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 tfPARTMfy
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MASSACHUSETTS
COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM

Release of
Spring 2003
Test Items .

MAR

August 2003
Massachusetts Department of Education
 Massachusetts Department of Education
MASSACHUSETTS

ASSESSMENT
This document was prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Education.
SYSTEM
Dr. David P. Driscoll, Commissioner of Education

Board of Education Members

James A. Peyser, Chairman, Dorchester

Henry M. Thomas, III, Vice-Chairman, Springfield

Charles D. Baker, Swampscott

J. Richard Crowley, Andover

Jeff De Flavio, Chair, Student Advisory Council, Belmont

Judith I. Gill, Chancellor, Higher Education, Boston

William K. Irwin, Jr., Wilmington

Roberta R. Schaefer, Worcester

Abigail M. Thernstrom, Lexington

David P. Driscoll, Commissioner

and Secretary to the Board

The Massachusetts Department of Education, an Affirmative Action employer, is committed to ensuring

that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. We do not discriminate

on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.

Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Department of Education

Permission is hereby granted to copy any or all parts of this document for non-commercial educational

purposes. Please credit the "Massachusetts Department of Education."

This document is printed on recycled paper.

350 Main Street, Maiden, Massachusetts 02148-5023 781-338-3000

www.doe.mass.edu
 Commissioner's Foreword

Dear Colleagues:

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the Commonwealth's

statewide testing program for public school students, developed in response to the

Education Reform Law of 1993. MCAS is based exclusively on the rigorous academic

learning standards contained in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. These

Frameworks and the MCAS program have been developed with the direct and active

involvement of educators from across Massachusetts and with the support of the Board

of Education. Together, the Frameworks and MCAS are designed to raise the academic

achievement of all students in the Commonwealth.

The purpose of this document is to share with educators and the public all of the test

items from the Spring 2003 MCAS on which student results are based. The release of

these items provides considerable information regarding the kinds of knowledge and

skills that students are expected to demonstrate on the MCAS tests to earn high school

competency determination. Local educators are encouraged to use this document together

with their school's Test Item Analysis Reports to identify strengths and weaknesses

in curriculum and instruction, and to guide the changes necessary to more effectively

serve students.

You will find this document on the Internet at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas. Please note that,

due to some publishers' restrictions on copyright permissions, the paper version of

this document contains some MCAS test materials that cannot be included on the

Internet version.

Thank you for your support as we work together to strengthen education for our

students in Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

David P. Driscoll

Commissioner of Education
i Table of Contents

Commissioner's Foreword

I. Document Purpose and Structure 1

II. Reading, Grade 3 5

III. English Language Arts, Grade 4 37

A. Composition 38
B. Language and Literature 41

IV. English Language Arts, Grade 7 71

A. Composition 72
B. Language and Literature 74

V. English Language Arts, Grade 10 and Retest 107

A. Composition 108
B. Language and Literature 110

VI. Mathematics, Grade 4 137

VII. Mathematics, Grade 6 165

VIII. Mathematics, Grade 8 191

IX. Mathematics, Grade 10 and Retest 217

X. Science and Technology/Engineering, Grade 5 245

XL Science and Technology/Engineering, Grade 8 271

•
 I. Document Purpose and Structure

i
 Document Purpose and Structure

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to share with educators and the public all of the test

items on which the spring 2003 MCAS student results are based. Release of these items

is intended to provide additional information regarding the kinds of knowledge and

skills that students are expected to demonstrate on MCAS tests. Local educators will
be able to use this information to identify strengths and weaknesses in their curriculum
and instruction, and to guide the changes necessary to more effectively meet their

students' needs.

This document is also intended to be used by school and district personnel as a companion
document to the school- and district-level Test Item Analysis Reports. Each school
receives a fall 2003 Test Item Analysis Report for each content area at each grade level

tested (e.g., grade 10 Mathematics). These reports provide data generated from student
responses. Each report lists, for the school receiving the report, the names of all enrolled

students in the grade covered by the report and shows how each student answered
each common item in the content area. The report labels each item as multiple-choice,
open-response, short-answer, or writing prompt and identifies the item's MCAS reporting
category. Item numbers in this document correlate directly to the "Item Numbers" in the

Test Item Analysis Reports.

Structure

Each subsequent chapter of this document contains information and materials for one
MCAS test (one grade level and one content area). For example, Chapter II contains

information for the Grade 3 Reading Test; chapter IX contains information for the Grade
10 Mathematics Test and Retest. Note that chapters III through V contain information
for both the ELA Composition (Part A) and the ELA Language and Literature (Part B)

Tests for the relevant grade.

Beginning with chapter II, each chapter contains three main sections. The first section

introduces the chapter by listing the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework content strands

assessed by MCAS in that chapter's content area. These content strands are identical to the
MCAS reporting categories under which test results are reported to schools and districts.

The first section also provides the Internet address for the relevant Framework and the page

numbers on which the learning standards assessed by the test items in the chapter can be

found. In addition, there is a brief overview of the test (number of test sessions, types of

items, reference materials allowed, and cross-referencing information).

The second section contains the common test items used to generate spring 2003 MCAS
student results for that chapter's grade level and content area. With the exception of the
ELA Composition writing prompt, the test questions in this document are shown in the

same order and basic format in which they were presented in the test booklets. The f )
 mathematics reference tools used by students during MCAS Mathematics test sessions

{Mathematics Tool Kit for grade 4; Mathematics Reference Sheets for grades 6, 8,

and 10 and for the Retest) are inserted immediately following the last question in each

Mathematics chapter of this document. Students in grades 4, 6, and 8 were also provided

with plastic rulers, and students in grade 6 were provided with plastic protractors. Images
of these tools are not presented in this document.

Due to copyright restrictions, in English Language Arts Test chapters certain reading
passages that appear in the printed version of this document are not included in the
version available on the Department's Internet site. Copyright information is provided
in both versions of the document for all common reading selections.

The final section of each chapter is a table that cross-references each common item with
its MCAS reporting category and with the Framework standard it assesses. Correct

answers to multiple-choice and short-answer questions are also listed.

Responses to open-response items and compositions written in response to writing

prompts are scored individually. An overview of procedures for scoring these responses
and compositions is presented in the MCAS fact sheet, "Scoring Student Answers to

Open-Response Questions and Writing Prompts," which is available on the Department's

Internet site at www.doe.mass.edu/mcas Scoring procedures . will also be explained further

in the MCAS document, Guide to Interpreting the Spring 2003 MCAS Reports for
Schools and Districts, due for release in fall 2003. Similar guides are currently available
on the Department's Internet site for previous years' MCAS School Reports and District
Reports. Sample student responses and compositions from previous MCAS
administrations may also be viewed on the Department's Internet site.

Materials presented in this document are not formatted exactly as they appeared in

Student Test Booklets. For example, in order to present items most efficiently in this
document, the following modifications have been made:

I Some fonts and/or font sizes may have been changed and/or reduced.

I Some graphics may have been reduced in size from their appearance in Student
Test Booklets; however, they maintain the same proportions in each case.

I The English Language Arts Composition writing prompt is presented on the same
page of this document as the Retest/make-up writing prompt, and the four lined
pages provided for students' initial drafts are omitted.

I All references to page numbers in answer booklets have been deleted from the
directions that accompany test items.

i«
^
 II. Reading, Grade 3

<•
 Reading, Grade 3

The spring 2003 Grade 3 MCAS Reading Test was based on learning standards in the two
content strands of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework

(2001) listed below. Page numbers for the learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Language (Framework, pages 19-26)

I Reading and Literature [Framework, pages 35-64)

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework is available on the Department

website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Grade 3 Reading test results are reported under

two MCAS reporting categories: Language and Reading and Literature.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

MCAS Grade 3 Reading Test and Answer Booklets contained three separate test sessions.

Each session included selected readings, followed by multiple-choice and open-response

questions. Common reading passages and test items are shown on the following pages as

they appeared in Test and Answer Booklets. Due to copyright restrictions, certain reading

selections cannot be released to the public on the website. Many of these passages appear

in the printed version of this document.

Reference Materials and Tools

No reference materials or tools were allowed during any Grade 3 Reading test session,

with the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English

proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework general standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

questions are also displayed in the table.

/

HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

f
and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

I
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Reading
Session 1

DIRECTIONS
This session contains one reading selection with eight multiple-choice questions. For multiple-
choice questions, mark your answers by filling in the circle next to the best answer.

We use our senses to know the world. If you lost one of your senses for a while, wouldn 't you be
excited to have it back again? That is what happens to Nicole in this story. Read the story and
answer the questions that follow.

Oi

Nicol e s

N.ose Knows
by Beth Thompson

When Nicole rollowed her nose,

it led her to pancakes, perrume, and pickles.

'ancakes! And crispy bacon! 7 After breakfast Nicole grabbed her

Pi Nicole woke up sniffing, but today lunch sack and yellow raincoat. She
it wasn't because she had a cold. She smelled the strong rubber odor.
had had a bad cold and a stuffy nose 8 "Bye, Mom
and Dad," she called,
for a week, and she hadn't been able to opening the door to the cool, fresh
smell anything. But this morning she smell of a rain- washed morning.
could smell pancakes and bacon.
Nicole grinned. This was a great
way to wake up. She pulled on her
QQ
clothes and hurried to the kitchen.
4 "Good morning!" Mother said as
Nicole hugged her. Mother's perfume
smelled like the little white flowers on v'&Zi
the lemon bush.
She hugged Dad, too. His smell was XjT
different. Shaving cream, a smell that
reminded her of salty ocean air, and 9 "Bye, Sampson," she said as she
peppermint from his toothpaste. hugged her shaggy dog. She could
This was a neat game. She decided smell the wet, woolly smell of his coat
to see how many things she could and the meaty smell of his breakfast
recognize just by using her nose. as he licked her cheek.
 1

Reading Session 1

10 As she walked to school, Nicole let

her nose explore her lunch sack. She
opened the bag, closed her eyes, and
sniffed.
1 "What are you doing, Nicole?" she
heard her friend Charlie ask. "Your
nose wiggling like a rabbit's."
is
12 "I'm trying to guess what's in my
lunch using only my nose," Nicole
said. She told him about the game.
13 Charlie leaned over and sniffed. 20 At school Nicole's nose explored
"Smells like cherries. And bananas." some more. It guessed that Julia's
14 Nicole laughed. "That means a colored marker was lime scented. It
sandwich with Aunt Lucy's homemade recognized the funny chemical smell
of the purple-printed ditto papers
Mrs. Conway handed out. Nicole's
sharpened pencil smelled like wooden
boards after Dad sawed them.
21 RINNGGGG! It was the recess bell.
As Nicole put on her raincoat, she
smelled a new smell: popcorn! It
reminded her of circuses and movies.
Mrs. Conway announced that the PTA
was selling popcorn to raise money for
new climbing bars.
22 Nicole reached into her raincoat
pocket, hoping she had some money.
She pulled out ten coppery-smelling
cherry jam, and a banana for dessert. pennies. 'Let's go!" she called to
Let's tryyour lunch, Charlie." Charlie.
15 They sniffed the open sack. "Oh,
that's easy," said Nicole. "Tuna!" 23 N, icoleand Charlie walked across
16 "But what else?" insisted Charlie. the playground munching popcorn. As
"There's more in the bag." they finished the last kernel, Nicole
17 Nicole took a huge sniff. Chocolate crumpled up the bag to throw it away.
and something else, something that 24 Rustle, rustle went the bag as Nicole
made her lips pucker. Pickles! crumpled it, then whoosh, thunk as she
18 "A tuna sandwich, pickles, and tossed it into the trash can.
chocolate chip cookies," she guessed. 25 Nicole grinned at Charlie. "Did you
19 Charlie looked in the bag. "Close," hear that? Three different sounds!
he said. "A brownie, not cookies. But Come on. Let's play a guessing game
you're pretty good at this." using just our ears!"

Copyright © 1991 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.

10
 Reading Session 1

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 1 through 8 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

4^ When
Nicole
the story begins,
know
how does
that her cold is
o What does Charlie say Nicole's nose
looks like when she is sniffing?
getting better?
® a mouse's nose
® She can smell pancakes and bacon.
© a rabbit's nose
© She feels like going to school.
© a kitten's nose
© She can feel the fresh air.

© a dog's nose
© She wants to play a new game.

Read the sentence in the box below.

^P Who in this story smells woolly?

® Mrs. Conway Rustle, rustle went the bag as Nicole

crumpled it, then whoosh, thunk as she
© Sampson tossed it into the trash can.
f © Dad
^jjb The words rustle and whoosh are used
© Charlie to show

® words Nicole spoke.

^gP Reread paragraphs 8 and 9. When Nicole ® sounds made by the bag.
opens the door, what can she tell from the
scent of the air? © the noise popcorn makes.

® Her neighbors cooked bacon. © the sound of Charlie's footsteps.

® The trees are in bloom.

© Sampson had gotten wet.

^yp Reread paragraph 25. Which of these will
Nicole and Charlie MOST LIKELY
© It had just rained. notice on their way home?

® falling leaves

© birds singing

a sunset

r
© a cold breeze

11
Reading Session 1

Read the sentences in the box below. Read the sentence in the box below.

Charlie looked in the bag. "Close," They sniffed the open sack.
he said. "A brownie, not cookies.
But you're pretty good at this."
4(«P What word in this sentence is a VERB'.'

^P What does Charlie mean when he ® They

says, "Close"?
© sniffed
® Nicole almost guessed the
right answer. © open

® Charlie is folding his lunch © sack

sack shut.

© Nicole and Charlie are good friends.

® Charlie is standing near Nicole.

12
I

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE

13
 Reading
Session 2
DIRECTIONS
This session contains three reading selections with fifteen multiple-choice questions and one
open-response question. For multiple-choice questions, mark your answers by filling in the
circle next to the best answer. For the open-response question, write your answer below the
question in the space provided.

As you read the poem, think about all the things a pack rat likes to collect. Then you may understand
why some people are called "pack rats." After you read the passage, answer the questions that follow.

The Pack Rat

The pack rat's day is spent at play stanza 1

collecting useless stuff.

No matter what the pack rat's got,

he's never got enough.

5 Nails and tacks and wires and wax, stanza 2

a knife, a fork, a feather,

large or tiny, dull or shiny,
tin or bone or leather.

Sticks and socks and spoons and rocks stanza 3

10 and nuts that squirrels lose,

rings and strings, peculiar things
a rat could never use.

The pack and stores in caves

rat saves Stanza 4

strange treasures smooth and knobby.

15 It's not from greed nor out of need,

he does it as his hobby.

—Jack Prelutsky

TEXT COPYRIGHT © 1983 BY JACK PRELUTSKY

Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

14
 Reading Session 2

i
Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 9 through 12 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

^P What is the MAIN idea of this poem'.' Read the phrase in the box below.

® A pack rat fills its home with stuff

and then has to move. rings and strings, peculiar things

® Smooth and knobby things make

strange treasures.
^JP How many words rhyme?
© A pack rat collects many different
things. ®
© Nails, tacks, wires, and wax make © 2
interesting collections.
© 3

© 4
<E> The things the pack rat saves can BEST
be described as

i^ ® useless. «E> From this poem the reader can tell that
a person who is called a pack rat

© alike.
PROBABLY

© large. ® plays with things.

© important. ® saves things.

© uses unusual things.

© loses things.

15
Reading Session 2

Robert Peary is known as the first explorer to reach the North Pole. But was he really the first? To
find out, read this true story. Use information from the selection to answer the questions that follow.

Matthew A. Henson
North Pole Explorer
born 1866 —
died 1955
by Wade Hudson

,T,
iJLhe most northern part of the earth has below-freezing temperatures. Ice
covers the area. This is the North Pole.
In 1893, no one had been to the North Pole. That year Admiral Robert E.
Peary and Matthew Henson set out to reach the North Pole. But they were
unsuccessful. They tried again in 1898, but failed. In 1909, they set out once
more.
Peary, Henson, and a group that included explorer Robert Bartlett took off
for the Pole. They sailed on a long voyage from New York City to Canada. Next,
they set up a base camp at Camp Columbia, Canada. The camp was about 450
miles from the North Pole. In March 1909, the group packed dog sleds with food
and supplies. Then they headed over the polar sea ice toward the North Pole.
4 Some of the men suffered from the harsh cold weather. They had to return
to the camp. Finally, Peary selected Henson and four Inuit guides Ootah, —
Seegloo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah —
to make the last leg of the journey. It was
early April 1909. They were closer than ever to really reaching the North Pole.
Henson, Peary, and their guides traveled over the ice and snow. Peary's
feet were injured. He could not walk as quickly as Henson. So Henson and his
guides walked ahead —
and disaster struck.
6 Along the way, Matthew Henson stepped out on a large cake of ice.
CRACK! The ice gave away. Henson fell into the icy water below. ... In only a
few minutes, Matthew Henson would have frozen to death.

16
Reading Session 2

7 Suddenly, there was a tug on Henson's

hood. Someone was pulling him from the water.
It was Ootah. Quickly, Ootah helped Henson

pull off his wet boots and clothes and put on

dry ones. Ootah shook the water from the furs
Henson wore before the water turned to ice.
Then Henson, Ootah, and Seegloo moved on.
Admiral Robert E. Peary, Egingwah, and
Ooqueah followed. The North Pole was less
than thirty-five miles away.
8 Henson got and closer to the Pole.
closer
Finally, he stopped. He looked around. Had he
reached the North Pole? Henson set up camp
An early chart of the North Pole.
there and waited for Peary.
9 When the Admiral arrived, he made observations from different points. He
returned to the camp and made an announcement. The camp was at the exact
point of the North Pole. He had Henson and the four guides stand on a ridge and
he photographed them. Henson held the American flag. He felt proud. It had been
an exciting adventure.

io On April 7, 1909, the great explorers began their journey back from the North
They were very happy about their victory,
Pole.
n Robert E. Peary became famous. Peary was awarded a gold medal by the
National Geographic Society. Robert Bartlett was also awarded a medal although
he didn't even make the final trip to the North Pole. Matthew Henson was
ignored.
12 For many world did not
years, the white
recognize Henson's great achievement. The
black community, however, presented him with
a number of awards. Finally, on January 28,
1944, Congress authorized a medal for all the MATTHEW ALEXANDER HENSON
co - discoverer of the north pole
men on the North Pole expedition. A year later, a0Miral /Robert edwin peary
,\?S.1V 6. 1909
Henson was presented with a silver medal for BOftW- AUGUST O. IS&S DIED. MARCH 9.1935
SON dF ^MARYLAND
outstanding service to the United States SXEWM.tfiCA'ridH Of CO"ttRA«E. FORTITUDE AND PATRIOTISM
WrQSlE VALIAWI DEEDS OFJ NOBLE DEVOTION
•IS-trS'trER THE CbMMANB.OjF ADMlRAt ROBERT EDWIN PEARY.
m-PIOKEER/ABCMC fiJtM-QRATION AND DISCOVERY.
Government. EStWBWSIKtB KYBttfcASTINC PRESTIGE AND GLORY
FOB BIS STATE AND COUNTRY

13 This great explorer died in 1955. On April

6, 1988, his remains were reburied with full
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
It was a most suitable honor for a great black The state of Maryland honored this great
American. explorer with this plaque.

From FIVE BRAVE EXPLORERS by Wade Hudson, illustrated by Ron Garnett. Copyright © 1995 by Wade Hudson.
Illustrations copyright © 1995 by Ron Garnett. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic Inc.

17
Reading Session 2

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 13 through 18 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

flfpi According to the selection, who saved %[•} In paragraph 2. the word unsuccessful
Matthew Henson's life? tells the reader that in 1 893 Peary and
Henson
® Egingwah
® did not reach the North Pole.
© Ootah
© were the first to reach the
© Seegloo North Pole.

© Ooqueah © reached the North Pole for

the last time.

© were very tired when they

mp According
arrive at the
to the selection,
North Pole after
why did Peary
Henson?
reached the North Pole.

® Peary went back to get Read the phrase in the box below.
more food and supplies.

© Peary had hurt his feet and a group that included explorer
had to walk more slowly. Robert B artlett
© Peary stayed at the camp
make new
to plans.
mp The word included
Robert B artlett
tells us that

© Peary through the ice

fell
and nearly drowned.
® was part of the group.

