School Improvement in Maryland

Sample Item
Selected Response Item for Grade 8

Standard 3.0 Comprehension of Literary Text

Topic A. Comprehension of Literary Text

Indicator 8. Read critically to evaluate literary texts

Objective b. Analyze and evaluate the extent to which the text contains ambiguities, subtleties, or contradictions

Assessment limit: Questions and predictions about events, situations, and conflicts that might occur if the text were extended

Read this passage from 'Dear Mr. President Thomas Jefferson Letters from a Philadelphia Bookworm', a novel that takes place when President Jefferson was in office. Amelia Hornsby has grown up in Philadelphia but has recently followed her father, a doctor, to Pittsburgh. Then answer the following.


Which of these questions is NOT answered by the details and events in this passage?

  1. What happened to Amelia's mother?
  2. What is Amelia's attitude toward Sacagawea?
  3. How concerned is Amelia with current events?
  4. Why is Amelia interested in the purchase of Pvt. Cruzatte's rifle?

Correct Answer
A. What happened to Amelia's mother?
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