Welcome to the
English Language Arts Department
The Yellow Books by Vincent van Gogh
Mr. Michael Alper
Department Chair
Grades 10-12 Honors English Placement:
Students who are not currently enrolled in an Honors-level course and who wish to enroll in an Honors course next year (Honors English 10, A.P. English 11, or A.P. English 12) are required to take the SKHS E.L.A. Honors Placement Exam. The format and content of the test is described below.
SKHS English/Language Arts Honors Placement Exam Instructions (12-1a)
Students pre-qualify for placement into an ELA (English/Language Arts) Honors-level course if they are currently enrolled in an Honors-level class and have earned a cumulative average of at least 80% in that class. Students in an ELA Honors class who earn a cumulative average lower than 80% may enroll in the following year’s Honors course with their current ELA teacher’s recommendation.
All other students (those not currently enrolled in an ELA Honors course, and those not recommended for Honors by their current ELA teacher) may qualify for placement into Honors by taking the ELA Honors Placement Exam and earning a composite score (the combined scores of two readers, out of a maximum score of 12) of at least 8 (for Honors English 10), 9 (for A.P. English 11) or 10 (for A.P. English 12). Students who have not been recommended for ELA Honors placement must take the ELA Honors Placement Exam regardless of waiver status.
In addition, to qualify for ELA Honors placement, students must have achieved a percentile ranking (relative to their age group) of at least 90% on the combined score on the Gates-McGinitie reading assessment.
The format of the ELA Honors Placement Exam is described below. Specific readings will vary from year to year.
Question 1: You will read a short work of fiction written within the past 100 years. Then you are to write a well-focused, carefully supported essay (of at least three paragraphs) in which you identify the story’s main theme, and describe how the author develops that theme. Avoid unnecessary plot summary.
Question 2: You will read a short passage of poetry. Then you are to write a carefully reasoned paragraph in which you: 1) briefly paraphrase the passage, and 2) present your point of view on the subject of the passage. Support your point with specific references to your reading, observation, or experience.
You should expect to spend up to 90 minutes working on the exam.
To be deemed “outstanding,” your responses must meet the following criteria:
• focus on and comprehensively develop one original, insightful main idea;
• support the main idea with thorough, accurate textual evidence;
• use mature, precise, and varied syntax and diction;
• follow basic rules of standard written English, including standard format for citing and punctuating references.
Your responses will be assessed according to the following rubric:
6: The student effectively synthesizes and applies key ideas, generalizations, and principles from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is thoroughly developed through the use of appropriate examples and details. There are no misconceptions about the reading selection. There are strong relationships among ideas. Mastery of language use and writing conventions contributes to the effect of the response.
5: The student makes meaningful use of key ideas from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is well developed through the use of appropriate examples and details. Minor misconceptions may be present. Relationships among ideas are clear to the reader. The language is controlled, and occasional lapses in writing conventions are hardly noticeable.
4: The student makes adequate use of ideas from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is supported by examples and details. Minor misconceptions may be present. Language use is correct. Lapses in writing conventions are not distracting.
3: The student makes partially successful use of ideas from the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is developed with limited use of examples and details. The student focuses more on retelling the selection than on developing an idea. Misconceptions may indicate only a partial understanding of the reading selection. Language use is correct but limited. Incomplete mastery over writing conventions may interfere with meaning some of the time.
2: The student makes minimal use of ideas from the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is underdeveloped. The student focuses primarily on retelling the selection rather than developing an idea. Major misconceptions may indicate minimal understanding of the reading selection. Limited mastery over writing conventions may make the writing difficult to understand.
1: The student does not take a position on the question and makes only minimal use of ideas from the reading selection to respond to the question. Ideas are not developed and may be unclear. The student focuses mainly or exclusively on retelling the selection. Major misconceptions may indicate a lack of understanding of the reading selection. Lack of mastery over writing conventions may make the writing difficult to understand.
