Information bulletin. Grade 6 English language arts

44 Pages·1995·5.7 MB·English

by  Alberta. Student Evaluation Branch

This document was written primarily for:
Students /
Teachers /
Administrators /
Parents
General Audience
Others
/ S uperintendents
DISTRIBUTION : Superintendents of Schools • S chool Principals and Teachers • T he Alberta
Teachers’ Association • A lberta School Boards Association • O fficials of Alberta Education •
General Public upon Request.
This bulletin contains general information about the Provincial Student Assessment Program and
information specific to the Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts Achievement Test. It replaces all
previous bulletins.
Copyright 1995, the Crown in Right of A lberta, as represented by the Minister of Education,
Alberta Education, Student Evaluation Branch, 1 1 160 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 0L2. All rights reserved.
Special permission is g ranted to Alberta Educators only to reproduce, for educational purposes
and on a non-profit basis, this document or any of its p arts.
October 1995
Contents
General Information 1
Administering the Assessment 1
Schedule 1
Students in French Immersion Programs 1
Marking Achievement Tests Locally 1
Reporting the Results 2
Broadened Assessment Initiatives 2
Description of the Language Arts Assessment Standards 2
Purpose of Assessment Standards 2
Acceptable Standard 2
Standard of Excellence 3
Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts Assessment 3
Part A: Writing 3
Important Information to Note ! 4
Blueprint for Part A: Narrative Writing 5
Blueprint for Part A: Functional Writing 6
Marking 7
Confirming Standards 7
Sample Writing Assignments 7
Sample Writing Assignment — Narrative Writing 9
Scoring Guide — Narrative Writing 11
Sample Writing Assignment — Functional Writing 16
Scoring Guide — Functional Writing 17
Part B: Reading 22
Development 22
Reading Blueprint 23
Sample Reading Questions 24
Key and Descriptors for Sample Reading Questions 30
Preparing Students for the Assessment 32
Part A: Writing 32
Part B: Reading 33
Parts of a B usiness Letter 34
Format of a B usiness Letter 35
Addressing an Envelope 36
Credits 37
Alberta Education Contact
37
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2016
https://archive.org/details/informationbull1995albe_7
11
General Information test on the same day. Superintendents
approve a l ocal schedule for achievement
test administration within the dates
The Provincial Student Assessment Program
provided. Students who are absent when the
provides teachers, parents, students, school
tests are administered and who return to
administrators, Alberta Education, and the
school by the end of the school year must
public with information about what students
write the tests upon their return. By
know and can do in relation to provincial
scheduling the tests early in the
standards. Group results are reported at
administration period most, if not all,
school, district, and provincial levels to
absentees can be tested upon their return to
improve learning opportunities for students.
school. The principal is responsible for
The assessments are administered in two ensuring the security of the tests.
subject areas at Grade 3 — language arts and The tests that will be administered each
mathematics — and in four subject areas at
grades 6 a nd 9 — language arts, mathematics,
year are:
social studies, and science. Grade 3
English Language Arts (P art A: Writing
The assessments are based on provincial and Part B: Reading )
standards, which reflect important learnings Mathematics (English and French forms)
in the subject areas listed above. Classroom
Grade 6
teachers from across the province are
English Language Arts {Part A: Writing
extensively involved in developing and field
and Part B: Reading )
testing the assessment instruments.
Fran9ais 6e Annee {Partie A: Production
ecrite and Partie B: Lecture)
Mathematics (English and French forms)
Administering the Assessment
Science (English and French forms)
Information about the nature of the Social Studies (English and French forms)
provincial assessments as well as their Grade 9
administration to special needs students can English Language Arts {Part A: Writing
be found in the General Information and Part B: Reading)
Bulletin, Provincial Student Assessment
Fran9ais 9e Annee {Partie A: Production
Program, which is mailed each fall to all ecrite and Partie B: Lecture)
superintendents and principals. Mathematics (English and French forms)
Science (English and French forms)
Social Studies (English and French forms)
Schedule
The written-response component of English Students in French Immersion Programs
and French Language Arts will be
administered during the last week of May. All students in French Immersion programs
The machine-scorable component of all must write the French form of the
achievement tests will be administered achievement tests. Alberta Education will
during the last two weeks of June. Specific send a checklist to schools by January
information regarding scheduling is requesting an indication of how many
provided in the current General Information English or French tests are required. These
Bulletin, Provincial Student Assessment
forms must be returned through jurisdiction
Program.
offices by mid-February.
To minimize any risks to security, we
recommend that all students complete the
Marking Achievement Tests Locally Grade 9
• p roblem-solving activities in
Teachers will be able to mark the tests mathematics
before returning them to Alberta Education.