© started the group.

m«* According to paragraph 10.

what happened on April 7, 1909? © led the group.

© was not in the group.

® Robert B artlett j oined Peary
and Henson.

© The explorers set up Camp *|[»1 At the end of paragraph 5, the words
Columbia. disaster struck mean

© Peary and Henson left the ® there was thunder and lightning.
North Pole.
© people fought against each other.
© Henson was given full
military honors. © a surprising thing was found.

© something terrible happened.

18
 Reading Session 2

Write your answer to open-response question 19 in the lined space provided below.

^|sl Explain why Matthew Henson is famous. Use important information from the selection in

your answer.

19
Reading Session 2

Can you imagine your body without bones? Without bones, we wouldn 't have any shape at all.
its

Bones also help us in other ways. This article explains why bones are so important and tells us how
we can take good care of them. Use what you read to answer the questions that follow.

Bone

B 'one is the hard material that forms the

skeleton in people and other animals with
backbones. All the separate parts of the skeleton
are also called bones. People have about 200
bones. Bones support the body and give it shape.
They also protect the heart, lungs, and other
important body parts.
The places where bones meet are called joints.
Many joints, such as elbows and knees, move
freely. At most joints, bones are held together by
strong bands called ligaments (LIHG uh muhnts).
Muscles called skeletal muscles work with the
bones. Together, they help the body move.
The outside of bones is very hard and strong.
Inside the hard outer covering at the ends of long
bones like those in the legs and arms is a lighter
kind of bone with small holes, like a sponge.

The human body has bones of many

lengths and shapes.

Ligaments hold bones together at the joints.

20
Reading Session 2

Much of the weight and

strength of bones comes
from minerals, especially
calcium. People need
calcium and vitamins to
keep their bones strong
and healthy. Milk, yogurt,
and broccoli are some
foods rich in calcium.
Exercise also helps keep
bones strong.
The center of a bone
is filled with a material
called bone marrow.
Part of the bone marrow
makes the cells that
give your blood its red The outside of a bone is very hard
color. These cells carry and strong. At the ends of long bones
is a lighter, spongy bone. The center of the
oxygen from the air you bone is filled with bone marrow.
breathe to every part of your body.

From THE WORLD BOOK STUDENT DISCOVERY ENCYCLOPEDIA.

© 2000 World Book, Inc. By permission of the publisher, www.worldbook.com

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 20 through 24 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

fQJP In this article, which of the following f££P According to the article, people can
helps to keep bones strong? bring calcium into their bodies by

® getting enough sleep ® eating fruit.

® drinking lots of water (D drinking milk.

© getting exercise © eating bread.

© breathing deeply © drinking juice.

21
 .

Reading Session 2

%& In order to learn how bones are connected Read the sentence in the box below.
toeach other, the reader needs the
information in BOTH
Many joints, such as elbows and
® picture 1 and paragraph 1
knees, move freely.

© picture 1 and paragraph 2.

4S) Which of the following words from the

© picture 2 and paragraph 1 sentence in the box is a NOUN?
® picture 2 and paragraph 2. ® Many

© elbows

#SjCl Some of the information in picture 3 is © move

about bone marrow. Which paragraph in
more
the article gives the reader © freely

information about bone marrow?

® paragraph 2

© paragraph 3

© paragraph 4

© paragraph 5

22
I

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE

23
 Reading
Session 3
DIRECTIONS
This session contains three reading selections with seventeen multiple-choice questions and one
open-response question. For multiple-choice questions, mark your answers by Ailing in the
circle next to the best answer. For the open-response question, write your answer below the
question in the space provided.

Did you ever do a good job and end up making a mess of things? That is what happens to
try to
Felix the jungle keeper in "Jungle Spots!" Will he learn from his mistakes? Read this play to find out.
Answer the questions that follow.

settinc: The jungle

JUNOLE narrator
jungle was happy
1 : Everyone
—
in the

until Felix

SPOTS! 5
arrived.

narrator He was the new

1.
BYJANEEN BRIAN jungle keeper. He was fussy!

CHARACTERS: felix: This jungle is messy. I'll

clean it with my super-duper-

Narrator 1
vacuum-scooper!
Narrator 2
Felix (jungle keeper) io chorus:VROOM! VROOM!
Chorus VROOM!
Leopard
Snake (Leopard comes up behind.)
Monkey
leopard: Hey, what are you doing?
Bird
Hippo narrator 1 : As Felix turned
Elephant
is around . . .

24
 .

Reading Session 3

narrator 2. . . . the vacuum 40 narrator 1 : Snake wriggled

sucked six spots off Leopard! off. The spotty skin was left

on the ground.
CHORUS: OH NO!
narrator Monkey saw it.
2.
LEOPARD: My Spots!
She climbed down the tree.
20 narrator 2. Felix flicked the
45 monkey: EEE-eee-EEE-OOO-
switch!
ooo! This looks like fun.

CHORUS: CLICK!
chorus: EEE-eee-EEE-OOO-ooo!
felix: Sorry.
narrator 1 : Monkey took the
leopard: I want my spots back! spotty skin back up the tree.

25 felix: I'll press another button. It 50 narrator 2: She played catch

will blow your spots out. with her friends!

leopard: Grrr. Hurry then. NARRATOR 1 : Soon the Spots

chorus: CLICK! WHOOOSH! fell off. They landed on Bird.

NARRATOR 1 : Out flew the Spots

bird: Squawk! Squawk! My babies
55 are hungry. I'll fly over the river
30 toward the river!
and get some berries for them.
leopard: Oh no! Quick, to the
river! chorus: Squawk! Squawk!

narrator 1 : Leopard took off. narrator 2. As Bird flew over

Felix took off. the river, the spots fell off . .

35 narrator 2: The spots landed 60 narrator 1 : . . . and landed on

on Snake. Hippo.

snake: SSS! I'm just sh-sh-shedding hippo: I love my midday bath.

my skin! But I'm hot. Time for a swim.

CHORUS: SHH-sss-SHH-sss.

25
Reading Session 3

CHORUS: Glllg, glllg, glug. narrator 2. The spots landed

on Leopard!
65 narrator 2. Leopard 's spots
floated to the top. leopard: Hooray!

narratorI: Along came Elephant felix: Hooray!

to drink at the river.
90 CHORUS: HOORAY!
chorus: Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.
narrator 1 : Now everyone in
70 narrator 2: The spots made the jungle is happy again,
Elephant's nose tickle.
narrators: for when Leopard got
ELEPHANT:Ah . Ah ... Ah his spots back, Felix said,

TISHOOO!
95 felix: That's it. I'll leave the jungle
narrator 1 : Elephant's sneeze was as it is —every little bit of it!
75 so big, it blew the spots into the
leopard: And he did.
air . . .

chorus: WHHOOOSH!
narrator 2: . . . into the air and
over the river . . .

80 CHORUS: WHHOOOSH!
n a r r ato r 1 : ... over the river and
down to the bank. Just where
Leopard and Felix were standing.

FELIX: Look!

85 CHORUS: WHOOSH!

"Jungle Spots!" - Reprinted by permission of SPIDER

magazine, October 1999, Vol. 6, No. 10, © 1999 by J. Brian.
Art copyright © 1999 by William Coulter. Art reprinted by permission of the artist.

26
Reading Session 3

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 25 through 32 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

f^lP Felix is described as fussy because he fSjjJ In the play. Leopard finally gets his spots
back when
® complains to anyone who will listen.
® Snake sheds his skin.
® is afraid of any kind of change.
© Elephant sneezes.
© wants everything to be neat
and clean. © Hippo goes swimming.

© cries easily when things go wrong. © Felix turns off the vacuum.

^S> What is the FIRST thing that happens

toLeopard's spots when they fly fgsJI Why does Felix decide to leave
out of the machine? the jungle as it is?

® They are caught by Monkey. ® The animals get together and

tell him to stop cleaning.
© They fall into the water.
© Trying to clean it up causes
© They are sucked into a lot of trouble.
Elephant's trunk.
© Telling the animals to work
© They land on Snake. only makes them laugh at him.

© The leopard is angry about

losing his spots forever.
f*£P Why does Bird fly across the river in
this play?

® to help Leopard find his spots

fcfcl In this play, what is the MAIN job
of the chorus?
© to take her eggs to a safer place
® to present characters
© to find food for her babies
© to tell about events
© to give Felix some berries
© to describe places

© to make sounds

27
Reading Session 3

fgjb The reader can tell that this is a play Read the lines from the play in the box below.
because it has

® short lines. LEOPARD: Oh no! Quick, to the

river!
© speaking parts.
NARRATOR 1: Leopard took off.

© a main character. Felix took off.

© sounds in all capital letters.

§CjS> In these lines, took off means

® left quickly.

® had a fight.

© removed the spots.

© jumped up high.

28
Reading Session 3

Write your answer to open-response question 33 in the chart below.

fcjcl sounds of animals or things.

In the selection, there are In the chart below, list FOUR sounds.
Tell what animal or thing makes each sound.

SOUND ANIMAL OR THING

Example: Squawk! Example: Bird

1.

2.

3.

4.

29
Reading Session 3

We share our world with many kinds of animals. Some of them live in the ocean. What happens
when our garbage ends up in their home? Read this article to find out how trash, such as plastic,
harms the creatures of the sea. Answer the questions that follow.

How Trash Hurts Sea Animals

by Judith Woodburn
1 More than 14 billion pounds (6.4 billion kg) of trash per year are
carelessly thrown into the oceans of the world. One of the biggest
problems for sea animals is plastic trash, because plastic trash
never breaks down, or decomposes. Most of the trash that floats on
the surface of the ocean is plastic.

"*"""-
—*!,. ^.J^aJ^i.; __

Left: Garbage is not

just ugly to look at. A
1

g5fc?£&-*~ £ beach like this

littered

^& s J0 r e one can be dangerous

'J.'\ .
-
-

* '^ rti- -?:* -_ •

to the many animals

who and hunt
live

V "' for food near it and the

''- """ ' 'j J" — &/~ people who walk along
-, J ^3^%?^ "ffi^gj^S,- .
-*_*'" •>.- -
'
* r;
* the water's edge.
3*r-77 ..
" .

*#J
"" -
' -^ N ,,„..•' ! . 1
*= ''-

-->.-" <T V
;

2 Seabirds eat little pieces of plastic on the beaches because they

look like food. The plastic fills the birds' stomachs so they cannot
eat real food, and they starve. Turtles eat plastic bags thinking they
are their favorite food jellyfish and they die. — —
3 Plastic six-pack rings do more than just keep soda cans together. If
people throw them away without cutting the rings apart first, they
can act like nooses. The rings get around the animals' necks,
choking them as they grow. It is sad to see animals die simply
because someone could not take the trouble to dispose of his or her
trash properly.

© 1993 Gareth Stevens Inc. All rights reserved. Art copyright © Eye Ubiquitous/CORBIS. Used by permission.

30
 Reading Session 3

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 34 through 38 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

JCjl Which question is answered in the FIRST <cg> Where would this article MOST LIKELY
sentence of this article? be found?

® Why is trash such a big problem for ® in a book of poems

ocean animals?
® in a joke magazine
© How much garbage is dumped into
the ocean each year? © in a book of plays

© Why is so much garbage carelessly © in a nature magazine

thrown into the ocean?

© How many people around the world

throw trash into the ocean? Read the sentence from the article in the
box below.

,
#ffii According to the article, what do turtles It issad to see animals die
like to eat best of all? simply because someone could
not take the trouble to dispose of
his or her trash properly.
® crabs

® plastic
{£]•} The words dispose of mean

© jellyfish
® find.
© seabirds
© throw away.

© use again.
fcjjj According to the article, what should
people do with plastic rings before © remember.
throwing them away?

® Melt the rings down.

© Tie the rings together.

© Cut the rings apart.

® Put the rings inside soda cans.

31
 (

<

32
Reading Session 3

The Hen should be excited to find a big beautiful apple tree growing in her yard. However, in this fable,
it's a good thing that she looks at it very closely! Read the story to find out what happens. Then

answer the questions that follow.

THE HEN AND THE APPLE TREE

by Arnold Lobel

(
ne October day, a Hen looked out her window. She saw an apple
tree growing in her backyard.
"Now that is odd," said the Hen. "I am certain that there was no
tree standing in that spot yesterday."

3 "There are some of us grow fast," said

that the tree.
4 The Hen looked at the bottom of the tree.
5 "I have never seen a tree," she said, "that has ten furry toes."
6 "There are some of us that do," said the tree. "Hen, come outside
and enjoy the cool shade of my leafy branches."
7 The Hen looked at the top of the tree.
8 "I have never seen a tree," she said, "that has two long, pointed ears."
9 "There are some of us that have," said the tree. "Hen, come outside
and eat one of my delicious apples."
10 "Come to think of it," said the Hen, "I have never heard a tree speak
from a mouth that is full of sharp teeth."
n "There are some of us that can," said the tree. "Hen, come outside
and rest your back against the bark of my trunk."
12 "I have heard," said the Hen, "that some of you trees lose all of your
leaves at this time of the year."
13 "Oh, yes," said the tree, "there are some of us that will." The tree
began to quiver and shake. All of its leaves quickly dropped off.

14 The Hen was not surprised to see a large Wolf in the place where an
apple tree had been standing just a moment before. She locked her
shutters and slammed her window closed.
15 The Wolf knew that he had been outsmarted. He stormed away in a
hungry rage.

It is always difficult to pose as something that one is not.

Copyright © 1980 by Arnold Lobel. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

33
Reading Session 3

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 39 through 42 by filling in the circle next to the
best answer.

fCjSl In this fable, the Wolf is sneaky Read the sentences in the box below.
because he

® goes away hungry. The tree began and shake.

to quiver
All of its leaves quickly dropped off.
© talks to the Hen.

© slams the window shut. gjjB What does the word quiver mean?

© pretends to be a tree. ® to escape

® to tremble

4$P What is the MAIN reason "The Hen and © to whisper

the Apple Tree" is called a fable?
© to sparkle

® Itgives the time and place of

the action.

Read the sentence in the box below.

© Ithas animals talking to each other,
and there is a lesson to learn.
She saw ah apple tree
© Itteaches about how trees and growing in her backyard.
animals get along with each other.

© about something that

It tells
^^ The word backyard is a
happened long ago.

® proper noun.

© contraction.

© compound word.

© verb.

34
 Grade 3 Reading
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 11 Reading and Literature 8 A

2 11 Reading and Literature 8 B
3 11 Reading and Literature 8 D
4 11 Reading and Literature 8 B
5 11 Reading and Literature 15 B
6 11 Reading and Literature 12 B
7 12 Language 4 A
8 12 Language 5 B
9 15 Reading and Literature 14 C
10 15 Reading and Literature 14 A
11 15 Reading and Literature 14 C
12 15 Reading and Literature 14 B
13 18 Reading and Literature 8 B
14 18 Reading and Literature 8 B
15 18 Reading and Literature 8 C
16 18 Language 4 A
17 18 Language 4 A
18 18 Language 4 1)

19 19 Reading and Literature 8

20 21 Reading and Literature 8 C

21 21 Reading and Literature 8 B
22 22 Reading and Literature 13 D
23 22 Reading and Literature 13 D
24 22 Language 5 B
25 27 Reading and Literature 17 C
26 27 Reading and Literature 8 D
27 27 Reading and Literature 8 C
28 27 Reading and Literature 8 B
29 27 Reading and Literature 17 B
30 27 Reading and Literature 17 D
31 28 Reading and Literature 10 B
32 28 Language 4 A
33 29 Reading and Literature 17

34 31 Reading and Literature 13 B

35 31 Reading and Literature 8 C
36 31 Reading and Literature 8 C
37 31 Reading and Literature 10 D
38 31 Language 4 B
39 34 Reading and Literature 16 D
40 34 Reading and Literature 10 B
41 34 Language 4 B
42 34 Language 4 C

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

35
<

(
;

HI. English Language Arts, Grade 4

A. Composition
B. Language and Literature

)
 Grade 4 English Language Arts Test

Test Structure

The Grade 4 MCAS English Language Arts Test was presented in the following two parts:

I the ELA Composition Test, which assessed learning standards from the
Curriculum Framework's Composition strand through a writing prompt

I the ELA Language and Literature Test, which assessed learning standards from the
Curriculum Framework's Language and Reading and Literature strands, and
included multiple-choice and open-response questions (items)

A. Composition

The spring 2003 Grade 4 MCAS English Language Arts Composition Test and Make-Up
Test were based on learning standards in the Composition strand of the Massachusetts

English Language Arts Curriculum Framework (2001). The learning standards for the

Composition strand appear on pages 72-83 of the Framework, which is available on the
Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, ELA Composition test results are reported under
the Composition reporting category.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

MCAS ELA Composition Student Test Booklets contained two separate test sessions,

administered on the same day with a short break between sessions. During the first

session, each student wrote an initial draft of a composition in response to the

appropriate writing prompt on the next page. During the second session, each student
revised his/her draft and submitted a final composition.

Reference Materials and Tools

At least one dictionary per classroom was provided for student use during ELA
Composition test sessions. No other reference materials or tools were allowed during

either ELA Composition test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word
dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Intormation

Framework general standards 19-22 are assessed by the ELA Composition.

38
 English Language Arts, Grade 4

Grade 4 Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

You woke up one morning and learned that it was snowing. School was closed for
the day! It was a dream come true. Suddenly you had time to take a break from
the usual routine and do what you wanted to do.

Write a story about a snow day off from school that you remember. Give enough
details in your story to show what you did and how wonderful the day was.

You may use the space below to plan what you are going to write (notes, outlines, other
prewriting activities).

39
 English Language Arts, Grade 4

Grade 4 Make-Up Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

All of us have a favorite place where we get to do what we want. It could be

an indoor place, an outdoor place, or even an imaginary place. What is your
favorite place?

Write a story about what you get to do in your favorite place. Give enough details
in your story to show your favorite place and what you get to do there.

You may use the space below to plan what you are going to write (notes, outlines, other
prewriting activities).

40
 B. Language and Literature
The spring 2003 Grade 4 MCAS English Language Arts Language and Literature Test

was based on learning standards in the two content strands of the Massachusetts English

Language Arts Curriculum Framework (2001) listed below. Page numbers for the

learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Language (Framework, pages 19-26)

I Reading and Literature {Framework, pages 35-64)

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework is available on the Department

website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports ELA Language and Literature test results are

reported under two MCAS reporting categories: Language and Reading and Literature.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

MCAS Grade 4 ELA Language and Literature Test contained three separate test sessions.

Each session included selected readings, followed by multiple-choice and open-response

questions. Common reading passages and test items are shown on the following pages as

they appeared in test booklets. Due to copyright restrictions, certain reading selections

cannot be released to the public on the website. Many of these passages appear in the

printed version of this document.

Reference Materials and Tools

No reference materials or tools were allowed during any ELA Language and Literature

test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited
English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework general standard it assesses. The correct answers for

multiple-choice questions are also displayed in the table.

41
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 1
^
DIRECTIONS
This session contains three reading selections with seventeen multiple-choice questions and
two open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided
in your Student Answer Booklet.

Tarantulas may seem scary until you understand them better. Read this article from a popular
nature magazine to learn more about tarantula spiders. Use information from the article to answer
the questions that follow.

by Deb orah Churchman

i
Tarantulas
—
They're big and hairy but not too scary. Take a
good look at the not-so-terrifying tarantulas.

BIG BODY LIKE, OUCH!

2 Tarantulas are the 4 Some people think a
biggest spiders in the tarantula bite can kill
world. One kind could them. Wrong. Tarantulas
cover a Frisbee. rarely bite people,
and their poison isn't
WARM WORLDS strongenough to kill
3 Tarantulas live in the humans. Most
American Southwest folks who
and in many other have been
warm places around bitten say that
the world. Most kinds it felt no worse
live in burrows, but than a bee sting.

many live in trees.

STRRRRIKE — YOU'RE OUT!

