CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST GRADE Released Test Questions English–Language Arts 9 Introduction - Grade 9 English–Language Arts The following released test questions are taken from the Grade 9 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 9 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, 2006, and 2007. First on the pages that follow are lists of the standards assessed on the Grade 9 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. NUMBER OF NUMBER OF STRAND/REPORTING CLUSTER QUESTIONS RELEASED ON EXAM TEST QUESTIONS • Word Analysis 8 13 • Reading Comprehension 18 25 • Literary Response and Analysis 16 16 • Writing Strategies 20 22 • Written Conventions 13 19 TOTAL 75 95 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 9 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 http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/resources.asp. — 1 — 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 © 2008 California Department of Education. GRADE CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST 9 English–Language Arts Released Test Questions READING The Reading portion of the Grade 9 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 13 test questions for grade 9. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 9 California English–Language Arts Standards Test. 9RW1.0 WORD ANALYSIS, FLUENCY, AND SYSTEMATIC VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT: Students apply their knowledge of word origins to determine the meaning of new words encountered in reading materials and use those words accurately. 9RW1.1 Vocabulary and Concept Development: Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations. 9RW1.2 Vocabulary and Concept Development: Distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words and interpret the connotative power of words. 9RW1.3 Vocabulary and Concept Development: Identify Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology and use the knowledge to understand the origin and meaning of new words (e.g., the word “narcissistic” drawn from the myth of Narcissus and Echo). — 2 — 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 © 2008 California Department of Education. CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST GRADE Released Test Questions English–Language Arts 9 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 25 test questions for grade 9. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 9 California English–Language Arts Standards Test. 9RC2.0 READING COMPREHENSION (FOCUS ON INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS): Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They analyze the organizational patterns, arguments, and positions advanced. The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Grades Nine Through Twelve (1990) illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition, by grade twelve, students read two million words annually on their own, including a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, and online information. In grades nine and ten, students make substantial progress toward this goal. 9RC2.1 Structural Features of Informational Materials: Analyze the structure and format of functional workplace documents, including the graphics and headers, and explain how authors use the features to achieve their purposes. 9RC2.2 Structural Features of Informational Materials: Prepare a bibliography of reference materials for a report using a variety of consumer, workplace, and public documents. 9RC2.3 Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Generate relevant questions about readings on issues that can be researched. 9RC2.4 Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Synthesize the content from several sources or works by a single author dealing with a single issue; paraphrase the ideas and connect them to other sources and related topics to demonstrate comprehension. 9RC2.6 Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Demonstrate use of sophisticated learning tools by following technical directions (e.g., those found with graphic calculators and specialized software programs and in access guides to World Wide Web sites on the Internet). 9RC2.7 Expository Critique: Critique the logic of functional documents by examining the sequence of information and procedures in anticipation of possible reader misunderstandings. 9RC2.8 Expository Critique: Evaluate the credibility of an author’s argument or defense of a claim by critiquing the relationship between generalizations and evidence, the comprehensiveness of evidence, and the way in which the author’s intent affects the structure and tone of the text (e.g., in professional journals, editorials, political speeches, primary source material). — 3 — 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 © 2008 California Department of Education. GRADE CALIFORNIA STANDARDS TEST 9 English–Language Arts Released Test Questions The Literary Response and Analysis Strand/Cluster The following twelve California English–Language Arts content standards are included in the Literary Response and Analysis strand/cluster and are represented in this booklet by 16 test questions for grade 9. These questions represent only some ways in which these standards may be assessed on the Grade 9 California English–Language Arts Standards Test. 9RL3.0 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 conduct in-depth analyses of recurrent patterns and themes. The selections in Recommended Literature, Grades Nine Through Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. 9RL3.1 Structural Features of Literature: Articulate the relationship between the expressed purposes and the characteristics of different forms of dramatic literature (e.g., comedy, tragedy, drama, dramatic monologue). 9RL3.2 Structural Features of Literature: Compare and contrast the presentation of a similar theme or topic across genres to explain how the selection of genre shapes the theme or topic. 9RL3.3 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters in a literary text (e.g., internal and external conflicts, motivations, relationships, influences) and explain the way those interactions affect the plot. 9RL3.4 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Determine characters’ traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy. 9RL3.5 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Compare works that express a universal theme and provide evidence to support the ideas expressed in each work. 9RL3.6 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Analyze and trace an author’s development of time and sequence, including the use of complex literary devices (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks). 9RL3.7 Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text: Recognize and understand the significance of various