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Below are sample test items from the prototype assessment for English I.

Directions: Read the Story Maud Martha Spares the Mouse. Then answer the questions that follow.

Maud Martha Spares the Mouse by Gwendolyn Brooks There. She had it at last. The weeks it had devoted to eluding her, the tricks, the clever hide-and-go-seeks, the routes it had in all sobriety devised, together with the delicious moments it had, undoubtedly, laughed up its sleeve. It shook its little self, as best it could, in the trap. Its bright black eyes contained no appeal–the little creature seemed to understand that there was no hope of mercy from the eternal enemy, no hope of reprieve or postponement–but a fine small dignity. It waited. It looked at Maud Martha. She wondered what else it was thinking. Perhaps that there was not enough food in its larder. Perhaps that little Betty, a puny child from the start, would not, now, be getting fed. Perhaps that, now, the family's seasonal housecleaning, for lack of expert direction, would be left undone. It might be regretting that young Bobby's education was now at an end. It might be nursing personal regrets. No more the mysterious shadows of the kitchenette, the uncharted twists, the unguessed halls. Nor more the sweet delights of the chase, the charms of being unsuccessfully hounded, thrown at. Maud Martha could not bear the little look. "Go home to your children," she urged. "To you wife or husband." She opened the trap. The mouse vanished. Suddenly, she was conscious of a new cleanness in her. A wide air walked in her. A life had blundered its way into her power and it had been hers to preserve or destroy. she had not destroyed. In the center of that simple restraint was–creation. She had created a piece of life. It was wonderful. "Why," she thought, as her height doubled, "why, I'm good! I am good." She ironed her aprons. Her back was straight. Her eyes were mild, and soft with loving kindness.

Sample selected response item:

		Maud Martha imagines the mouse is "nursing personal regrets." (paragraph 3). In this phrase, nursing means caring for trying to forget holding on to making excuses for
		Answer: c
		Instructional Implications:
		Students in English need extensive experience doing close textual analysis of a variety of fiction and non-fiction reading selections. In addition to reinforcing students' application of literary terms to the analysis and critique of key documents, they also need direct work with context clues and related forms of reading strategies to improve their mastery of key vocabulary.

Sample brief constructed response item: Time limit - 10 minutes

		Write an explanation that describes what kind of person Maud Martha is. Include examples from the story that clearly support your answer.
		Instructional Implications:
		Composition is one of the central focal points of an effective English program at all grade levels. Students need ongoing experiences involving the understanding and application of key writing domains, i.e., narrative, descriptive, explanatory, and argumentation/persuasion. These forms of constructed response items reinforce the critical need for training students to use textual evidence (e.g., direct quotes, paraphrases, examples, illustrations, anecdotes, etc.) to construct support for claims and assertions. Additionally, there is benefit in teachers reviewing with their students the ways in which both limited and extended constructed responses are scored by MSDE. For example, helping students to understand, construct, and apply rubrics and scoring keys will reinforce their application of evaluation standards to their own writing and that of their peers.

 

Sample selected response items:

Directions: For the following questions, choose the best answer to questions about how students should complete the following assignment.

After reading a novel set in the Great Plains states during the 1930s, students were given the assignment to write a paper about the eight-year drought in the region that became known as the dust bowl.

 

		What should Marcus, a student in the class, do first to get ready to write? locate and research information write a first draft brainstorm ideas about the topic narrow and focus the topic
		Answer: c
		Instructional Implications:
		Students need ongoing experience understanding and applying the writing process. Specifically, this process should include pre-writing activities, drafting in response to evaluation criteria (phrased as a rubric or analytical scoring guide), peer response group activities to reinforce the editing process, revision, and final publication. Additionally, information acquisition should be enhanced by coaching students in the use of both print and electronic media, including the Internet.

 

		Darren, another student, decides to compare eyewitness accounts of the dust bowl with the experiences of the characters in a novel he read in class. Which choice of ideas and organization would best suit Darren's purpose for writing his essay? 1. details in the novel 2. quotations from people who experienced the dust bowl 3. analysis of the similarities between them 1. key events in the novel 2. historical events of the dust bowl era 3. famous people who lived during the dust bowl 1. effects of dust bowl as described in the novel 2. changes in agricultural methods since the 1930s 3. conclusions about preventing another dust bowl 1. descriptions of the towns and places in the novel 2. descriptions about those places as they are today 3. discussion of the similarities between them
		Answer: a
		Instructional Implications:
		The writing experiences offered to students in English classes should also emphasize issues of organization and the integration of supporting evidence. In addition to students' creation of their own compositions, instructional activities should include opportunities for them to evaluate organizational and evidence-generation within the writings of others, including peers. The Social Studies connection evident here also reminds us that wherever possible, opportunities for students to integrate or explore cross-disciplinary connections should be an active part of their instructional program.

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