Common Core Alignment
CWRA+ tasks align to many of the English Language Arts &
Literacy Common Core State Standards. More specifically,
CWRA+ tasks (both our Performance Tasks and Selected
Response Questions), focus on the Reading Informational texts,
Language, and Writing standards.
CWRA+ tasks are also aligned to many of the Mathematics
Common Core State Standards (CCSS), with a focus on those
standards that emphasize mathematical literacy (such as
recognizing relationships between variables (correlations) and
statistical reasoning).
Below please find a list of specific knowledge, skills and abilities
(KSAs) that are both covered by the Common Core and are
embedded in CWRA+ tasks. These KSAs are further defined
on the following pages, so that institutions may conduct local
alignments. Please note that several of the KSAs (for instance
RI.11-12.4 and RH.11-12.4) repeat.
CWRA+ ALIGNMENT WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA) CCSS
READING:
INFORMATIONAL
TEXT
READING:
HISTORY/SOCIAL
STUDIES
READING: SCIENCE
& TECHNICAL
SUBJECTS
RI. 11-12.1
RI.11-12.2
RI.11-12.3
RI.11-12.4
RI.11-12.7
RH. 11-12.1
RH.11-12.2
RH.11-12.3
RH.11-12.4
RH.11-12.6
H.11-12.7
RH.11-12.8
RH.11-12.9
RST.11-12.1
RST.11.12.2
RST.11-12.6
RST.11-12.7
RST.11-12.8
RST.11-12.9
WRITING
LANGUAGE
W.11-12.1
W.11-12.4
W.11-12.7
W.11-12.8
W.11-12.9
L.11-12.1
L.11-12.2
L.11-12.4a
L.11-12.6
CWRA+ ALIGNMENT WITH MATHEMATICS CCSS
STANDARDS FOR
MATHEMATICAL
PRACTICE
MP 2
MP 3
GRADE 6
GRADE 7
GRADE 8
HIGH SCHOOL
6.RP.A.3
6.RP.A.3c
6.EE.C9
7.SP.A.1
7.SP.C.5
8.SP.A.2
8.SP.A.4
HSA.REI.D.10
HSF.IF.B.4
HSF.IF.B.6
HSS.ID.B.5
HSS.ID.B.6
HSS.ID.C.7
HSS.ID.C.9
HSS.IC.B.3
HSS.IC.B.6
CWRA+ ALIGNMENT WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS (ELA) CCSS
Reading: Informational Text
RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain.
RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and
analyze their development over the course of the text, including
how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex
analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events
and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and
develop over the course of the text.
RI.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they
are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical
meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of
a key term or terms over the course of a text.
RI.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of
information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or
solve a problem.
Reading: History/Social Studies
RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of
primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from
specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a
primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that
makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
RH.11-12.3 Evaluate various explanations for actions or events
and determine which explanation best accords with textual
evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RH.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as
they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and
refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
RH.11-12.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the
same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims,
reasoning, and evidence.
RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of
information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question
or solve a problem.
RH.11-12.8 Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence
by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
RH.11-12.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both
primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea
or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
Reading: Science & Technical Subjects
RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of
science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions
the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the
account.
RST.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a
text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information
presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still
accurate terms.
RST.11-12.6 Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an
explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment
in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.
RST.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of
information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g.,
quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a
question or solve a problem.
RST.11-12.8 Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and
conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when
possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other
sources of information.
RST.11-12.9 Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g.,
texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding
of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting
information when possible.
Writing
W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.
W.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization, and style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
W.11-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research
projects to answer a question (including a self-generated
question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry
when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject,
demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
W.11-12.8 Gather relevant information from multiple
authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches
effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in
terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information
into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding
plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a
standard format for citation.
W.11-12.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
Language
L.11-12.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.11-12.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.11-12.4a Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence,
paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a
clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L.11-12.6 Acquire and use accurately general academic and
domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing,
speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or
expression.
