Directions: Read the entirety of this document. Every bit of it. Don’t just skip to the score point you got. Read it all. Once you’ve read it all. Get the new answer sheet. If you got a 2 or better originally, fill out the self-evaluation form only. If you did not get a 2 or better originally, fill out the self-evaluation form and re-write your response. Do your pre-writing and planning on your own paper. Attach that paper to your answer sheet or I will not grade it. You will get a daily grade for the evaluation form (in other words, it isn’t optional) and the re-write will replace your short answer grade (up to an 85). Got it? Get started. How do the dreams of Obama in his open letter reflect the dreams put forth by Dr. King in his “I Have a Dream” speech? Support your answer with evidence from both selections. Assertion (idea) Evidence explanation Connection Score Zero “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” He wants his kids to not be judged by racism. Obama says, “I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them.” He wants all kids to have good schools. “But, wait! They got a zero with quotes???” Yep, this is a zero. To understand, let’s look at part of the rubric. • No idea is present from either selection. Sometimes the response contains only text evidence from one or both selections. At other times there appears to be an idea; however, this idea cannot be considered an answer to the question because it merely repeats verbatim, or “echoes,” the text evidence. This response never actually answers the question. Even if it had with something like “Both MLK and Obama want the same thing.” it would likely get a zero as that response essentially just “echoes” the text evidence. Notice as well that the text evidence, even with quotes, is not adequate. As far as the grader is concerned, it’s possible that these quotes just randomly or luckily happen to coincide with a possible correct answer. Both are explained, but only in the most surface level manner. There’s nothing here to convince a grader that the writer actually understood what was being written. Yes, most zeros look worse than this. Occasionally, due to a lack of revising and editing, the final response can be so confusing that the grader will have no idea what is being said. And you can be wrong-ever year folks don’t read carefully and give a response that is simply incorrect or illogical. But note how in this one, even with text evidence that might actually be OK, not having an specific arguable assertion means you can not get a one. How do the dreams of Obama in his open letter reflect the dreams put forth by Dr. King in his “I Have a Dream” speech? Support your answer with evidence from both selections. Assertion (idea) Evidence explanation Connection Score One Both Obama and Dr. King want things better for kids. Dr. King says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” He wants his kids to not be judged by racism. Obama says, “I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them.” He wants all kids to have good schools. Well, getting better. But this still fails STAAR, and with scores of one on the short answer the weight of the essay and multiple choice multiply. So, again, lets look at the rubric: • The idea is reasonable for both selections, but the text evidence is flawed and does not adequately support the idea. Text evidence is considered inadequate when it is weakly linked to the idea o So, yes, the assertion answers the question in a specific, arguable way. That’s the first thing the grader looks for to be able to give a one. And there is appropriate supportive text evidence. It is explained, but only in the most surface level way. The quotes and explanation should be combined into embedded evidence to for better style and concision. So, what is missing? The connection. The connection is what links the assertion and evidence together. Without it, all you have show the graders is that you have basic reading comprehension ability. You haven’t demonstrated a deep understanding of the text, and that is what it takes to get a passing score. Students often skip the connection because of the last of embedded evidence. They will assume that the explanation (which only restates the quote) is a connection, and it isn’t. Restating a quote only demonstrates basic reading skills, not a good understanding of the text. How do the dreams of Obama in his open letter reflect the dreams put forth by Dr. King in his “I Have a Dream” speech? Support your answer with evidence from both selections. Assertion (idea) Evidence explanation Connection Score Two Both Obama and Dr. King want things better for kids. Dr. King wants his children to only be judged “by the content of their character” and not by racism. He knows that things won’t really be better until his children can count on that freedom. Obama “[wants] all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them” so that they can get a good education. He knows that kids will need a good education to get better jobs and have better lives. Finally, a passing answer. Doesn’t look all that impressive, does it? That’s because it doesn’t need to. It just has to demonstrate that good understanding of the text the graders are looking for. Let’s see that rubric again: • For both selections, the idea is reasonable and goes beyond a literal reading of the text. It is explained specifically enough to show that the student can make appropriate connections across the text and draw valid conclusions. • For both selections, the text evidence used to support the idea is accurate and relevant. • For both selections, the idea and text evidence used to support it are clearly linked. • For both selections, the combination of the idea and the text evidence demonstrates a good understanding of the text. A response must meet every one of those points to be considered a 2. But really, that’s it. This isn’t amazing writing-it doesn't need to be. It just has to be a complete, logical response that demonstrates the good understanding of the text they want to see. Notice how the text evidence is now embedded. Stylistically this is a definite improvement, but beyond that it makes it clear that the connection is needed to fully complete the response. But what if it is impressive writing and moves past just showing “good” understanding? Well that’s when we move on to a 3. Assertion (idea) Evidence explanation Connection Score Three It is only when the benefits of society reach to the children that we have really made strides in making America a free and just society. Dr. King “[had] a dream” that is children might someday live in a world where segregation and racism had faded to the extent that they would only be judged “by the content of their character” and “be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” While he demanded equal rights for all citizens, he only dreamed that this could someday be a reality. When President Obama, a black man, was elected, many felt this dream had been fully realized. But Obama recognized that there is still a need for all kids “to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them” so that we could continue to make America “better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.” Though he recognized some things had truly improved, there is always room to make things better. A three. See the difference? The rubric shows what is different here: • For both selections, the idea is perceptive and reflects an awareness of the complexities of the text. The student is able to develop a coherent explanation of the idea by making discerning connections across both selections. • For both selections, the text evidence used to support the idea is specific and well chosen. Overall, the evidence strongly supports the validity of the idea. • For both selections, the combination of the idea and the text evidence demonstrates a deep understanding of the text. Notice how the assertion shows some actual struggle with the text. This moves past just being clear and logical to actually really considering the issue at hand. Note that while there are threes every year, they are clearly the most difficult to attain. There’s a danger here as well, and that is that it is possible to be wrong when trying to get too deep. Don’t stretch it. If the connections can’t clearly and accurately be made, don’t try to be “out there” just for the sake of being “out there” or trying to get a three. Every year a few folks drop all the way to a zero because they try to write a three without a true deep understanding of the texts. Want to make it even better? Watch what happens when with a little organizational revision: Dr. King “[had] a dream” that is children might someday live in a world where segregation and racism had faded to the extent that they would only be judged “by the content of their character” and “be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” When President Obama, a black man, was elected, many felt this dream had been fully realized. But Obama recognized that there is still a need for all kids “to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them” so that we could continue to make America “better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us.” While Dr. King demanded equal rights for all citizens, he only dreamed that true acceptance could someday be a reality. Obama recognized some things had truly improved, but that there is always room to continue making things better. It is only when the benefits of society reach to the children that we have really made strides in making America a free and just society. This is what is called inductive reasoning. It’s a more complex argument technique that involves starting with the broad ideas (in this case the evidence) and moving toward the specific idea (assertion). A few other changes had to be made to make this work, but mostly it is the same material with a new organizational strategy. Is this as good as it gets? Nope. There are some magical answers every year. They can bring a tear to your eye. Get really good at this and maybe I’ll show you some.