RATIONALE - Formative Assessment Tool Assignment
GRAMMAR QUIZ
English 1 - SDAIE, 9th grade
According to the California Ninth and Tenth Grade Language Arts Standards for Written
and Oral English Language Conventions 1.1-1.3, students must demonstrate a command of
standard English grammar. Similar objectives also appear in the California English Language
Development standards under Writing Conventions, Clusters 1ES, 2ES, and 3. However, the 9thgrade grammar and writing text adopted by Menlo-Atherton High School uses academic
language sufficiently difficult as to be inaccessible to the students in this class, 14 freshmen
designated as “FBB,” Far Below Basic. Therefore, I am teaching 10-15 minutes of grammar
daily using a 6th grade workbook from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, Monterey, CA
(2002). Each mini-unit covers one grammatical rule and contains three practice pages. I copy
the pages from the workbook and white-out the “Grade 6” footer on each page before I
photocopy and staple them into a “grammar packet.” I want to avoid any negative affective filter
that the 9th-graders might experience from the realization that their grammar instruction is
appropriate for 6th-graders.
Limiting grammar time to 15 minutes a day or less, it takes 5-6 instructional days to
complete one grammar mini-unit. On Day 1, I explain the concept and give examples drawn
from their current reading unit. The students and I jointly complete the first three examples on
the first practice page. Then, students complete items 4-10 for homework. On Days 2 and 3, we
review the homework and go on to the second and third practice pages, respectively. On Day 4,
after homework review, students take a practice quiz. I review the practice quiz and determine
whether to re-teach any concepts. Based on that decision, a real quiz follows on either Day 5 or
Day 6.
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The Quiz in this assignment is the Unit 1 practice quiz on the four kinds of sentences
(declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory) and their ending punctuation. Two
copies of the quiz appear at the end of this rationale: a blank copy and a copy with correct
answers. Here is the Table of Specifications for the quiz:
Standards
Objectives SWBAT:
ELA 1.1: Identify
and correctly use
main clauses.
ELD 1ES: Use
correct mechanics
and sentence
structure.
Identify each of the
four sentences types
by description
ELA 1.1: Identify
and correctly use
mechanics of
punctuation.
ELD 2ES, 3: Revise
and edit writing for
proper use of
punctuation.
Matching Fill in Write in end Write complete
the
punctuation sentences with
Blanks marks
end punctuation
A1, A2,
A3, A4
Identify and label an
unpunctuated sentence
as one of the four
sentence types
Compose correct
sentences of each
of the four types
Write in the end
punctuation for
each of the four
sentence types
C1, C2,
C3, C4
D1, D2, D3, D4
B1, B2,
B3
Write in the correct
end punctuation for
unpunctuated
sentences
Write correct end
punctuation for selfcomposed sentences
C1, C2, C3,
C4
D1, D2, D3, D4
After students complete the practice quiz, I can assess how well they:






match the names and descriptions of the four kinds of sentences
form periods, question marks, and exclamation points
identify which kinds of sentences each end punctuation mark is used for
build meaning from unpunctuated sentences
label each kind of sentence by name
compose, write, and punctuate each kind of sentence
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The grammatical names of the four kinds of sentences appear in the first section of the
practice quiz, so that the students can refer to them throughout. This helps them succeed in
correctly completing the rest of the quiz. If they have to produce the names themselves and
consequently make mistakes at the outset, it is more difficult for them to correctly complete the
rest of the quiz. It is more important for them to recognize and understand what the names mean
than for them to come up with the names themselves.
This is a 50-point quiz. For each section of the quiz, I indicate the number of points per
answer and the total number of possible points for the section. For sections A and B, the correct
answer yields the full number of points. For section C, students earn two points for each correct
punctuation mark and two points for each correct sentence name. On fill-in-the-blank items in B
and C, no points are deducted for misspelling the sentence names. Missing answers are scored as
zero.
Each of the Section D sentences is worth four points: two for composing the indicated
kind of sentence, and two for writing and placing the correct end punctuation. There are no
deductions for errors in grammar or spelling, as long as the syntax conforms to the correct
sentence type. If students fail to write about space or astronauts, one point is deducted per
sentence.
If the above scoring guidelines are followed, scoring reliability is high. The consistency
across different types of tasks is also strong, because each section focuses on the four kinds of
sentences. The tasks and the point value for each are clearly defined.
