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STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS OF ACADEMIC READINESS

(STAAR)

English I, II, and III Writing

Victoria YoungDirector of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies AssessmentsTexas Education Agency

STAAR Test Design

Revision and editing assessed in separate sections of the test—each section worth 24% of total test score

Students will write two one-page essays (26 lines maximum) addressing different types of writing

English I−literary and expository

English II−expository and persuasive

English III−persuasive and analytical

Essays will be weighted equally—each essay 26% of total test score

No “gatekeeper” (automatic fail of the writing test for a 1)

Dictionary policy expanded

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STAAR Writing Prompts

Expository, persuasive, and analytical prompts contain a stimulus and are scaffolded:

Read, Think, Write, Be Sure to −

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STAAR Writing Prompts—Scaffolding

Read: A short synopsis of some kind or a quotation

Think: The synopsis or quotation generalized and reworded

Write: An even more focused rewording

Be Sure to: 5 bullets here (stating a clear thesis, organizing your writing, developing it, choosing words carefully, proofreading)

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STAAR Writing—What We’ve Learned So Far

Trends based on the 2011 STAAR English I assessment and English II and III field tests

Synthesizing across the Read, Think, Write. Some students scored 1s and 2s because they could not move from the stimulus (the “Read”) to the generalization (the “Think”) to the charge (the “Write about”). Students who did not synthesize information across the prompt tended to have these problems:

getting stuck in the stimulus

ignoring the charge and writing only about the “Think” statement

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Form/purpose match. Many students scored 1s and 2s because their overall organizational structure and form did not match the purpose for writing or were weakly matched. Some students started out in the right form but then “drifted” into another purpose:

TAKS personal narrative instead of expository or persuasive writing

expository rather than persuasive writing

summary of reading or personal response instead of analytical writing

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Thesis. Having a thesis is essential in writing a focused and coherent expository, persuasive, or analytical piece. Literary pieces also need a narrow focus.

The effect of one page. High scores require an economical use of space: tight, specific, logical development—no wasted words. Short, effective introduction and conclusion also a must. Bottom line: Both planning and revision are absolutely essential since students don’t have the space to “write their way into” a better piece.

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STAAR English I Expository

READ the information in the box below.

In 1955 medical researcher Jonas Salk introduced an effective polio vaccine. At the time polio was considered the biggest threat to public health, yet Salk refused to profit by patenting the vaccine because he was more concerned with preventing disease than with personal gain.

Although many people work to benefit themselves, some people choose to put others first. Think carefully about this statement.

Some people define themselves by what they believe, while others allow their actions to speak for them.

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Write an essay explaining whether people should be more concerned about others than about themselves.

Be sure to—

clearly state your thesis

organize and develop your ideas effectively

choose your words carefully

edit your writing for grammar, mechanics, and sentences

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Humanity has a funny way of contradicting itself sometimes. All children are taught to share and put others’ needs before our own. Somewhere down the line we realize that the very people who preach these things to us don’t follow their own rules. It is very important in society today to remember the bigger picture, which often includes doing things to help others with no benefit to yourself.

People use each other for personal gain all the time. A glorified outlook on this way of life is all around us. In media people are more concerned with which Hollywood star is going out with which

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millionaire rather than the thousands of people dying of hunger in third world countries. As consumers we see this life and wish to be like that.

Doing something for monitary gain is just like money itself: easily expendable and transient. But doing something to help others leads to emotional or moral gain. The memmories and feelings you get from helping others won’t ever go away. It’s worth something to you. Worth more than money ever could be.

Handwritten version is 22 lines.

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STAAR English I Literary

Literary prompts (English I) also contain a stimulus and are scaffolded.

English I Knowledge and Skill Statement: Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas.

STAAR based on SE 14(A): write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable characters, and a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot

Literary responses can be real or fictional.

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Look at the photograph.

PHOTOGRAPH

Write a story about the power of imagination. Be sure that your story is focused and complete and that it has an interesting plot and engaging characters.

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The hair on the back of Kevin’s neck stood on end. He could feel the goosebumps go down his arms and legs. The slightest change in wind made his feet tingle. He had climed mountains before, but nothing quite like this. He stood on the edge of a great adventure.

He had been climbing through the dense forest of trees for six days and seven nights. The journey had been rough and he was now running on only one package of dried noodles. He looked out past the clouds to the small flickering lights that carresed the black earth down the valley. He thought of his mom back home, worrying for him. She had given him a giant bear hug before he left, along with a note about

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being careful. Oh how he missed her. It seemed like years since he had had one of her famous peanut butter and banana sandwich’s. This jump was for her. Cautiously he went up on his toes and felt the breeze in his hair. And then he fell.

He fell for what seemed like eternity. The wind whistled past his face and his hands and legs flailed in the air. He felt totally free, until he hit. He hit the ground hard. He slowly rose off the ground and looked onto his own back porch. There his mom stood smiling. “How was your adventure?” she said calmly. Kevin only grinned.

