Released Test Items:

Sample Student Work Illustrating LEAP 21

Achievement Levels
July 2002

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LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF ELEMENTARY

SECONDARY EDUCATION

AND

President
Mr. Paul Pastorek, Member-at-Large
Vice President
Dr. James Stafford, Fifth District
Secretary-Treasurer
Mr. Keith Johnson, Second District
Ms. Donna Contois, First District
Ms. Glenny Lee Buquet, Third District
Mr. Walter Lee, Fourth District
Dr. Richard Musemeche, Sixth District
Mr. Dale Bayard, Seventh District
Ms. Linda Johnson, Eighth District
Mr. Gerald Dill, Member-at-Large
Ms. Leslie Jacobs, Member-at-Large
Executive Director
Ms. Weegie Peabody

For further information, contact

Scott Norton or Claudia Davis
Division of Student Standards and Assessments
225-342-3406, snorton@doe.state.la.us
225-342-3393, cdavis@doe.state.la.us

This public document was published at a total cost of $7,912. Two thousand
five hundred (2,500) copies of this public document were published in this
printing at a cost of $3.14 per copy. The total cost of all printings of this
document, including reprints, is $7,912. This document was published by the
Louisiana Department of Education, Division of Student Standards and
Assessments, Post Office Box 94064, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9064, by
Data Recognition Corporation, 13490 Bass Lake Road, Maple Grove, Minnesota
55311, to inform the education community of the design of the Louisiana
Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21)
criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) under authority of the Division of
Administration. This material was printed in accordance with the standards
for printing by state agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31.


Grade 4 Sample Items and Student Work

2001-2002

Louisiana Educational Assessment Program

for the 21st Century (LEAP 21)

GRADE 4 SAMPLE ITEMS AND STUDENT WORK

20012002
LEAP 21 is an integral part of the Louisiana school and district accountability
system passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor
Mike Foster in 1997. The primary purposes of the accountability system are to
raise expectations for achievement for all Louisiana public school students and
to improve public education in the state.
In the school year 20012002, students in grade 4 took LEAP 21 English
Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies tests. The test scores
are combined with other relevant data to create school and district
accountability scores, which serve as a means of measuring educational
quality and improvement in educational programs over time.
This document is part of a series meant to promote understanding of the
knowledge and skills students must have and the kinds of work they must
produce to be successful on the LEAP 21. A list of other documents providing
background and further information on the LEAP 21 can be found on the
Louisiana Department of Education Web site at www.louisianaschools.net.

LEAP 21 Reports
Louisianas grade 4 students are tested each year in March. Individual student,
school, district, and state test results are released in phases in May and July.
School and district accountability results are reported in September.
For LEAP 21, student scores are reported at five achievement levels: Advanced,
Proficient, Basic, Approaching Basic, and Unsatisfactory. The percentage of
students scoring at each level is reported for the individual schools, the
districts, and the state. General definitions for achievement levels are given on
page 2. Specific definitions of achievement levels for English Language Arts and
Mathematics tests have been published in the 1999 Released Items
documents; the achievement levels for Science and Social Studies tests have
been published in the 2000 Released Items documents.

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LEAP 21
General Achievement Level Definitions
Achievement Level

Definition

Advanced

A student at this level has demonstrated superior

performance beyond the proficient level of mastery.

Proficient

A student at this level has demonstrated competency

over challenging subject matter and is well prepared
for the next level of schooling.

Basic

A student at this level has demonstrated only the

fundamental knowledge and skills needed for the next
level of schooling.

Approaching Basic

A student at this level has only partially demonstrated

the fundamental knowledge and skills needed for the
next level of schooling.

Unsatisfactory

A student at this level has not demonstrated the

fundamental knowledge and skills needed for the next
level of schooling.

Purpose of This Document

This document presents student work in all four subject areas, which was
completed as part of a LEAP 21 assessment. The document includes
multiple-choice items, constructed-response (short answer and extended
response) items, and a written composition that exemplify what students
scoring at specified achievement levels should know and be able to do. A
discussion of each item highlights the knowledge and skills it is intended to
measure, as well as strengths and weaknesses in the student work on the item.
As you review the items, it is important to remember that a students
achievement level is based on his or her total test score (cumulative score for all
questions in the test) in a content area, not on one particular item or section,
and that the sample items included in this report represent a small portion of
the body of knowledge and skills measured by the LEAP 21 tests. Additional
items will be released in future years of the LEAP 21.

