Assessment/Accountability
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

III. Overview of the
English Language Arts Assessment

Background

The English Language Arts section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is based exclusively on the learning standards described in the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework (1997). These learning standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school and district administrators, reading and writing specialists, college faculty, and parents.

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework identifies expectations for student learning for grade groupings Pre-K-4, 5-8, 9-10, and 11-12. Since MCAS is administered at grades 4, 8, and 10, English Language Arts Assessment questions for each of the tested grades focus on the general Framework learning standards and/or the corresponding grade-specific standards. Some questions focus additionally on standards identified at preceding grade levels. Consequently, students may be required to demonstrate cumulative reading and writing skills, e.g., grade 8 students may be tested on all learning standards identified in the Framework from Pre-kindergarten through grade 8.

Content Strands to be Assessed

Three content strands identified by the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework serve as the foundation for the 1998 MCAS English Language Arts Assessment:⁴

• Language
• Literature
• Composition

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework summarizes the Language Strand by stating "The [l]earning [s]tandards in the Language Strand set the expectation that students will demonstrate understanding of the dynamics, nature, structure, and history of the English language."⁵ The Literature Strand learning standards "set the expectation that students will learn to respond thoughtfully to all forms of spoken and written literature."⁶ The Composition Strand and its learning standards "set the expectation that students will learn to write with clarity, coherence, and personal engagement."⁷

The MCAS English Language Arts Assessment addresses all of the learning standards contained in the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework that can be assessed in a large-scale, paper-and-pencil test format. Certain learning standards from the Language, Literature, and Composition Strands--for example, learning standard 3, "Students will make oral presentations . . ."⁸--will not be tested on the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment. In addition, all three learning standards of the Framework's Media Strand are intended to be assessed locally, and will not be tested through MCAS. Framework standards that will be assessed on MCAS are listed on pages 10-12 and 15 of this document. However, it is important that all learning standards defined in the Framework are addressed by and incorporated into local curriculum and instruction, whether or not they are assessed on MCAS.

The Language, Literature, and Composition Strands will also serve as reporting categories for each of the tested grade levels. Reporting categories are discussed in more detail on page 18.

Assessment Components

There are two components of the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment:

• Language and Literature
• Composition

Each component will use one or more of the following assessment modes:

• multiple-choice questions
• open-response questions
• writing prompts

The number and types of questions (per student) included in each component of MCAS are shown in Table 1 below.

4 This document provides an overview of the 1998 MCAS English Language Arts Assessment. Subsequent documents will be issued as necessary to provide information about changes in the design and content of future assessments.

5 Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 23.

6 Ibid., 33.

7 Ibid., 52.

* Open-response questions assess learning standards from the Literature Strand only (see Table 3).

8 Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 27.

Multiple-choice questions on the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment require
students to select the correct answer from a list of four options. Open-response questions (posed only in the Language and Literature Component) require students to create a response. Students' written answers to open-response questions in the Language and Literature Component will be assessed only for skills related to those Strands' learning standards, and will not be evaluated for skills associated with learning standards in the Composition Strand. Students' composition skills will be assessed exclusively in the Composition Component through writing prompts. Writing prompts are assignments that direct the student in the creation of a piece of writing. Guidelines for the scoring of student responses are discussed in more detail on pages 16 and 17 of this document.

All reading passages on the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment are authentic texts chosen from a variety of literary and other sources. All texts, whether used in their entirety or excerpted, are used with permission of the author or other copyright owner. Sample reading passages, organized by grade level, can be found in Section IV of this document.

Sample assessment materials in this document have been selected to illustrate how the Framework learning standards will be assessed by MCAS. It is important to note, however, that this set of sample materials addresses only a select number of the learning standards to be assessed by MCAS, and does not represent the complete range of possible reading passages and questions that will appear on actual MCAS assessments. Please also note that the sample questions are not formatted as they will appear in actual test booklets, for instance, do not include all student directions or the amount of response space that will be provided.

Language and Literature Component

The Language and Literature Component of the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment consists of reading passages followed by related questions that assess learning standards from the Language and Literature Strands of the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework.⁹ Developmentally appropriate reading passages from a range of literary and informational texts appear in the Language and Literature Component of MCAS. Examples of such texts are listed below.

• short stories
• editorials
• novel excerpts
• interviews
• poetry
• letters
• plays
• diary entries
• myths, legends, fables, etc.
• newspaper articles
• biographies/autobiographies
• reviews
• essays
• instructions
• speeches
• advertisements

9 At grade 4 only, a small number of multiple-choice questions related to the Language Strand are "free-standing" (not based on reading passages).

Learning Standards Assessed

The learning standards to be assessed in the Language and Literature Component are
presented in Tables 2 and 3. The learning standards in the left column of each table directly quote learning standards published in the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework. Sample questions provided in this document for learning standards to be assessed on MCAS are referenced in the right column of each table.

* Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 28-31.

# See cautions on page 9 regarding sample materials provided in this document, and on page 7 regarding grade-specific learning standards assessed on MCAS.

** Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 38-50.

# See cautions on page 9 regarding sample materials provided in this document, and on page 7 regarding grade-specific learning standards assessed on MCAS.