5 When a tarantula feels threatened, it rears up
on its hind legs. Then it drops down and taps

45
English Language Arts Session 1

enemy with its mouthparts. If the

its PEDI-WHATS?
enemy doesn't run away, the spider jabs io The two short leg-like things in front are
it hard. called pedipalps (PED-ih-palps). A
6 Each mouthpart has a sharp, hollow tarantula uses its pedipalps to carry food to
fang on the end. The spider uses the itsmouth. Males also use them to pass
their sperm to females.
fangs like needles to squirt poison
into its victim.
EIGHT GREAT LEGS
A tarantula more often uses its poison Each one of the tarantula's eight legs has
prey —
1 1

to kill its insects, frogs, snakes,

two claws at the end. These help the
lizards, and small mice. spider get a good grip. The bottom of each
foot is also covered with tiny hairs that
EIGHT EYES, NO EARS help the spider climb up smooth walls —
8 Tarantulas have eight tiny eyes — and even glass!
probably can't see very well. They also
have no But their body hairs are
ears.
great at picking up vibrations from the A HOLE-Y LIFE
ground and from the air. The vibrations 12 Many tarantulas dig burrows. Some
let the spiders know what's going on burrow-dwellers line their homes with
around them. silky "wallpaper." The tarantulas may stuff
silk, leaves,and bits of soil into the
BEWARE THE HAIR burrow's opening to keep out the cold or
9 Some North and South American heat. A tarantula may live in the same
tarantulas can use their hair as a burrow for its whole life —
which may be a
weapon! When one of these spiders feels long time. Some captive tarantulas have
threatened, it uses a leg or two to brush lived 30 years!
barbed hairs off its body
lots of tiny, —
and right toward its enemy. The hairs ALL EGGS, ONE BASKET
get into the enemy's eyes or mouth and 13 When a male tarantula is ready to mate,
make them itch and burn. Some kinds of he goes to the opening of a female's
tarantulas just jab their hairs into their burrow and taps or dances. The female
enemies. The spiders also put these hairs may come out and mate with him.
into their egg sacs. This helps protect 14 Later, she lays her eggs inside her burrow
their eggsfrom insects that might want on a thick sheet of silk. She rolls the
to eat them. sheet into a ball called an egg sac, which
helps protect the eggs. When the young
hatch, they go off to find or dig burrows
of their own.

"Reprinted from the March 1998 issue of Ranger Rick magazine, with the permission of the publisher, the National Wildlife Federation.
Copyright 1998 by the National Wildlife Federation."
«

46
 English Language Arts Session 1

4(P This article is considered nonfiction ^y According to the article, which of the
because it following is a common misunderstanding
about tarantulas?
A. describes the tarantula's burrow.
A. Tarantulas lay eggs.
B. contains mostly facts.
B. Tarantulas eat frogs.
C. compares a tarantula to a Frisbee.
C. Tarantulas kill humans.
D. describes the tarantula's legs.
D. Tarantulas live in warm climates.

^P Reread paragraph 2. What does the author

mean when she says, "One kind could ^y According how docs
to the article, a
cover a Frisbee"? tarantula warn an enemy?

A. A tarantula is round. A. It squirts poison at an enemy.

B. A tarantula is playful. B. It jabs an enemy with its fangs.

C. A tarantula is large. C. It stings an enemy with its pedipalps.

D. A tarantula is hairy. D. It taps an enemy with its mouthparts.

^p According where
to this article,
^£P According to the article, how does a
are MOST tarantulas found in the tarantula's hair help the tarantula survive?
United States?
A. by heating the egg sac
A. the Northeast
B. by carrying food to its mouth
B. the Northwest
C. by picking up vibrations from the air
C. the Southeast and ground

D. the Southwest D. by lining the walls and opening of

its burrows

*>•

47
English Language Arts Session 1

Read the sentence in the box below. ^y What is the purpose of the subtitles from
this article, "STRRRRIKE—
such as:
YOU'RE OUT: "BEWARE THE HAIR,"
1

Each mouthpart has a sharp, hollow

and "A HOLE-Y LIFE"?
fang on the end.
A. to help the reader pronounce words

B. to make the article longer for

^P The words sharp and hollow are examples of
the reader
A. nouns.
C. to give the reader the definition of
B. verbs. new words
C. adverbs. D. to organize information in the article
for the reader
D. adjectives.

48
English Language Arts Session 1

Write your answer to open-response question 9 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

^'P According to the article, how do tarantulas protect themselves from enemies? Use important
and specific details from the article to support your answer.

49
English Language Arts Session 1

Waiting for something you really want can be hard. In this fable, the ant must wait a long time.
Read this fable to find out what the ant learned from the grain of wheat. Use information from the
fable to answer the questions that follow.

The Ant and the Grain of

Wheat
BY LEONARDO DA VINCI

i A grain of wheat, alone in the field after the

left
harvest, was waiting for the rain so that it could hide
once more beneath the soil.
An ant saw the grain, loaded it onto his back,
and plodded painfully away toward his distant hill.
As the ant walked and walked, the grain of wheat
seemed to grow heavier and heavier on his weary
shoulders.
4 "Why don't you leave me here?" said the grain of
wheat.

50
 1 a

English Language Arts Session 1

5 The ant replied, "If I leave you behind, we may not

have enough provisions for this winter. We ants are so
many, and we each have to bring home whatever food
we can find."
6 "But I am not made only to be eaten," went on the
grain of wheat. "I am a seed, full of life, and I am
supposed to give birth to a plant. Listen, dear ant, let
us make an agreement."
The ant, glad to rest a little, put down the grain of
wheat and asked, "What agreement?"
8 you leave me here in my field," said the grain of
"If

wheat, "and do not take me to your nest, I shall give

back to you, after a year, a hundred grains just like
me."
9 The ant stared at the grain disbelievingly.
io "Yes, dear ant. Believe what I am telling you. If you
give me up today, I shall give you a hundred of me —
hundred grains of wheat for your nest."
1 The ant thought, "A hundred grains in exchange for
one. But that is a miracle. How will you do that?" he
asked the grain of wheat.
12 "That is a mystery," replied the grain of wheat. "It
is the mystery of life. Dig a little hole, bury me in it,

and return after a year."

13 The following year the ant returned. The grain of
wheat had grown a new plant laden with seeds and
so kept its promise.

© Giunti Gruppo Editoriale, Florence Italy.

51
English Language Arts Session 1

^|*1 What is a lesson this Table teaches? m$} What word BEST describes the grain of
wheat in this fable?
A. Do not trust strangers.
A. humorous
B. False praise gets you nowhere.
B. scary
C. Good things come to those who wait.
C. wise
D. Treat others the way you want to
be treated. D. angry

^|P Reread paragraph from the fable.

1 Read the sentence from the fable in the box below.
The grain of wheat is waiting to be

A. carried on the ant's back.

The ant stared at the grain disbelievingly.
B. left alone after the harvest.

C. planted by the rain.

^jgl What is the subject of this sentence?
D. rescued by a miracle.
A. ant

B. stared

^fl Why does the grain of wheat in this fable C. grain

want to hide once more beneath the soil?
D. disbelievingly
A. to escape from the ant

B. to grow into a plant

C. to make the ant go away

D. to become a part of the harvest

52
9

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
9
English Language Arts Session 1

Read the poem below, and answer the questions that follow.

•
Homework

What is it about homework

That makes me want to write
My Great Aunt Myrt to thank her for
The sweater that's too tight?

5 What is it about homework

That makes me pick up socks
That stink from days and days of wear,
Then clean the litter box?

What is it about homework

10 That makes me volunteer
To take the garbage out before
The bugs and flies appear?

What is it about homework

That makes me wash my hair
15 And take an hour combing out •
The snags and tangles there?

What is it about homework?

You know, I wish I knew,
'Cause nights when I've got homework
20 I've got much too much to do!

—Jane Yolen

Copyright © 1981 by Jane Yolen.

First appeared in BREAKFAST, BOOKS & DREAMS
published by Frederick Warne.
4
Reprinted by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.

54
English Language Arts Session 1

^^ You can tell that this selection is a poem m&0 In this poem, the tasks the speaker chooses
BEST
because it is to do instead of homework can be
described as
A. short and funny.
A. fun.
B. written about children.
B. crazy.
C. written in verse and contains rhyme.
C. popular.
D. written in simple language.
D. unpleasant.

m«l The poet says in stanza 3 that homework

". .makes me volunteer
.
." Another
. . ^|Sl What is the theme of "Homework'"?
word for volunteer is
A. Homework should be done in
A. carry. the kitchen.

B. refuse. B. People put off doing things they

do not like.
C. offer.
C. Children have a lot of homework.
D. like.
D. People wait until Sunday to do
their homework.

55
English Language Arts Session 1

Write your answer to open-response question 19 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

^ ft»y
Think about how the student in this poem feels about doing homework.

• Describe how the student feels about doing homework.

• Explain how the poet convinces you of the student's feelings about doing homework.

Use details from the poem in your answer.

56
>

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
I

i
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 2
DIRECTIONS I
This session contains one reading selection with eight multiple-choice questions and one open-
response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

Have you ever wished your bike could fly? What if your skateboard could listen to you, and take
you anywhere you wanted to go? The Pott family has a very unusual car that can. Her name is
CHITTY-chitty-bang-bang due to the sound her engine makes as it starts. Read what happens in
this selection as CHITTY-chitty-bang-bang tries to help the Pott family get out of a traffic jam and
to the beach for a family picnic. Answer the questions that follow.

(^hitty ($liitty Sang San

The Magical Car
by Ian Fleming

l All of them, Commander Mimsie, Jeremy, and

Pott,
Jemima, were getting more and more hot and impatient,
and even chitty-chitty-bang-bang began steaming angrily
out of the top of her radiator on which (I'd forgotten to tell
you this) there was a silver mascot of a small airplane
whose propeller went round and round in the wind, faster
or slower according to their speed.
And, although they couldn't see them, chitty-chitty-
bang-bang's big head-lamp eyes, that had been so
gleaming with happiness and enthusiasm ever since the day
before, began to get angrier and angrier and more and more
impatient, so that the people who had gazed in admiration
at her through the back windows of their cars, became more
and more nervous about this gleaming green monster
behind them who was beginning to look as if she wanted to
eat up, with the silver jaws of her radiator, all the line upon
line of black-beetle cars that were getting in her way and
keeping her family from their picnic by the sea.
3 But, all the same, they were making steady, though very
slow, progress, until, outside Canterbury, they came upon a
solid jam of cars that must have reached for at least a mile.
—
And there they were stuck at the back of the line; it really
looked as if they couldn't possibly get down to the sands
—
and the sea in time for their picnic let alone to have a
wonderful swim before it.
•

58
English Language Arts Session 2

Suddenly Commander Pott happened to glance at the

dashboard, over on the left, opposite Mimsie, and he said
excitedly, "I say, all of you, look at that!"
And Mimsie looked and Jeremy and Jemima peered
over the back of the seat and amongst all the knobs and
instruments a light on top of a small knob was flashing pale
pink! And it was showing a word, and the word said,
"pull!"
6 "Good heavens!" said Commander Pott. "I wondered
what that knob was for, but it's one of the ones I haven't
had time to tinker with. What can it be for?"
7 "Look," cried Mimsie. "The light's turning red!"
8 And sure enough it was, and now another word was
showing! And do you know what the other word said? It
said "idiot!" So now the angry red knob read "pull idiot!"
And Commander Pott laughed out loud and said, "Well I
never! That's pretty saucy! Here's chitty-chitty-bang-
bang taking control and calling me an idiot into the
bargain! Oh well! Here goes!" And he reached over and
pulled down the little silver lever.
9 The whole family, sat on the tips of
children, in fact the
their behinds, if you see what I mean, and waited excitedly
to see what would happen.
io And a kind of soft humming noise began. It seemed to
—
come from all over the car from the front axle and from
the back axle, and from underneath the hood. And then the
most extraordinary transmogrifications (which is just a long
word for "changes") began to occur. The big front
mudguards swiveled outwards so that they stuck out like
wings sharply swept back, and the smaller back mudguards
did the same (it was lucky the road was wide, and there was
single-lane traffic, or a neighboring car or a telegraph pole
might have been sliced in half by the sharp green wings!).
The wings locked into position with a click and, at the same
time, though the family couldn't see it from behind, the big
radiator grill slid open like a sliding door, and the big
propeller of the fan belt, together with the flywheel
underneath that runs the gas pump and the electric
generator, slowly slid forward until they were sticking right
out in front of the hood of the car.
1 1 And then, on the dashboard, beside another little lever, a
green light started to blink and this light said, "pull down,"
and Commander Pott, rather nervously, but this time

59
English Language Arts Session 2

obediently, reached over and gingerly pulled the lever very,

very slowly down.
12 And then, in heaven's name, what do you think
happened?
13 Yes, you're right, absolutely right. The wings slowly
tilted and, as Commander Pott, at last realizing what
chitty-chitty-bang-bang was up to, pressed down the
accelerator pedal, the big green car, which was now what I
might call an aerocar, tilted up her shining green-and-silver
nose and took off! Yes She took off like an airplane and
!

soared up over the car in front, just missing its roof, and
roared away over the long line of stationary cars in the line
while all the people stared out of their car windows in
absolute astonishment and Commander Pott called out,
"Hang on, everyone. For heaven's sake hang on!" Mimsie
and Jeremy and Jemima clutched the armrests beside them
and just sat, stiff with excitement and with their eyes and
their mouths wide open, thinking, "Heavens above? What is
going to happen next?"

From CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG by Ian Fleming, copyright © 1964 by

Glidrose Productions Ltd. Text copyright renewed 1992 by Raymond Arthur Clanaboy
Baron O'Neill, Martin Michael Charles Baron Charteris, and Arnold Abraham Baron
Goodman. Used by permission of Random House Children's Books, a division of
Random House, Inc.

60
 English Language Arts Session 2

I
4£S) Where would you MOST LIKELY find fjl Why does chitty-chitty-bang-bang yell

this selection? at Commander Pott in paragraph 8?

A. in a book of fiction A. He laughs at her.

B. in an article in a newspaper B. He stops the car.

C. in an entry in an encyclopedia C. She cannot fly without his help.

D. in a book on the history of cars D. She does not want to go to the beach.

fgfp At the beginning of the selection, fsjf CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG sprouts wings

why are the Potts and chitty-chitty- and flies MOSTLY because
bang-bang angry?
A. she wants to surprise the Pott family.
A. The model airplane on the car
B. Commander Pott has an emergency.
is spinning.
C. the Pott family is in a hurry to
B. The car is not working.
return home.
C. The family is stuck in a traffic jam.
D. she wants the family to get to
D. They have forgotten the directions to the beach.
the beach.

fSJjP Reread paragraph 13 of the selection. How

{££? In paragraph 2 the author compares do Mimsie, Jemima, and Jeremy feel as
CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG tO a the car takes off like an airplane?

A. large bird. A. proud

B. small airplane. B. angry

C. black-beetle car. C. excited

D. gleaming green monster. D. scared

61
English Language Arts Session 2

fffil Based on this selection, which of these Read the sentence in the box below.
events will MOST LIKELY happen next?
But, all the same, they were making
A. CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG will fly the
family home. steady, though very slow, progress,
until, outside Canterbury, they came
B. The Potts will become angry with upon a solid jam of cars that must have
CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG.
reached for at least a mile.
C. Commander Pott will promise to never
touch another button in the car.
XS) What does the word jam mean in

D. CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG will fly the this sentence?

family to a beach.
A. jelly

B. crowd

C. push

D. sing

62
 English Language Arts Session 2

I) Write your answer to open-response question 28 in the spaee provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

#js§ chitty-CHITTY-bang-bang goes through many changes as she becomes a Hying car. Describe FOUR
of these changes. Use important and specific details from the selection to support your answer.

63
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 3
DIRECTIONS
This session contains two reading selections with eleven multiple-choice questions and one
open-response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

Weather interests many people. Read this selection about extreme types of weather. Use information
from the selection to answer the questions that follow.

Storms
by Keiko Watanabe

l Who doesn't like to talk about the weather? of us, and storms are an
It is important to all

important part of weather. Storms can produce hard rain, blowing snow, large hail, or damaging
winds.
One kind of storm is heavy snowstorm with very strong winds that whip the
a blizzard. It is a
snow around so hard and fast it can be blinding. A blizzard happens in the winter, when very cold
air from the Arctic flows south and meets warmer air in the Midwest, causing clouds to form and a
blizzard to start.

3 Because of the blowing snow, a blizzard makes it people to drive or walk

difficult for
anywhere. And since it is usually very cold during a blizzard, keeping safe and warm is important,
so people try to stay indoors.
4 Another storm is the hurricane, which starts
over the ocean. The winds get faster and rain
clouds form. The hurricane grows, and then it
moves over the land, bringing strong winds and
heavy rains. The entire storm can be hundreds of
miles wide and can last days or weeks. But it
always keeps moving on to new areas, until
finally it weaker and disappears.
gets
5 Hurricanes form between June and
December, but they occur most often in
September. They usually occur along the Atlantic
Coast or in the Gulf of Mexico.
6 In hurricane season, the weather service
keeps a close watch. If a storm starts, warnings
are sent out so that people in the area can go
indoors or leave town, waiting for the storm to
pass.
The hurricane also gets a name. The first

storm of the year gets a person's name that starts

with the letter A. The second storm gets the
letter B. Each storm that year gets a name beginning with a new letter of the alphabet.
One of the strongest windstorms of all is the tornado. It typically starts on a hot, sticky, cloudy
afternoon. ^

64
 1

English Language Arts Session 3

9 The tornado forms when dry air from the north meets wet air from the south, causing dark
clouds to form. The dark clouds start to change at the bottom, and a funnellike shape forms. This
funnel grows until it reaches the ground, and then it starts to travel, roaring as it goes. This storm is

sometimes called a twister, because the winds blow in a tight circle and the funnel seems to twist
around.
10 Tornadoes hit mostly in the Midwest, but they can also occur in other areas of the country.
Usually tornadoes occur in the spring or the summer. The storm usually does not last long, and the
funnel soon disappears or moves on. Some people stay in a storm cellar; everybody waits until the
storm is over.
1 There are other types of storms, too, which add beauty and excitement to our lives. A
snowstorm brings billions of snowflakes. When they are examined, no two are exactly alike. Each
tiny snowflake has its own shape and beauty.
12 Almost everyone has awakened during a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. The noisy
thunder and the bright lightning startle and excite spectators.
13 There are gentle rainstorms, too. When people hear the soft sounds of quiet, falling rain, they
often feel peaceful. Sometimes after it rains a beautiful rainbow appears in the sky as an enormous
arch of colored stripes.
14 There are many kinds of storms, some of which cause extreme kinds of weather. Others bring a
simple beauty to us. Storms of all kinds are a part of our lives.

"Storms" by Keiko Watanabe. from BRIGHT WONDERS ECONOMY READINGS SERIES. Text copyright © 1986 by Keiko
Watanabe. Reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill Companies.

65
English Language Arts Session 3

fgffl The author begins the selection with a fyCJ In paragraph 13, the author uses
question to the phrase "an enormous arch of
colored stripes" to describe
A. see if the reader knows the answer.
A. how a blizzard looks.
B. gain the reader's interest.
B. the beauty of a rainbow.
C. make the article longer.
C. the formation of a twister.
D. state the main idea.
D. how hurricanes form and grow.

fC^ll According to this selection, blizzards are

MOST LIKELY to start in the {£££ What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

A. Northwest. A. to add new information

B. Northeast. B. to list types of storms

C. Midwest. C. to summarize the selection

D. Southwest. D. to describe a beautiful rainbow

#C|b According to the selection, the storm that ^£> The type of storm that is MOST LIKELY
has the strongest winds is a to start over the ocean is a

A. hurricane. A. hurricane.

B. tornado. B. tornado.

C. snowstorm. C. snowstorm.

D. rainstorm. D. thunderstorm.

tcffl According to the selection, snowflakes are

special because they are

A. soft.

B. white.

C. made from water.

D. different in shape.

'

66
 English Language Arts Session 3

} Write your answer to open-response question 36 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

^^ Identify and describe THREE different typesof dangerous storms described in the selection.
Use information from the selection to support your answer.

67
English Language Arts Session 3

Read this selection about Martin Luther King, Jr., from the book I Have a Dream. Use
information from the selection to answer the questions that follow.

A Dream Begins to Grow

from / Have a Dream
by Margaret Davidson

l Martin had some grand times with his friends.