Teachers can use the results as part of an
individual student’s year end assessment, as Description of the Language
well as for planning instruction.
Arts Assessment Standards
Reporting the Results
The provincial standards are the basis upon
which we assess how well students have
Each school jurisdiction will receive a
learned English Language Arts by the end of
district report and individual school reports
Grade 6. These standards reflect the essential
regarding their students’ achievement, as learnings that all Alberta students are expected
well as guidelines for interpreting these
to achieve. Provincial standards are useful,
results in relation to provincial standards.
therefore, for assessing Grade 6 s tudents in all
To facilitate reflection on school programs, types of school programs — public, private,
and home education.
we expect that results will be shared with all
school staff (not just teachers of grades 3, 6,
and 9), as well as with parents and the
Purpose of Assessment Standards
community.
The following statements describe what is
An individual profile for each student will
expected of Grade 6 s tudents who are
be sent to the school that the student will
meeting the acceptable standard or the
attend in September. We also expect that
standard of excellence on independent work
these reports will be shared with parents.
at the end of the Grade 6 L anguage Arts
program. These statements represent the
Provincial results for each subject and grade
standards against which student achievement
will be made public in September, in
will be measured. By comparing actual
documents titled Assessment Highlights.
results with provincial standards, decisions
can be made about whether achievement is,
Broadened Assessment Initiatives
in fact, “good enough.”
The Student Evaluation Branch has
Acceptable Standard
developed additional instruments to collect
a b roader base of information about what
students know and can do than achievement Students meeting the acceptable standard in
Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts should be
tests alone can provide. These instruments
able to deal with a f amiliar idea in writing,
will be administered to a p rovincial sample
such as the narration of a p ersonal
of students in all subjects on a r otating
experience. On occasion, these students
basis. The following assessments will be
should be able to deal with complex and/or
given in 1996:
original thoughts. They are expected to
produce work using clear words and
Grade 3
expressions, and relevant, general details.
• p roblem-solving activities in mathematics
They should be able to organize concrete,
factual materials containing straightforward
Grade 6
ideas. They are expected to recognize
• “whole book” performance-based
increasingly complex techniques of literary
assessment in language arts
structure and organization, such as cause and
effect, foreshadowing, and flashback.
2
It is expected that students meeting the Grade 6 E nglish Language
acceptable standard are able to read Arts Assessment
relatively short, simple selections of fiction,
non-fiction, prose, and poetry, and to
This assessment has two new prompts that
correctly identify the main idea, sequence of
are not repeated from previous years.
events, key details, author’s purpose, and
imagery used. These students should be
The Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts
somewhat able to associate meanings of
Assessment is composed of two parts.
specific words and expressions in context. It
is expected that these students can analyze
Part A: Writing consists of two writing
details and synthesize ideas in a f amiliar
context. They should be able to consistently assignments designed to be completed in
two hours. Included in the total period is
answer literal (idea, detail, and relationship)
time for discussion before the narrative
questions. Occasionally, they should be able
to understand ideas, details, and writing, and planning, drafting, and revising
relationships that are implied in a r eading of both the narrative and functional writing.
selection. Additional time of up to 30 minutes may be
provided to allow students to finish.
Standard of Excellence Part B: Reading (multiple choice) is
designed to be completed in 60 minutes.
Additional time of up to 30 minutes may be
Students meeting the standard of excellence
are expected to confidently and competently provided to allow students to finish. It
deal with writing that requires complex and consists of 50 multiple-choice questions
original thought. They should be able to based on reading selections from fiction,
develop and organize abstract, complex non-fiction, drama, poetry, and visual media.
materials. It is expected that these students Part B: Reading has one booklet containing
can consistently establish an appropriate reading passages and questions. Answers are
focus for communication and select ideas to be recorded on a separate machine-
scorable answer sheet.
and language to suit different purposes and
audiences. Students meeting the standard of
excellence should be able not only to Students may use a d ictionary and a
recognize complex techniques of literary tWhreistainugr.u s when completing only Part A:
structure and/or organization, but also to
apply them to their own writing.
Part A: Writing
It is expected that students meeting the
standard of excellence can effectively deal Section I o f the Part A: Writing assignment
with abstract and complex details and ideas consists of a p icture and a p rompt that
found in longer, sophisticated selections of students will be asked to respond to in the
form of a story.
fiction, non-fiction, prose, and poetry.
