Connecticut Mastery Test English Language Arts

1. Connecticut Mastery TestEnglish Language Arts Jean M. Evans Davila K-12 English Language Arts Instructional Specialist Norwalk Public Schools davilaj@norwalkps.org

2. CMT in English Language Arts—4 Subtests • Reading Comprehension • Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) • Editing and Revising • Direct Assessment of Writing

3. CMT Reading Comprehension—An Overview • 2 testing sessions • 45 minutes per testing session • 2 reading passages per session • Approx. 22 multiple choice and 10 open-ended questions (both sessions combined) • Authentic literature • Types of reading: literary experience; information; and performance of task • Passage lengths: • Grade 6 550-750 words • Grade 7 700-900 words • Grade 8 800-1000 words

4. CMT Reading Comprehension—Multiple Choice Questions • In paragraph 1 the author used a question to a. Introduce the topic of the article b. State the main idea of the article c. Present the facts about Twain d. Compare Twain and Clemens • From the information in paragraphs 5 and 6, you can tell that a. Twain’s wife persuaded him to move to Connecticut b. Both Twain and his wife planned their house. c. Twain enjoyed warming himself near the fireplace. d. Twain liked reading his work out loud as much as writing it,

5. CMT Reading Comprehension—Open-ended Questions • The title of this article is “Mark Twain.” What could another title for it be? Support your answer with information from the article. • Write a brief paragraph summarizing the text. • Think about a person you know or have heard about who has had many different experiences. Using information from the article, explain how this person is or is not like Twain.

6. CMT Reading Comprehension— Four Strands • Forming a General Understanding(theme, main idea, story elements, summarizing, predicting) • Developing an Interpretation(author’s structure, author’s purpose, draw and support a conclusion) • Making Reader/text Connections(text to text, text to world, text to reader) • Examining the Content and Structure(literary devices)

7. CMT Reading Comprehension—Practicing at Home • What is the article/story mainly about? • What important lesson does the main character learn? • What is the main character’s problem, and how is the problem solved? • How does the character change in the story? • What prediction do you have for the next event in the story? • What is the author’s purpose? • Which character in the story would you like to know and why? • Which part of the story was the most interesting and why? • Imagine that you were going to give a talk to your class about______. Using information from the story, write two important ideas that you would include in your speech.

8. CMT Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)—An Overview • 1 testing session • 45 minute session • 7 reading passages • Nonfiction texts on range of topics • 49 multiple choice questions • Measures the surface-level understanding of sentences and paragraphs in text • Level of text difficulty rapidly increases with each passage • Results help teachers choose books for students at their appropriate reading level

9. Medieval craft guild were associations of men practicing the same trade. Guilds cared for members’ needs. They nursed sick members, buried dead ones, and found homes for the homeless. Sometimes business was bad or supplies were cut off. Many people were in danger of starving. But guild members were the last to___1___. The guild sustained them during hard times. Guilds also set prices and monitored the distribution of raw materials. They governed the number of apprentices and workers that members could have. These controls prevented any member from becoming rich at another’s expense. So ____2_____were limited. In return, members were protected against ruinous competition. 1. O vote O suffer O unite O advance O finish O sources O profits O travelers O machines O universities CMT DRP—Passage with Multiple Choice Questions

10. CMT DRP—Practicing at Home • Choose a word to white out in a news article. • Ask your child to make a list of all the possible words that can fit in the blank space without changing the meaning of the article. • Discuss each word your child included on the list • “How do you know this word is a good choice?” • “Can you prove your word fits by showing me other parts of the sentence or the paragraph that support it?” • “Can you tell me why this word is not a good choice now that we have looked at the other sentences or paragraph?” • Show your child the word that was removed from the text, and ask him/her to use other parts of the text to explain how it fits.

