Introduction - Grade 8 English-Language Arts

Released Test Questions

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST

English-Language Arts

GRADE

8

Introduction - Grade 8 English-Language Arts

The following released test questions are taken from the Grade 8 English-Language Arts Standards Test. This test is one of the California Standards Tests administered as part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program under policies set by the State Board of Education.

All questions on the California Standards Tests are evaluated by committees of content experts, including teachers and administrators, to ensure their appropriateness for measuring the California academic content standards in Grade 8 English-Language Arts. In addition to content, all items are reviewed and approved to ensure their adherence to the principles of fairness and to ensure no bias exists with respect to characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and language.

This document contains released test questions from the California Standards Test forms in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. First on the pages that follow are lists of the standards assessed on the Grade 8 English-Language Arts Test. Next are released passages and test questions. Following the questions is a table that gives the correct answer for each question, the content standard that each question is measuring, and the year each question last appeared on the test.

The following table lists each strand/reporting cluster, the number of items that appear on the exam, and the number of released test questions that appear in this document.

STRAND/REPORTING CLUSTER

? Word Analysis ? Reading Comprehension ? Literary Response and Analysis ? Writing Strategies ? Written Conventions TOTAL

NUMBER OF QUESTIONS

ON EXAM

9 18 15 17 16 75

NUMBER OF RELEASED TEST QUESTIONS

7 22 12 17 18 76

In selecting test questions for release, three criteria are used: (1) the questions adequately cover a selection of the academic content standards assessed on the Grade 8 English-Language Arts Test; (2) the questions demonstrate a range of difficulty; and (3) the questions present a variety of ways standards can be assessed. These released test questions do not reflect all of the ways the standards may be assessed. Released test questions will not appear on future tests.

For more information about the California Standards Tests, visit the California Department of Education's Web site at .

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This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected based on performance on released test questions. Copyright ? 2007 California Department of Education.

GRADE

8

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST

English-Language Arts

Released Test Questions

READING

The Reading portion of the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test has three strands/ reporting clusters: Word Analysis, Reading Comprehension, and Literary Response and Analysis. Each of these strands/clusters is described below.

The Word Analysis Strand/Cluster

The following three California English-Language Arts content standards are included in the Word Analysis strand/cluster and are represented in this booklet by seven test questions for grade 8. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test.

8RW1.0

8RW1.1 8RW1.2 8RW1.3

WORD ANALYSIS, FLUENCY, AND SYSTEMATIC VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT: Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level appropriate words.

Vocabulary and Concept Development: Analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes to infer the literal and figurative meanings of phrases.

Vocabulary and Concept Development: Understand the most important points in the history of English language and use common word origins to determine the historical influences on English word meanings.

Vocabulary and Concept Development: Use word meanings within the appropriate context and show ability to verify those meanings by definition, restatement, example, comparison, or contrast.

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This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected based on performance on released test questions. Copyright ? 2007 California Department of Education.

Released Test Questions

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST

English-Language Arts

GRADE

8

The Reading Comprehension Strand/Cluster

The following seven California English-Language Arts content standards are included in the Reading Comprehension strand/cluster and are represented in this booklet by 22 test questions for grade 8. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test.

8RC2.0

8RC2.1 8RC2.2 8RC2.3 8RC2.4 8RC2.5 8RC2.6 8RC2.7

READING COMPREHENSION (FOCUS ON INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS): Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of text structure, organization, and purpose. The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition, students read one million words annually on their own, including a good representation of narrative and expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information).

Structural Features of Informational Materials: Compare and contrast the features and elements of consumer materials to gain meaning from documents (e.g., warranties, contracts, product information, instruction manuals).

Structural Features of Informational Materials: Analyze text that uses proposition and support patterns.

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Find similarities and differences between texts in the treatment, scope, or organization of ideas.

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Compare the original text to a summary to determine whether the summary accurately captures the main ideas, includes critical details, and conveys the underlying meaning.

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Understand and explain the use of a complex mechanical device by following technical directions.

Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Use information from a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents to explain a situation or decision and to solve a problem.

Expository Critique: Evaluate the unity, coherence, logic, internal consistency, and structural patterns of text.

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This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected based on performance on released test questions. Copyright ? 2007 California Department of Education.

GRADE

8

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST

English-Language Arts

Released Test Questions

The Literary Response and Analysis Strand/Cluster

The following seven California English-Language Arts content standards are included in the Literary Response and Analysis strand/cluster and are represented in this booklet by 12 test questions for grade 8. These questions represent some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test.

8RL3.0

LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS: Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They clarify the ideas and connect them to other literary works. The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.

8RL3.1 Structural Features of Literature: Determine and articulate the relationship between the purposes and characteristics of different forms of poetry (e.g., ballad, lyric, couplet, epic, elegy, ode, sonnet).

8RL3.2 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Evaluate the structural elements of the plot (e.g., subplots, parallel episodes, climax), the plot's development, and the way in which conflicts are (or are not) addressed and resolved.

8RL3.3 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Compare and contrast motivations and reactions of literary characters from different historical eras confronting similar situations or conflicts.

8RL3.4 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze the relevance of the setting (e.g., place, time, customs) to the mood, tone, and meaning of the text.

8RL3.5 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Identify and analyze recurring themes (e.g., good versus evil) across traditional and contemporary works.

8RL3.6 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Identify significant literary devices (e.g., metaphor, symbolism, dialect, irony) that define a writer's style and use those elements to interpret the work.

8RL3.7 Literary Criticism: Analyze a work of literature, showing how it reflects the heritage, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs of its author. (Biographical approach)

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This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected based on performance on released test questions. Copyright ? 2007 California Department of Education.

Released Test Questions

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST

English-Language Arts

GRADE

8

WRITING

The Writing portion of the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test has two strands/ reporting clusters: Writing Strategies and Written Conventions. Each of these strands/clusters is described below.

The Writing Strategies Strand/Cluster

The following four California English-Language Arts content standards are included in the Writing Strategies strand/cluster and are represented in this booklet by 17 test questions for grade 8. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 8 California English-Language Arts Standards Test.

8WS1.0

WRITING STRATEGIES: Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits students' awareness of audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.

8WS1.1 Organization and Focus: Create compositions that establish a controlling impression, have a coherent thesis, and end with a clear and well-supported conclusion.

8WS1.2 Organization and Focus: Establish coherence within and among paragraphs through effective transitions, parallel structures, and similar writing techniques.

8WS1.3 Organization and Focus: Support theses or conclusions with analogies, paraphrases, quotations, opinions from authorities, comparisons, and similar devices.

8WS1.6 Evaluation and Revision: Revise writing for word choice; appropriate organization; consistent point of view; and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas.

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This is a sample of California Standards Test questions. This is NOT an operational test form. Test scores cannot be projected based on performance on released test questions. Copyright ? 2007 California Department of Education.

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