This year, students will take assessments that range from frequent, smaller assessments to the high stakes End of Course Test. Each assessment is built to help our students achieve this year and in the future. Below, you can find a description of each assessment. For further details, please click the links. They will take you to the assessment's individual page, where you can find out more about reviews, due dates, and downloadable content. 

Regular Assessments

Students will take Regular Assessment each semester. This will build habits for regular studying, as well as reinforce the analytic and critical skills necessary in English Literature and Composition. The first assessment might be difficult, but students will get stronger and more comfortable with each. My goal is to see how each student grows throughout the year, developing the following fundamental skills----learning new words, mastering the power of grammar, positioning literature in historical context, and recognizing when television, movies, and other books reference other works of literature. Below is a description for one semester of Regular Assessments.

Grammar Assessments
Each grammar unit focuses on one of the fundamentals of how we speak and write English. We will review all the concepts in class, and students have two weeks to practice through homework. The more we command the rules of grammar, the more powerfully we speak and write. 
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 Vocabulary Assessments
Each student will be responsible for 10 vocabulary words that come directly from commonly used words on the S.A.T. Students will have two weeks to study. We will review the words in class. Students will learn 160 new words in a semester----in addition to literary terms and definitions.
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Allusion Assessments
Each and every story contains another. Students will demonstrate how characters, themes, and legacies of major works of literature appear as allusions in the works we study. This is a way to engage the full curriculum and develop skills for future classes.
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Historical Context Clues Assessments
Each two week period will focus on one historical moment. Assessments require students to become familiar with a general chronology of major historical events, recognize the context clues that point to a particular era, and analyze primary sources. To know non-fiction literature is to know its historic context.
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Special Assessments

Special Assessments are infrequent assessments that target a specific standard or skill that we learned in connection to a book or lesson. These assessments reinforce knowledge, skills, and abilities that require continual practice to master. They will be assigned as necessary and used to build student mastery.

Reading Assessments
Reading Assessments measure the skills we have mastered with particular stories and works of literature. They ensure that students keep up with the in-class work and retain what they have learned. They will be assigned as necessary.

Check Up Assessments
Check Ups target specific standards to assess student progress. They serve as a marker for how successfully we master all the standards covered by the EOCT. Check Ups will be assigned as necessary.

Skills in Action Assessments
These assessments measure academic skills students need to be successful in the classroom. Using the Speaking and Listening Standards, I want to reward students for using test taking strategies, creating appropriately collaborative or independently focused academic environments, and utilizing their time by pre-writing, brainstorming, and revising. Rather than assign penalties on assessments that cover content, I will apply penalties for talking or cursing during quizzes and tests to a Skills in Action Assessment with the same date. This will show which academic skills the student needs to improve without making it look like the student has not mastered the other standards being assessed. Penalties for cheating and plagiarism, however, can be reflected in both the Skills in Action Assessment and the assessment on the content standards. Please email me if you have any questions or would like to discuss a particular score.

Outside Reading Assessments
Each month, students are responsible for outside reading from our suggested list of books that connect to the theme of the unit. In addition to turning in an analysis, students will take an assessment that shows their mastery of the book. 

Major Tests

There are six tests across an entire year, but because a student gets two grades in a year (one grade for Semester 1 and another grade for Semester 2), it's best to look at our major tests as two clumps of three tests. For example, there are two unit tests and a final exam per semester. These tests can greatly affect final grades for the semester. It is vital that all students take the tests and apply themselves to their fullest. Below is a list of all six tests and a description of what each contains so students can accurately prepare.

Unit 1 Test 
Unit 1 examines the literary elements of short stories, novels, and fiction in general. The title of this unit is The Hero's Journey, and the unit most relies on The Odyssey. 
Wednesday, October 9th
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Unit 2 Test 
Unit 2 delves into non-fiction, essay organization, and creative interpretations of historical figures. The title of this unit is Justice, and the unit most relies on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. 
In Mid-December
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Semester 1 Final Exam
Final Exams cover all the material we learned in the semester. They count for 10% of a student's semester grade. 
Last week of the semester 
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Unit 3 Test
Unit 3 covers poetry, drama, and classic literature. Technical terms and genres will play an important part of this exam. The title of the unit is Poetry and Drama, and the unit most relies on Romeo and Juliet. 
In Mid-April
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Unit 4 Test
Unit 4 pays tribute to the strength and grit of individual characters. The title of this unit is Overcoming Adversity, and the unit most relies on The  House on Mango Street . 
In Mid-May 
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Semester 2 Final Exam
Final Exams cover all the material we learned in the semester. They count for 10% of a student's semester grade. 
Last week of the semester 
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Standardized Tests

Standardized Tests are created by the county, state, or on a national level. They compare us with other students in other schools to test our progress. Below you will see the types of standardized tests we will take in 9th Grade English Literature and Composition.

P-SAT 
The P-SAT is the preparation version of the SAT used for college admission. All freshmen will take it in their English class to become familiar with the format of the SAT. Westlake HS recently made huge, impressive gains in its P-SAT score, which has been a point of pride for 9th Grade. I want to continue this success for our school. 
Date is 10/16
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Benchmark Exams
In order to record our progress throughout the year, the county requires students to take benchmark exams twice a semester. These are like the EOCT and will be great preparation.
Dates are TBA
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 End of Course Test
Like the CRCT, the EOCT measures how sufficiently students have mastered the year's standards. Students must score a 70 to pass the EOCT, which counts as 20% of the student's final grade for second semester. Freshman will take EOCTs in English, Algebra, and Biology.
Dates are TBA
(sometime on 4/28 - 5/8)
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