But sometimes he said, "No, not now," when they
came to play. For he also needed time to think and
daydream and read.
Books were a kind of magic for Martin. They
took him so many places. They told him so many
new things. Most important, they introduced him to
so many people who became heroes in his life. For
Martin's favorite books were about black history,
and the men and women who had made it.
3 He read about Harriet Tubman, the slave who
escaped to freedom in the North before the Civil
War, and yet returned South again and again to
lead other slaves to freedom.
4 He read about Frederick Douglass, another
slave who escaped to freedom but never forgot his
people. Douglass was a great speaker. For years he
traveled around the northern states and England
telling audiences about what it felt like to be a
slave. And after the Civil War he continued to work for basic human rights for all.
Martin read about the great teacher Booker T. Washington, who in the late 1800's founded
—
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama the first college for black people.
He read about George Washington Carver, the scientist who worked at Tuskegee and found
ways to make many useful products out of such plants as sweet potatoes and soybeans and
peanuts.
And he read about people who were doing exciting things right that minute. He read about the
singer and actor Paul Robeson, who became famous around the world. He read about people like
the boxer Joe Louis —
the Brown Bomber, as many people were calling him who in 1937 became —
heavyweight champion of the world. And the track star Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals
for the United States in the 1936 Olympic Games.
As Martin read about these men and women who had done such big things, a dream began to
grow inside him. He wanted to do something big, something important with his life, too.
But what? Martin wasn't sure. Not yet. But he did know one thing. Whatever he grew up to be,
he wanted to help his people. He wanted to make their lives better.

From I HAVE A DREAM by Margaret Davidson. Copyright © 1986 by Margaret Davidson. Reprinted by permission of
Scholastic Inc.
'

68
English Language Arts Session 3

^^ Why were books so important to Martin? fcftl Which phrase BEST describes
Martin's dream?
A. He read them before going out to play.
A. to discover cures for diseases
B. They helped him with schoolwork.
B. to sing and act on the stage
C. He liked to collect books.
C. to be helpful to his people
D. They contained stories of
role models. D. to compete in the Olympics

fffil One of Martin's heroes was a great teacher Read the sentence in the box below.
who founded Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama. This person was
Martin had some grand times
A. Harriet Tubman. with his friends.

B. Frederick Douglass.

C. Booker T. Washington. CjflfF A synonym for the word grand in

the sentence above is
D. George Washington Carver.
A. terrific.

B. terrible.

C. tragic.

D. thoughtful.

69
 Grade 4 English Language Arts
Language and Literature
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 47 Reading and Literature 10 B

2 47 Reading and Literature 15 C
3 47 Reading and Literature 8 D
4 47 Reading and Literature 8 C
5 47 Reading and Literature 8 D
6 47 Reading and Literature 8 C
7 48 Language 5 D
8 48 Reading and Literature 13 D
9 49 Reading and Literature 8

10 52 Reading and Literature 11 C

1 1 52 Reading and Literature 12 C
12 52 Reading and Literature 8 B
13 52 Reading and Literature 12 C
14 52 Language 5 A
15 55 Reading and Literature 10 C
16 55 Language 4 C
17 55 Reading and Literature 14 D
18 55 Reading and Literature 11 B
19 56 Reading and Literature 14

20 61 Reading and Literature 10 A

21 61 Reading and Literature 8 C
22 61 Reading and Literature 15 D
23 61 Reading and Literature 8 C
24 61 Reading and Literature 12 D
25 61 Reading and Literature 12 C
26 62 Reading and Literature 8 D
27 62 Language 4 B
28 63 Reading and Literature 8

29 66 Reading and Literature 13 B

30 66 Reading and Literature 8 C
31 66 Reading and Literature 8 B
32 66 Reading and Literature 8 D
33 66 Reading and Literature 15 B
34 66 Reading and Literature 13 C
35 66 Reading and Literature 8 A
36 67 Reading and Literature 8

37 69 Reading and Literature 13 D

38 69 Reading and Literature 8 C
39 69 Reading and Literature 13 C
40 69 Language 4 A

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year. A

70
*
IV. English Language Arts, Grade 7

A. Composition
B. Language and Literature
 Grade 7 English Language Arts Test

Test Structure

The Grade 7 MCAS English Language Arts Test was presented in the following two parts:

I the ELA Composition Test, which assessed learning standards from the
Curriculum Framework's Composition strand through a writing prompt

I the ELA Language and Literature Test, which assessed learning standards from the
Curriculum Framework's Language and Reading and Literature strands, and
included multiple-choice and open-response questions (items)

A. Composition

The spring 2003 Grade 7 MCAS English Language Arts Composition Test and Make-Up
Test were based on learning standards in the Composition strand of the Massachusetts

English Language Arts Curriculum Framework (2001). The learning standards for the

Composition strand appear on pages 72-83 of the Framework, which is available on the
Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/060 1 .pdf .

t
In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, ELA Composition test results are reported under
the Composition reporting category.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

MCAS ELA Composition Student Test Booklets contained two separate test sessions,

administered on the same day with a short break between sessions. During the first

session, each student wrote an initial draft of a composition in response to the

appropriate writing prompt on the next page. During the second session, each student
revised his/her draft and submitted a final composition.

Reference Materials and Tools

At least one dictionary per classroom was provided for student use during ELA
Composition test sessions. No other reference materials or tools were allowed during

either ELA Composition test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word
dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Intormation

Framework general standards 19-22 are assessed by the ELA Composition. \

72
 English Language Arts, Grade 7

Grade 7 Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

Many young people enjoy favorite hobbies or activities outside of school. These
can include sports, performing arts, or collecting special items, to name a few.

Think about an activity or hobby in which you participate. In a well-developed

composition, describe this special interest or activity and explain why it is

important to you.

Grade 7 Make-Up Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

Imagine that your principal is interested in rewarding the students in your class
with a special day at the end of the year. The principal is looking for suggestions
for entertainment, a possible field trip, or a variety of activities.

Think about what would make the day wonderful for you and your classmates.
In a well-developed composition, describe the special day and explain why the
students would enjoy the day.

73
 B. Language and Literature p
The spring 2003 Grade 7 MCAS English Language Arts Language and Literature Test

was based on learning standards in the two content strands of the Massachusetts English

Language Arts Curriculum Framework (2001) listed below. Page numbers for the
learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Language (Framework, pages 19-26)

I Reading and Literature (Framework, pages 35-64)

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework is available on the Department

website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/060 1 .pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports ELA Language and Literature test results are

reported under two MCAS reporting categories: Language and Reading and Literature.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

MCAS Grade 7 ELA Language and Literature Test contained three separate test sessions.

Each session included selected readings, followed by multiple-choice and open-response

questions. Common reading passages and test items are shown on the following pages as

they appeared in test booklets. Due to copyright restrictions, certain reading selections

cannot be released to the public on the website. Many of these passages appear in the

printed version of this document.

Reference Materials and Tools

No reference materials or tools were allowed during any ELA Language and Literature

test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited
English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework general standard it assesses. The correct answers for

multiple-choice questions are also displayed in the table.

74
»

HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
•

«
 1

English Language Arts

Language and Literature: Session 1

DIRECTIONS
This session contains three reading selections with sixteen multiple-choice questions and
two open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

In the days before planes flew regularly from coast to coast in the United States, pilots who made the trip

were considered heroes. Calbraith Perry Rodgers attempted to be the first flier to make it from New York to

California by air. Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst was offering $50,000 to the person who
could fly from coast to coast in thirty days or less, but the deadline for winning was October 11, 1911.
When Rodgers began his flight, only twenty -five days remained before the Hearst offer would expire.
Read the excerpt and then answer the questions that follow.

s
Brooklyn,NY
Middletown, NY
Binghamton, NY
Kent, OH
Huntington, IN
Chicago, IL

Kansas City, MO
The 8 Fort Worth, TX
9 Tucson, AZ
United States
10 Banning, CA
of America
1 Pasadena, CA

Flying Coast to Coast

by LeRoy Hayman

Rodgers took off from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn in the afternoon and flew to Middletown, New
York, a distance of eighty miles in 1 15 minutes. "So far this is easy," he probably said to himself. "I'll do one
hop in the morning, one in the afternoon, and make it in fifteen days."
It was a different story the next morning. Caught winds of the Catskill Mountains,
in the tricky
Rodgers's plane tangled with the treetops. He crash-landed into a chicken coop, smashing the landing skid of
the plane and cracking a wing. Rodgers suffered cuts and bruises and a wrenched knee. It took the mechanics
three days to repair the plane, now officially named the Vin-Fiz Flyer. There were twenty-one days left.
The next day he made it to Binghamton, still in New York State. He landed in a field outside town and
left the plane in search of a telephone. While he was gone, souvenir-hunters swarmed all over the Vin-Fiz Flyer.

They grabbed everything that could be pried loose, especially nuts and bolts in the engine.
The results of the scavenging soon became apparent. On the way from Elmira to Salamanca, the Vin-
Fiz Flyer's engine began to knock, the propeller to spin more slowly. Rodgers soon saw that the magneto
plugs were slipping out.

77
 1

English Language Arts Session 1

5 What do? Rodgers put one hand on the plugs, shut off the motor, and glided to earth 2,600 feet
to
below. Landing in a swamp, he damaged the lower wings. The mechanics worked on the plane all night, and A
Rodgers started off for Salamanca in the morning. Now there were only seventeen days left.
6 Attempting Rodgers misjudged distances and flew into a barbed-wire
to take off that afternoon,
fence. Another three days were consumed in making repairs.
—
On his way to Akron, Rodgers got lost. The moon came up this was the first time he had flown at
night — and he landed in a cow pasture near Kent, Ohio. The cows fled, but Rodgers felt he had to stay with his
plane all night. He feared that the Kent cows might do the same stripping job that the Binghamton souvenir-
seekers had done.
8 After another day's delay he headed for Huntington, Indiana. He ran into a thunderstorm that turned
him miles off his heading. Finally making it to Huntington, he was met by an enthusiastic and seemingly
uncontrollable crowd. People swarmed all over Rodgers and the Vin-Fiz Flyer, shaking his hand, holding up
their babies to be kissed. When he tried to take off, a mob stood directly in front of his plane. To avoid hitting
(and hurting) his well-wishers, he turned the plane's nose into a fence. The result: an almost total wreck.
9 His crew accomplished a miraculous rebuilding job. Two days later he was off to Chicago. It was
now October 8, and the Hearst deadline was October 11. It was impossible to get in under the wire, even
though Rodgers had already flown 1,272 miles, a new cross-country record. Next major stop: Kansas City,
Missouri, the halfway point between New York and California.
10 There Rodgers bade an official good-bye to the Hearst prize. But he had no intention of discontinuing
his transcontinental trip. He still wanted to be the first man to fly from coast to coast in one sustained effort.
Relieved of the deadline pressure, Rodgers now set out to please the crowds that gathered at every stop along
his route.
1 At Fort Worth, Texas, for example, he flew a series of figure-eights between two water towers only
forty feet apart. His plane had a wingspread of 32 feet, so Rodgers was really playing the daredevil that day. .

Outside Waco, Texas, a giant eagle started to follow the Vin-Fiz Flyer. Rodgers turned sharply, then dived to w
frighten the eagle away. If bird had attacked plane, who knows what damage might have been done?
12 Despite engine breakdowns, Rodgers flew across New Mexico and reached Tucson, Arizona, by
November 1 The next day he set out for California. By this time he was asking for more than his plane had to
.

give. Over the desert a cylinder exploded. Hot oil covered Rodgers 's face and goggled eyes, and countless
steel splinters drove themselves into his right arm. He managed to guide his plane down safely.

13 Rodgers spent the next two days in bed while his repair crew patched up the engine again. In the air

once more, he was flying through San Gorgona Pass when the same old engine troubles, and more, erupted.
The oil tank leaked oil; magneto plugs worked their way out of the sockets; a
the radiator leaked water; the
connecting rod broke. Rodgers's right arm ached badly; his head ached, too. But he made it in one piece to an
alfalfa field outside Banning, California.
14 On November from Banning to Pasadena, California. There a cheering
5 Rodgers flew the 67 miles
crowd carried him ... to the official welcoming committee awaiting him. Some people offered their
sympathies over the lost Hearst Prize. "The money isn't everything," he said. "I made it, didn't I?"
15 Rodgers was the first to fly from coast to coast. In all, his trip had taken forty-nine days, but he had
actually been in the air only 103 hours. He had covered the distance at an average speed of nearly 52 miles an
hour. Of the original Vin-Fiz Flyer in which he had left New York, only the vertical rudder and the drip pan
had lasted the entire flight. Everything else, including the engine, had been replaced or completely rebuilt at

least once.

"Flying Coast to Coast" by LeRoy Hayman, from Aces, Heroes, and Daredevils of the Air. Text Copyright © 1981 by LeRoy
Hayman. Reprinted by permission of the author. A

78
English Language Arts Session 1

The main idea of this article is best %& Rodgers nearly lost his magneto plugs on
summarized by which statement? his flight from Elmira to Salamanca
because
A. Expect the worst and you will be
pleasantly surprised. A. the plane had been damaged in his
crash in the Catskills.
B. Sometimes winning is not everything.
B. people had removed the nuts and bolts
C. Great achievements come easily.
that held them in place.
D. Money is more important than fame.
C. the plane was poorly built and was not
reliable.

D. mechanics who repaired the plane

<f y The author wrote this article primarily to
forgot to replace important parts.
A. inform.

B. analyze.

C. persuade.
%0> How is the information in this article
organized?
D. compare.
A. in order of importance, from most to
least

B. by alternating generalizations and

^gp At first. Rodgers's main reason for making
examples
a flight from coast to coast was to
C. by alternating descriptions of cause
A. get his name in the newspapers and
and effect
become famous.
D. in order of the events as they
B. win $50,000 in prize money.
happened
C. show that it could be done by an
ordinary person.

D. get to California to visit his family.

79
English Language Arts Session 1

#
^j) In paragraph 4, the author says, "The In paragraph 10, the author says, "He still

results of the scavenging soon became wanted tobe the first man to fly from coast
,,
apparent." to coast in one sustained effort.

In this sentence, scavenging means The word sustained in this sentence means

A. repairing. A. famous.

B. thieving. B. continuous.

C. eating. C. successful.

D. crumbling. D. difficult.

80
English Language Arts Session 1

Write your answer to open-response question 8 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

<^y According to the excerpt, what kind of a man was Rodgers? Explain your answer using
information from the article as support.

81
English Language Arts Session 1

Ulysses, theKing of Ithaca, is on a long journey home after fighting for ten years in the Trojan War. Ulysses
(along with crew members Polite s, Eurylochus, and others) must pass by the island of the Sirens. Ulysses
has been warned by a sorceress that the Sirens are women who lure sailors to their deaths with tempting
songs. Read the excerpt below. Use information from the excerpt to answer the questions that follow.

The Adventures of

BY GERALD GOTTLIEB

The adventure of the Sirens was like a dream. All sound

stopped; the sighing wind fell quiet and the surging waves
were still. An eerie silence blanketed the sea as the rowers
pulled the ship steadily past the island, green and small, of the
Sirens.
2 The polished oar blades dipped into the water without
making a sound. Not even the slap of a wave against the prow
broke the strange stillness.

3 Then, like a far-off echo in a dream, Ulysses heard a faint

singing. The still air seemed to quiver as the thin, lovely
sounds caressed his ears.
4 Ulysses took up a great block of beeswax from beneath one
of the stern thwarts and went quickly toward the rowing
1

benches. Heeding the sorceress' 2 warning, he pinched off bits

of the milky wax and pressed them into his companions' ears.
His own ears he did not touch, for he was curious to hear the
wonderful singing. But he had Eurylochus and another seaman
tie him to the ship's mast. They bound their king so tightly that
he could hardly move.
5 All the while the echoing music of the voices grew louder.
Ulysses, the great fir-wood mast hard against his back, twisted
his head toward the green island. It lay beneath a filmy haze,
but he could see a meadow, shimmering with bright blossoms
of blue and yellow and red. And now, as the sweet music
swirled in the vibrant air, Ulysses could see the Sirens.

1
stern thwarts — seats in the rear section of a boat
2
sorceress — woman who practices magic

82
English Language Arts Session 1

6 Two young and beautiful maidens sat in the midst of the

flowers that covered the meadow. They turned their golden
heads toward Ulysses and reached out their slim arms. Their
honey-sweet voices upon the ears of long-suffering
fell

Ulysses like a mother's cool hand soothing the brow of a

fevered child.
7 "Come," the voices sang, gentle in the misty air, "come,
weary man, rest with us awhile." The very air seemed to smile,
and the swaying flowers beckoned.
8 Ulysses strained eagerly against the ropes that held him.
Ithaca was far away, and the voyage was hard and perilous.
Who could tell if he might ever reach his home again? But
here, right here, was a happy place, a place of dreams. He
strained toward the lovely Sirens calling to him from their
flowery meadow.
9 "Come, you are tired," their voices sang. "Come."
10 "Untie me!" Ulysses shouted. He twisted vainly, wrenching
at the cords. "Polites! Eurylochus! Come loose me! I
command you!"
n But the rowers' ears were filled with wax, and they heard
nothing, not the Sirens' song nor their king's helpless
shouting. They rowed steadily on, past the island. The sea was
calm and quiet, and the long oars lifted regularly in the air and
plunged down again into the gray water, making barely
a ripple.
12 Eurylochus turned his head as he rowed, and looked toward
the little island. There seemed to be some sort of green
meadow with flowers —but
was hazy, and he could not see
it

very far into the island. What he could see on the shore,
however, was clear enough. There was a great pile of whitened
bones, lying amid jagged rocks.
13 Some poor seamen had run aground there, thought
Eurylochus. A dangerous place. And he bent to his oar again.
From THE ADVENTURES OF ULYSSES by Gerald Gottlieb, Copyright © 1959 by Gerald
Gottlieb. Copyright renewed 1987 by Gerald Gottlieb. Used by permission of Random House
Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

83
English Language Arts Session 1

<D Which of the following best describes %& Based on information in paragraphs 10-13.
the main idea of the excerpt? the reader can conclude that Eurylochus

A. Good leaders require obedience from A. realizes that the jagged rocks
their crew. are difficult to avoid.

B. Good leaders take risks to avoid B. does not believe stories about
dangerous situations. the Sirens.

C. Good leaders do not always need C. wants the crew to row toward
good followers. the island.

D. Good leaders take precautions when D. is unaware of the Sirens and

they go into dangerous situations. their powerful singing.

^|ll Why is Ulysses tied to the mast in %j£P Which of the following sentences from the
this excerpt? excerpt contains personification?

A. The men fear that Ulysses will A. All the while the echoing music
fall overboard in the rough sea. of the voices grew louder.

B. Ulysses wants to be safe in case B. Two young and beautiful maidens

of a shipwreck. sat in the midst of the flowers that
covered the meadow. *
C. The men have taken Ulysses prisoner.
C. The very air seemed and
to smile,
D. Ulysses wants to hear the Sirens' song
the swaying flowers beckoned.
without losing his life.
D. Ulysses strained eagerly against
the ropes that held him.

mp I' 1 their song, the Sirens

tempted Ulysses with
Read the words from the excerpt in the box below.
A. peace and rest.

B. great riches. A dangerous place.

C. fame and power.

D. everlasting life. %Q These words form

A. a simple sentence.

B. a prepositional phrase.

C. an incomplete sentence.

D. a verb phrase.

84
 NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE

>
English Language Arts Session 1

In "I Love the Look of Words," the poet describes an enjoyable experience in an unusual way. Read
the poem. Use information from the poem to answer the questions that follow.

I Love the Look of Words

Popcorn leaps, popping from the floor

of a hot black skillet

and into my mouth.

Black words leap,

5 snapping from the white

page. Rushing into my eyes. Sliding

into my brain which gobbles them

the way my tongue and teeth
chomp the buttered popcorn.

10 When I have stopped reading,

ideas from the words stay stuck

in my mind, like the sweet

smell of butter perfuming my
fingers long after the popcorn
15 is finished.

I love the book and the look of words

the weight of ideas that popped into my mind

I love the tracks

of new thinking in my mind.

—Maya Angelou
"I Love the Look of Words" by Maya Angelou, copyright © 1993 by Maya Angelou, from SOUL LOOKS BACK IN WONDER by
Tom Feelings. Used by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, a
division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

#1

86
English Language Arts Session 1

m?l The speaker in the poem is likely to ffj) What is the theme of "1 Love the
Look of Words"?
A. eat popcorn instead of read.
A. Reading helps you do well in
B. enjoy the pleasures of reading.
school and in life.
C. forget many new words.
B. Reading stimulates the senses
D. purchase popcorn regularly. and the mind.

