, Straus
& Giroux.
Faurot, J. L. (Ed.). (1995). Asian-Pacific folktales and
legends. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Gallo, D. (Ed.). (1995). Join in: Multiethnic short stories
by outstanding writers for young adults. Madison,
WI: Demco.
Hamilton, V. (1995). Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales. New York:
Scholastic.
Kingston, M. H. (1976). The woman warrior. New York:
Knopf.
Myers, W. D. (1983). Hoops. Madison, WI: Demco.
Taylor, M. D. (1990). Mississippi bridge. New York:
Dial.
4. RESOURCES SUGGESTED
CLASSROOM TEACHERS
BY
Print Sources
Brandt, D. (2001). Literacy in American lives.
Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural
conflict in the classroom. New York: The New
Press.
Howard, G. R. (1999). We can’t teach what we don’t
know: White teachers, multiracial schools. New
York: Teachers College Press.
The Gateway to Educational Materials.
http://www.thegateway.org
Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Research Projects.
http://www.pzweb.harvard.edu/
Research/Research.htm
International Reading Association.
http://www.reading.org
James Madison University. Internet School
Library Media Center.
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/
Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary: The
struggles and achievements of America’s
underprepared. New York: Macmillan.
Johns Hopkins University & Howard University Center
for Research on the Education of Students Placed
at Risk (CRESPAR).
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/index.htm
Wilhelm, J. D. (1996). You gotta be the book: Teaching
engaged and reflective reading with adolescents.
New York: Teachers College Press.
Learning to Read: Resources for Language Arts and
Reading Research.
http://toread.com
Wilson, B. L., & Corbett, H. D. (2002). Listening to
urban kids: School reform and the teachers they
want. New York: SUNY Press.
National Women’s History Project.
http://www.nwhp.org
Websites
(All retrieved by ACT June 3, 2005.)
Cloudnet. Multicultural Lesson Plans and Resources.
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/
edmulticult.htm
Davis, B. G. (1993). Motivating students.
In Tools for Teaching (chap. 23).
http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/motivate.html
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Lab National Network.
http://www.nwrel.org/national
PBS TeacherSource.
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource
U.S. Department of Education Resource
Organizations Directory.
http://bcol02.ed.gov/Programs/EROD/
org_list.cfm?category_ID=SEA
The Educator’s Reference Desk.
http://www.eduref.org
69
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Prose Fiction passage corresponding to sample test question found on page 20
PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from John Steinbeck’s novel The Red Pony (©1961, 1965 by John Steinbeck).
35
40
5
When the triangle sounded in the morning, Jody
dressed more quickly even than usual. In the kitchen,
while he washed his face and combed back his hair, his
mother addressed him irritably. “Don’t you go out until
you get a good breakfast in you.”
10
He went into the dining room and sat at the long
white table. He took a steaming hotcake from the platter, arranged two fried eggs on it, covered them with another hotcake and squashed the whole thing with his
fork.
15
20
25
His father and Billy Buck came in. Jody knew
from the sound on the floor that both of them were
wearing flat-heeled shoes, but he peered under the table
to make sure. His father turned off the oil lamp, for the
day had arrived, and he looked stern and disciplinary,
but Billy Buck didn’t look at Jody at all. He avoided the
shy questioning eyes of the boy and soaked a whole
piece of toast in his coffee.
Carl Tiflin said crossly, “You come with us after
breakfast!”
Jody had trouble with his food then, for he felt a
kind of doom in the air. . . . The two men stood up from
the table and went out into the morning light together,
and Jody respectfully followed a little behind them. He
tried to keep his mind from running ahead, tried to keep
it absolutely motionless.
His mother called, “Carl! Don’t you let it keep him
from school.”
30
70
They marched past the cypress, where a singletree
hung from a limb to butcher the pigs on, and past the
black iron kettle, so it was not a pig killing. The sun
shone over the hill and threw long, dark shadows of the
tree and buildings. They crossed a stubble-field to
shortcut to the barn. Jody’s father unhooked the door
45
and they went in. They had been walking toward the sun
on the way down. The barn was black as night in contrast and warm from the hay and from the beasts. Jody’s
father moved over toward the one box stall. “Come
here!” he ordered. Jody could begin to see things now.
He looked into the box stall and then stepped back
quickly.
A red pony colt was looking at him out of the stall.