11. CMT Editing & Revising—An Overview • 1 testing session • 60 minute session • 4 passages • Nonfiction texts on range of topics • 36-40 multiple choice questions • Skills and objectives tested: • Content, Organization and Tone (topic sentence, supporting details, chronological order, tone) • Revising: Syntax (fragments, run-on, awkward construction) • Revision: Word Choice (transition words, misplaced modifiers, redundancy of words) • Capitalization • Punctuation

12. Read sentence 3. It is poorly written. Josh jumped up he grabbed the broom from the closet. What is the best way to rewrite this sentence? O Josh jumped up. He grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped up, he grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped. Up he grabbed the broom from the closet. O Josh jumped up he grabbed. The broom from the closet. Choose the word or phrase that BEST fits at the beginning of sentence 4. O Since, O However, O Even though, O In other words, CMT Editing & Revising—Multiple Choice Questions:

13. CMT Editing & Revising—Practicing at Home • Review your child’s writing assignments at home: • Ask questions about meaning and wording • Call attention to specific areas where you see strengths • Ask questions about parts that are not clear to you • Identify areas where you need more information or explanation • Ask your child to read his/her writing aloud, so s/he can pay attention to fluency and word choice • Ask your child to explain the way s/he organized the writing • Be alert to the basics-- spelling, capitalization, and punctuation rules

14. CMT Direct Assessment of Writing (DAW)—An Overview • 1 testing session • 45 minute session • 1 “writing on demand” task • Maximum length of student response—3 pages • Types of writing tested: • Grade 6—Expository • Grade 7—Persuasive • Grade 8—Persuasive • Evaluated on overall strength of writing (elaboration, fluency, and organization) • Errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage do not count

15. CMT DAW—Expository Writing Prompt Sample What do you usually do on a weekend in the summer? What do you usually do on a weekend in the winter? Write a comparison of your weekend activities in the summer and winter.

16. CMT DAW—Persuasive Writing Prompt Sample Your local school board has decided to lengthen the school day by one hour. What is your opinion on the best way to use this additional hour? Write a letter to your principal expressing your opinion on the best way to use the additional hour and presenting reasons that will convince the principal to agree with your position.

17. CMT DAW—Practicing at Home • Parents of Grade 6 Students: • In speaking and writing, ask your child to provide details to support his/her ideas • Encourage your child to express him/herself in writing to others (e.g., writing thank you notes for gifts, etc) • Ask your child to write accounts of his/her experiences in emails or letters to family members (even a postcard will do fine) • Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes and challenge your child to list or web all the details s/he could include to explain a given task or topic • Parents of Grade 7-8 Students: • In speaking and writing, encourage your child to choose words and ideas that are appropriate for a particular audience when expressing a message • Encourage your child to support his/her opinions with facts or examples • Find opportunities to help your child argue a controversial issue from television, news, or a magazine article • Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes, and challenge your child to make a list or web of his or her reasons for supporting a given issue

18. The School and the District are Supporting Your Child’s Success • Focus in all classrooms • Summarizing texts using school-wide strategies • Learning vocabulary terms using school-wide strategies • Reading and writing about nonfiction • Data teams with pre- and post-test to target instruction on specific skills • SIOP strategies to support teaching and learning • Focus in ELA classrooms • 4 District Writing Prompts that are similar to CMT DAW • 2 District DRP tests that are professionally scored • CMT open-ended questions woven into classroom lessons • Using evidence from text to support ideas

19. All PRMS Teachers are Supporting Your Child’s Success All Subject Area Teachers Are. . . • Using summarizing strategies • Teaching vocabulary using school-wide strategies • Increasing nonfiction reading and writing • Using Pre- and Post-tests to target skills for instruction • Learning SIOP strategies for instruction All ELA Teachers Are. . . • Administering 4 Norwalk Writing Prompts and 2 Norwalk DRP tests • Including open-ended questions in lessons • Requiring text evidence to support ideas

20. Tips for Enrichment at Home • Encourage 30 minutes of reading daily. • Model your own enjoyment of reading • Bring your child to the library or bookstore to get fiction and nonfiction. • Discuss read assignments with open-ended questions. • Collect and explore new words together as a family. Make a reward system for using the words correctly. • Read an article together and discuss your views on it. • Encourage the use of writing at home (letters, emails, notes on the kitchen table, diaries, journals, family histories, letters to the editor of the local paper, etc.)