C. Reading needs to be practiced

every day.
fffi In lines 6-9 of the poem, gobble and
D. Reading is difficult but worth
chomp are both synonyms for the word
the struggle.
eat. What does the speaker's use of these
words in the poem imply?
A. rudeness

B. confidence

C. eagerness

D. cautiousness

87
English Language Arts Session 1

Write your answer to open-response question 18 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

mp The poem compares eating popcorn to reading a book. Explain how the two are similar.
Use relevant and specific evidence from throughout the poem to support your answer.

88
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 2
DIRECTIONS
This session contains one reading selection with seven multiple-choice questions and one
open-response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

This excerpt from The Red Pony, by American author John Steinbeck, takes place on a ranch
during the 1930s. Ten-year-old Jody lives with his parents and Billy Buck, a hired hand. Tody's
parents have planned a surprise for him. Read the excerpt below. Use information from the excerpt
to answer the questions that follow.

The Red Pony

BY JOHN STEINBECK

1 When the triangle sounded in the morning, Jody

dressed more quickly even than usual. In the kitchen,
while he washed his face and combed back his hair,
his mother addressed him irritably. "Don't you go out
until you get a good breakfast in you."
2 He went into the dining-room and sat at the long
white table. He took a steaming hotcake from the
platter, arranged two fried eggs on it, covered them
with another hotcake and squashed the whole thing
with his fork.
3 His father and Billy Buck came in. Jody knew from
the sound on the floor that both of them were wearing
flat-heeled shoes, but he peered under the table to
make sure. His father turned off the oil lamp, for the
day had arrived, and he looked stern and disciplinary,
but Billy Buck didn't look at Jody at all. He avoided the
shy questioning eyes of the boy and soaked a whole
piece of toast in his coffee.
4 Carl Tiflin said crossly, "You come with us after
breakfast!"
5 Jody had trouble with his food then, for he felt a
kind of doom in the air. After Billy had tilted his
saucer and drained the coffee which had slopped into
it, and had wiped his hands on his jeans, the two men

stood up from the table and went out into the morning
light together, and Jody respectfully followed a little
behind them. He tried to keep his mind from running
ahead, tried to keep it absolutely motionless.
6 His mother called, "Carl! Don't you let it keep him
from school."

90
English Language Arts Session 2

7 They marched past the cypress, where a singletree

hung from a limb to butcher the pigs on, and past the
black iron kettle, so it was not a pig killing. The sun
shone over the hill and threw long, dark shadows of
the trees and buildings. They crossed a stubble-field to
shortcut to the barn. Jody's father unhooked the door
and they went in. They had been walking toward the
sun on the way down. The barn was black as night in
contrast and warm from the hay and from the beasts.
Jody's father moved over toward the one box stall.
"Come here!" he ordered. Jody could begin to see
things now. He looked into the box stall and then
stepped back quickly.
8 A red pony colt was looking at him out of the stall.
Its tense ears were forward and a light of disobedience
was in its eyes. Its coat was rough and thick as an
airedale's fur and its mane was long and tangled.
Jody's throat collapsed in on itself and cut his
breath short.
9 "He needs a good currying," his father said, "and if I
ever hear of you not feeding him or leaving his stall
dirty, I'll sell him off in a minute."
10 Jody couldn't bear to look at the pony's eyes any
more. He gazed down at his hands for a moment, and
he asked very shyly, "Mine?" No one answered him. He
put his hand out toward the pony. Its gray nose came
close, sniffing loudly, and then the lips drew back and
the strong teeth closed on Jody's fingers. The pony
shook its head up and down and seemed to laugh with
amusement. Jody regarded his bruised fingers. "Well,"
he said with pride —
"Well, I guess he can bite all
right." The two men laughed, somewhat in relief. Carl
Tiflin went out of the barn and walked up a side-hill to
be by himself, for he was embarrassed, but Billy Buck
stayed. It was easier to talk to Billy Buck. Jody asked
again— "Mine?"
11 Billy became professional in tone. "Sure! That is,
if you look out for him and break him right. I'll show

you how. He's just a colt. You can't ride him for
some time."
12 Jody put out his bruised hand again, and this time
the red pony let his nose be rubbed. "I ought to have a
carrot," Jody said. " Where 'd we get him, Billy?"

91
English Language Arts Session 2

13 "Bought him at a sheriff's auction," Billy explained.

"A show went broke in Salinas and had debts. The
sheriff was selling off their stuff."
14 The pony stretched out his nose and shook the
forelock from his wild eyes. Jody stroked the nose a
little. He said softly, "There isn't a saddle?" —
15 Billy Buck laughed. "I'd forgot. Come along."
16 In the harness room he lifted down a little saddle of red
morocco leather. "It's just a show saddle." Billy Buck said
disparagingly. "It isn't practical for the brush, but it was
cheap at the sale."
17 Jody couldn't trust himself to look at the
saddle either, and he couldn't speak at all. He brushed
the shining red leather with his fingertips, and after a
long time he said, "It'll look pretty on him though." He
thought of the grandest and prettiest things he knew.
"If he hasn't a name already, I think I'll call him
Gabilan Mountains," he said.
18 Billy Buck knew how he felt. "It's a pretty long
name. Why don't you just call him Gabilan? That
means hawk. That would be a fine name for him." Billy
felt glad. "If you will collect tail hair, I might be able
to make a hair rope for you sometime. You could use
it hackamore."*
for a
19 Jody wanted to go back to the box stall. "Could I
lead him to school, do you think to show the kids?" —
20 But Billy shook his head. "He's not even halter-broke
yet. We had a time getting him here. Had to almost drag
him. You better be starting for school though."
21 "I'll bring the kids to see him here this afternoon,"

Jody said.

* hackamore — a type of halter used in breaking horses to a bridle. It has a wide band that can be lowered over the horse's eyes.

"The Gift," from THE RED PONY by John Steinbeck, copyright 1933, 1937, 1938 © renewed 1961. 1965. 1966 by John Steinbeck.
Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

92
English Language Arts Session 2

Read the words from paragraph 3 in the fsj> Why docs Jody's lather leave the ham in

box below. paragraph 10?

A. He needs to finish his chores.

He avoided the shy questioning
B. He is angry with Jody.
eyes of the boy . . .

C. He uncomfortable
is

showing emotions.
m^l What is the most likely reason that Billy
D. He wants to get the new saddle.
Buck avoids looking at Jody?
A. He does not want to be rude.

B. He does not want to upset Jody. #jsi Why does Jody want to call the pony
"Gabilan Mountains"?
C. He does not want to get Jody
in trouble. A. He likes the way the name sounds.

D. He does not want to give away B. His strong feelings for the pony
the surprise. remind him of his feelings for
the mountains.

C. The name is suggested to him by

Read the sentences from the story in the Billy Buck.
box below.
D. The pony came from a ranch near the
Gabilan Mountains.
Jody couldn't bear to look at the
pony's eyes any more, (paragraph 10)
fSfel How does the excerpt show that Jody's
Jody couldn't himself to look
trust father feels that Jody is growing up?
at the saddle either, and he couldn't
speak at all. (paragraph 17) A. Jody's father expects him to be
responsible for the pony.

B. Jody's father expects him to help

{*£•} These sentences show that Jody is build a new barn.

A. disappointed with his gift. C. Jody's father expects him to have

good grades.
B. overwhelmed with happiness.
D. Jody's father expects him to
C. bored with his present.
be obedient.
D. angry with his father.

93
English Language Arts Session 2

fjfel How does Billy Buck relate to Jody in Read the sentence in the box below.
paragraphs 11-21?

A. B lly Buck gives guidance to Jody. If you will collect tail hair, I might
be able to make a hair rope for
B. B lly Buck jokes with Jody.
you sometime.
C. B lly Buck is embarrassed by Jody.

D. Billy Buck is stern and strict

#ffig The word hair is used as both
with Jody.
A. a verb and a noun.

B. an adjective and a verb.

C. a noun and an adjective.

D. an adjective and an adverb.

94
English Language Arts Session 2

Write your answer to open-response question 26 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

#y§ Explain how Jody's feelings change from the beginning, through the middle, to the end oi
the excerpt. Use relevant and specific evidence from the excerpt to support your answer.

95
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 3
DIRECTIONS
This session contains two reading selections with thirteen multiple-choice questions and
one open-response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

The exploration of caves in the Alaskan Rain Forests has led to interesting and unusual discoveries.
Read the article below. Use the information from the article to answer the questions that follow.

sputters and hisses beneath the

Inside deluge.
way down
shiver as
measure up
A
I
trickle of
the neck of
water finds
my
hold the end of a tape
to the ribbon,
its

suit.

while
I

Alaska 4
dangling on-rope, to measure the
distance from the ribbon
the next station
down
Eron has picked.
"On station!" I have to yell
to

above the noise of the waterfall

for Eron to hear me. The walls
squeeze around me like a
limestone coffin. Every breath
produces a cloud of fog that makes
it difficult to see.
5 Eron and I are creating a map
of this vertical cave on Heceta
Island, Alaska. This cave and
more than hundred others like
six
it in the Tongass National Forest

Bering in southeast Alaska are part of a

Land program to map all the caves in

Bridge the region.
(now underwater) Area of Cave 6 These mapping expeditions
Expeditions were started in 1987 by Kevin and
Pacific

Ocean Carlene Allred. Specially trained

cavers such as Eron and I travel in
float planes, helicopters, and boats
Some of these caves hold to the scattered islands of south-
secrets from the past. east Alaska. These explorers
spend a month each summer
by Rob Knotts mapping the caves.

xA-s Ilower myself into the cave, "OK!" my friend Eron Gissberg Rain Forest in Alaska
muddy rope squishes through my shouts up from the cave passage 7 In this rain forest, the islands
descending rack and spills gummy below. "You're at the next station." get more than one hundred inches
little mounds of slime down the I look over at a red-and-white, of rain yearly. Over thousands of
front of my nylon suit. Three polka-dotted plastic ribbon that years, rainwater has carried acid
meters farther down-rope, the Eron has tied to a tiny knob of from the soil down into the cracks
slanting wall veers into a narrow rock on the cave wall. The heavy and crevices of the limestone
crack. A torrent of water blasts my stream of water still splashes bedrock, dissolving the rock and
face with icy spray and power- off my helmet, and the flame of widening the fractures into the
washes my suit sparkling clean. the carbide lantern on the helmet caves we know today.

96
 English Language Arts Session 3

8 These caves can be dangerous. migrate into the Americas did so wise, these animals could not have
Most of them are squirmy little on foot. During the Ice Age (which survived. And ice-free islands
holes that go straight down for ended about ten thousand years mean the way was clear for people
hundreds of meters. Loose rocks ago), an eight-hundred-mile-wide to move along the coast.
and cold temperatures are strip of land called the Bering 15 In July 1996, Dr. Heaton led a
constant threats. Land Bridge connected Alaska to dig in a small cave on Prince of
9 In some caves there are Russia. Many scientists think Wales Island. He discovered the
horizontal passages where cavers people from Asia became the first oldest human remains ever
skeletal
have found human-made tools, Americans by following large recovered in Alaska. The bones
handwoven cedar baskets, ancient herds of animals across this land were dated at about 9,200 years
drawings on the walls, and many, bridge and south through Canada ago. Later, at the same cave,
many animal bones. Inside the and the United States. Dr. E. James Dixon of the
dry, protected areas of the caves, 13 But there's another possibility. Denver Museum of Natural
some of these objects have been Maybe people came from Asia in History discovered a campsite of
preserved for thousands of years. small boats, skipping from one the same age.
10 When cavers find something island to another along the coast. 16 These scientists have shown
that does not naturally occur in a that humans were living on the
cave, they note its location and The Caves' Clues southern coast of Alaska at the
inform the Forest Service of their 14 The island caves hold clues end of the Ice Age. The idea that
discovery. Scientists use this about those times. Inside the the first Americans came on foot is
information to learn more about caves, Dr. Timothy Heaton of the still alive, but now there is another

the people and animals who once University of South Dakota has reasonable idea: they might have
lived in the area. found the bones of many kinds of come along the coast by boat.
animals that are now extinct from 17 And that is why many cavers
A Mystery the area. He discovered that the return to southeast Alaska each
ill Some of these discoveries may brown bear, ringed seal, arctic fox, year. Mapping a cave is not just a
help change our ideas about one of red fox, land otter, and others chance to visit some of the last
the great mysteries of science: lived on these islands during the unexplored regions of our planet.
How did the first Americans and last years of the Ice Age, when It is also a chance to help discover

the ancestors of American Indians glaciers were thought to have new information about how
come to live on these continents? covered all of Alaska, including animals and humans migrated
12 For many years scientists have the islands. But the islands must into the Americas.
thought that the first people to have been free from ice. Other-

Copyright © 2001 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.

97
English Language Arts Session 3

%& What is the purpose of paragraphs 1^4? fggp What is the most important information
in paragraphs 1-6?
A. to explain why the writer wrote
the article A. Eron Gissberg, a friend of the author,
goes into the cave before him.
B. to discuss the main idea of the article
B. The author and his friend are mapping
C. to persuade the reader to become
a vertical cave in southeast Alaska.
a caver
C. Trained explorers use different means
D. to draw the reader in with a personal
of transportation to reach the caves.
experience
D. The noise of the water inside the cave
makes it very difficult to talk.

fgfcl Which of these best expresses the

main idea of this article?
fcjlf In paragraph 3, what is a context clue
A. Mapping caves in Alaska is cold,
to the meaning of the word deluge!
uncomfortable, and dangerous work.
A. "heavy stream of water"
B. Mapping caves in Alaska helps
scientists learn about past human B. "tiny knob"
migrations.
C. "flame of the carbide lantern"
C. For years, scientists thought that the
D. "plastic ribbon"
very first Americans arrived on foot.

D. In Alaska, scientists have found bones

from animals that are now extinct.

98
English Language Arts Session 3

#Cjb Paragraph 9 of this article can Read the sentence from the article in the
best be described as box below.

A. a comparison.
When cavers find something that does
B. a description.
not naturally occur in a cave, they note
C. an opinion. its location and inform the Forest
Service of their discovery.
D. a conclusion.

fcjcl What part of speech is the word note

According to the article, who was the in this sentence?
firstperson to discover the oldest human
skeletal remains ever recovered in Alaska?
A. adverb

A. Rob Knotts B. noun

B. Dr. Timothy Heaton C. adjective

C. Kevin Allred D. verb

D. Dr. E. James Dixon

99
English Language Arts Session 3

Write your answer to open-response question 34 in the space provided in your Student
Answer Booklet.

#C%1 According to the article, scientists have developed another reasonable idea about how
people originally migrated to America.

a. Explain this new idea.

b. Give two important pieces of evidence from the article AND explain how each supports
this idea.

100
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
English Language Arts Session 3

t
In this excerpt from a play, a middle-aged man named Elwood has a special friend named Harvey,
a huge white rabbit. Elwood claims that his friend is a Pooka, which is a fairy spirit from Irish
folklore that takes the form of a large animal. Harvey is very special to Elwood, but a problem for
the other characters, who can't see him. Read the excerpt below. Use information from the excerpt
to answer the questions that follow.

Harvey
by Mary Chase
Cast of Characters

Elwood
Veta Elwood's sister
-

Myrtle - Veta's daughter

Mrs. Chauvenet - a close family friend

(elwood enters. MRS. chauvenet turns back to pick up her

scarffrom chair, and sees him.)
MRS. chauvenet. (Rushing forward.) Elwood! Elwood Dowd!
Bless your heart.
5 elwood. (Coming forward and bowing as he takes her hand.)
Aunt Ethel What a pleasure to come in and find a beautiful
!

woman waiting for me!

MRS. chauvenet. (Looking at him fondly.) Elwood — you
haven't changed.
10 veta. (Moves forward quickly, takes hold of her.) Come along,
Aunt Ethel —you mustn't miss the party.
myrtle. There's punch if you don't like tea. ^

102
 — — —
English Language Arts Session 3

MRS. chauvenet. But I do like tea. Stop pulling at me, you

two. Elwood, what night next week can you come to dinner?
15 elwood. Any night. Any night at all, Aunt Ethel —
I would be

delighted.
veta. Elwood, there's some mail for you today. I took it up to

your room.
elwood. Did you, Veta? That was nice of you. Aunt Ethel-
20 I want you to meet Harvey. As you can see he's a Pooka.

(Turns toward air beside him.) Harvey, you've heard me

speak of Mrs. Chauvenet? We always called her Aunt Ethel.
She is one of my oldest and dearest friends. {Inclines head
toward space and goes "Hmm!" and then listens as though
25 not hearing first time. Nods as though having heard someone
next to him speak.) Yes —yes— that's right. She's the one.

This is the one. {To mrs. chauvenet.) would He says he

have known you anywhere. (Then as a confused,
bewildered look comes over MRS. chauvenet' s face and as
30 she looks to L. and R. of elwood and cranes her neck to see
—
behind him elwood not seeing her expression, crosses
toward veta and myrtle mae.) You both look lovely.
(Turns to the air next to him.) Come on in with me,
—
Harvey We must say hello to all of our friends (Bows to
35 mrs. chauvenet.) I beg your pardon. Aunt Ethel. If you'll
excuse me for one moment (Puts his hand gently on her
arm, trying to turn her.)

MRS. CHAUVENET. What?

elwood. You are standing in his way (She gives a little —
40 her eyes wide on him.) Come along, Harvey. (He watches
the invisible Harvey cross to door, then stops him.) Uh-uh!
(elwood goes over to door. He turns and pantomimes as he
arranges the and brushes off the head of the invisible
tie

Harvey. Then he does the same thing to his own tie. They
45 are all watching him, MRS. chauvenet in horrified
fascination. The heads of veta and myrtle, bowed in
agony.) Go right on in, Harvey. I'll join you in a minute.
(He pantomimes as though slapping him on the back, and
ushers him out. Then turns and comes back to MRS.
50 chauvenet.) Aunt Ethel, I can see you are disturbed about

103
 —— — ?

English Language Arts Session 3

Harvey. Please don't be. He stares like that at everybody. It's §

his way. But he liked you. I could tell. He liked you very
much. (Pats her arm reassuringly, smiles at her, then calmly
and confidently goes on out at R. After his exit — MRS.
55 chauvenet, MYRTLE and veta are silent. Finally VETA
with a resigned tone —clears her throat.)
veta. {Looking at MRS. chauvenet.) Some —perhaps—
tea
mrs. chauvenet. Why, I —not right now — — well — think
I I

be running along. (Crosses back of table.)

I'll

60 MYRTLE. But
veta. (Putting a hand over hers to quiet her.) I'm so sorry
mrs. chauvenet. I'll — I'll be talking to you soon. Goodbye
goodbye (She exits quickly out L. veta stands stiffly —
her anger paralyzing her. myrtle finally tiptoes over and
65 closes one side of door —peeking over, but keeping herself
out of sight.)

From HARVEY by Mary Chase, Copyright 1953 by Mary Chase. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.

^^ How does the playwright indicate fC^§ What name does Elwood use
stage directions in this play? for Mrs. Chauvenet?

A. She uses italics within parentheses. A. Veta

B. She uses capital letters followed B. Myrtle

by a period.
C. Aunt Ethel
C. She uses dialogue.
D. Harvey
D. She uses flashback.

104
English Language Arts Session 3

® Myrtle and Veta do all of the following

to separate Mrs. Chauvenet from
dc^fr Why
at
does Mrs. Chauvenet "exit quickly"'
the end of the excerpt?
Elwood except
A. She is upset by Elwood's behavior.
A. tug Mrs. Chauvenet towards the party.
B. She realizes she is late for another
B. coax Mrs. Chauvenet to leave with appointment.
offers of tea and punch.
C. She is irritated by Myrtle's and Veta's
C. Mrs. Chauvenet the truth
tell impatience.
about Harvey.
D. She is upset that Harvey stared at her.
D. prompt Elwood to go to his room
for his mail.

