Standards Area: Reading

What’s being assessed here?

• Student’s ability to independently and critically analyze/interpret literary “texts”. ("Texts" will include literary works from the semester as well as literary works selected for this exam specifically.)
• Student’s ability to interpret the essential question in the context of selected literary works.

How should you prepare for this part of the exam?

Read the following literary work and use the reader's response strategy of your choice  to hold your thinking and help you gain a critical and in-depth understanding of:

TBA

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• You should bring to the exam your copy of TBA as well as any reader's response strategy you personally completed as part of your preparation for the exam. If you do not bring these items to the exam, you will be at a distinct and significant disadvantage.
• You may annotate your hard copy of TBA.
• All hard copies and reader's responses strategies must be placed in the recycle bin following the exam.
• Your semester portfolio is not allowed at the exam.

Standards Area: Writing

What’s being assessed here?

• Student's ability to create an essay which communicates an effective and insightful answer to the selected essay question/prompt while demonstrating a clear and coherent progression of ideas which reflect an in-depth and sophisticated understanding of literary works.
• Student's ability to introduce, place in context and parenthetically cite the required number of supporting passages from selected literary works and further reveal precisely how and why passages provide support.
• Student’s ability to complete the full writing process and create an essay which reflects strong idea development, clear organization, precise word choice, appropriate voice/tone and a thorough understanding of conventions.

How should you prepare for this part of the exam?

• Review your portfolio and look for errors you commonly make in the writing process. Be sure you know how to fix these errors. Click here for help.
• Review your portfolio and look for your strengths. Try to find out which brainstorming process, which revision process and which editing process worked best for you. You will have time to write and then revise your essay.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Your semester portfolio is not allowed at the exam.

Standards Area: Technology Integration for Reading, Writing and Listening/Speaking/Viewing

What’s being assessed here?

• Student's ability to use various technological resources to create a digital map to communicate a multi-media response to a selected prompt.
• Student's ability to demonstrate a thorough understanding of selected literary works.

How should you prepare for this part of the exam?

Use your semester portfolio (and also your digital portfolio at www.turnitin.com) to review work you completed in response to the literary works we encountered this semester.

A

Essay “demonstrates clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

B

Essay “demonstrates a reasonably consistent mastery, although it may have occasional errors or lapses in quality” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

C

Essay “demonstrates adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

D

Essay demonstrates consistent flaws in one or more of the following:

F

Essay fails to show mastery of any of the following:

• Well developed thesis that clearly answers question/prompt
• Reveals strong use of organization
• An in-depth and sophisticated understanding of the literary work(s) as a whole
• Introduces, fully places in context and cites the appropriate number of passages for support (using MLA citation guidelines).
• Demonstrates outstanding critical thinking by revealing precisely how and why passages used as evidence provide support
• “Demonstrates a good grasp of standard writing conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, paragraphing) and uses conventions effectively to enhance readability” (6+ 1 Trait ® Writing: Scoring Continuum).

Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.

Works Cited

“SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide.” CollegeBoard.com. 2007. CollegeBoard.com Inc. 20 June 2007

<http://www.collegeboard. com /student/testing/sat/about/sat/essay_scoring.html>.

“6+ 1 Trait ® Writing: Scoring Continuum.” NW Regional Educational Laboratory. 2005.Northwest Regional Educational

Laboratory. 20 June 2007. http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/pdfRubrics/6plus1traits.PDF

A

B

C

D

F

LITERACY THROUGH READING

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of written material.

Demonstrates understanding of written material.

Demonstrates an adequate understanding of written material.

Demonstrates a minimal understanding of written material.

Does not understand or makes no effort to understand written material.

LITERACY THROUGH THE ARTS

Demonstrates careful planning, awareness of elements and principles of design; final product shows creativity, originality, effort, and pride well beyond the requirement.

Demonstrates application of principles of design; final product displays some creativity, originality, effort, and pride.

Demonstrates lack of planning, creativity, originality; completed but could have been improved with more effort; average craftsmanship and/or somewhat careless.

Completed but shows little effort; displayed little evidence of planning, creativity, effort, craftsmanship, and pride

Incomplete or minimally done; no evidence of planning, craftsmanship, or effort.