ELA/Literacy Released Items 2015 Grade 8 Conventions Sample Student Responses (from all 3 released tasks)
Anchor Set A1 A8
Score Point 3 A1
Annotations Anchor Paper 1 Conventions Score Point 3 This response demonstrates full command of the conventions of standard English at an appropriate level of complexity for the grade. Despite minor errors, which include a couple of missing commas, a missing possessive (Stephens feelings) and slight awkwardness in the construction of the second sentence (dialogue can reveal characterictics and aspects about a different characters), a consistent demonstration of appropriate spelling, capitalization and grammar and usage is shown across the response, and the meaning is clear.
A2a
Score Point 3 A2b
Annotations Anchor Paper 2 Conventions Score Point 3 This response demonstrates full command of conventions. The punctuation of dialogue is generally correct and effective ( What must I do with the beast? I never suspected you d fulfill the task, the Master worried). Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation are generally correct. Despite minor lapses (a few missing commas), meaning is clear.
A3a
Score Point 2 A3b
Annotations Anchor Paper 3 Conventions Score Point 2 This response demonstrates some command of conventions. The writer uses quotations correctly ( Well done, I knew you could do the task and bring me a lion! ). A compound sentence demonstrates correct use of a semicolon (The horse and the fox would quite often see his old master with a new horse ploughing the field; the horse was not upsett but rather glad he could live out his days being free). There are spelling errors (desided, upsett, sweat [sweet], Remmembering), punctuation errors (Thats, When the horse did die the fox dragged him), and a few usage errors (not have experienced the things he has gotten to, the fox bid farewell). Altogether, the writing illustrates some command, with a mix of correct and incorrect conventions.
Score Point 2 A4
Annotations Anchor Paper 4 Conventions Score Point 2 The response demonstrates some command over conventions. Only minor errors in spelling (inferred) and grammar (can help the reader interpret how the character is like) occur, which do not impede understanding. There are some sentences that begin with And which although not stylistically desirable, are not considered errors because full and completed sentences are constructed. The response is generally clean, but does not demonstrate an appropriate level of complexity in accordance with the grade level.
Score Point 1 A5
Annotations Anchor Paper 5 Conventions Score Point 1 Frequent errors occur and include missing commas and other punctuation (didn t), a sentence that begins with a lower case letter (in the text it says), and an incorrect use of capitalization in the middle of a sentence (It). Overall, this brief response demonstrates limited command of the conventions of standard English.
Score Point 1 A6
Annotations Anchor Paper 6 Conventions Score Point 1 This response illustrates limited command of conventions. There are sentence construction issues throughout (At the end of the story the horse didn t get up until the fox told it to when the fox finally told the horse to get up the horse took the lion and fed him to the bears and then). The lack of internal punctuation sometimes impedes understanding, as the paper reads like one continuous sentence. In the absence of periods to end sentences, there are capitalization errors (So the horse went back, until The horse had died). Most common words are spelled correctly. Overall, this response demonstrates limited command of conventions.
Score Point 0 A7
Annotations Anchor Paper 7 Conventions Score Point 0 The single sentence, although it is capitalized and punctuated, is not sufficient to demonstrate command of conventions at the Grade 8 level.
Score Point 0 A8
Annotations Anchor Paper 8 Conventions Score Point 0 Frequent errors in spelling (writer, diologe, carecter, fed [feed], tougths [thoughts]), capitalization, punctuation (They also make good toughts of each charecter. By saing what they actually are. And saying details of them), and grammar (But james joyce is a talented writer that he wrote his one stories) impede understanding in this response. Overall, no command of conventions is demonstrated.