CWRA+ ALIGNMENT WITH MATHEMATICS CCSS
Standards for Mathematical Practice
MP 2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Mathematically
proficient students make sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations. They bring two complementary
abilities to bear on problems involving quantitative relationships:
the ability to decontextualize—to abstract a given situation
and represent it symbolically and manipulate the representing
symbols as if they have a life of their own, without necessarily
attending to their referents—and the ability to contextualize,
to pause as needed during the manipulation process in order to
probe into the referents for the symbols involved. Quantitative
reasoning entails habits of creating a coherent representation
of the problem at hand; considering the units involved; attending
to the meaning of quantities, not just how to compute them; and
knowing and flexibly using different properties of operations and
objects.
MP 3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning
of others. Mathematically proficient students understand and
use stated assumptions, definitions, and previously established
results in constructing arguments. They make conjectures and
build a logical progression of statements to explore the truth of
their conjectures. They are able to analyze situations by breaking
them into cases, and can recognize and use counterexamples.
They justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and
respond to the arguments of others. They reason inductively
about data, making plausible arguments that take into account
the context from which the data arose. Mathematically proficient
students are also able to compare the effectiveness of two plausible arguments, distinguish correct logic or reasoning from that
which is flawed, and—if there is a flaw in an argument—explain
what it is. Students can listen or read the arguments of others,
decide whether they make sense, and ask useful questions to
clarify or improve the arguments.
Standards for Mathematical Content
6.RP.A.3 Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and
mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of
equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams,
or equations.
6.RP.A.3c Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g.,
30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.
6.EE.C.9 Use variables to represent two quantities in a realworld problem that change in relationship to one another;
write an equation to express one quantity, thought of as the
dependent variable, in terms of the other quantity, thought of as
the independent variable. Analyze the relationship between the
dependent and independent variables using graphs and tables,
and relate these to the equation.
7.SP.A.1 Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample of the population; generalizations about a population from a sample are valid
only if the sample is representative of that population. Understand that random sampling tends to produce representative
samples and support valid inferences.
7.SP.C.5 Understand that the probability of a chance event is
a number between 0 and 1 that expresses the likelihood of the
event occurring. Larger numbers indicate greater likelihood.
A probability near 0 indicates an unlikely event, a probability
around 1/2 indicates an event that is neither unlikely nor likely,
and a probability near 1 indicates a likely event.
8.SP.A.2 Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables. For scatter plots
that suggest a linear association, informally fit a straight line,
and informally assess the model fit by judging the closeness of
the data points to the line.
8.SP.A.4 Understand that patterns of association can also be
seen in bivariate categorical data by displaying frequencies and
relative frequencies in a two-way table. Construct and interpret
a two-way table summarizing data on two categorical variables
collected from the same subjects. Use relative frequencies
calculated for rows or columns to describe possible association
between the two variables.
HSA-REI.D.10 Understand that the graph of an equation in two
variables is the set of all its solutions plotted in the coordinate
plane, often forming a curve (which could be a line).
HSF-IF.B.4 For a function that models a relationship between
two quantities, interpret key features of graphs and tables in
terms of the quantities, and sketch graphs showing key features
given a verbal description of the relationship.
HSF-IF.B.6 Calculate and interpret the average rate of change
of a function (presented symbolically or as a table) over a specified interval. Estimate the rate of change from a graph.
HSS-ID.B.5 Summarize categorical data for two categories in
two-way frequency tables. Interpret relative frequencies in the
context of the data (including joint, marginal, and conditional
relative frequencies). Recognize possible associations and
trends in the data.
HSS-ID.B.6 Represent data on two quantitative variables on a
scatter plot, and describe how the variables are related.
HSS-ID.C.7 Interpret the slope (rate of change) and the intercept (constant term) of a linear model in the context of the data.
HSS-ID.C.9 Distinguish between correlation and causation.
HSS-IC.B.3 Recognize the purposes of and differences among
sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies; explain
how randomization relates to each.
HSS-IC.B.6 Evaluate reports based on data.
CAE is a non-profit organization best known for its work measuring and improving the quality of secondary and postsecondary education. CAE
features two nationwide assessment programs—the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) and the College & Work Readiness Assessment
(CWRA+). These instruments provide members institutions with tools to improve critical thinking and writing skills through the connection of
effective teaching, learning, and assessment efforts framed through authentic performance-based practices.