Its tense ears were forward and a light of disobedience
was in its eyes. Its coat was rough and thick as an
airedale’s fur and its mane was long and tangled. Jody’s
throat collapsed in on itself and cut his breath short.
“He needs a good currying,” his father said, “and if
I ever hear of you not feeding him or leaving his stall
dirty, I’ll sell him off in a minute.”
50
55
60
Jody couldn’t bear to look at the pony’s eyes any
more. He gazed down at his hands for a moment, and he
asked very shyly, “Mine?” No one answered him. He
put his hand out toward the pony. Its gray nose came
close, sniffing loudly, and then the lips drew back and
the strong teeth closed on Jody’s fingers. The pony
shook its head up and down and seemed to laugh with
amusement. Jody regarded his bruised fingers. “Well,”
he said with pride—“Well, I guess he can bite all right.”
The two men laughed, somewhat in relief. Carl Tiflin
went out of the barn and walked up a side-hill to be by
himself, for he was embarrassed, but Billy Buck stayed.
It was easier to talk to Billy Buck. Jody asked again—
“Mine?”
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Prose Fiction passage corresponding to sample test question found on page 21
PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from Sandra Cisneros’s first novel The House on Mango Street (©1984 by
Sandra Cisneros).
5
The house on Mango Street is ours and we don’t
have to pay rent to anybody or share the yard with the
people downstairs or be careful not to make too much
noise and there isn’t a landlord banging on the ceiling.
But even so, it’s not the house we’d thought we’d get.
10
We had to leave the flat on Loomis quick. The
water pipes broke and the landlord wouldn’t fix them.
We were using the washroom next door and carrying
water over in empty milk gallons. That’s why we moved
to Mango Street.
15
20
25
30
35
Our parents always told us that one day we would
move into a house, a real house that would be ours for
always so we wouldn’t have to move each year. And our
house would have running water and pipes that worked.
And inside it would have real stairs, not hallway stairs,
but stairs inside like the houses on T.V. And we’d have
a basement and at least three washrooms so when we
took a bath we didn’t have to tell everybody. Our house
would be white with trees around it, a great big yard
and grass growing without a fence. This was the house
Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this
was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told
us before we went to bed.
But the house on Mango Street is not the way they
told it at all. It’s small and red with tight little steps in
front and windows so small you’d think they were holding their breath. There is no front yard, only four little
elms the city planted by the curb. Out back is a small
garage for the car we don’t own yet and a small yard
that looks smaller between the two buildings on either
side. There are stairs in our house, but they’re ordinary
hallway stairs, and the house has only one washroom,
very small. Everybody has to share a bedroom.
40
Where do you live? she asked.
There, I said pointing up to the third floor.
You live there?
45
50
There. I had to look to where she pointed—the
third floor, the paint peeling, wooden bars Papa had
nailed on the windows so we wouldn’t fall out. You live
there? The way she said it made me feel like nothing.
There. I lived there. I nodded.
I knew then I had to have a house. One I could
point to. The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the
time being, Mama said. Temporary, said Papa. But I
know how those things go.
I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story
about a girl who didn’t want to belong.
55
60
We didn’t always live on Mango Street. Before
that we lived on Loomis, and before that we lived on
Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.
I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not
ache so much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye
sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She
sets me free.
Once when we were living on Loomis, a nun from
my school passed by and saw me playing out front. The
laundromat downstairs had been boarded up because it
had been robbed two days before and the owner had
painted on the wood YES WE’RE OPEN so as not to
lose business.
71
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Social Science passage corresponding to sample test questions found on pages 17 and 19
SOCIAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from Jake Page’s
article “Fly away, fly away, fly away home” (©1990 by the
Smithsonian Institution).
5
10
15
20
25
30
72
Officially they are called “European starlings,”
with a fitting scientific name: Sturnus vulgaris. They
are one of the most successful birds in the world. There
are an estimated 600 million of them on the globe, of
which one-third inhabit North America. The United
States houses about three starlings for every house cat.
A century ago there were no starlings here. Like most of
us they are recent immigrants. In 1890, a lunatic (we
can now say for certain) named Eugene Schieffelin
brought 80 of the birds to this country from Europe and
on March 6 released them in Central Park in New York
City. He released 40 more in April 1891. There is a
rumor that Schieffelin had devised a crazed scheme to
introduce into this country all the birds mentioned in
the works of Shakespeare. . . . By 1891 twenty starlings
had made it to Staten Island. In 1896 they were in
Brooklyn, and two years later they were on their way in
all directions. . . .
