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Kasey Dunlap, Clermont County Educational Service Center

• Understanding the PBA design and cognitive demands
• Creating PBA tasks for implementation in your classroom
• Allowing time to work on the work

• Simply put – a Performance-Based Assessment requires students to demonstrate their learning and understanding by doing something, or applying learned skills and content in an authentic way.
• Traditional tests are designed to find out what a student knows, but only through performance of an act or a series of acts can we find out what a student can do.

• The Common Core State Standards represent a shift from knowledge-based standards to developing strategic thinkers – therefore the new assessments must find a way to evaluate these new demands.

Mike Rose, Lives on the Boundary, p. 188

• The ELA PBA will include a literature analysis, a research simulation, and a narrative session. For each task, students will be asked to read one or more texts, answer several short comprehension and vocabulary questions, and write an essay that requires them to draw evidence from the text(s).
• Text are authentic works. Selected response items are designed to evaluate comprehension of the text(s) and lead students into deeper thinking about the text(s).

• (number and items and specific points for each section are available in the
Test Blueprints on the PARCC website)

for Stories, Drama and Poetry (grades 2/3)
• When discussing E.B. White’s book Charlotte’s Web, students distinguish their own point of view regarding Wilbur the Pig from that of Fern Arable as well as from that of the narrator.
• Students describe how the character of Bud in Christopher Paul Curtis’ story
Bud, Not Buddy response to a major event in his life of being placed in a foster home.

for Informational Texts(grades 6-8)
• Students trace the line of argument in Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toil,
Tears and Sweat” address to Parliament and evaluate his specific claims and opinion in the text, distinguishing which claims are supported by facts, reasons, and evidence, and which are not.

for Stories, Drama and Poetry (grades 9/10)
• Students analyze how Michael Shaara in his Civil War novel The Killer Angels creates a sense of tension and even surprise regarding the outcome of events at the Battle of Gettysburg through pacing, ordering of events, and the overarching structure of the novel.

Available Item Sample from PARCC

• Today you will read passages from two novels about characters who are learning to survive in the wilderness. The first passage is from the novel Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen, and the second passage is from the novel Call of the Wild by Jack London. As you read these passages, you will answer questions and think about how the texts reveal theme and character. After you read, you will write an analytical essay about the passages.

Sample Items for Grade 8:
Excerpt from Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
• Sample Item #1:
Part A Question: What is the meaning of the word adversary as it is used in paragraph 21?
a. problem’s solution b. indication of trouble c. opposing force* d. source of irritation

• Part B Question:
Which phrase from paragraph 21 best helps clarify the meaning of adversary?
a. “own worst enemy”* b. “the primary rule” c. “missed the warnings” d. “most dangerous thing”

• Student answers both A and B correctly = 2 points
• Student answers A correctly and B incorrectly = 1 point
• Student answers A incorrectly and B incorrectly = 0 points
• Student answers A incorrectly and B correctly = 0 points

Question: Create a summary of the excerpt from Brian’s
Winter by dragging four statements from the list of events and dropping them in chronological order into the table titled Summary.

N.B. Multiple-select items are new for PARCC assessments. Does your classroom instruction support the idea of more than one right answer?

• 2 points are awarded when the student correctly identifies and orders all four events.
• 1 point is awarded when the student correctly identifies all four events but incorrectly sequences the events OR correctly identifies and sequences any three of the four events.
• No points are awarded for any other answer combination.

• Part A Question: In the excerpt from Brian’s Winter, Brian comes to a major realization at the end of the passage. Which statement best describes his realization?
a. He needs to avoid confronting wild animals.
b. He needs to prepare for the perils of winter.* c. He needs to create a better way to store food.
d. He needs to find a new, safer shelter.

