Connecticut Mastery Test English Language Arts Jean M. Evans Davila K-12 English Language Arts Instructional Specialist Norwalk Public Schools

CMT in English Language Arts4 Subtests Reading Comprehension Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) Editing and Revising Direct Assessment of Writing

CMT Reading ComprehensionAn Overview 2 testing sessions 45 minutes per testing session 2 reading passages per session Approx. 22 multiple choice and 10 open-ended questions (both sessions combined) Authentic literature Types of reading: literary experience; information; and performance of task Passage lengths: Grade words Grade words Grade words

CMT Reading ComprehensionMultiple Choice Questions 1. In paragraph 1 the author used a question to a. Introduce the topic of the article b. State the main idea of the article c. Present the facts about Twain d. Compare Twain and Clemens 2. From the information in paragraphs 5 and 6, you can tell that a. Twains wife persuaded him to move to Connecticut b. Both Twain and his wife planned their house. c. Twain enjoyed warming himself near the fireplace. d. Twain liked reading his work out loud as much as writing it,

CMT Reading ComprehensionOpen-ended Questions The title of this article is Mark Twain. What could another title for it be? Support your answer with information from the article. Write a brief paragraph summarizing the text. Think about a person you know or have heard about who has had many different experiences. Using information from the article, explain how this person is or is not like Twain.

CMT Reading Comprehension Four Strands 1. Forming a General Understanding (theme, main idea, story elements, summarizing, predicting) 2. Developing an Interpretation (authors structure, authors purpose, draw and support a conclusion) 3. Making Reader/text Connections (text to text, text to world, text to reader) 4. Examining the Content and Structure (literary devices)

CMT Reading ComprehensionPracticing at Home What is the article/story mainly about? What important lesson does the main character learn? What is the main characters problem, and how is the problem solved? How does the character change in the story? What prediction do you have for the next event in the story? What is the authors purpose? Which character in the story would you like to know and why? Which part of the story was the most interesting and why? Imagine that you were going to give a talk to your class about______. Using information from the story, write two important ideas that you would include in your speech.

CMT Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)An Overview 1 testing session 45 minute session 7 reading passages Nonfiction texts on range of topics 49 multiple choice questions Measures the surface-level understanding of sentences and paragraphs in text Level of text difficulty rapidly increases with each passage Results help teachers choose books for students at their appropriate reading level

CMT DRPPassage with Multiple Choice Questions Medieval craft guild were associations of men practicing the same trade. Guilds cared for members needs. They nursed sick members, buried dead ones, and found homes for the homeless. Sometimes business was bad or supplies were cut off. Many people were in danger of starving. But guild members were the last to___1___. The guild sustained them during hard times. Guilds also set prices and monitored the distribution of raw materials. They governed the number of apprentices and workers that members could have. These controls prevented any member from becoming rich at anothers expense. So ____2_____were limited. In return, members were protected against ruinous competition. 1. O voteO suffer O uniteO advance O finish 2. O sourcesO profits O travelersO machines O universities

CMT DRPPracticing at Home Choose a word to white out in a news article. Ask your child to make a list of all the possible words that can fit in the blank space without changing the meaning of the article. Discuss each word your child included on the list How do you know this word is a good choice? Can you prove your word fits by showing me other parts of the sentence or the paragraph that support it? Can you tell me why this word is not a good choice now that we have looked at the other sentences or paragraph? Show your child the word that was removed from the text, and ask him/her to use other parts of the text to explain how it fits.

CMT Editing & RevisingAn Overview 1 testing session 60 minute session 4 passages Nonfiction texts on range of topics multiple choice questions Skills and objectives tested: Content, Organization and Tone (topic sentence, supporting details, chronological order, tone) Revising: Syntax (fragments, run-on, awkward construction) Revision: Word Choice (transition words, misplaced modifiers, redundancy of words) Capitalization Punctuation

CMT Editing & RevisingMultiple Choice Questions: Read sentence 3. It is poorly written. Josh jumped up he grabbed the broom from the closet. What is the best way to rewrite this sentence? O Josh jumped up. He grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped up, he grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped. Up he grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped up he grabbed. The broom from the closet. Choose the word or phrase that BEST fits at the beginning of sentence 4. O Since, O However, O Even though, O In other words,

CMT Editing & RevisingPracticing at Home Review your childs writing assignments at home: Ask questions about meaning and wording Call attention to specific areas where you see strengths Ask questions about parts that are not clear to you Identify areas where you need more information or explanation Ask your child to read his/her writing aloud, so s/he can pay attention to fluency and word choice Ask your child to explain the way s/he organized the writing Be alert to the basics-- spelling, capitalization, and punctuation rules

CMT Direct Assessment of Writing (DAW)An Overview 1 testing session 45 minute session 1 writing on demand task Maximum length of student response3 pages Types of writing tested: Grade 6Expository Grade 7Persuasive Grade 8Persuasive Evaluated on overall strength of writing (elaboration, fluency, and organization) Errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage do not count

CMT DAWExpository Writing Prompt Sample What do you usually do on a weekend in the summer? What do you usually do on a weekend in the winter? Write a comparison of your weekend activities in the summer and winter.

CMT DAWPersuasive Writing Prompt Sample Your local school board has decided to lengthen the school day by one hour. What is your opinion on the best way to use this additional hour? Write a letter to your principal expressing your opinion on the best way to use the additional hour and presenting reasons that will convince the principal to agree with your position.

CMT DAWPracticing at Home Parents of Grade 6 Students: In speaking and writing, ask your child to provide details to support his/her ideas Encourage your child to express him/herself in writing to others (e.g., writing thank you notes for gifts, etc) Ask your child to write accounts of his/her experiences in s or letters to family members (even a postcard will do fine) Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes and challenge your child to list or web all the details s/he could include to explain a given task or topic Parents of Grade 7-8 Students: In speaking and writing, encourage your child to choose words and ideas that are appropriate for a particular audience when expressing a message Encourage your child to support his/her opinions with facts or examples Find opportunities to help your child argue a controversial issue from television, news, or a magazine article Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes, and challenge your child to make a list or web of his or her reasons for supporting a given issue

The School and the District are Supporting Your Childs Success Focus in all classrooms Summarizing texts using school-wide strategies Learning vocabulary terms using school-wide strategies Reading and writing about nonfiction Data teams with pre- and post-test to target instruction on specific skills SIOP strategies to support teaching and learning Focus in ELA classrooms 4 District Writing Prompts that are similar to CMT DAW 2 District DRP tests that are professionally scored CMT open-ended questions woven into classroom lessons Using evidence from text to support ideas

All PRMS Teachers are Supporting Your Childs Success All Subject Area Teachers Are... Using summarizing strategies Teaching vocabulary using school-wide strategies Increasing nonfiction reading and writing Using Pre- and Post-tests to target skills for instruction Learning SIOP strategies for instruction All ELA Teachers Are... Administering 4 Norwalk Writing Prompts and 2 Norwalk DRP tests Including open-ended questions in lessons Requiring text evidence to support ideas

Tips for Enrichment at Home Encourage 30 minutes of reading daily. Model your own enjoyment of reading Bring your child to the library or bookstore to get fiction and nonfiction. Discuss read assignments with open-ended questions. Collect and explore new words together as a family. Make a reward system for using the words correctly. Read an article together and discuss your views on it. Encourage the use of writing at home (letters, s, notes on the kitchen table, diaries, journals, family histories, letters to the editor of the local paper, etc.)