Bird people began to look upon the starling with
wariness. In 1917, ornithologist Edward Howe Forbush
wrote: “As undesirable qualities are often accentuated
when a bird is introduced into a new country, we cannot
view the introduction of the starling without some apprehension.” Referring to the bird’s “general fitness for
the battle of life,” Forbush insightfully pointed out that
the starling thrives especially in cultivated lands, and
that in Europe it had had thousands of years to adapt to
such places as well as to the propinquity of large numbers of people, while the native American songbirds
with whom the starling was already seen to be competing had had only a couple of centuries of such learning
conditions. . . .
35
40
45
50
55
By 1959, the same year that Alaska was admitted
to the Union, there were starlings in San Diego:
Manifest Destiny for starlings, achieved in a mere 69
years. Today, from Alaska to northern Mexico, there is
hardly a place they do not go, even the beach. They are
often found in the company of grackles, blackbirds and
other avian lowlifes. In March, hundreds, even thousands of members of this demimonde gather in the
skeletal trees around my house and in the pasture,
jostling and shrieking, suddenly to gust up and swarm
in the air like insects, only to settle down in other trees
nearby as the unmusical chorus continues. . . .
Some experts say that starlings actually provide
great benefit from the “economic” standpoint. The chief
enemy of the clover weevil, they also serve to control
cutworms and Japanese beetles (another import). Half
their diet is insects of one sort or another, mostly
ground-dwelling insects, but they will pick off the occasional wasp or bee as well. Thus, they are said to be the
farmer’s friend. But you can have, at any given moment, too many friends around. When a flock of starlings, sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands,
swarms into a cherry orchard or vineyard and methodically takes the entire season’s fruit crop, the farmer or
vintner would probably prefer the mercies of a few enemies.
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Social Science passage corresponding to sample test question found on page 18
SOCIAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from Ray Broekel’s
article “Land of the Candy Bar” (©1986 by Forbes Inc.).
5
10
15
20
25
30
The candy bar as we know it was born in America.
So too, many centuries earlier, was chocolate itself.
Mexican natives cultivated the cocoa bean for more
than twenty-five hundred years before Hernán Cortés
took it to Spain with him in 1528. Spanish royalty drank
a cold, sweetened beverage made from the beans, but
they liked it so much they kept it a secret from the rest
of Europe for the remainder of the century. Not until the
1840s did a British firm . . . make the first chocolate
bar. The candy bar, agglomerating a variety of flavors
and textures—almost always including chocolate—in
one piece, was a purely American invention. . . .
Milton Snavely Hershey, the father of the modern
candy bar, had already built a successful business in
caramels when he first saw German chocolate-making
machines at the 1893 Chicago world’s fair. He ordered
some for his factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and
began turning out chocolate bars the next year. By the
turn of the century he was through with caramels. He
made not just plain chocolate and milk-chocolate bars
but also innovative items like almond bars, kisses, and
chocolate cigars. By 1911 his company had sales of five
million dollars a year; by 1921 it was making four times
that.
35
40
45
50
55
World War I. Nearly every confectioner in the land
turned out a candy bar, choosing a name that might reflect a news or sports event, a popular hero, a food, a
place, or even a popular saying of the age. . . .
The industry began on the East Coast but quickly
fanned out across the country. Since the basic ingredients were dairy products, Chicago became the natural
hub for candy bars, and Milwaukee and Minneapolis
were major producers.
The Depression brought lean times to the candybar business, and not until the late 1930s did the industry begin to recover. When war struck again, the makers
of candy bars once more were pressed into service supplying the troops. Hershey made “field ration D,” a refined chocolate that didn’t melt at high temperatures,
and it was packed in kits for soldiers, sailors, and
Marines. On the home front, as the supply of chocolate
dwindled, manufacturers struggled to concoct new bars
from ingredients such as peanuts and marshmallows
and gave them patriotic names like Torpedo.
If World War I made candy bars a major industry,
World War II made them a worldwide symbol of
America. The GI handing out candy bars to children
came to stand for liberation everywhere. Hershey bars
became an international wartime currency.
Such dazzling success begat swift competition, and
soon a multitude of companies was making bars of chocolate combined with caramel, marshmallow, peanuts,
crisped rice, and anything else that might sell. . . .