• Part B Question: Which detail best supports the answer in Part A?
a. “The bear…turned back to ransacking the camp, looking for where that delicious smell had come from.” (paragraph 15) b. “He would have to find some way to protect himself, some weapon.” (paragraph 19) c. “He kept putting wood on the fire, half afraid the bear would come back.” (paragraph 20) d. “…he had missed the warnings that summer was ending…and what was coming would be the most dangerous thing he had faced…” (paragraph 21)*

from second passage: The Call of the Wild
• Part A Question: What does the word placatingly mean as it is used in paragraph 2?
a. in a warning tone b. in an annoying manner c. in an attempt to be agreeable* d. in a way that expresses discomfort

• Part B Question: Which phrase from the passage provides the best clue to the meaning of placatingly as it is used in paragraph 2?
a. “…bristling and snarling...” b. “…a whiff of warm air...” c. “…squirmed and wriggled…” d. “…a bribe for peace...”*

• Part A Question: Which statement best reflects a theme of the excerpt from Call of the Wild? a. Survival is unlikely when one is new to an environment.
b. Survival requires adapting to one’s surroundings.* c. One cannot rely on others when learning to survive.
d. Advanced preparation is necessary for survival.

• Part B Question: Which two details from the excerpt best support the answer in Part A?
a. “Here and there savage dogs rushed upon him, but he bristled his neck-hair and snarled (for he was learning fast), and they let him go his way unmolested.” (paragraph 1)* b. “Again he wandered about through the great camp, looking for them, and again he returned.”
(paragraph 2) c. “He sprang back, bristling and snarling, fearful of the unseen and unknown.” (paragraph 2) d. “Buck confidently selected a spot, and with much fuss and wasted effort proceeded to dig a hole for himself.” (paragraph 3)* e. “It was a token that he was harking back through his own life to the lives of his forebears…”
(paragraph 4) f. “…he saw the white camp spread out before him and knew where he was…” (paragraph 4)

• Part A Question: Which statement correctly shows a difference between the beginnings and endings of the excerpts from Brian’s Winter and Call of the Wild?
a. Call of the Wild begins with a former conflict between characters, and Brian’s Winter ends with a current conflict between characters. b. Brian’s Winter begins by revealing a character’s faulty reasoning, and Call of the Wild ends with a character’s faulty reasoning. c. Call of the Wild begins with a crisis to be resolved, and Brian’s Winter ends with a crisis that needs to be resolved.* d. Brian’s Winter begins with the thoughts and actions of a character seeking shelter, and
Call of the Wild ends with the thoughts and actions of a character seeking shelter.

• Part B Question: Select one detail from the list below from Brian’s
Winter and one detail from the list below from Call of the Wild that
best support the answer in Part A.
a. “He had seen them several times while picking berries, raking the bushes with their teeth to pull the fruit off....”
(Brian’s Winter paragraph 2) b. “Other than some minor scratches where the bear’s claws had slightly scraped him—it was more a boxing action than a clawing one—Brian was in one piece.” (Brian’s Winter paragraph 16) c. “Everything in nature means something and he had missed the warnings that summer was ending, had in many ways already ended, and what was coming would be the most dangerous thing he had faced since the plane crash. “(Brian’s
Winter paragraph 21)* d. “The tent, illumined by a candle, glowed warmly in the midst of the white plain…” (Call of the Wild paragraph 1) e. “Miserable and disconsolate, he wandered about among the many tents, only to find that one place was as cold as another.” (Call of the Wild paragraph 1)* f. “The day had been long and arduous, and he slept soundly and comfortably, though he growled and barked and wrestled with bad dreams.” (Call of the Wild paragraph 3)

Summative Writing Piece
• Question: You have read excerpts from two novels focused on survival in the wilderness.
These excerpts are from:
• Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
• Call of the Wild by Jack London
Consider how the main character in each excerpt reacts to the incidents that occur, and write an essay in which you analyze how each character’s thoughts and actions reveal aspects of his personality.
You do not need to compare and contrast the characters from the two texts. You may consider each one separately. Be sure to include evidence from each excerpt to support your analysis and understanding.