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English Language Arts

The grade 4 LEAP 21 English Language Arts test is composed of four
partsWriting, Using Information Resources, Reading and Responding, and
Proofreading.

1. Writing
In the Writing section of the English Language Arts test, students write a
composition in response to a Writing Topic. Students are given the opportunity
to make notes or complete other idea-generating and organizing activities, write
a rough draft, and then write a final draft of their composition. They are also
provided a Writers Checklist of useful reminders.
Each students composition is scored in two dimensions that address topic
developmentComposing and Style/Audience Awareness. The Composing
dimension measures the degree to which the composition exhibits
:
:
:
:

focus on a central idea,

support and elaboration for the idea,
unity of purpose, and
organization.

The Style/Audience Awareness dimension evaluates the ways in which the

student author shapes and controls language to affect readers. Features of
Style/Audience Awareness are
:
:
:
:

selection of vocabulary (diction or word choice),

sentence variety,
tone, and
voice.

For each of these two dimensions, a student can earn from 1 to 4 score points.
In addition, the compositions are rated as showing either acceptable control
or unacceptable control in the ConventionsSentence Formation, Usage,
Mechanics, and Spelling. An acceptable rating earns one score point, while
an unacceptable rating earns none.
A summary of the score points for the Writing section is shown below.
Dimension/Scale
Composing
Style/Audience Awareness
Sentence Formation
Usage
Mechanics
Spelling
Total Points

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Maximum Possible Points

4
4
1
1
1
1
12

The Writing Topic and directions for students from the LEAP 21 are shown on
page 7. Samples of student work at each achievement level, with comments,
are provided on pages 8 through 14.

2. Using Information Resources

The Using Information Resources section of the English Language Arts test is
composed of a number of information resources appropriate for grade 4. The
reference materials come from different sources and pertain to one specific
research topic. At grade 4, for example, the materials may include
:
:
:
:
:

tables of contents,
glossaries,
indexes,
other reference sources (including electronic sources such as Internet
sites), and
articles.

These reference materials cover several pages in students test booklets.

Students are not required to read all the information, but they are directed to
skim the resources, read the test items, and then to find and read the
appropriate resource and/or information to answer each item.
The Using Information Resources section of the test has five multiple-choice
and two short-answer items. In the Using Information Resources section, a
student can earn up to 9 points, as indicated in the chart below:
Type of Item

5 multiple-choice
2 short-answer

Maximum Points per Item

1
2

Total
5
4

Total Points

3. Reading and Responding

At grade 4, the Reading and Responding section of the LEAP 21 English
Language Arts test is composed of four reading passagesexcerpts from novels
or stories, articles from textbooks or other informational sources, poems, and
other materials appropriate to 4th grade. Each reading passage is the source
for four or six multiple-choice and two short-answer items.
The short-answer items are scored using the following rubric:
Score
Description
: The students response provides a complete and correct answer.
2
: The students response is partially correct.
1
: The students response demonstrates limited awareness or
contains errors.
0

: The students response is incorrect, irrelevant, too brief to

evaluate or blank.

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In the Reading and Responding section, a 4th-grade student completes a total

of twenty multiple-choice and eight short-answer items and can earn up to
36 points, as shown in this chart:
Type of Item

20 multiple-choice
8 short-answer

Maximum Points per Item

1
2

Total Points

Total
20
16
36

A Reading and Responding passage, multiple-choice items, and two

short-answer items with student responses from the LEAP 21 are shown on
pages 16 through 25.

4. Proofreading
For grade 4, the Proofreading section of the English Language Arts test is
composed of a student essay or letter that is in rough draft form; it includes
errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage, and, if a letter, format.
Students answer eight multiple-choice items that address corrections to be
made to the text. Each correct answer is worth 1 point, for a possible total of
8 points in this part of the test.
In summary, it is possible for a 4th-grade student to earn a total of 65 points
on the LEAP 21 English Language Arts test. The number of raw score points
that a student would have to achieve to reach each achievement level may
change slightly from year to year given the difficulty of that particular form of
the test. The raw score for each achievement level is listed below.
Spring 2002 English Language Arts Test, Grade 4
Achievement Level

Advanced
Proficient
Basic
Approaching Basic
Unsatisfactory

Raw Score Range

56
48

65 points
55.5 points

36 47.5 points
24.5 35.5 points
20 24 points

This document presents items that were completed by students as part of the
LEAP 21 assessment. The information shown for each item includes
:
:
:
:

the correct answer,

the achievement level or score point,
the standard and benchmark each item measures, and
commentary on the skills/knowledge measured by the item.

