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 2 Composing in a Variety of Modes

Expectation 2.2 The student will compose texts using the prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing strategies of effective writers and speakers.

Indicator 2.2.2 The student will select and organize ideas for specific audiences and purposes.

Assessment Limits:

  • Selecting a logical sequence of ideas or sentences
  • Determining an appropriate organizational structure emphasizing purpose and/or audience
  • Selecting or deleting information to suit a given purpose or audience
  • Identifying the logical placement of a sentence or paragraph within a text

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Read the student-written paragraph on Mountain Biking. This paragraph requires revisions and edits. After reading the paragraph, answer the following question.

Which sentence best fills the blank and connects the ideas in Sentences 4 and 6?

  1. Then you are ready to compete with many other mountain bikers.
  2. Also, lack of water can be a problem when riding on an isolated bike trail.
  3. Then try jumping your bike off small mounds or over obstacles.
  4. Also, there are two types of mountain biking—downhill and cross-country.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2005_222_eng33.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Mariah is interested in carrier pigeons and decides to write an essay about them. The draft of Mariah's essay requires revisions and edits. Read the draft. Then answer the following.

Where does the sentence below best fit in Mariah's essay?

Long before telephones, faxes, and e-mail, however, cousins of these very pigeons were used to carry messages all over the world.

  1. between Sentences 1 and 2
  2. between Sentences 3 and 4
  3. between Sentences 8 and 9
  4. between Sentences 10 and 11
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2005_222_eng46.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

The student paragraph “African Termites” requires revisions and edits. Read the paragraph. Then answer Numbers 32 and 33.

The student paragraph “African Termites” requires revisions and edits. Read the paragraph. Then answer the following.

Which sentence best fills the blank to provide supporting details in the paragraph?

  1. Food is in abundant supply for the African termites.
  2. African termites are also comfortable above ground.
  3. Air flows easily through the long tunnels and chambers.
  4. Construction engineers can learn much from these insects.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2006_222_eng32.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Students in an art appreciation class conducted research and wrote about different ways of creating art. Richard wrote an article about a Baltimore sculptor. The draft of Richard’s article requires revisions and edits. Read the draft. Then answer Numbers 2 through 6.

Students in an art appreciation class conducted research and wrote about different ways of creating art. Richard wrote an article about a Baltimore sculptor. The draft of Richard’s article, “A Spoon Reborn,” requires revisions and edits. Read the draft. Then answer the following:

Where should Richard move paragraph 4 (Sentences 12 and 13) in order to present his ideas in the most logical sequence?

  1. between paragraphs 1 and 2
  2. between paragraphs 2 and 3
  3. after paragraph 5
  4. Best as it is
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2007_222_eng02.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

This student paragraph requires revisions and edits. Read the paragraph. Then answer the following:

Which sentence best adds supporting details and fills the blank in the paragraph?

  1. This presidential monument, a famous tourist attraction, has been featured in many movies.
  2. Surprisingly, many Americans cannot name the presidents of the 20th century.
  3. The faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt overlook a dense grove of trees.
  4. Impressive stone monuments to Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln can also be seen in Washington, D.C.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2007_222_eng33.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

A Maryland newspaper is conducting a writing competition. Ricky decided to submit an article about the Maryland state dog, the Chesapeake Bay retriever. Answer Number 2.

A Maryland newspaper is conducting a writing competition. Ricky decided to submit an article about the Maryland state dog, the Chesapeake Bay retriever. Answer the following item.

Before he began his draft of the article, Ricky created the graphic organizer below.

Ricky's graphic organizer

Which of these ideas belongs with the topic “personality of the breed”?

  1. The breed includes traits of hounds, setters, and spaniels.
  2. The breed is recognizable by its color, broad chest, and strong legs.
  3. These dogs have also been trained to assist people with disabilities.
  4. These dogs make good companions and like to use their mental abilities.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_222_eng02.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Read the draft of the first part of Ricky’s article below. Then answer Numbers 3 through 6.

Read the draft of the first part of Ricky’s article. Then answer the following item.

Which sentence contains information that is NOT focused on the essay’s topic and should be deleted?

  1. Sentence 3
  2. Sentence 4
  3. Sentence 6
  4. Sentence 9
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_222_eng03.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

The student paragraph below requires revisions and edits. Read the paragraph. Then answer Numbers 35 and 36.

This student paragraph requires revisions and edits. Read the paragraph. Then answer the following item.

Which sentence best fills the blank and connects the ideas in Sentences 4 and 6?

  1. The pulsing rhythm of last night’s rock concert replays in my mind.
  2. I dream that my lost birthstone ring miraculously reappears on my finger.
  3. I can hear my neighbor’s lawn mower roaring outside, just under my window.
  4. The coffeemaker hasn’t yet gone into its automatic drip mode, but continues to sleep.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/english/2008_222_eng35.xml

Correct Answer:
D
Resources for 2.2.2:
PUBLIC RELEASE ITEMS | Sample Assessment Items |