Composition Component

The Composition Component of the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment will be administered in two separate sessions:¹⁰

• Short Session: one administration of approximately 45 minutes
• Long Session: two consecutive administrations totaling approximately 90 minutes

In each Session, students will be required to complete a writing assignment in response to a writing prompt. In some cases, the writing prompt is related to a reading passage.

Short Session

The Short Session will assess students' skill at writing for various purposes. The types
of writing to be assessed vary by grade level and may include, as is developmentally
appropriate, the following:

• Fiction
• Summaries
• Letters
• Instructions
• Essays
• Comparisons/contrasts
• Descriptions
• Analyses

In the Short Session, students will be required to complete the writing assignment in a single test administration; therefore, students' writing samples will be treated as "first drafts" in the scoring process. Students will be allowed to organize their thoughts, generate ideas, and make notes in a designated area of the test booklet.

10 While Composition Component testing sessions for the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment should follow these general timing guidelines, all MCAS test sessions are actually untimed. Details on the scheduling and timing requirements for MCAS administrations will be provided in a separate Department of Elementary and Secondary Education publication in March of 1998.

Long Session

The Long Session will assess students' skill at writing in a specific mode. The mode of writing to be assessed at each tested grade level is as follows:

Grade 4: Narrative writing

Grade 8: Persuasive writing

Grade 10: Literary analysis

The Long Session is structured to include some of the key elements of the writing process: drafting, revising, and finalizing. Consequently, this session will be administered in two consecutive administration periods on the same school day, separated by a short break. In the first administration period, students will prepare a first draft of their writing. Students will be provided with space in the test booklet to generate and organize ideas and draft their writing. Following the break, students will return to revise and finalize their compositions in the second administration period.

At grade 4, students will be asked to produce a piece of narrative writing that chronicles and/or describes a particular event or experience. At grade 8, students will be asked to take a stand on an issue and write a persuasive essay that will convince the reader to take the same stand. At grade 10, students will be required to apply their knowledge of literary elements, themes, and structures by writing an essay that analyzes an excerpt from a literary text. MCAS questions are developed so that an effective response will depend on information derived from the passages provided and, most importantly, on students' application of the relevant reading and writing skills outlined in the Framework learning standards (see "General Guidelines" on page 16 of this document).

Learning Standards Assessed

The learning standards to be assessed in the Composition Component are presented in Table 4. The learning standards in the left column of the table directly quote learning standards published in the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework. Sample writing prompts provided in this document for learning standards to be assessed on MCAS are referenced in the right column of the table.

*** Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 56-60.

# See cautions on page 9 regarding sample materials provided in this document, and on page 7 regarding grade-specific learning standards assessed on MCAS.

General Guidelines

Prior Knowledge of Specific Works of Literature

As discussed on page 9, reading passages on the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment are taken from literature and other texts from a great variety of authentic sources. Included among these sources are the authors listed in Appendices A and B of the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework.¹¹ While classroom teachers test students' knowledge of particular works of literature, MCAS will not require students to recall details from any particular piece of writing. MCAS test questions are developed so that an effective response will depend on information derived from the passages provided and, most importantly, on students' application of the relevant reading and writing skills outlined in the Framework learning standards.

Use of Reference Materials and Tools

The use of dictionaries will be allowed on the Long Session of the Composition Component of the MCAS English Language Arts Assessment. Accordingly, schools are encouraged to provide access to dictionaries during administration of the Composition Component -- Long Session. No other reference materials or tools are allowed during administration of the Composition Component -- Long Session.

The use of dictionaries or other reference tools will not be allowed during administration of the Language and Literature Component or the Composition Component -- Short Session.

Scoring Guidelines

Language and Literature Component

Open-response questions require students to provide evidence of their understanding of English language arts concepts, principles, and procedures. Answers will be individually read and evaluated with the use of a scoring guide, or "rubric," that is developed for each individual test question.

Student answers to open-response questions will be judged on the following criteria, where relevant:

• comprehension of text (literal, inferential, and analytic); and
• familiarity with and/or understanding of literary genres, techniques, structures, and elements.

Composition Component

Students' writing in both the Long and Short Sessions will be scored in two areas:

• Focus and Development
• Use of Standard English Conventions

11 Massachusetts, English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, 69&#SHY;77.

Focus and Development

The following criteria will be used to evaluate focus and development:

• clarity of focus
• organization
• use of logically-related ideas to develop the topic
• use of supporting detail
• effectiveness of language

Use of Standard English Conventions

Scoring for this area will be based on students' correct use of standard English writing conventions, including

• grammar and usage; and
• capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

For the Long Session of the Composition Component, general scoring guidelines will be included in the directions provided in student test booklets so that students will know how their writing will be assessed. Examples of these scoring guidelines are included in Section IV.

Categories for Reporting Results

As described on page 4, students, schools, and districts will receive reports of test results based on established levels of performance for each content area.

Each report will contain the following information:

• the overall performance level in English Language Arts (reports to students will indicate their individual performance level; reports to schools and districts will indicate the percentage of their student population performing at each of the designated performance levels)
• the percent correct for multiple-choice questions and/or sample student responses for open-response questions/writing prompts within each of the following reporting categories:
  • Language
  • Literature
  • Composition

Results from the May 1998 MCAS administration will be reported in the fall of 1998.

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