€J|ll What is the purpose of the dashes

throughout the dialogue in the play?
Read the lines from the play in the box below.
A. to indicate a pause

B. to show an action
Aunt can see you are disturbed
Ethel, I

about Harvey. Please don't be. He C. to show that a word has been left out
stares like that at everybody. It's his
way. But he liked you. I could tell. He D. to indicate that someone is speaking
liked you very much.

fffil What do these lines reveal about Elwood?

A. He believes he is the only one who

can see and interact with Harvey.

B. He assumes everyone else can

see and interact with Harvey.

C. He does not care what people

think of Harvey.

D. He is pretending to believe in Harvey.

105
 Grade 7 English Language Arts
Language and Literature
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 79 Reading and Literature 8 B

~>
79 Reading and Literature 10 A
3 79 Reading and Literature 13 B
4 79 Reading and Literature 8 B
5 79 Reading and Literature 13 D
6 80 Language 4 B
7 80 Language 4 B
8 81 Reading and Literature 13

9 84 Reading and Literature 8 D

10 84 Reading and Literature 16 D
11 84 Reading and Literature 8 A
12 84 Reading and Literature 16 D
13 84 Reading and Literature 15 C
14 N4 Language 5 C
15 87 Reading and Literature 8 B
16 87 Reading and Literature 14 C
17 87 Reading and Literature 11 B
18 88 Reading and Literature 14

19 93 Reading and Literature 12 D

20 93 Reading and Literature 12 B
21 93 Reading and Literature 8 C
22 93 Reading and Literature 12 B
23 93 Reading and Literature 12 A
24 94 Reading and Literature 12 A
25 94 Language 5 C
26 95 Reading and Literature 12

27 98 Reading and Literature 13 D

2S MS Reading and Literature 8 B
29 MS Reading and Literature 13 B
30 98 Language 4 A
31 99 Reading and Literature 13 B
32 99 Reading and Literature 8 B
33 99 Language 5 D
34 100 Reading and Literature 8

35 104 Reading and Literature 17 A

36 104 Reading and Literature 8 C
37 105 Reading and Literature 8 C
38 105 Reading and Literature 17 B
39 105 Reading and Literature 17 A
40 105 Language 5 A

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

106
V. English Language Arts, Grade 10 and Retest

A. Composition
B. Language and Literature
 Grade 1 English Language Arts Test and
English Language Arts Retest
Test Structure

The Grade 10 MCAS English Language Arts Test and the English Language Arts Retest were presented in

the following two parts:

I the ELA Composition Test, which assessed learning standards from the Massachusetts English
Language Arts Curriculum Framework's Composition strand through a writing prompt

I the ELA Language and Literature Test, which assessed learning standards from the Curriculum
Framework's Language and Reading and Literature strands, and included multiple-choice and
open-response questions (items)

A. Composition
The spring 2003 Grade 10 MCAS English Language Arts Composition Test and Retest were based on

learning standards in the Composition strand of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum
Framework (2001). These learning standards appear on pages 72-83 of the Framework, which is available

on the Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS School Reports and
District Reports, ELA Composition test results are reported under the Composition reporting category.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

i

MCAS ELA Composition Student Test Booklets contained two separate test sessions, administered on the
same day with a short break between sessions. During the first session, each student wrote an initial draft of

a composition in response to the appropriate writing prompt on the next page. During the second session,

each student revised his/her draft and submitted a final composition.

Reference Materials and Tools

At least one English-language dictionary per classroom was provided for student use during ELA
Composition test sessions. No other reference materials or tools were allowed during either ELA
Composition test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited
English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

Framework general standards 19-22 are assessed by the ELA Composition.

108
 English Language Arts, Grade 10

Grade 10 Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

The protagonist is the main character in a work of literature who often changes in
some important way by the end of the work.

From a work of literature you have read in or out of school, select a protagonist
who changes in some important way by the end of the work. In a well-developed
composition, identify the protagonist, and explain why the protagonist changes in
some important way by the end of the work.

Retest and Grade 10 Make-Up Writing Prompt

WRITING PROMPT

In literature as in life, people can make choices and must live with the
consequences of those choices.

From a work of literature you have read in or out of school, select one character who
makes a choice. In a well-developed composition, identify the character's choice
and explain what happens as a result of this choice.

109
 B. Language and Literature

The spring 2003 Grade 10 MCAS English Language Arts Language and Literature Test was based on %
learning standards in the two content strands of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum
Framework (2001) listed below. Page numbers for the learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Language {Framework, pages 19-26)

I Reading and Literature [Framework, pages 35-64)

The English Language Arts Curriculum Framework is available on the Department website at

www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/ela/0601.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS School Reports and
District Reports, ELA Language and Literature test results are reported under two MCAS reporting

categories: Language and Reading and Literature.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

The grade 10 ELA Language and Literature Test and Retest each included three separate test sessions.

Sessions 1 and 2 were administered on the same day, and Session 3 was administered on the following day.

Each session included selected readings, followed by multiple-choice and open-response questions. Common
reading passages and test items are shown on the following pages as they appeared in test booklets. Due to

copyright restrictions, certain reading selections cannot be released to the public on the website. Many of

these passages appear in the printed version of this document.

^
Reference Materials and Tools

No reference materials or tools were allowed during any ELA Language and Literature test session, with

the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category and the Framework
general standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice questions are also displayed in

the table.

110
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

 *

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
*
 —
English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 1

DIRECTIONS
This session contains two reading selections with twelve multiple-choice questions and
one open-response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

For people born colorblind, the colors of objects appear to be different than they really are.
Newspaper reporter Joe Rogers is colorblind. Read his humorous recounting of living with this
condition and use information from it to answer the questions that follow.
attest to the difficulty I've
had making that

Yellow Skies, determination.

On the positive side,
there's a certain

Blue Trees? conversational value in the

condition.
my colorblindness
has a
When

way of coming
I confess
(it often
up),
I'm colorblind, but that doesn't mean my people at first assume my
world resembles a Mathew
world is psychedelic —just confusing Brady photograph or a
1

1930s movie, pre-Ted

2
BY JOE ROGERS Turner.
the failing of the
I explain to them
word
fellow fourth grader broke the news itself. Total colorblindness is exceedingly rare.
to me after she saw my effort on a People who suffer from it usually have a host of

A^ class assignment involving scissors

and construction paper. "You cut
.out a purple bluebird," she said.
There was no reproach in her voice, just a certain
puzzlement. Her observation opened my eyes
other problems as well, including extreme
sensitivity to light and poor visual acuity. Those of
us with a simple color-vision deficiency face
much more mundane problems: If I wear this shirt
with these pants, will people stare? Or, worse,
not that my eyes particularly help to the fact— laugh?
that I am colorblind. In the 36 years since, I've Early on, I learned the hazards of shopping alone
been trying to understand what that means. I'm for clothes, when I bought a blue shirt that turned
still not sure I do. out to be — —
yes purple. Even dressing myself is
My research hasn't been overly scientific. I hazardous. I've mistaken green shirts for gray,
know almost always a genetic
colorblindness is brown pants for green. And I'm hopeless with ties.
condition, affecting males far more often than I never wear one unless it's been cleared for use by

females. It has to do with color receptors, called someone I trust.

cones, in the retina. There's some question as to Fortunately, some clothing makers include the
whether the problem exists cones in the color of their garments on price tags.
themselves, or the brain's ability to process the Unfortunately, those colors tend to be listed in
signals the cones send. terms such as raisin, sesame, citron, salmon,
That debate I leave to others. I'm more shrimp, celery, saffron, wheat and maize. It
concerned with the practical effects, such as: doesn't help to tell me my clothes are the color of
how can I tell when the hamburgers I'm grilling a fruit, grain, seasoning or water creature when I

are done? Some of my past dinner guests can don't know what color any of them is, either.

1
Mathew Brady — pioneer photographer appointed as the official Union photographer during the Civil War.
His pictures were in black and white.
2
Ted Turner — cable television owner who has added color to old black and white movies

113
 1 —
English Language Arts Session 1

Because the most common form of spearmint or cinnamon gum ball until I put it into
colorblindness involves distinguishing red and my mouth. Or having to ask a store clerk what,
green, people logically assume it involves only precisely, is meant by a tag that says a jacket is

those two hues. That is the type I have, but the "bark."
problem is not as simple as it sounds. 13 Of course, my career options have been limited
Sometimes I can tell red from green. by my condition. Fashion designer or interior
Sometimes I can't. It depends on how intense decorator were never on the list. And in the case
the colors are, how much light is available, of war, where might be of real importance to
it

how far away I am from the objects in differentiate the people in green uniforms from
question. those in brown or gray, I would not be your man.
8 Ican always tell a red traffic signal from a 14 There have been certain drawbacks in my job as
green one, for instance. I can't tell a lone red newspaper reporter. When it comes to painting a
signal from a yellow one. At night, from a picture in words, my palette is limited. There are
distance, I can't tell a green signal from the no comparative allusions to sunsets in my work,
glow of a street light. My confusion can make no evocations of azure or magenta. No one has
for some adventurous driving. ever described my writing as colorful.
9 Other nonassertive colors can be 15 At two purported cures exist. One involves
least
troublesome, too. When I bought my house a a red-orange contact lens, worn only on one eye.
few years back, I assumed the living-room A Japanese clinic claims results with treatments
walls were some variation of a neutral white involving electrodes at specific points — a sort of
tone. A visitor told me they were, in fact, quite electric acupuncture. I haven't personally
—
pink that I was more or less living inside a investigated either, partly because I'm not sure my
bottle of Pepto-Bismol. I called a painter who brain could handle a world without color
recommended something he called eggshell. I confusion. Besides, I wonder how much real need
took his advice. there is to be able to perceive jute or ocher.
10 That sort of thing is a source of great 16 Over the years I've considered petitioning the
amusement formy color- visioned friends. federal government to include colorblindness
When they learn my world is not completely among the legally recognized disabilities, but I

black and white, they get a kick out of pointing suspect we lack collective political clout. I've also
to various items and asking what color I think made some passing effort to form an association
they are. When I say I don't know, they almost a League for the Color- Vision Impaired, say.
invariably ask: "Well, what color does it look Unlike left-handers, however, we seem disinclined
like?" to rally round our deviation from the norm. Thus
1 hard to explain that the color they see
It's there's no ready source of information about how
simply isn't on my list of options. They seem many presidents, or military heroes, or rock
to prefer to think that I see all the right colors singers have been colorblind.
but in the wrong places. That life for me, and 17 Based on the law of averages, though, there
those similarly afflicted, is a psychedelic planet must have been some. We are everywhere, trying
of yellow skies, blue trees and orange oceans. I to cope, trying to blend in. Usually we succeed.
admit, I sometimes wonder myself whether Until someone spots our purple bluebirds. Then
other people see a completely different world. the jig is up.
12 Usually my problem is of little consequence.
Like not knowing whether I've picked up a

From Newsweek, November 30 ©

1998 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the copyright
laws of the United States. The laws prohibit any copying, redistribution or retransmission of this material without express written
permission from Newsweek.

114
English Language Arts Session 1

^P The author gives examples of everyday ^y The conclusion of the selection

experiences to suggests that

A. persuade the reader to be screened A. in the future, colorblindness will

for colorblindness. be eliminated.

B. support the scientific research B. the average person may have some
on colorblindness. degree of colorblindness.

C. help the reader identify with C. the populations of colorblind people

his situation. and left-handers are equal in numbers.

D. achieve legal recognition for D. colorblind people cannot usually be

colorblindness as a disability. distinguished from everyone else.

^p What is the purpose of paragraph 1? ^*P This selection is best described as

A. to introduce the important people A. a biography.

in the author's life
B. a scientific article.
B. to describe the medical condition
C. an essay.
known as colorblindness
D. an investigative report.
C. to identify when the author first

discovered he was colorblind

D. to describe the early stages In paragraph 15, the word purported

4(*P
of colorblindness means

A. purposeful.

4&P According to the selection, what is the B. verified.

author's attitude toward his colorblindness?
C. beneficial.
A. He resents the restrictions it has
D. claimed.
imposed on his life.

B. He demands that the government

take action.
^P In paragraph 16, the
likely
word petitioning most
comes from which of these origins?
C. He wants to be cured so he can
become a better cook.
A. French petit, small
D. He has learned to live comfortably
B. Latin petere, to request
with it.

C. Middle French empestrer, to embarrass

D. Greek petros, stone

115
English Language Arts Session 1

Write your answer to open-response question 8 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

%^ Explain how the author uses humor show how comfortable he is with his colorblindness.
to
Use relevant and specific information from the selection to support your answer.

116
 NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE

w
 English Language Arts

English Language Arts Session 1

This selection by Sandra Cisneros is about struggle and inspiration. Read the selection below and
use information from it to answer the questions that follow.

Four Skinny Trees

by Sandra Cisneros

1 They are the only ones who understand me. I am the

only one who understands them. Four skinny trees with
skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine. Four who do
not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted
by the city. From our room we can hear them, but Nenny
just sleeps and doesn't appreciate these things.
2 Their strength They send ferocious roots
is secret.

beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down

and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the

sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger. This is

how they keep.

3 Let one forget his reason for being, they'd all droop
like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around the other.
Keep, keep, keep, trees say when I sleep. They teach.

4 When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping,

when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I
look at trees. When there is nothing left to look at on this
street. Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach
and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to

be and be.

From THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET. Copyright © 1984 by Sandra Cisneros. Published by Vintage Books, a division of
Random House, Inc., and in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf in 1994. Reprinted by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services,
New York. All rights reserved.

118
English Language Arts Session 1

^P According
surroundings
to the selection, the narrator's
make her feel
Read the dictionary entry for the
box below.
word keep in the

A. bored.
keep (kep) v. 1. to fulfill; to be faithful
B. protected. to. 2. to tend or take care of. 3. to hold
C. out of place. back or restrain. 4. to continue on
without interruption.
D. close to her family.

m^B Which definition best lits the word keep as

it is used in paragraph 2 of the selection?
^|ll According to the selection, the narrator
most strongly identifies with the A. definition 1

trees because
B. definition 2
A. they are skinny.
C. definition 3
B. they grow so fast.
D. definition 4
C. they endure.

D. they depend on others.

Read the sentence from paragraph 2 in the box
below. Pay close attention to the use of the
conjunction and.
^f) According to the selection, the trees
draw their reason for being from
They grow up and they grow down and
A. the city.
grab the earth between their hairy toes
B. each other. and bite the sky with violent teeth and
never quit their anger.
C. the sun.

D. their surroundings. By
^£9 repeating the conjunction and, the
author is able to

A. build intensity.

B. describe the trees.

C. express fondness for the trees.

D. use poetic language.

119
 English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 2
DIRECTIONS
This session contains two reading selections with eleven multiple-choice questions and two
open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

English poet Edmund Spenser lived from 1552-1599. Read his poem "Sonnet 26" below. Use the
information from the poem to answer the questions that follow.

Sonnet 26
Sweet is the rose, but grows upon a briar:
Sweet is the juniper, but sharp his bough.
Sweet is the eglantine.
1

but pricketh near;

Sweet is the fir bloom, but his branch is rough:
Sweet is the cypress, but his rind is tough:
Sweet is the nut. but bitter is his pill:
Sweet is the broom flower, but yet sour enough:
And sweet is moly.- but his root is ill.
So even- sweet with sour is tempered still.
10 That maketh it be coveted the more:
For easy things, that may be got at will.
Most sorts of men do set but little store.
Why then should I account of little pain.
That endless pleasure shall unto me gain!

—Edmund Spenser

1
eslantine
- — a trailing rose with thom\ stems and fragrant leaves
— European or wild
-

2
moly garlic

In the public domain.

120
English Language Arts Session 2

^E> What contrast is established by the use mpl What does the poet suggest in lines I I I 2?
of the word but in the first eight lines
A. People easily take the things they
of the poem?
want.
A. good versus evil
B. People desire more than they can have.
B. life versus death
C. People do not value things that come
C. pleasure versus pain easily.

D. knowledge versus ignorance D. People should be satisfied with who

they are.

fljfjfr What is the purpose of the last two lines of

m*P Edmund Spenser's use of the words
the poem?
pricketh and maketh
A. to add humor to the poem
A. reflects poetic language of his time.
B. to reassert the speaker's anger
B. introduces rhyme into the poem.
C. to summarize the poem's meaning
C. emphasizes the actions of the speaker.
D. to repeat the poem's visual imagery
D. suggests the disbelief of the speaker.

121
English Language Arts Session 2

Write your answer to open-response question 18 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^|sl Create another title "Sonnet 26*" and explain

for why your title is appropriate. Use information
from the poem to support your answer.

*-

122
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
English Language Arts Session 2

This selection is Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, a tale of a woman and her
the first chapter of Nathaniel
Puritan community. The story takes place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-1600s. Read the
chapter below. Use information from the chapter to answer the questions that follow.

The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

THE PRISON-DOOR

A THRONG of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,

and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with
women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was
assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which
5 was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron
spikes.
The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human
virtue and happiness they might originally project, have
invariably recognized it among their earliest practical
10 necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery,
and another portion as the site of a prison. In accordance
with this rule, it may safely be assumed that the forefathers

of Boston had built the first prison-house, somewhere in the

vicinity of Cornhill, almost as seasonably as they marked
15 out the first burial-ground, on Isaac Johnson's lot, and round
about his grave, which subsequently became the nucleus of
1
all the congregated sepulchres in the old churchyard of
King's Chapel. Certain it is, that, some fifteen or twenty
years after the settlement of the town, the wooden jail was
20 already marked with weather-stains and other indications of
age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and
gloomy front. The rust on the ponderous iron-work of its
oaken door looked more antique than anything else in the
New World. Like all that pertains to crime, it seemed never
25 to have known a youthful era. Before this ugly edifice, and
between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a
grass-plot, much overgrown with burdock, 2 pig-weed, 3
apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently

^sepulchres — burial places

2
burdock — an herb r
^pig-weed — a largeweedy plant

124
English Language Arts Session 2

found something congenial in the soil that had so early

30 borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison. But, on
one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was
month of June, with its
a wild rose-bush, covered, in this
delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their
fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and
35 to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in
token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind
to him.
This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in
history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern
40 old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and
oaks that originally over-shadowed it, —or whether, as there
is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the
footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson, as she entered the
prison-door, —we shall not take upon us to determine. Finding
45 it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now
about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly
do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the
reader. It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet
moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve
50 the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.

From The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the public domain.

125
English Language Arts Session 2

e
m?l The author conveys the mood of this QZjp All of the following words could be used
chapter by focusing mainly on to describe the mood of lines 1-3 except

A. plot. A. cheerless.

B. setting. B. colorless.

C. characters. C. rebellious.

D. personification. D. grave.

#ffil Which of the following phrases best

#SjCl According where
to the chapter,
expresses the main idea of the chapter?
was the wild rose-bush growing?
A. Sometimes the dreariest place may
A. among the weeds
contain a ray of hope.
B. near the street
B. Colonists who do not uphold the law
deserve to die. C. by the walkway

C. Virtue is not enough to protect one D. beside the prison door

from death.

D. Ancient surroundings tend to attract

evil-doers.
t

§S|P Which of the following is the best context

clue to indicate that this is the first chapter
of the novel?

A. "whatever Utopia of human virtue and

happiness they might originally
project"

B. "the deep heart of Nature could pity

and be kind to him"

C. "the wooden jail was already marked

with weather- stains and other
indications of age"

D. "the threshold of our narrative, which

is now about to issue from that

inauspicious portal"

126
English Language Arts Session 2

fgj> What is the best synonym for the word Read the phrase from lines 26-28 in the box below.
edifice as it is used in line 4?
a grass-plot, much overgrown with
A. door
burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and
B. stage such unsightly vegetation

C. building

D. carriage
© Which of the following words is the
best synonym for the word unsightly!

A. ordinary

B. unattractive

C. delicate

D. unhealthy

Write your answer to open-response question 26 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

© Identify theimage in the chapter that indicates a shift in the mood. Explain how the mood
changes after this image is introduced. Use relevant and specific information from the
chapter to support your answer.

127
 — —
English Language Arts
Language and Literature: Session 3
DIRECTIONS
This session contains two reading selections with thirteen multiple-choice questions and one
open-response question. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

If you look around, you something with a bar code on it. In this excerpt from his
will likely see
article "Bar Codes," Ed Leibowitz describes the emergence of the Universal Product Code (UPC)
bar code in the 1970s. Leibowitz traces the UPC code from the once unfamiliar grocery store
symbol to a widely-recognized consumer code. Read the excerpt and use the information in it to
answer the questions that follow.

