MSL’s Measures of Student Learning New Exam Procedures for 2013

Test Overview Think of this exam as a more advanced version of the EOC (similarly, the exam counts as either 20 or 25% of your final grade… I need to check to verify, but I’ll let you know when I find out!) You will have multiple choice questions based on grammar, writing, mechanics, and reading You must also provide WRITTEN answers, which we will practice both today and throughout the semester ▫For the written portion, you do not need to write a full essay. You simply need to give a short answer that contains REQUIRED information!

Reading You will be provided with various passages. After reading the passages, you’ll be asked to do several things: ▫Explaining requires constructing a cause-and- effect model of a system (e.g. explain the recent downturn in the global economy) ▫Inferring requires drawing a logical conclusion from presented information (e.g. In learning a foreign language, infer grammatical principles from examples)

Written Responses Your written responses will be scored on a 0-2 scale (you can earn a 0, 1, or 2) A 2 is the best score, a 0 is not passing Score Explanations: Score 0 - No response or the response does not address the prompt Score 1 - Fulfills only 1 of 2 requirements of a level 2 performance Score 2 - Explains how the poem exemplifies the device in question; provides 2 examples from the poem in support

Examples and Practice We’ll do an example response together, and then I’ll show you examples of responses that would either score a 0, 1, or a 2. Practice 1: Open your Huck Finn books to page Let’s read the paragraph starting with “Then the king he hunched the duke” together…

Question 1 – Paragraph analysis A type of question you may see on the MSL will state something like this… “Based on the selection, identify the character’s point of view. Explain how the author develops his points. Include two examples from the text to support your answer”

Steps to an answer… Step 1: What’s his point of view here? ▫Huck thinks that people are dishonest and deceitful. Step 2: Find TWO examples that PROVE you’re correct! ▫1. The people “busted out and went off sobbing and swabbing, and give the next woman a show.”  The description of a “show” implies that Huck doesn’t trust that the display of emotion is really valid / realistic. He thinks it’s all fake (a lie). 2. “I never see anything so disgusting.”  He blatantly states here that he’s disgusted by the lies and falseness portrayed by everyone.

High Scoring Answer: 0 Ex: Huck thinks that the people are emotional and sad.  This interpretation has NO SUPPORT and it’s just wrong. Ex: Huck thinks that the people are emotional sad. He shows this by saying “I never see anything so disgusting.”  Again, the interpretation is wrong and the example is misread (the example doesn’t make sense).

Middle Score: 1 Huck thinks that people are liars and cannot be trusted. He shows this when he says, “I never see anything so disgusting.” Huck is appalled by the behavior shown by the emotional crowd. ▫This one is better, but it’s incomplete. YOU MUST HAVE TWO EXAMPLES TO PASS!

High Scoring: 2 Huck’s point of view is that he feels all people are dishonest and unreliable. He shows this after observing the crowd of people responding emotionally at a funeral. Huck realizes, however, that this emotion is not genuine. He shows this when he describes how the crowd “went off sobbing and swabbing, and give the next woman a show.” By describing the emotion as a “show,” the reader learns that Huck thinks the emotion is all for display. Next, Huck states, “I never see anything so disgusting.” Clearly, Huck is disturbed and “disgusted” by the false display of sadness.

Group Practice Read the two paragraphs on pages ▫Start at “I felt good and all washed clean” ▫Stop at “and tore it up.” After reading the passage, respond to the prompt (EACH group member must write this down; I’ll call on 3 people at random to read their responses). Based on the selection, what is Huck’s attitude towards Jim at this point? How does the author use flashback and details to show you this attitude? Use at least TWO examples to support your answer.

Response (score of 2) Huck feels love and affection towards Jim. He shows this by describing his memories with Jim on the river. For example, Huck recalls, “I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog.” Also, Huck describes, “he was so grateful, and said I was the only best friend old Jim ever had in the world.” By recalling how happy Jim is to be with Huck, and how closely Jim views their friendship, Huck reveals his deep care for Jim.

Independent Practice Last one for today… Read the first paragraph in chapter 19 (pages ). Then, respond to the following prompt (I’ll COLLECT THIS, so write your answer on sheet that can be turned in). Prompt: Based on the selection, how does the author use imagery to convey Huck’s feelings about the river? Include TWO examples to support your answer. ▫HINT: You first need to identify HOW Huck FEELS about the river. THEN find two examples to support your view.

Questions? As mentioned earlier, we’ll practice this throughout the semester… In the meantime, what questions do you have about this final exam???