School Improvement in Maryland

Public Release Item: Public Release items have appeared on HSA forms and then are released for public viewing and use. Releasing items is one step to ensuring that schools, districts, and other stakeholders understand how the core learning goals are assessed on the HSA.

Goal 1 Reading, Reviewing and Responding to Texts

Expectation 1.3 The student will explain and give evidence to support perceptions about print and non-print works.

Indicator 1.3.5 The student will explain how common and universal experiences serve as the source of literary themes that cross time and cultures.

Assessment Limits:

  • Identifying the experiences, emotions, issues and ideas in a text or across texts that give rise to universal literary themes
  • Considering the influence, effect, or impact of historical, cultural, or biographical information on a text (will not be dependent on student's prior knowledge)

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Read the essay "Starwalking with Sarah." Then answer the following.

Which of these statements best expresses a theme of "Starwalking with Sarah"?

  1. Learning about nature requires risk.
  2. Modern life limits our interaction with nature.
  3. Experiencing nature provides personal fulfillment.
  4. Scientific knowledge is needed to understand nature.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2005_135_eng12.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Which of these words is most closely related to a theme of "Mama’s Pie"?

  1. ambition
  2. connection
  3. hope
  4. peace
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2005_135_eng17.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Which of these ideas is most closely related to a theme of "In the Country of Grasses"?

  1. anxiety about encountering danger
  2. thrill of exploring the natural world
  3. enjoyment from making new friends
  4. concern about seeing a habitat destroyed
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2005_135_eng35.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

Read “Breakfast,” the first chapter from the novel Jim the Boy. Then answer the following:

Which word is most closely related to the theme of “Breakfast”?

  1. adventure
  2. freedom
  3. maturity
  4. memories
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2006_135_eng12.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

Read the essay “Ghost Crab.” Then answer the following.

Which of these lines from the essay best expresses a theme of “Ghost Crab”?

  1. The shore at night is a different world…
  2. The blackness of the night possessed water, air, and beach.
  3. It was the darkness of an older world, before Man.
  4. The little crab alone with the sea became a symbol that stood for life itself…
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2006_135_eng40.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Read the essay “Bug, Interrupted.” Then answer Numbers 10 through 13.

Read the essay “Bug, Interrupted.” Then answer the following:

This essay mostly develops a theme of

  1. the beauty of night skies
  2. the purpose of living things
  3. the benefit of outdoor activities
  4. the effect of childhood memories
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2007_135_eng10.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Read the essay “A Sea Worry.” Then answer the following:

Which of these ideas is most closely related to a theme of the essay?

  1. taking risks
  2. valuing books
  3. seeking approval
  4. preserving nature
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2007_135_eng40.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

The following item should be answered upon reading the excerpt “Wanderlust” from the autobiography A Life on the Road by Charles Kuralt, which can be found at most local or school libraries.

“Wanderlust” is a memoir of Kuralt’s early life on the road with his father, his childhood experiences on the farm, and the memory of winning a journalistic contest at age twelve.

Which of these ideas is most closely related to a theme developed in the essay?

  1. creative energy
  2. hope for the future
  3. family relationships
  4. desire for new experiences
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_135_eng08.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

The following item should be answered upon reading the poem “Good Hotdogs” from My Wicked Wicked Ways by Sandra Cisneros, which can be found at most local or school libraries.

“Good Hotdogs” is a poem about the memory of rushing to the store with a close friend to buy hotdogs after school. The speaker provides many sensory details to describe the experience.

Read lines 30 through 32 from the poem.

What common experience is celebrated in these lines?

  1. a happy moment of companionship
  2. the enjoyment of entertainment
  3. the appreciation of fancy food
  4. a leisurely break from school
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_135_eng28.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Read the story “Winter Hibiscus.” Then answer Numbers 37 through 45.

Read the story “Winter Hibiscus.” Then answer the following item.

Which of the following themes is most strongly supported by the details of the story?

  1. working hard
  2. respecting elders
  3. adjusting to changes in life
  4. learning to appreciate nature
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_135_eng37.xml

Correct Answer:
C