1. PARCC Testing (Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers) Grades 7-8 Ruston Junior High School January 2015 1

2. Testing Dates 2 PBA (Performance Based Assessment) March 16-20 3 days of ELA—multiple choice/writing

3. Testing Dates EOY Assessment-(End of Year) May 4-7 2 Days of ELA—all multiple choice 3

4. New Structure and Time Grades 6-8 4 Louisiana Believes. PBA Unit 1 Literary Analysis Task (LAT) PBA Unit 2 Research Simulation Task (RST) PBA Unit 3 Narrative Writing Task (NWT) EOY Unit 1 and EOY Unit 2 Asks students to show their understanding of literature  2 literary texts  6 selected-response questions  a prompt that asks students to write an extended response that analyzes key ideas in both texts (e.g., development of theme, interaction of literary elements, etc.) Time: 75 minutes Mirrors the research process using a set of related texts  three texts on a given topic  9 selected-response questions  a prompt that asks students to analyze some aspect of the related texts Time: 90 minutes Asks students to show their understanding of narrative  1 literary text  5 selected- response questions  A prompt that asks students to write a narrative related to the text Time: 60 minutes Measures reading comprehension of literary and informational texts  1 literary text with 5 selected-response questions  A pair of texts (literary and/or informational) with 6 selected- response questions  2 informational texts with a total of 11 selected-response questions Time for EACH unit: 60 minutes

5. Create a summary of the excerpt from Brian’s Winter by dragging four statements from the list and dropping them in chronological order into the table titled “Summary.” Note that not all statements will be used. Sample Item #1 5 1 Brian is sore as he gets into his bag that night. 2 Brian attempts to scare away the bear that wakes him up.* 3 The bear is more powerful than Brian thinks. 4 Brian believes that he has learned to co-exist with the bears.* 5 Brian takes a serious risk. 6 Brian thinks about solutions to his major problem.* 7 The bear tosses Brian and eats the scraps of Brian’s meal.* 8 The bear looks at Brian and walks away. 9 The bear sits back and sniffs the air. Summary 1 2 3 4 Correct Response: 4, 2, 7, 6

6. 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. Sample Item #2—Part A 6

7. 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)* Sample Item #3—Part B 7