Note: Test items may have been reduced in size for this document. Font size
on the LEAP 21 assessments is typically 12 point.

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Grade 4English Language Arts

Writing Samples
Below is the Writing Topic used for the 4th-grade 2002 LEAP 21 English
Language Arts test, followed by samples of student writing at each achievement
level.

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Your story should have at least two paragraphs.

Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Give specific details and enough information so that your principal will
understand what happened.
Be sure to write clearly.
Check your writing for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

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Achievement Level: Advanced

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This essay is an example of Advanced writing at the 4th-grade level. The writer
focuses sharply on this funny story about his or her brothers haircut,
providing plenty of details, conversation, and specific information selected to
make the reader laugh. The writer sets up the situation and the reason for the
trick in the first few sentences. Mother warns the lazy brother, If you do not
get up and do anything I will cut your hair tonight. Using dialogue and
transitions, the writer deftly moves the story through the important events: the
confrontation, the haircut, the reactions at home and at school, and finally, the
brothers realization. Delaying the brothers reaction to the haircut adds to the
humor of the story: When he went in the bathroom he did not even look to see
what had happen. The short ending has a moral.
The writer selects specific information for its humorous impact and presents it
in vivid images: he...said as usual Good Morning, Even the dog started
barking and growling, Even the principal and secrateries came out of thier
offices. Similarly, the main event, the haircut, is presented with tactile and
audile, as well as visual, appeal. So that night she snuck into his room
brushed his hair very softly and snip! snap! went the scissors. The tone is
just right throughout the story. The voice of a gloating sibling rings loud and
clear in the ending sentence, I bet he learned a lesson to do stuff.
Although there are errors, this student demonstrates acceptable skills in the
Conventions dimension. There is a run-on sentence. There are some
misspellingsusaul, sense, every thing, and tothat are offset by the correct
spelling of many words, including mirror, principal, and scissors. In usage, the
student uses happen for happened. There are some capitalization and comma
errors in mechanics, but the writer has demonstrated sufficient skill.

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Achievement Level: Proficient

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This essay is an example of Proficient writing at the 4th-grade level. This writer
maintains a clear focus throughout the story about the day he or she was
soaked. There is a clearly stated beginning, followed by chronologically ordered
events that are connected with transitions, and an ending. All of the necessary
information is provided, including some cause and effect, some explanation,
and some reaction. Ideas are not developed evenly, and more elaboration would
have improved the story. It is, however, a sufficient demonstration of
reasonable skills in the Composing dimension.
The writer relies on appropriate but unexceptional vocabulary. Domed is the
most vivid term used. Most of the sentences are similarly patterned, using
forms of the to be verb (I was...It was...It is...I had). The writer does convey
a sense of amusement through the accumulation of details about frustration.
This essay demonstrates reasonable skill in the Style/Audience Awareness
dimension.
All of the sentences are correctly formed. Soked and domed are the only
misspellings. There are no usage errors, and the mechanics are also acceptable
in the Conventions dimension.

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Achievement Level: Basic

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This essay is an example of Basic writing at the 4th-grade level. It is a funny

