Connecticut Mastery TestEnglish Language Arts

Jean M. Evans DavilaK-12 English Language Arts Instructional Specialist

Norwalk Public Schoolsdavilaj@norwalkps.org

CMT in English Language Arts—4 Subtests

Reading Comprehension

Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)

Editing and Revising

Direct Assessment of Writing

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

CMT Reading Comprehension—Multiple Choice Questions

1. In paragraph 1 the author used a question toa. Introduce the topic of the articleb. State the main idea of the articlec. Present the facts about Twaind. Compare Twain and Clemens

2. 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,

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.

CMT Reading Comprehension— Four Strands

1. Forming a General Understanding (theme, main idea, story elements, summarizing, predicting)

2. Developing an Interpretation (author’s structure, author’s purpose, draw and support a conclusion)

3. Making Reader/text Connections (text to text, text to world, text to reader)

4. Examining the Content and Structure (literary devices)

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.

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

CMT DRP—Passage with Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. O sources O profits

O travelers O machines

O universities

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.

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

CMT Editing & Revising—Multiple Choice Questions:

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—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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.)