• Grade 9 PBA practice test available through Pearson testnav
• Recommended to have students complete the “TestNav8” tutorial first at http://parcc.pearson.com/tutorial/

• Close reading
• Writing linked to readings
• Evidence, evidence, evidence
• Thinking forward and backward
• Identify themes vs. choosing themes
• Synthesis is the key to research
• Give them the resources vs. hunting for sources

• Task focus
• Text sets
• Questions Sets
• Analysis
• Synthesis

• Structural analysis
• Impact of word choice
• Analysis of topic and themes in different genres
• Analysis of fictional representation vs. historical events
• Analysis of complex characterization
• Analysis of subject or scene
• Focus on point of view or purpose
• Use of illustrations or visuals
• Analysis of argument within a text
• Refer the specific standards at your grade level for guidance

• Check your nametag to see which group # you are in
• Each group has two task buckets to complete:
• Decide which standards are tied to each of the tasks and write them on the sticks
• Use nicknames or brief description of standards rather than letter/number codes
• You may group standards as needed (for example: writing conventions 1 and 2 could be labeled as “writing conventions- all”)

Reflect

• Text sets should include passages that are at grade level as well as some that are slightly below and slightly above grade level.
• Texts should have important connections
• Texts should be collected with an eye to task

• Prompts progress from simple to more complex.
• Prompts are text specific and probe the specifics of the text while avoiding questions that could be asked of any text.
• Prompts may be preceded by “purpose setting statements.”

Text Dependent Text Specific
What is the author’s message in the text? Why does Monk as this question in the passage, “Who is ‘We the People’?”
What is the main idea of the passage?
What details can you find that support the main idea?
Why does Monk claim that popular sovereignty is the form of government in the
United States?
What evidence is there in paragraph three regarding Marshall’s claim about “the evolving nature of the constitution”?

• Prompts do not “lead the witness” but rather lead students to draw conclusions about the text.
• Prompts relate back to the key understandings or essential questions posed by the text.
• Prompts require close reading of the text with a focus on specific sections, paragraphs, or word choices.

Focus on writing tasks

• Anchor text plus additional literary, nonfiction, and non-print texts
• Unit Focus: Text Use and Key Standards
• Summative Unit Assessments
• Culminating Writing Taskessay: extended or in-class
• Cold-Read Assessmentmay include several multiple-choice and constructedresponse items
• Extension Taskconnect and extend learning through research or writing

SUMMATIVE UNIT ASSESSMENTS: CULMINATING WRITING TASK1 (Grade 8)
In the introduction to Beautiful Joe, An Autobiography by Marshall Saunders, a nonfiction book about a dog who is rescued from abusive owners, Hezekiah Butterworth claims the following:
The story speaks not for the dog alone, but for the whole animal kingdom. Through it we enter the animal world, and are made to see as animals see, and to feel as animals feel. …
Kindness to the animal kingdom is the first, or a first principle in the growth of true philanthropy.
Young Lincoln once waded across a half-frozen river to rescue a dog, and stopped in a walk with a statesman to put back a bird that had fallen out of its nest. Such a heart was trained to be a leader of men, and to be crucified for a cause. The conscience that runs to the call of an animal in distress is girding itself with power to do manly work in the world.

SUMMATIVE UNIT ASSESSMENTS: CULMINATING WRITING TASK1 (Grade 8)
Consider The Call of the Wild and the author’s depiction of Buck’s relationship with his many owners throughout the novel. What central idea or theme about humans’ treatment of animals does the novel convey?
(RL.8.2) How does Buck’s point of view about particular incidents in the novel reveal the owners’ traits and develop a theme of the novel? (RL.8.3, RL.8.6)
Compose an essay that examines how the theme is developed and cite textual evidence that strongly supports your analysis. Be sure to follow conventions of standard English.
Teacher Note: Students should write a multi-paragraph essay that introduces a claim about the theme, cites several pieces of textual evidence, including direct quotations with page numbers, and organizes reasons and evidence logically. Students should use the evidence and analysis from their journals to support their writing. (RI.8.1, W.8.1a, b, c, e; W.8.4; W.8.5; W.8.9b, W.8.10, L.8.2a-b) The completed writing should use grade-appropriate words and phrases and demonstrate command of proper grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. (W.8.1d; L.8.1c, d;
L.8.2c; L.8.3a; L.8.6) Use peer and teacher conferencing as well as small-group writing time to target student weaknesses. (W.8.4, W.8.5)