These students should be able to read and
Section II of the Part A: Writing assignment
reflect on print and non-print text from many
perspectives. It is expected that they are requires the students to write for a specific
audience and to fulfill a specified purpose
able to analyze and evaluate ideas received
from a wide variety of materials. Students within a g iven context. Specified purposes
meeting the standard of excellence should may include letters of invitation to guest
be able to readily answer literal as well as speakers, requests for information, and
implied idea, detail, and relationship congratulatory or thank-you letters. This
questions. part of the assignment tests students’ writing
skills using “real world” situations. The
writers’ ability to adjust content, order, tone,
and diction to the situation is being tested.
3
Section I i ncludes pages labelled Planning Important Information to Note!
and First Draft. Students are asked to
produce only one copy of their work. They
are encouraged to make revisions and At the beginning of the test, students will
corrections directly on this copy. Because be given time to discuss both prompts with
of the limited time available for achievement classmates in groups of two to four, or to
think alone about them, and to plan their
testing, it is felt that students benefit most
responses before beginning to write.
from spending the majority of their time in
composing and revising their work, rather
In the past, many students have written
than perfecting a “ good copy.” In the past,
when both draft and final copies were papers that were “off topic.” Please
encourage your students to address the
required, most students would just recopy
their original work, paying special attention prompt.
to neatness rather than to improving the
Students may do their writing using a
content or overall quality of what they had
word processor. For information about
originally written. What we now expect is a
using word-processing technology to
good first draft from students.
complete the written component of the
achievement test, see the draft policy in
Section II includes a p age labelled Planning the General Information Bulletin ,
and two lined pages for a l etter, followed by Provincial Student Assessment Program.
a b lank envelope that is to be addressed
properly.
4
Blueprint for Part A: Narrative Writing
The blueprint that follows outlines Part A: Section I o f the Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts
Achievement Test. It delineates the categories under which summary data will be reported to
school jurisdictions.
Description of Writing
Reporting Category Standards
Assignment
The narrative writing
*Content (selecting ideas and details to achieve a p urpose)
achievement in each
Events and/or actions should be plausible and appropriate to assignment follows a The student’s
picture and a w riting reporting category will be
the student’s purpose. The student should be able to described according to
describe characters and setting using details that are prompt that will be read
aloud to students. The the following standard
appropriate for the context established.
students are to respond statements:
to the prompt in the
form of a story. Meets the standard of
* O rganization (organizing ideas and details into a c oherent
whole) excellence
The student should be able to organize the response
effectively and coherently to produce a u nified composition Approaches the standard
of excellence
that achieves his/her purpose for writing.
Clearly meets the
Sentence Structure (structuring sentences effectively)
acceptable standard
The student should be able to use a variety of sentence types
and structures to achieve clarity, interest, and emphasis. Does not clearly meet the
acceptable standard
Vocabulary (selecting and using words and expressions
Clearly below the
correctly and effectively)
acceptable standard
The student should be able to use words and expressions
appropriately and effectively to communicate to the INS insufficient
specified audience and to achieve his/her purpose.
Conventions (using the conventions of written language
correctly and effectively)
The student should be able to communicate clearly by
adhering to appropriate spelling, punctuation, and grammar
conventions.
*These categories are weighted to be worth twice as much as each of the others.
5
Blueprint for Part A: Functional Writing
The blueprint that follows outlines Part A: Section II of the Grade 6 E nglish Language Arts
Achievement Test. It delineates the categories under which summary data will be reported to
school jurisdictions.
Description of Writing
Reporting Category Standards
Assignment
The functional writing
*Content (selecting ideas and details to achieve a p urpose)
The student should be able to consider the audience and be assignment requires the Tahceh i esvteumdeenntt’ s in each
student to write to a reporting category will be
able to establish a p urpose, incorporating significant described according to
information using precise and appropriate details. specified audience in the
context of a l etter. They the following standard
are expected to correctly statements:
^Organization (organizing ideas and details into a coherent address a b lank envelope
whole) as well. Meets the standard of
excellence
The student should be able to organize the response
effectively and coherently to produce a unified letter that
achieves his/her purpose for writing. Approaches the standard
of excellence
Sentence Structure (structuring sentences effectively) Clearly meets the
The student should be able to use a v ariety of sentence types acceptable standard
and structures to achieve clarity, interest, and emphasis.
Does not clearly meet the
acceptable standard
Vocabulary (selecting and using words and expressions
correctly and effectively)
Clearly below the
The student should be able to use words and expressions acceptable standard
appropriately and effectively to communicate to the
specified audience and to achieve his/her purpose. INS insufficient
Conventions (using the conventions of written language
correctly and effectively)
The student should be able to communicate clearly by
adhering to appropriate spelling, punctuation, and grammar
conventions.
*These categories are weighted to be worth twice as much as each of the others.
6