However, temporary
conditions can vary considerably, especially the amount of noise or number of other distractions
during a quiz administration period. Additionally, students frequently complain or show signs of
being tired or feeling unwell, and they take the quiz anyway. Thus, standardization is not a
strong point of this formative assessment.
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The quiz is practical for the teacher to develop, photocopy, and administer. It is
inexpensive to produce and duplicate. It is also practical for the students to take during a portion
of a normal class period.
The quiz closely matches what is taught during classroom instruction using the grammar
packet. The format of the quiz also matches its purpose. In these respects, validity is good.
However, because of the low reading level and lack of focused attention of the part of some
students, the directions may be too difficult to follow.
Because the quiz is quick to grade, I can return it to the students the following day.
Optionally, students can grade each others’ quizzes, which helps reinforce correct answers.
Students receive their graded quizzes to use for class discussion and to review in preparation for
the real quiz they take during the following class period. In deciding whether to use further
instructional time to help students master the material, I generally use a threshold of half the
class: if half the class or more displays lack of mastery in a section, I review the problematic
concepts with the entire class.
Students are directed to correct their mistakes and take notes on
the quiz paper itself. Their homework is to review their grammar packet and practice quiz for
the next day’s real quiz.
Students are responding well to the routine of daily grammar instruction and practice.
They participate actively and succeed in filling out their grammar packets. The majority fails to
do their homework, but complete it during class time. The next step for me as their teacher is to
point out how these rules affect in their own writing. This is I will do in each writing assignment
connected with their reading selection units.
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Name: ______________________________________
English 1
Date:_____________________
Grammar Packet 1: Practice Quiz
Rule #1: There are four kinds of sentences. Each requires a specific ending punctuation.
A. (2 points each, 8 points total) Next to each kind of sentence, write the number of the correct
description:
________ Declarative
1. Shows strong feeling or emotion
________ Interrogative
2. Commands, orders, or requests someone to do something
________ Imperative
3. Makes a statement or tells a fact
________ Exclamatory
4. Asks a question
B. (2 points each, 10 points total) Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1. A question mark (?) is used at the end of which kind of sentence? ______________________
2. A period (.) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?
______________________ and _____________________
3. A exclamation point (!) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?
______________________ and _____________________
C. (4 points each, 16 points total) Add the correct end punctuation to each sentence. In the
blank, write which kind of sentence it is.
1. Did you know that Sally Ride was the first U.S. woman in space
_______________________
2. She made two trips on the Space Shuttle Challenger
_______________________
3. Read about Sally Ride on the NASA web site
_______________________
4. Astronauts are amazing
_______________________
D. (4 points each, 16 points total) Write four sentences about space or astronauts. Use correct
end punctuation:
1. Declarative: ___________________________________________________________________
2. Interrogative: __________________________________________________________________
3. Imperative: ___________________________________________________________________
4. Exclamatory: __________________________________________________________________
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Name: _ANSWER KEY______________________
English 1
Date:_____________________
Grammar Packet 1: Practice Quiz
Rule #1: There are four kinds of sentences. Each requires a specific ending punctuation.
A. (2 points each, 8 points total) Next to each kind of sentence, write the number of the correct
description:
____3___ Declarative
1. Shows strong feeling or emotion
____4___ Interrogative
2. Commands, orders, or requests someone to do something
____2___ Imperative
3. Makes a statement or tells a fact
____1___ Exclamatory
4. Asks a question
B. (2 points each, 10 points total) Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1. A question mark (?) is used at the end of which kind of sentence? ___Interrogative__________
2. A period (.) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?
___________Declarative___________ and _________Imperative____________
3. A exclamation point (!) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?
_______Exclamatory_______________ and _________Imperative____________
C. (4 points each, 16 points total) Add the correct end punctuation to each sentence. In the
blank, write which kind of sentence it is.
1. Did you know that Sally Ride was the first U.S. woman in space? _____ Interrogative_____
2. She made two trips on the Space Shuttle Challenger.
_______ Declarative______
3. Read about Sally Ride on the NASA web site.
_ _____Imperative________
4. Astronauts are amazing!
_______ Exclamatory_____
D. (4 points each, 16 points total) Write four sentences about space or astronauts. Use correct
end punctuation:
1. Declarative: ____Sally Ride studied math, physics, and English at Stanford University.____
2. Interrogative: ___How many space shuttle launches have taken place?___________________
3. Imperative: _____Look on the web to find pictures of the Earth taken from space.________
4. Exclamatory: ____How beautiful the Earth looks from space!___________________
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