Handwritten paper is 26 lines.

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STAAR English III Persuasive

Read the information in the box below.

Some argue that our so-called information age is really an “interruption age.” With smart phones in hand, we spend much of the day texting, tweeting, and surfing the Web. Rather than concentrating on big issues, we fill our heads with the trivia and gossip that interrupts our attention. So much information passes our way that we have trouble remembering any of it.

Do you believe that instant communication is helping or hurting us? Think carefully about this question.

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Write an essay stating your position on whether you believe that we live in an information age or an interruption age.

Be sure to—

state your position clearly

use appropriate organization

provide specific support for your argument



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Texting has become like breathing. We do it constantly and can almost not function without it. With the huge amount of technology and instant communication we have today, our dependency on our smart phones, computers, etc. has become detrimental to human beings. The vast amount of useless information available to us has become harmful to us socially as well as intelectually.

The “information age” has changed the way we interact with each other. Our dependency on technology to communicate with each other is so great that holding a simple conversation with a person has become impossible. In restaurants and other public places, couples and groups of friends have their phones out – texting, calling, twittering, facebooking, you name

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it. It’s become an obsession. Not only have our toys affected the way we communicate, but they have also affected the way we think.

People’s past times today are commonly spent on the internet or on their phones rather than with a book or with family. We’ve lost interest in the things that stimulate our minds and turned our attention towards things that preoccupy us, filling our heads with useless information. Our focus has turned away from the beneficial and towards the unimportant.

As cool as modern technology may be, it has caused our world to change completely – and not for the better. Our time has become constantly wasted.

Handwritten paper is 26 lines.

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STAAR English III Analytical

A combination of expository writing and interpretation of one aspect of a literary or expository text

Analytical prompts contain a literary or informational text (approximately 350−450 words), which students must analyze

Score based on the student’s ability to interpret the text and support it with relevant textual evidence (15C) AND quality of the writing (criteria under expository writing in 15A)

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Excerpt from essay “When the Going Gets Tough, Try Plan B” by Norm Kamikow

Think carefully about the historical facts Kamikow uses to support his argument that people should have a backup plan.

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Write an essay analyzing whether Kamikow’s use of history effectively supports the importance of having a backup plan.

Be sure to—

clearly state your thesis

organize and develop your ideas effectively

provide relevant and specific evidence from the text



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In his essay, Norm Kamikow argues that people should have a backup plan. He uses the American Revolution as a quintessential example for his purpose, saying that the British lost the war because they were inflexible and were not prepared while the Americans were victorious because of their adaptability. However, there are a couple obvious flaws in Kamikow’s support of his argument.

Kamikow states that the British had “only plan A in [their] strategic arsenal” and they felt that giving the Americans a “smart blow” would end the colonial unrest. When the British realized that there would be no “quick triumph,” they “didn’t have a plan B ready to go” and therefore lost the war. However, Kamikow also states that the British were assured of the “wealth and might of the invincible British Empire.” If public opinion in Britain truly believed that Britain was invincible, backing out of the

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American Revolution would have been seen as a sign of weakness. This would have led to unrest at home and be seen as a reason for other countries to attack Britain if Britain changed its policies every time “the going [got] tough.” Even though the Revolution led to a humiliating defeat for the British, they had no choice during the war but to continue fighting.

In addition, Kamikow states that the colonists were “quite adept at adapting.” However, he never provides any concrete examples of the adaptations that the colonists made, casting doubt on the true adaptability of the Americans.

While having a backup plan can be important, Kamikow’s historical facts do not provide a sound historical base for his argument.

Handwritten essay is 26 lines.

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In a Nutshell—Lower Score Range

Typical problems we’ve seen in papers falling in the lower score range (1s and 2s)

Wrong organizational structure/form for purpose

Weak, evolving, or nonexistent thesis

Wasted space: repetition, wordiness, extraneous details or examples, looping/meandering, meaningless introductions and conclusions

Inclusion of too many different ideas for 1 page

General/vague/imprecise use of language or inappropriate tone for purpose

Essay poorly crafted

Weak conventions

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In a Nutshell—Higher Score Range26

Typical strengths we’ve seen in papers falling in the higher score range (3s and 4s)

Strong match between structure/form and purpose

Explicit thesis and sustained focus

“Narrow and deep” development—no wasted words or space Think quality over quantity!

Introduction and conclusion short but effective

Specific use of language and appropriate tone for purpose

Essay well crafted

Strong conventions

Important STAAR Resources27

New STAAR Resources webpage with

assessed curriculum

definitions of readiness and supporting standards

test blueprints

test design schematics

sample writing passages and questions

sample reading selections and questions

writing and reading rubrics

dictionary policy

CONTACT INFORMATION

Victoria Young

Director of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies Assessments

Texas Education Agency

512-463-9536

[email protected]

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