BAR CODES:
reading between the lines
by Ed Leibowitz
1 How strange that the checkout line 3 Twelve run across the bar code's
digits
this unhappy place, this technological bottom, topped by 29 light and 30 dark
—
backwater should have pioneered a lines that render those digits into a
symbol that has transformed not just the laser-scannable computer language. The
supermarket but mass retail worldwide. first digit defines broad categories: produce,
During the 25 years since its adoption, the health-related items, standard packaged
bar code has blossomed by the thousands in foodstuffs. A
nonprofit corporation called
every American household. It has found its the Uniform Code Council (UCC)
way into refrigerators and kitchen cabinets, assigns a five-digit sequence to a given
bookshelves and broom closets, bathrooms manufacturer, such as the number "30000"
and bureaus. On just about any consumer for the Quaker Oats Company, while
good imaginable, the ubiquitous icon the manufacturer doles out subsequent
comes compulsory, as part of the purchase five-digit units of UPC to identify different
price. products and sizes. Thus the scanner will
2 Through formidable database, the
its read "30000 06110" as a pound of Quaker's
UPC has allowed such retail giants as Cap'n Crunch cereal, or "30000 01020" as
K Mart and Wal-Mart and Office
Staples, an 18-ounce container of Old Fashioned
Depot to track customer buying habits Quaker Oats. The final UPC digit ensures
worldwide and to adjust billions in that each one of the passing items has in fact
inventory accordingly. Its use has expanded been correctly scanned.
through the distribution and production 4 Although the symbol would eventually
chain to encompass wholesale shipments become invisible in omnipresence, one
its

and raw materials. And it has spun can certainly understand how shoppers
off a multitude of other codes and a during those first
computerized identification movement few months per-
in which human blood, overnight ceived that strange
packages, dry cleaning, university students, apparition on their
antidepressants and endangered animals cans of corn and
are identified by a laser-driven scanner. cartons of milk
decipherable to a
laser but not the U-LS17 c\-'?h c\^3-'\
human eye.
"Bar Codes: Reading Between the Lines" by Ed Leibowitz, from Smithsonian. Copyright © 1999, Ed Leibowitz, Reprinted by
permission of the author.

128
 English Language Arts Session 3

I
#jy What is the main purpose of this excerpt? fCjtl In paragraph 1, the word ubiquitous
refers to something that
A. to suggest bar codes are no
longer necessary A. benefits many people.

B. to explain the origin and purpose B. takes up a large space.

of bar codes
C. is very expensive.
C. to urge consumers to pay more
D. can be found everywhere.
attention to changes in bar codes

D. to show how bar codes have

simplified our lives fe|P According to the excerpt, bar codes
are used to

A. keep prices under control.

#ffil Which of these best describes the author's
attitude toward his subject? B. discourage shoplifters.

A. He finds it interesting that the tiny C. allow stores to track people's

bar code has had such a large effect buying habits.
on the world.
D. encourage people to buy in bulk.
B. He would like to see more products
identified by laser-driven scanners.
{gjsp According to the excerpt, shoppers who
C. He believes that bar codes have made
encountered bar codes for the first time
it possible for corporations to invade
were probably
people's privacy.
A. confident.
D. He cannot believe that manufacturers
go to all this trouble to label their B. indifferent.
products.
C. irate.

D. puzzled.
{*gP According to the excerpt, why is it

strange that the supermarket checkout

line was the first place the bar code was fCgp Reread the last paragraph. What does it

used successfully? mean when something becomes

"invisible in its omnipresence"?
A. Checkout lines of the 1970s were
not known for new technology. A. Over the years, the symbol has been

B. Bar codes were a

made so tiny it can hardly be seen.
threat to a
supermarket's profits. B. Bar codes have come to symbolize
American technology.
C. Other industries tried to develop
the bar code in the 1970s but failed. C. Consumers are so used to bar codes
that they do not notice them anymore.
D. Bar codes caused the price of groceries
to increase. D. The use of the laser makes it
unnecessary to read the bar code.

129
English Language Arts Session 3

Write your answer to open-response question 34 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fcjl Based on the excerpt, explain how bar codes have changed the world since they were first
introduced 25 years ago. Use relevant and specific information from the excerpt to support
your answer.

130
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 ——
English Language Arts Session 3

In this excerpt from the play A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry writes about the power of t
dreams. Hansberry uses a poem by Langston Hughes as a thematic introduction to her play. Read
the poem and the excerpt from the play below. Use information from both selections to answer the
questions that follow.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore
5 And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over
Like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

10 Like a heavy load.

Or does it explode ?

—Langston Hughes
A RAISIN IN THE SUN *
by Lorraine Hansberry

travis Well, good night, Daddy.

(The FATHER has come from behind the couch and leans over, embracing his son)

Walter Son, I feel like talking to you tonight.

travis About what?

5 Walter Oh, about a lot of things. About you and what kind of man you going to be when you grow
up. . . . Son — son, what do you want to be when you grow up?

travis A bus driver.

Walter (Laughing a little) A what? Man, that ain't nothing to want to be!

travis Why not?

10 Walter 'Cause, man — it ain't big enough —you know what I mean.

132
 — — — a

English Language Arts Session 3

travis know then.

I don't I can't make up my mind. Sometimes Mama me that too. And
asks
sometimes when I tell her I just want to be like you — she says she don't want me to be like that
and sometimes she says she does. . . .

Walter (Gathering him up in his arms) You know what, Travis? In seven years you going to be
15 seventeen years old. And things is going to be very different with us in seven years, Travis. . . . One
day when you are seventeen I'll come home —home from my office downtown somewhere

travis You don't work in no office, Daddy.

Walter No —but after tonight. After what your daddy gonna do tonight, there's going to be offices —
whole lot of offices. . . .

20 travis What you gonna do tonight, Daddy?

Walter You wouldn't understand yet, son, but your daddy's gonna make a transaction ... a business
transaction that's going to change our lives. . . . That's how come one day when you 'bout seventeen
years old I'll come home and I'll be pretty tired, you know what I mean, after a day of conferences
and secretaries getting things wrong the way they do 'cause an executive's life is hell, man . . .

25 (The more he talks the farther away he gets) And I'll pull the car up on the driveway just a plain . . .

black Chrysler, I think, with whitewalls no black tires. More elegant. Rich people don't have to be — —
i flashy . though I'll have to get something a little sportier for Ruth maybe a Cadillac convertible
. . —
to do her shopping in. And I'll come up the steps to the house and the gardener will be clip-
. . .

ping away at the hedges and he'll say, "Good evening, Mr. Younger." And I'll say, "Hello, Jefferson,
30 how are you this evening?" And I'll go inside and Ruth will come downstairs and meet me at the door
and we'll kiss each other and she'll take my arm and we'll go up to your room to see you sitting on
the floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in America around you. All the great schools . . .

in the world! And —

and I'll say, all right son it's your seventeenth birthday, what is it you've
decided? Just tell me where you want to go to school and you'll go. Just tell me, what it is you
. . .

35 —
want to be and you'll be it. Whatever you want to be Yessir! (He holds his arms open for
. . . —
travis) You just name it, son (travis leaps into them) and I hand you the world!
. . .

(Walter's voice has risen in pitch and hysterical promise and on the last line he lifts travis high)

(Blackout)

From THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LANGSTON HUGHES by Langston Hughes, copyright © 1994 by The Estate of Langston
Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

From A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Lorraine Hansberry, copyright © 1958 by Robert Nemiroff, as an unpublished work.
Copyright © 1959, 1966, 1984 by Robert Nemiroff. Used by permission of Random House, Inc.

Wi

133
English Language Arts Session 3

^^ The imagery in lines 4 through 6 of the fcjij Which word best describes the father in
poem refers to things that are the play?

A. antique. A. defensive

B. spoiled. B. content

C. valuable. C. ambitious

D. trivial. D. unemotional

^^ What does the simile in lines 9-10 of the Read the stage directions in the box below.
poem suggest about the dream?
A. It will soon be carried on by Walter 's voice has risen in pitch and
someone else.
hysterical promise

B. It will lighten the loads of

other people. #Cgl What does this stage direction tell the
reader about Walter?
C. It becomes more attainable.
A. The more he talks about the future, the
D. It becomes burdensome. more excited he becomes.
B. Walter is upset with his son's lack of
ambition.
^^ According to Travis in lines 1 1-13 of the
play, what is Mama's attitude toward C. Talking about the future leaves Walter
Walter? confused about the past.

A. She respects Walter but wants a better D. Walter is questioning his son about his
life for Travis. career goals.

B. She believes Walter should not expect

too much from life.
gjjtl In line 1 of the poem, what is a good
C. She is angry that Walter wants to push synonym for the word deferred ?
1

Travis too much.

A. postponed
D. She wishes Walter would make up his
mind about what he wants. B. accomplished

C. strengthened

D. inspired

134
 Grade 10 and Retest English Language Arts
Language and Literature
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 115 Reading and Literature 13 C

2 115 Reading and Literature 13 c
3 115 Reading and Literature 13 D
4 115 Reading and Literature 13 D
5 115 Reading and Literature 10 C
6 115 Language 4 D
7 115 Language 5 B
8 116 Reading and Literature 13

9 119 Reading and Literature 12 C

10 119 Reading and Literature 12 C
11 1 19 Reading and Literature 12 B
12 I 19 Language 4 D
13 119 Reading and Literature 15 A
14 121 Reading and Literature 14 C
15 121 Language 6 A
16 121 Reading and Literature 14 C
17 121 Reading and Literature 14 C
18 122 Reading and Literature 14

19 126 Reading and Literature 12 B

20 126 Reading and Literature S A
21 126 Reading and Literature 12 D
22 126 Reading and Literature 15 C
23 126 Reading and Literature 8 D
24 127 Language 4 C
25 127 Language 4 B
26 127 Reading and Literature 12

27 129 Reading and Literature 10 B

28 129 Reading and Literature 13 A
29 129 Reading and Literature 13 A
30 129 Language 4 D
31 129 Reading and Literature 8 C
32 129 Reading and Literature 13 D
33 129 Reading and Literature 15 C
34 130 Reading and Literature 13

35 134 Reading and Literature 14 B

36 134 Reading and Literature 14 D
37 134 Reading and Literature 17 A
38 134 Reading and Literature 17 C
39 134 Reading and Literature 17 A
40 134 Language 4 A

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

135
I
VI. Mathematics, Grade 4
 Grade 4 Mathematics Test
The spring 2003 Grade 4 MCAS Mathematics Test was based on learning standards
in the Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework (2000). The Framework
identifies the five major content strands listed below. Page numbers for the grade 3-4
learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Number Sense and Operations (Framework, pages 22-23)

I Patterns, Relations, and Algebra {Framework, page 32)

I Geometry (Framework, page 40)

I Measurement (Framework, page 48)

I Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Framework, page 56)

The Mathematics Curriculum Framework is available on the Department website at

www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/math/2000/final.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Mathematics test results are reported under five
MCAS reporting categories, which are identical to the five Mathematics Curriculum

Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

The grade 4 Mathematics Test contained two separate test sessions. Each session included
multiple-choice, short-answer, and open-response questions. Common test items are

shown on the following pages as they appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

During testing, each student taking the Grade 4 Test was provided with a Grade 4
Mathematics Tool Kit and a plastic ruler. A copy of this tool kit follows the final

question in this chapter.

No calculators, other reference tools, or materials were allowed, with the exception of
bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

and short-answer questions are also displayed in the table.

138
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Mathematics
Session 1

You may use your tool kit during this session.

You may not use a calculator during this session.

DIRECTIONS
This session contains twelve multiple-choice questions, two short-answer questions, and three
open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

^P Mr. Lope/ solved the division problem ^6ji In the pattern shown below,
below on the chalkboard.
• 5 blocks are needed to form 1 space.
252 -f- 7 = 36
• 6 blocks are needed to form 2 spaces.
Which of the following could Mr. Lopez
• 7 blocks are needed to form 3 spaces.
use to check his answer?

A. 7 X 42
B. 36 X 7

C. 36 X 252 V

D. 252 X 7 t t t
1 space 2 spaces 3 spaces

To win a game, Tamika must spin an even If the pattern continues in this way, how
number on a spinner identical to the one many spaces will be formed from
shown below. 12 blocks?

A. 4

/\2 7/\ B. 5

I
s\ / 6
^
C.

D.
8

12

I10/
\/l
\ 4
j
3
y
Are Tamika' s chances of spinning an even
number certain, likely, unlikely, or
impossible?

A. certain

B. likely

C. unlikely

D. impossible

141
Mathematics Session 1

%^ The sign below shows the population of %& The two number sentences shown below
Washington, D.C. in the year 2000. are true.

Welcome to
Washington, D.C.
-CZ> = 6
Population: 572,059

^^4^
C3+ a>= 2
4^
^f both equations shown above are true,
^f Uf If
which of the following equations must also
be true?

What is the value of the 7 in Washington,

D.C/s population?

A. 7
xO =

B. 70

C. 7,000

D. 70,000
B.
d^x2 = CZ> t

O Miguel wants to buy 3 bags of potato

chips. Each bag of potato chips costs c.
+ = 12
$2.69. If he uses a coupon for $1.00 off the
price of one bag, how much will Miguel
owe for the 3 bags of potato chips?

A. $1.69

B.

C.
$3.72

$7.07
D.
+ C^ =
D. $8.07

142
Mathematics Session 1

^p Duncan put blue marbles and green ^y The below

picture is shaded to represent a

3 decimal number.
marbles in a bag. Exactly — of the marbles

in the bag are blue. Which of the following

could be the total number of marbles in

the bag?

A. 3

B. 6

C. 7

D. 8

^y Every Saturday in the fall, Martin has to

do 1 inside chore and 1 outside chore. The How many of the stars in the group below
chores are listed below. must be shaded to represent a fraction with
the same value?

Inside Chores Outside Chores

vacuum rake
wash dishes weed
dust

How many different combinations of

1 inside chore and 1 outside chore can
Martin make? A. 5

A. 3 B. 6

B. 5 C. 8

C. 6 D. 10

D. 9

143
Mathematics Session 1

Question 10 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 10 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^{*,1 Logan and Donna sold fruit punch for six days in a row. The chart shown below shows the
amount they earned each day.

FruitPunch Earnings
Day Amount
Earned
Mon. $11
Tues. $ 8
Wed. $14
Thur. $17
Fri. $18
Sat. $20

Donna made the bar graph below to show the amounts of fruit punch earnings for the
six days.

Fruit Punch Earnings

20

C/3
18
'—

16

14

12

c 10
H
W
4— *
8

c 6
3
O 4
i—

< 2
n

Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat.

Day

a. Did Donna make any mistakes on her graph? If your answer is yes, explain any mistakes
she made.

b. How much did Logan and Donna earn all together in all six days?

c. Between which two days in a row did the amount of money earned increase by the
greatest amount? Show or explain how you got your answer.

144
Mathematics Session 1

Questions 11 and 12 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

^|> The grid below shows line segment AB and point C. Point C is at (6, 2).

y
<

B
gk

4 1
t

c
t

A —
123456789
a. On the grid above, draw point D so that line segment CD is parallel to line segment AB.

b. In your Student Answer Booklet, write the coordinates of point D.

%]& Four baskets of apples are shown below. Under each basket is a sign showing the number of
apples in that basket.

4 apples 7 apples 10 apples 1 1 apples

Apples are moved from one basket to another until all the baskets contain the same number
of apples.

i How many apples will there be in each basket?

145
Mathematics Session 1

Question 13 is an open-response question. #

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 13 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^|Cl A rule was used to make the pattern of figures shown below.

a. Draw the next 5 figures in the pattern in your Student Answer Booklet. Describe the rule
used to make the pattern.

b. Draw the 100th figure in the pattern in your Student Answer Booklet. Explain how you
knew what the figure should look like.

146
Mathematics Session 1

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 14 through 16 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may do your figuring
in the test booklet.

Wfifl What number goes in the to make the %££ In Ann's flower garden, of the tulips
7
number sentence below true? 4
are red, — are yellow, and the rest are
(42 + 35) + 26 = 42 + (+ 26)
white.

A. 35
Ann's Flower Garden
B. 42

C. 77

D. 103

^fsP The table below shows the cost of different

numbers of gumballs at a store.

Gumball Costs
Number of Gumballs Total Cost
1
9•

3 270
6 540 = red = yellow = white
9 810

Based on the pattern in the table, what is What fraction of the tulips is white?
the cost of one gumball?

A. 30 A. -1
7
B. 70

C. 90 2
B. -
D. 7
180

3
C.
7

D.
7

147
Mathematics Session 1

Question 17 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 17 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^fj|§ Each student Ms. Joshua's mathematics class received a group of sticks like those shown
in

below. The students must use the sticks to form different shapes. They cannot break or
overlap any of the sticks, but they can put sticks together end-to-end to form longer sides.

2 in. 2 in. 2 in.

3 in. 3 in.

4 in.

a. Elsiemade a triangle with a perimeter of 9 inches. Which sticks did she use? Show or
explain how you got your answer.

b. Is it possible for Devon to use a different number of sticks to make a triangle with a
perimeter of 9 inches? Explain why or why not.

c. Laura made a rectangle with the greatest possible perimeter. What was the perimeter of
the rectangle? Show or explain how you got your answer.

148
 NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
i

•
 Mathematics
Session 2
You may use your tool kit during this session.
You may not use a calculator during this session.
-

DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions, three short-answer questions, and two
open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

%£} The pictograph below shows

of money each
the amount
fourth-grade class raised
mp A fraction of the group of marbles below
is shaded.
for an animal shelter.

Amount Raised by Each Class

Class Amount Raised

Ms. Smith [$M $ J0H $ Which figure below is shaded to
represent a fraction with the same value?
Mr. Powell $ see
Ms. Carly E E E E S] H] E $ A.

Mr. Roper ESiafflE

IfMr. Powell's class raised $20 and B.

Mr. Roper's class raised $30, how much

money does one |_$J represent?
A. $1
C.
B. $4

C. $5

D. $20
D.

150
 Mathematics Session 2

^gffl The first lour figures in a pattern are f££P Which of the following appears to be a
shown below. pair of congruent shapes?

1 step 2 steps 3 steps 4 steps

If the pattern continues this way, how

many blocks are needed to make 6 steps?

A. 15

B. 18

C. 21

D. 23

f*£P Which of the following is read

"five-tenths"? D.
A. 0.05

B. 0.5

C. 5.10

D. 5.0

I
151
Mathematics Session 2

#jcl The points on the timeline below represent four important dates in history.

WX
1550 1575 1600 1625 1650 1675 1700 1725

Which point on the timeline best represents the location of 1609?

A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z

fggl Maurice drinks four 8-ounce glasses of

milk every day. How many pints of milk
does he drink each day?

CZ>

A. 2 pints

B. 4 pints

C. 16 pints

D. 32 pints
f

152
 .

Mathematics Session 2

#yi The graph below shows the number of ^•7 A number machine takes any number put
boys and girls in a school band in three into it, adds 20, then subtracts 10, and then
different years. adds 8. If the number 1 3 is put into the
machine, what number comes out?

Band Membership
IN

girls

boys
1

OUT
Which statement correct based on the
is Add 20 — *- Subtract 10 — >- Add 8
information in the graph?

A. The total number of band members

A. 13
decreased each year.
B. 23
B There was a greater number of boys
than girls in the band each year. C. 31

C. The number of boys in the band D. 33

decreased each year.

D. The difference between the number of

boys and the number of girls in the
band stayed the same each year.

153
Mathematics Session 2

Question 27 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 27 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

0Sfl> Ms. Terrell needs 54 tiles for a new kitchen floor.

a. The tiles come in boxes of 8 tiles each. It is not possible to buy part of a box. How many
boxes of tiles will Ms. Terrell need to buy to have enough to cover the floor? Show or
explain how you got your answer.

b. One box of tiles costs $21.87. Estimate the amount that Ms. Terrell will have to spend on
the tiles she needs. Explain how you got your answer.

154
Mathematics Session 2

Questions 28 and 29 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the boxes
provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may
do your figuring in the test booklet.