Not ratable if:
A: Retells or references the reading selections with no connection to the scenario question or theme
B: Off topic
C: Illegible/written in a language other than English
D: Blank/refused to respond
E: Responds to the scenario question with no reference to either of the reading selections
Grade 9 English placement:
Students who are currently enrolled 8th grade at Curtis Corner Middle School take E.L.A. placement tests in late winter. On the basis of those results, they are recommended by their teachers and the SKHS English department for placement into either English 9 or Honors English 9 according to the following criteria:
Students who meet all three of the following criteria are recommended for Honors English 9:
-average of "A" or above in grade 8 Language Arts class
-90 percentile ranking (total score) on the Gates-McGinitie Reading Test
-a score of 8 or above (out of a possible 12) on the SKHS E.L.A. writing assessment
Students who meet two of the three criteria above may be recommended for Honors English 9 at the discretion of their current E.L.A. teacher and the approval of the SKHS English Department.
Students who receive a score of 3 or below on the writing assessment, or who received a score of 1 on the 8th grade NECAP Writing Assessment, and who are not scheduled to receive any other formal academic support services in language arts, may also be recommended for Writing for Success 9.
The writing assessment consists of the following tasks:
You will read a short work of fiction written within the past 100 years. You will then answer 5 selected-response (multiple choice) reading comprehension questions about the story. Then you are to write a well-focused, carefully supported response (of at least three paragraphs) about the story’s main theme, explaining how the author develops that theme through certain elements of literature (images, symbolism, plot, character development, etc.). You should avoid unnecessary plot summary.
The writing assessment is scored according to the following checklist and rubric:
RESPONSE TO LITERATURE ESSAY RUBRIC CHECKLIST
___Expresses an original and/or insightful main idea.
___ Shows depth of thought about the subject.
___ Develops a main idea in a logical order with smooth and varied transitions.
___ Cites specific details from the text (including quotations) and uses strong critical thinking to support details.
___ Uses a tone that is appropriate to purpose and engages the audience.
___ Uses a style that is clear and effective, with mature and varied sentence structure, and precise, vivid, and/or creative wording.
___ Uses proper grammar and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, etc.)
Your essay will be assessed according to the following rubric:
6: The student effectively synthesizes and applies key ideas, generalizations, and principles from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is thoroughly developed through the use of appropriate examples and details. There are no misconceptions about the reading selection. There are strong relationships among ideas. Mastery of language use and writing conventions contributes to the effect of the response.
5: The student makes meaningful use of key ideas from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is well developed through the use of appropriate examples and details. Minor misconceptions may be present. Relationships among ideas are clear to the reader. The language is controlled, and occasional lapses in writing conventions are hardly noticeable.
4: The student makes adequate use of ideas from within the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is supported by examples and details. Minor misconceptions may be present. Language use is correct. Lapses in writing conventions are not distracting.
3: The student makes partially successful use of ideas from the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is developed with limited use of examples and details. The student focuses more on retelling the selection than on developing an idea. Misconceptions may indicate only a partial understanding of the reading selection. Language use is correct but limited. Incomplete mastery over writing conventions may interfere with meaning some of the time.
2: The student makes minimal use of ideas from the reading selection to support a position in response to the question. The position is underdeveloped. The student focuses primarily on retelling the selection rather than developing an idea. Major misconceptions may indicate minimal understanding of the reading selection. Limited mastery over writing conventions may make the writing difficult to understand.
1: The student does not take a position on the question and makes only minimal use of ideas from the reading selection to respond to the question. Ideas are not developed and may be unclear. The student focuses mainly or exclusively on retelling the selection. Major misconceptions may indicate a lack of understanding of the reading selection. Lack of mastery over writing conventions may make the writing difficult to understand.
Not ratable if:
- Off topic.
- Blank/refused to respond.
- Illegible/written in a language other than English.
- Retells or references the reading selections with no connection to the question or theme.
- Responds to the question with no reference to the reading selections.
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