story about a water-balloon fight between the cousins and the adults at a
family barbecue on Mothers Day. The story is rich in details3 packs of
balloons, charcoles, meat, hotlinks, barbeque meat, about 3 minutes it have
to be turned overand the writer elaborates his or her ideas. The section
about setting up the barbecue pit needs transitions or an explanation to
incorporate it into the story. There is an adequate beginning and a satisfying
ending to the story. The writer demonstrates reasonable control of skills in the
Composing dimension.
The writer selected information to make the readers laugh. The teasing
dialogue between the mother and the cousin adds to the humor, then my
mom said youll are going to get beat. My cousin said know we are not. The
vocabulary is adequate until the last scene, when there is an appropriate rush
of active verbs as the water fight gets underway: then the burst out the door
start throwing water balloons at us. We hop out of ditch and start shouting.
When the writer juxtaposes a full, formal-sounding name with a silly event
(my cousin threw Ms. Alice fay Dixion in the pool), the reader is amused as
well. The writer demonstrates reasonable control of skills in the Style/
Audience Awareness dimension.
This essay shows unacceptable control of skills in all the features of the
Conventions dimension except mechanics. Most of the sentences are run-ons.
There are usage errors including agreement, inflection, omission, and using the
wrong words (against the grownups and us). Misspellings include charcoles,
there, and know. Errors in this dimension interfere with the writers meaning.

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Achievement Level: Approaching Basic

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This essay is an example of Approaching Basic writing at the 4th-grade level.

The writer states that this story about being unable to pull a fish from the
water is his or her funniest memory and maintains this focus throughout the
essay. There is a simple beginning and a simple ending, than we left. The
limited amount of information is relevant, but barely elaborated. Ideas are not
developed. This essay demonstrates inconsistent control in the Composing
dimension.
This writer uses simple, repetitive vocabulary below the 4th-grade level. The
writer attempts to engage the reader by using dialogue: so my pa said, pull
pull then all the suden he had a bite. The few modifiers that are used are
simple: big fish, real heavy. This essay demonstrates inconsistent control in
the Style/Audience Awareness dimension.
The writer shows minimal skill in sentence formation. Very simple words such
as pole, there, couldnt, water, plant, boat, stuck, and had are misspelled.
Usage errors include me and my pa, my pa pole, omissions, and inflections.
This essay shows unacceptable control of skills in all features of the
Conventions dimension except mechanics. Errors in this dimension interfere
with the writers meaning.



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Grade 4English Language Arts

Reading and Responding
Multiple-Choice Items
Pages 16 to 17 contain a reading passage, Sarah, Plain and Tall, that
students read before answering test questions in the Reading and Responding
section of a LEAP 21 assessment. Four multiple-choice items and two
short-answer items with explanations follow on pages 18 through 25.
Test items in the Reading and Responding session measure the following
standards:
:
:
:

ELA Standard 1: Students read, comprehend, and respond to a range of

materials, using a variety of strategies for different purposes.
ELA Standard 6: Students read, analyze, and respond to literature as a
record of life experiences.
ELA Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and problem-solving skills to
their reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually
representing.

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Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and problem-solving skills to their

reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.
Benchmark ELA-7-E4: Students distinguish fact from opinion, skim and scan
for facts, determine cause and effect, generate inquiry, and make connections
with real-life situations.
Achievement Level: Proficient
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* correct answer
This is a question students scoring at the Proficient level and above would be
likely to answer correctly. Students at this level demonstrate competency over
challenging subject matter and are well prepared for the next level of schooling.
The question requires students to identify supporting details from the excerpt
and differentiate these closely related details. Students should be able to
eliminate distractor A as being incorrect. While the children were in favor of
Papas plan, they were not the source for Papas idea. Distractor C is only
marginally related to the excerpt (i.e., the family previously had a
housekeeper); however, the discussion of the housekeeper is closely related to
the discussion of getting a wife. Distractor B is a more plausible and attractive
answer in that a newspaper was the source of the advertisement. However, the
eighth paragraph in the excerpt clearly describes their neighbors writing to
locate a wife and mother for his children as the seed for Papas idea.



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Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and problem-solving skills to their

reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.
Benchmark ELA-7-E1: Students use comprehension strategies (sequencing,
predicting, drawing conclusions, comparing and contrasting, making
inferences, determining main ideas) in contexts.
Achievement Level: Basic
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* correct answer
This is a question students scoring at the Basic level and above would be likely
to answer correctly. Students at this level demonstrate only the fundamental
knowledge and skills needed for the next level of schooling. This question
requires students to identify supporting details from the excerpt. Students
should be able to eliminate distractors, A, C, and D, by rereading specific
portions of the excerpt. That is, the familys neighbors are named at the
beginning of the excerpt, Sarahs brother is named in Sarahs first letter, and
Sarah specifically states in two letters that she has one cat named Seal. Nick is
mentioned at the beginning of the excerpt, and both Nick and Lottie are
referred to by name in Sarahs letter to Caleb, where she states that she likes
dogs most of the time.

