Diggin’ Onions

This Spring juniors across the state will take the End of Level Literacy exam. Just as students who acquaint themselves with the format of the ACT usually score better than those who don’t, it is important for our students to understand what the End of Level exam will require of them.

The exam has three different sections:
1. Reading Items: Students read several passages and answer, for each passage,
about six multiple-choice questions and respond to a prompt.
2. Writing Prompts: Given a prompt, students write an essay. In the past, one of the
essays has always been a persuasive essay.
3. Writing Items: Students answer 15-20 multiple-choice questions about writing,
ranging from questions about point of view to questions
about mechanics, usage, and grammar.

This week’s tip addresses the open response reading items. Four (4) is the magic number. Every question will require four items in the student’s response, such as:
o Define…and list three examples from the passage.
o Explain two ways …and list two examples for each.
o List four….

The first step to success is learning to read the prompt, noting what—exactly—it asks students to do and what four (4) items need to be in the response.

Second, students need to realize the reading items test students’ reading and critical thinking skills; that is, it does not test their writing skills. Students need NOT write out a response in paragraph form. Instead, they can use a format appropriate to the task: a bulleted list, a chart, a diagram.