• Reread an excerpt from extended or other text that has been covered in class
• AND Read an excerpt from a cold read text
• OR Read more than one cold read texts
• Write an essay that synthesizes the two (or more texts) based on specified topic/standards

Read “The Road Not Taken” and Lois Lowry’s “Newbery Acceptance Speech, June 1994” independently and then answer a combination of multiple-choice and constructed-response questions about these texts and in comparison to the other texts in the unit. Be sure to use evidence from the texts to support your answers.
Sample questions:
• 1. What does the speaker say about choice in “The Road Not Taken?” What lines of the poem reveal the speaker’s ideas about choice? Provide at least two details from the poem to support your response. (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.10)

• 2. Compare the speaker’s beliefs about choice in “The Road Not Taken” to
Jonas’s beliefs about choice in The Giver. Provide at least one detail from both texts to support your response. (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.6, RL.7.10, W.7.9a)
• 3. Select one of the memories Lois Lowry shares in her acceptance speech.
Summarize how the memory is portrayed in The Giver. Then explain how Lois
Lowry uses and alters her memories to create a section of The Giver. Provide details from both texts to support your response. (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.9,
RI.7.1, RI.7.3, RI.7.10, W.7.9a-b)

• Select a mythological character (e.g., Zeus, Hercules, Poseidon, Pan) and investigate his or her stories (both Greek and Roman versions) beginning in lesson 6. Collect words, phrases, stories, speeches, poems, videos, commercials, and/or other texts that refer to your mythological character. Gather these notes and references in your Mythology Folder during lessons 7-14.
(RL.4.1, RL.4.4, RL.4.10, RI.4.1, RI.4.9, RI.4.10, W.4.7)
• During lesson 15, categorize your notes into main topics, and then write a one-page typed explanation of how your mythological character is part of our lives today. Introduce and develop your topic, link ideas using vocabulary words and phrases, provide closure, and demonstrate proper grammar and spelling. Provide a list of sources used during research.
(W.4.2a-e, W.4.4, W.4.6, W.4.8, W.4.9a-b, W.4.10, L.4.1e-g, L.4.2a-d, L.4.3a, L.4.6)

• Publish your explanation and categorized notes on an online, collaborative platform, such as
Blendspace5 or Mural.ly.6 (W.4.6)
• Create a presentation about your character, providing descriptive details and appropriate and relevant information about his or her life, memorable stories, and how he or she continues to influence us today.
• Present the information from your explanation and provide audio recordings and/or visual displays (e.g., online display) to support the ideas of your presentation. Speak clearly at an understandable pace, using formal English appropriate to the task. (SL.4.4, SL.4.5, SL.4.6)

www.louisianabelieves.com

• What is the focus of your task? Write a narrative description of what you want the students to be able to do. List related standards.
• What texts lend themselves to this type of task? Your goal is to collect at least two related texts. (please include appropriate information on handout)
• What comprehension questions will lead students into deeper thinking about the texts you have selected? Create at least two text-dependent questions.
• What is the prompt that students will respond to? Create a text-specific prompt that is clear and student friendly.

(begin with harder task)
• Collect 2 literary texts for blue “A” tasks (argument)
• Literary analysis IS argument!
• Collect 3 nonfiction texts for red “B” tasks (research simulation)
• If possible, include a multi-media piece with research simulation tasks.
• *Starred tasks were recently added to measure content literacy skills.
• The green “C” task (narrative) should be aligned to a literary text.

* I need a copy of your task outline before you leave!

• Implement one or two of the tasks you developed.
• Collect student writing samples to bring with you to our second session in December.
• Take notes as needed to be able to share with the group.

Kasey Dunlap, ELA/School Improvement Consultant
Clermont County Educational Service Center
Email me at: Dunlap_k@ccesc.org
The ESC blog: www.ccesc.org
My ELA blog: clermontcountyELA@wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @clermontELA