Throughout the first two decades of the century, a
bewildering variety of candy bars appeared on shelves
across the country, most of them fleetingly. There have
probably been more than one hundred thousand different candy bars sold in the United States, including some
thirty thousand that existed only in the years just after
73
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Social Science passage corresponding to sample test question found on page 20
SOCIAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from Phillip M.
Hoose’s article “A Stand for the Ages” (©1988 by The Nature
Conservancy).
5
10
15
20
25
30
74
The township of Pittsburg, which occupies much
of New Hampshire north of the White Mountains, was
not explored by white people until 1787. It was a remote frontier without a permanent Indian settlement. A
tradition of independence started early up there: while
New Hampshire and Canada bickered for half a century
over their common boundary, Pittsburg residents got
tired of waiting to hear to whom they belonged. In
1824, with no one in particular listening, they declared
themselves to be “The United Inhabitants of the Indian
Stream Territory.” It took the state militia weeks to hear
about it and months to dissolve it.
Those who first explored the Upper Connecticut
Valley described it as a paradise for wildlife. Yet by
1840, the year the last wolf wandered into a trap set by
Edward Spaulding of Lancaster, much had changed.
The great clouds of passenger pigeons that darkened the
trees at dusk were already gone. Beaver too had been
temporarily eliminated, and moose—the passive ungulates [animals with hooves] that early settlers had
hailed as “an endless supply of meat”—were all but
eradicated. A few woodland caribou hung on until the
1880s when, it is said, a hunting party ambushed the
last few on Second Connecticut Lake.
By 1825 much of the white pine available for construction was gone, and spruce saw logs—which produced sturdy boards for covering and finishing
homes—became the rage. Piano companies bought the
best spruce logs in a harvest and fashioned them into
sounding boards. Even language was affected: people
35
40
45
50
55
60
“spruced up” when they went out. By 1844 entrepreneurs were purchasing water power to float logs down
the Connecticut River, and a network of railroads had
begun to climb up the Connecticut Valley, over the
White Mountains, and into the boreal forest of far
northern New Hampshire and eastern Maine.
In 1888 a group of New York investors bought up
125,000 acres of Coos County timberland and formed
what they called “The Connecticut Valley Lumber
Company.” (This firm Coos County Historian Albert
Barker described at the time as a corporation “whose
policy is to gobble up every little tract of spruce timber
they can lay their hands on. . . .” “At the rate of its present destruction,” Barker wrote, “the time is coming in
the near future when spruce in the country will be as
scarce as pine is now.”)
Connecticut Valley Lumber’s loggers reached the
East Inlet of Second Connecticut Lake in 1898. They
entered a 10,000-acre watershed, never cut, with massive softwoods in the lowlands, surrounded by low hills
of yellow birch, sugar maple, and other hardwoods.
They set up their camps, dammed up East Inlet Stream,
and began to cut down spruce trees.
They gave up within a few weeks. Success depended on their ability to float logs down to the company’s mills and rail system. However, 1898 was an
extremely dry spring, and after the winter’s meltwater
spilled through the loggers’ dam and disappeared, East
Inlet Stream could do little more than trickle over the
logs. The men left the logs beached between the dam
and Second Connecticut Lake and hiked out.
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Humanities passage corresponding to sample test question found on page 17
5
10
15
20
25
HUMANITIES: This passage is adapted from Donald Hall’s
book Fathers Playing Catch with Sons (©1985 by Donald Hall).
30
The scene I remember . . . happened when [my
father] was twenty-five and I was almost one year old.
So I do not “remember” it at all. It simply rolls itself
before my eyes with the intensity of a lost memory
suddenly found again, more intense than the moment
itself ever is.
35
It is 1929, July, a hot Saturday afternoon. At the
ballpark near East Rock, in New Haven, Connecticut,
just over the Hamden line, my father is playing semipro
baseball. I don’t know the names of the teams. My
mother has brought me in a basket, and she sits under a
tree, in the shade, and lets me crawl when I wake up.
My father is very young, very skinny. When he
takes off his cap—the uniform is gray, the bill of the cap
blue—his fine hair is parted in the middle. His face is
very smooth. Though he is twenty-five, he could
pass for twenty. He plays shortstop, and he is paid
twenty-five dollars a game. I don’t know where the
money comes from. Do they pass the hat? They would
never raise so much money. Do they charge admission?
