1. Mrs. Hudak/Mrs. Nikola 8th Grade
ELA TEST prep
Mrs. Hudak/Mrs. Nikola 8th Grade

2. Basic Information Grade 8 Common Core ELA Test April 16-18 2013
Areas of assessment: reading, writing and language arts
Questioning: Multiple choice, short response and extended response
Listening will not be assessed this year!
Readings and questions will focus on author purpose and point of view
Extended responses will assess Writing from Sources

3. Types of readings
Expository: articles, textbook excerpts, essays, interviews, etc.
Argumentative: opinion/editorial pieces, speeches, advertisements, reviews, etc.
Training Materials: user-guides/manuals, recipes, contracts, etc.
Narrative: auto/biographies, essays, interviews, etc.

4. Testing Sessions and Times
Day One: Book 1: 6 passages; 42 multiple choice questions
Day Two: Book 2 (3 passages, 21 multiple choice questions) and Book 3 (2 passages, three short response questions, and 1 extended response question)
Day 3: Book 4 (three passages, 5 short response questions, and 1 extended response
*Passage numbers are approximations
* 90 minute sessions

5. Multiple Choice Questions
Focused on:
Central idea (theme)
Plot development
Style elements (metaphor, simile, personification)
Character
Vocabulary (context clues)
*Distracters: some answer choices will be tricky because they seem correct. Always go back to the text for answers.

6. Short Answer/Extended Responses
Short responses will require you to :
Make inferences based on your analysis of the passage
Provide 2 pieces of text-based evidence to support your answer
Extended responses will require you to:
Express a position based on individual or paired texts
Support your position with evidence from the text
*Scores based on analysis, evidence, organization and conventions