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Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and problem-solving skills to their

reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.
Benchmark ELA-7-E1: Students use comprehension strategies (sequencing,
predicting, drawing conclusions, comparing and contrasting, making
inferences, determining main ideas) in contexts.
Achievement Level: Basic
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* correct answer
This is a question students scoring at the Basic level and above would be likely
to answer correctly. Students at this level demonstrate only the fundamental
knowledge and skills needed for the next level of schooling. The question
requires students to understand and apply a specific meaning or nuance of the
word amazed: (a negative reaction to an inappropriate question). Each of the
distractors relates to the question posed regarding the specific topics, snoring
and fires, but do not necessarily make sense in relation to various definitions
of the word amazed: surprised, in awe, astonished, perplexed. Only option D
provides the correct interpretation of the use of the word amazed in the context
of the excerpt.



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Standard 1: Students read, comprehend, and respond to a range of materials,

using a variety of strategies for different purposes.
Benchmark ELA-1-E1: Students gain meaning from print and build
vocabulary using a full range of strategies.
Achievement Level: Basic
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* correct answer
This is a question students scoring at the Basic level and above would be likely
to answer correctly. Students at this level demonstrate only the fundamental
knowledge and skills needed for the next level of schooling. This question
requires students to select from the options to correctly define the word pesky
as it is used in the excerpt and in conjunction with the word loud. Distractors
C and D should be easily eliminated since neither of these would necessarily
work in conjunction with loud and neither is supported by information in the
excerpt regarding Caleb or Anna. Distractor B is a more plausible option.
However, in the context of the excerpt, annoying is the correct answer because
of its negative connotations.

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Grade 4English Language Arts

Reading and Responding
Short-Answer Items
Below are samples of student responses to short-answer items for the passage
Sarah, Plain and Tall. The items and the rubrics used to score each response
are included below. Under each student sample that follows is an explanation
of why each answer received the score it did.
Sample 1
Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and probelm-solving skills to their
reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.
Benchmark ELA-7-E4: Students distinguish fact from opinion, skim and scan
for facts, determine cause and effect, generate inquiry, and make connections
with real-life situations.
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Scoring Rubric
Score

Description

Student response lists two text-based things Sarah will no longer see.

Student response lists one text-based thing Sarah will no longer see.

Student fails to respond or the response is off topic or blank.

Exemplary Response:
:
:
:
:
:



the sea
the fog on the sea
the fish her brother catches in the sea
sea birds
her brothers tall house with gray shingles

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Score Point 2

This response correctly lists at least two things Sarah will no longer see when
she comes to live on the prairie farm.
Score Point 1

This response is partially correct because it names only one thing (her brother)
Sarah will no longer see when she comes to live on the prairie farm. The other
information provided is incorrect but does not detract from the answer.
Score Point 0

This response received no credit. The answer given does not list any of the
things Sarah will no longer see but instead names people she will see when she
moves to live on the prairie farm.

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Sample 2
Standard 7: Students apply reasoning and probelm-solving skills to their
reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, visually representing.
Benchmark ELA-7-E4: Students distinguish fact from opinion, skim and scan
for facts, determine cause and effect, generate inquiry, and make connections
with real-life situations.
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Scoring Rubric
Score

Description

Student response identifies the gift and explains why it is special.

Student response is partial. It either identifies the gift or explains why it is

special.

Student fails to respond or the response is off topic or blank.

Exemplary Response:
:
:



The gift was a book about sea birds.

It is something that is special to Sarah. It shows that she wants to share
what is important to her with Anna.

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Score Point 2

This response received full credit. It thoroughly answers the question by

correctly identifying the gift Sarah sent Anna, a book of sea birds, and
explains why it is special: because theyre the birds that Sarah and William
see everyday.
Score Point 1

This response received partial credit because it answers only one part of the
question. This answer neglects to tell what gift Sarah sends Anna; it does
provide an explanation for why the gift is special: you will see what William
and I see every day.
Score Point 0

This response received no credit because it is incorrect. The gift mentioned in

the answer, a picture of her cat, was not the gift Sarah sent Anna.

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