They must charge admission, or I am wrong that it was
semipro and that he was paid. . . .
There, where this Saturday afternoon of July in
1929 rehearses itself, my slim father performs
brilliantly at shortstop. He dives for a low line drive and
catches it backhand, somersaults, and stands up
holding the ball. Sprinting into left field with his back
to the plate, he catches a fly ball that almost drops for a
Texas Leaguer. . . . When he comes up to bat, he feels
40
45
50
55
lucky. The opposing pitcher is a side-armer. He always
hits side-armers. So he hits two doubles and a triple,
drives in two runs and scores two runs, and his team
wins 4 to 3. After the game a man approaches him,
while he stands, sweating and tired, with my mother and
me in the shade of the elm tree at the rising side of the
field. The man is a baseball scout. He offers my father a
contract to play baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, at
that time a double-A minor league team. My father is
grateful and gratified; he is proud to be offered the job,
but he must refuse. After all, he has just started working
at the dairy for his father. It wouldn’t be possible to
leave the job that had been such a decision to take. And
besides, he adds, there is the baby.
My father didn’t tell me he turned it down
because of me. All he told me, or that I think he told me:
he was playing semipro at twenty-five dollars a game;
he had a good day in the field, catching a ball over his
shoulder running away from the plate; he had a good
day hitting, too, because he could always hit a sidearmer. But he turned down the Baltimore Orioles offer.
He couldn’t leave the dairy then, and besides, he knew
that he had just been lucky that day. He wasn’t really
that good.
But maybe he didn’t even tell me that. My mother
remembers nothing of . . . the afternoon with the sidearmer, of the offered contract. Did I make it up? Did my
father exaggerate? Men tell stories to their sons, loving
and being loved.
I don’t care.
75
Appendix
Passages Corresponding to Sample Test Questions
Humanities passage corresponding to sample test questions found on pages 18 and 20
HUMANITIES: This passage is adapted from C. Walter
Hodges’s book Shakespeare’s Theatre (©1964 by C. Walter
Hodges).
5
10
15
20
25
76
One entered The Globe [Theatre] as a rule through
the main entrance, though certain privileged people
were admitted by way of the tiring-house door at the
back. These people would pay the highest prices to be
allowed to sit in the gallery over the stage, or even
sometimes upon the stage itself where, according to one
writer of the time, they were often a nuisance, not so
much because they took up too much room on the stage
(it was a large stage and there was room to spare) as because by talking and playing cards and showing off
their clothes they drew too much attention to themselves and to their dandified bad manners. But the ordinary people going in at the main gate would pay one
penny . . . to a man who stood there with a box, and for
this they could go through into the yard. From the yard
they could if they chose go up into the galleries, paying
more money to other gatekeepers at the gallery stairs. In
some parts of the galleries there were private rooms,
like boxes in a modern theatre. Thus the cheapest part
of the house was the open yard where one had to stand,
and the customers here were contemptuously called
“Groundlings.” The audience was chiefly of men.
Women did sometimes go to the public playhouse, suitably escorted, but generally they were not thought very
respectable if they did so. When The Globe was
crowded for a popular show it could hold a surprising
number of spectators. A full house has been reckoned at
about 2,500 people.
30
35
40
45
50
Here then is the time, while the audience [is] still
coming in, to look around us at the setting in which
Shakespeare’s greatest plays were first put on the stage,
under his own direction. . . . For this performance the
gallery over the stage is needed by the actors and by the
musicians, who can be seen there, already tuning their
instruments, so there are no spectators there, though one
or two gentlemen have taken their places on stools at
the back of the stage. . . .
In the centre of the stage you may just see the trap
door which led down to (or up from) the underneath, the
part traditionally known as the “Hell.” This was often
used for the emergence of ghosts or devils, but it had
other uses, such as for the gravediggers in Hamlet.
Above the stage we see the ceiling of the Heavens, embossed with stars and painted with signs of the Zodiac,
and other heavenly devices. . . . [From here] a heavenly
being, like Jupiter in Cymbeline, [could descend] in a
cloud-wrapped throne, to the sound of thunder (a cannonball rolled in the loft above) which help[ed] to cover
the creaks of the winches which let him down. Above
the ceiling and above the whole theatre stands the hut
which holds the machinery for all this, and, at the side
of the hut, a man with a trumpet is ready to blow the
First Sounding. This warns us that the players are ready.
At the Third Sounding the play will begin.