Use the ruler from your tool kit to answer question 28.

ffffil What is the total length of the pair of scissors shown below?

f££P The 10 apples below weigh the same as 2 melons.

How many melons would weigh the same as 25 apples?

155
Mathematics Session 2

Question 30 is a short-answer question. Write your answer to this question in the box provided in
your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answer in this test booklet. You may do your
figuring in the test booklet.

fcyl Mr. Garcia gave each of his students a notepad, a pencil, and a ruler on the first day of
school. The chart below shows the different colors of the notepads, pencils, and rulers.

Colors of Notepads, Pencils, and Rulers

Notepads Pencils Rulers

Yellow Red Green

White Blue Purple

Orange

How many different combinations of 1 notepad, 1 pencil, and 1 ruler can Mr. Garcia make?

156
Mathematics Session 2

Question 31 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 31 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fCjB The map below shows the location of some places in Keith's hometown.

1 block

g wi
6
Zoo
5

4
Bank
4 \w

2 a1
i
Stoi *e
t
1 f1
Soccer field

2 3 4 6 7

a. What ordered pair names the location of the Bank?

b. What is located at (2, 6)?

c. Moving along the grid lines, the shortest distance from the Store to the Bank is 3 blocks.
Moving along the grid lines, what is the shortest distance from the Store to the Zoo?

d. Moving along the grid lines, the shortest distance from the Library to the Soccer field is

7 blocks. What ordered pair could name the location of the Library?

157
Mathematics Session 2

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 32 through 39 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may do your figuring
in the test booklet.

#Cgl The two number sentences shown fCjCl The below shows one of the
picture
below are true. squares Yvette sewed for a quilt.

+ = 6

Which of the following values for

ZA and I I
make both number
sentences true /
How many lines of symmetry does the
quilt square have?
A. A = 3 and D == 9
A.

B. A= 4 and Q == 8 B. 2

C. A= 15 and D ==
3
C. 4

D. 8
f
D. A= 9 and [ = 3

158
 Mathematics Session 2

fCgl The fourth gradechampionship fcgft Denise made the following design
spelling bee began at 8:15 a.m. It lasted using squares.
3 hours and 48 minutes. What time did the
spelling bee end?

What fractional part of the design

is shaded?

A.
12
A. 11:15 a.m.

B. 11:48 a.m. _7_

B.
12
C. 11:63 p.m.
5
D. 12:03 p.m. C.
6

\2
D.
5

159
 <

Mathematics Session 2

fffil Ms. Truman's students recorded the

temperature at 2:15 p.m. each day for
© Mr. Johns bought 8 packages of hot dogs
for a cook-out. The total cost of the hot
6 school days. The data are shown below. dogs was $24.00. Which of the following
number sentences could be used to
Monday 46°F determine the cost of one package of
Tuesday 58°F hot dogs?
Wednesday 66°F
A. $24 + 8 =
Thursday 49°F
Friday 38°F B. $24 - 8 =
Monday 50°F
+ =
C. $24 8

D. $24 X 8 =
Which graph below best represents the
temperatures recorded from Monday to
Monday?
jcjsl Ms. Crow glued 4 white cubes together as
shown below. Then she painted the entire
A. figure red.

3
4—

S-M

Oh
£
H
Day

B.

3 How many faces of the 4 cubes were

— painted red?
(X

A. 4

Day B. 9

C. 18

D. 24
u
-

H
Day

D.

rt

• • •

Day

160
 Mathematics Session 2

fcjsl The first part of a pattern of arrows is

shown below.

rz>c><^rz>rz><>rz>[z><ii

If the pattern of arrows continues in the

same way, what will the next three arrows
look like?

A.
^^^
B.
^^O
C.

i
D.
O^O

161
 .cOWARTAtavj.

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

MASSACHUSETTS
Grade 4 Mathematics Tool Kit
COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM

162
 Grade 4 Mathematics
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC/SA)*

1 141 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.8 B

2 141 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.D.6 B
3 141 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P.4 C
4 142 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.1 D
5 142 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.10 C
6 142 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 1.P.3 A
7 143 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.4 D
8 143 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 1.1). 5 C
9 143 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.5 B
10 144 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.D.2

11 145 Geometry 4.G.5 (6, v value of 0, 1. vl. 5.6. 1)

12 145 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.10 8 apples

13 146 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P.1

14 147 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.9 A

15 147 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P.6 C
16 147 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.1X B
17 148 Measurement 4.M.4
18 150 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.1). 1 C
19 150 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.4 D
20 151 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P.1 C
21 151 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.6 B
22 151 Geometry 4.G.3 C
23 152 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.2 B
24 152 Measurement 4.M.2 A
25 153 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.D.3 B
26 153 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.12 C
27 154 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.I7
28 155 Measurement 4.M.5 4 in., 10.2 cm., or equivalent

29 155 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P5 5

30 156 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.D.5 12

31 157 Geometry 4.G.6

32 158 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P3 D
33 158 Geometry 4.G.8 C
34 159 Measurement 4.M.3 D
35 159 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.3 A
36 160 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 4.D.2 B
37 160 Number Sense and Operations 4.N.10 C
38 160 Geometry 4.G.1 C
39 161 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 4.P1 B

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice and short-answer items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for
open-response items, which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

163
<l
VII. Mathematics, Grade 6
 Grade 6 Mathematics Test
The spring 2003 Grade 6 MCAS Mathematics Test was based on learning standards
in the Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework (2000). The Framework
identifies the five major content strands listed below. Page numbers for the grade 5-6

learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Number Sense and Operations (Framework, pages 25-26)

I Patterns, Relations, and Algebra {Framework, page 34)

I Geometry {Framework, page 42)

I Measurement (Framework, page 50)

I Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (Framework, page 58)

The Mathematics Curriculum Framework is available on the Department website at

www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/math/2000/final.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Mathematics test results are reported under five
MCAS reporting categories, which are identical to the five Mathematics Curriculum

Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

%
The grade 6 Mathematics Test contained two separate test sessions. Each session included
multiple-choice, short-answer, and open-response questions. Common test items are

shown on the following pages as they appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

During testing, each student taking the Grade 6 Test was provided with a Grade 6
Mathematics Reference Sheet and a tool kit containing a plastic ruler and a protractor.
A copy of this reference sheet follows the final question in this chapter.

No calculators, other reference tools, or materials were allowed, with the exception of
bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

and short-answer questions are also displayed in the table.

166
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Mathematics
Session 1

You may use your tool kit and reference sheet during this session.
You may not use a calculator during this session.

DIRECTIONS
This session contains twelve multiple-choice questions, two short-answer questions, and
three open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

^P> Johannah collects posters. She has 4£p Diana made the diagram below to find the
3 animal posters, 4 posters of sports teams, next term in a number pattern.
and 2 posters of musical bands. What
fraction of her posters is of sports teams? Number
Pattern 1, 3, 9, 11, 33, _, _, J_
2
A. -
9 Diana's
Work +2 X3 +2 X3
B.
9 What should Diana write as the eighth
term in the number pattern?
4 A. 37
C.
B. 41

5 C. 105
D. -
9 D. 107

<£p Emil, Logan. Stacey. and Stephanie took a

test. Their test scores were 95, 70, 81, and
78, respectively. What was the mean of
their test scores?

A. 79.5

B. 81

C. 88.5

D. 324

169
Mathematics Session 1

^% Which figure below has a single line (^jy The base of the rectangular prism shown
of symmetry? below is a 3-foot square.

Z^7\
12 feet

B.
3 feet

What is the volume of the prism?

A A. 108 cubic feet

B. 144 cubic feet

C. C. 324 cubic feet

D. 432 cubic feet

D.

170
Mathematics Session 1

%$ In thenumber line game below, each player begins at and draws a card. The players move
along the number line by adding the value of the card to the number they are at on the
number line. The first player to land on 4 wins.

Begin Win
—• —
j 1 Ij 2 2-k 3 34 4

Joan's first three cards are shown below.

What would Joan's fourth card need to be for her to land on 4?

A.

B.

C.

D.

171
Mathematics Session 1

^p What is the value of the expression below t/s<? f/ze zmtfge below to answer question 9.

whenx = 3?
4x + 1

A. 7
")
B. 8

C. 12
^£0 Which of the following shows the image
D. 13 above reflected over the dotted line?

(-:
m^ The chart belowshows the amount of
each spice required by a recipe for
B.
candied yams.

Spice Amount C.
1
Nutmeg ts P-
4
D.
3
Ginger top- >)
4
1

Cinnamon 2*P-

3
Mace -top.

The recipe requires the greatest amount of

which spice?

A. cinnamon

B. nutmeg

C. mace
D. ginger

172
 Mathematics Session 1

•f
Question 10 is an open-response question.

BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.

Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all

If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 10 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

Use the graph below to answer question 10.

y.

12
11

10
9
A
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

mp a. What are the coordinates of point A on the graph above?

b. Create a graph like the one shown above in your Student Answer Booklet.
Graph a point whose coordinates are (7, 4). Label the point C.

c. Graph a point, B, on the graph so that angle ABC is a right angle. Be sure to label the
point B. What are the coordinates of point Bl

d. Graph a point, D, on the graph so that quadrilateral ABCD is a trapezoid. Be sure to label
the point D. What are the coordinates of point D? Explain why the figure is a trapezoid.

173
Mathematics Session 1

Questions 11 and 12 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

%£P What is the area, in square units, of the shaded triangle shown below?

represents 1 square unit.

4J|gP Ming folded the pattern below along the dotted lines to form a cube.

E
AiBiCiD

When folded, which letter will be opposite letter C?

174
Mathematics Session 1

Question 13 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.

• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 13 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^pfr The first four figures in a pattern are shown below.

Figure

DOOOO
1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

DDD
DO
ODD DO
OOO
DDDD DDDDD 000000
O
O
stiles DODO D O O D
12 tiles ODODO D O
16 tiles DO DO DO
20 tiles

a. Based on the pattern above, draw Figure 5.

b. How many tiles will be in Figure 7?

c. Using words or symbols, write an expression for determining the number of tiles in
Figure n.

d. If the pattern continues, which figure will contain exactly 160 tiles? Show or explain
your work.

175
Mathematics Session 1

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 14 through 16 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may do your figuring
in the test booklet.

mP Coach Chin recorded

students in his sixth-grade
the heights of the
gym class on
Use the figure below to answer question 16.

the stem-and-leaf plot below.

Height (in inches)

4 9
5 7 8 8 9 9 9
6 1 3 3 4 4 5 7

KEY
612 == 62

Which of the following is the most

common height in Coach Chin's class?
A. 3 inches

B. 9 inches

C. 59 inches
mw Which of the following
—
< >
lines appears to be
perpendicular to CD ?
D. 60 inches
< >

. AB

The distance between Humphrey's house

—
<
EF
>

<E> .

and the local amusement park is 20 miles.

If he is using a scale of 1 inch to 10 miles .
—
<

GH
>

draw a map, how many inches on the

to
map should be between his house and the
D.
—
<

IJ
>

amusement park?
1
A. — inch
2

B. 2 inches

C. 10 inches

D. 30 inches

176
 Mathematics Session 1

^Question 17 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 17 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^^ Mr. Riley grows four different crops on his 300-acre farm. Each acre has the same number of
plants. The circle graph below shows what percent of the total number of acres is planted in
each crop.

Crops Planted on Mr. Riley's Farm

a. What percent of Mr. Riley's farm is planted in beans? Show or explain your work.

b. How many acres of wheat are planted in Mr. Riley's farm? Show or explain your work.

c. Mr. Riley thinks that if he plants wheat in all of the acres that are beans, more than half
his farm would be wheat. Is he correct? Why or why not? Show or explain your work.

177
 Mathematics
Session 2
You may use your tool kit and reference sheet during this session.
You may not use a calculator during this session.

DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions, three short-answer questions, and
two open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided
in your Student Answer Booklet.

^|sl Ms. Wood asked each student to write on a piece of paper one place that he or she would
like to visit on a class field trip. The results are shown in the chart below.

Field Trip Choices

Place to Visit Number of Student Choices

science museum 9

water park 3

power plant 4
history museum 7

zoo 5

'<

Ms. Wood placed each student's paper in a bag and drew one paper at random. What is the
probability she drew a piece of paper that had the science museum written on it?

A.
28

B.

28

D.

178
 Mathematics Session 2

m^B Which of the following expressions has f££P Students in Mr. Jacob's English class were
the greatest numerical value? giving speeches. Each student's speech
3 was 7 to 10 minutes long. Which of the
A. 2 X 10
following is the best estimate for the total
5
B. 4 X 10 number of student speeches that could be
4 given in a 2-hour class?
C. 5 X 10
2 A. 4 speeches
D. 7 X 10
B. 8 speeches

C. 13 speeches

D. 19 speeches
#Sftl Marty began a pattern with the number 3.

He obtained all of the other terms in the

pattern by multiplying the previous term
by 2 or by 3 alternately as shown below.
^ggp In the equation below, if x has a value of 3,
3,6, 18,36, 108,216,. . . what is the value of y?

What is the next term in Marty's pattern? y — 3x — 1

A. 324 A. y = 5

% B. 432 B. y = 6

C. 540 C. y = 8

D. 648 D. y = 10

179
Mathematics Session 2

#jcl The graph below shows the distance Car A f*gP What is the area of the triangle
and Car B traveled in two hours on the shown below?
same road in the same direction.

Distan ce Traveled in Car

190

110
100

^ 90
_i> 80
/

1 70
t "r /
/
"u 60 c? /
i 5° 5?
— A. 1 square inches

3 40
/o4 r
B. 12.5 square inches
Q 30 C. 20 square inches
20
10
D. 40 square inches
w
f>
]

Ti me ( houi •s) -

Which of the following statements is true

about the difference between the distance
traveled by Car A and the distance traveled
by Car B as time progresses?

A. The difference in the distance between

Car A and Car B decreases.

B. The difference in the distance between

Car A and Car B increases.

C. The difference in the distance between

Car A and Car B stays the same.

D. The difference in the distance between

Car A and Car B is zero.

180
Mathematics Session 2

fjjil Which set of data below does not

If- X 2 X = -- X
show a constant rate of change? ^^
49|>
4 4
16, what is the

value of ?
A.
Cups of Cookies
Flour Made
A. = 4
2 24
B. = 6
4 48
6 72 C. = 8

D. = 14

B.
Number Price
of Books Paid

6 $30.00
12 $60.00
18 $90.00

c.
Pages
Time
Read
2 hours 80
4 hours 160
6 hours 240

D.
Total
Games Points
Scored

3 15

6 20
12 25

181
Mathematics Session 2

Question 27 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 27 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

f2£# in the grid below, each square represents one square yard of land. Twenty carrot plants can fit in

one square yard of land.

Pedro's
Garden

'

represents 1 square yard.

a. How many square yards are in Pedro's garden? How many plants can fit in Pedro's
garden? Show or explain your work.

b. How many yards of fencing does Pedro need to enclose his garden? Show or explain
your work.

c. Sean encloses a rectangular garden with 16 yards of fencing. Is it possible that Pedro's
garden can contain more plants than Sean's garden? If not, explain why not. If so, draw
an example on the grid in your answer booklet and tell how many plants can fit in Sean's
and Pedro's gardens. Show or explain your work.

'

182
 Mathematics Session 2

Questions 28, 29, and 30 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

#j:l In the input-output table below, what will be the value of v when x = 5s?

Input Output
X y
2 5

3 7

4 9

5 9

§sjil A gumball machine has an equal number of gumballs in 6 different colors: red, yellow, blue,
green, orange, and white. If the machine contains 300 gumballs, and Lamar puts one coin
*\
into the machine, what is the probability that he will get a blue gumball?

^gffil Jeremy and Stephen are playing a game called "Guess My Number." Jeremy gave Stephen
the following clues.

• The number has four digits.

• The thousands digit is twice the hundreds digit.

• The ones digit is divisible by five.

• The sum of the digits is 13.

What could be Jeremy's number?

183
Mathematics Session 2

Question 31 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (drawings, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 31 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

§C|p Ms. York gave a math quiz to each of her two classes. The quiz scores of each class are
shown below.

Morning Class Quiz Scores Afternoon Class Quiz Scores

Quiz 91,80,75,80,60,87,80,88,90, 80, 87, 90, 70, 93, 80, 85,

Scores 87, 92, 98 90, 95, 80

Mean 84 9

Median 87 7

Mode 80 9

a. In your Student Answer Booklet, draw a stem-and-leaf plot that displays the afternoon
class quiz scores. Make sure to include a key.

-
b. Determine the mean, median, and mode of the quiz scores for the afternoon class.
Show or explain your work.

c. Which class do you think did better on the quiz? Show or explain your work.

d. If Ms. York wants to compute the overall mean of the scores from both classes,
can she do this by taking the average of both means? Explain why or why not.

'

184
Mathematics Session 2

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 32 through 39 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may do your figuring
in the test booklet.

>CjSl Agnes earns d dollars for babysitting each fCjEl Lisa has three jobs: walking the family
week. She also receives an allowance of dog, washing the dishes, and vacuuming.
$10 per week. The expression below can
be used to calculate the amount of money • She walks the family dog once
she will have at the end of 5 weeks. every 3 days.
• She washes the dishes once every
(10 + d) X 5 4 days.
• She vacuums once every 6 days.

What is the amount of money Agnes will The calendar below shows that Lisa did all
have at the end of five weeks if d = $25? three jobs on Monday the 2nd.
A. $125

B. $135 Calendar
C. $175 s M T W Th F S
1 Dog 2 3 4 5 6 7
Dishes
D. $260 \ .ii. uum
8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

On which day will Lisa again do all three

jobs on the same day?

A. Thursday the 5th

B. Saturday the 14th

C. Wednesday the 18th

D. Tuesday the 24th

185
Mathematics Session 2

r
fcjl What is the prime factorization of 72' fC|S§ The radius of a circular table is 13 inches.
What is the diameter of the table?
2
A. 2 X 3 X 4 A. 6.5 inches

B. 22 X 3
3 B. 13 inches

C. 15 inches
2
C. 2 3
X 3
D. 26 inches

D. 2 4 X 3
2

^^ Based on the information given in the

table shown below, which of the following
fc]«i Tess will toss a fair coin 3 times. The
equations correctly states the relationship
possible results are illustrated in the tree
between x and v?
diagram below.

Heads X y
Heads
1 3
Tails

Heads 2 4
Heads
Tails 3 5
Tails
4 6 e
Heads
5 7
Heads
Tails

Tails
Heads
Tails A. y 2x
Tails
B. v x + 2

C. y x + 2
Based on the information given in the tree
diagram, in how many ways (outcomes) D. y x — 2

can Tess toss at least 2 heads?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

D. 5

'

186
 Mathematics Session 2

fc|;l What is the following number in fcjll A baseball team won 75% of its games.
standard form? team played 48 games, how many
If the
games did it win?
2 + (8 x 0.1) + (6 x 0.01) + (4 x 0.001) A. 36

B. 25
A. 0.2864
C. 12
B. 2.864
D. 9
C. 28.64

D. 2864

>

187
 „tf>ART/Wffy.

MASSACHUSETTS
COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT
P
SYSTEM
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
Grade 6 Mathematics Reference Sheet

You may use the formulas, the ruler, and the protractor to answer questions on this test.

AREA FORMULAS VOLUME FORMULAS

square A = s's rectangular prism V= Iwh
OR
cube V= S'S'S
A= Iw
=
(s length of an edge)

rectangle. A = bh CIRCLE FORMULAS

OR
A= Iw C= 2tjt

OR
parallelogram A= bh C- ltd
2
AA = TIT '

triangle A= -bh
2
CONVERSIONS
PERIMETER FORMULAS
3 feet = 1 yard

perimeter = distance around

5280 feet = 1 mile

square P= 4s
60 seconds = 1 minute

rectangle. P=2b+2h
60 minutes = 1 hour
OR
P=2l + 2w

triangle P= a + b + c

188
 Grade 6 Mathematics
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC/SA)*

1 169 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.4 C

2 169 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P.1 D
3 169 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.1 B
4 170 Geometry 6.G.7 C
5 170 Measurement 6.M.6 A
6 171 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.10 B
7 172 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6. P. 2 D
8 172 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.7 I)

9 172 Geometry 6.G.6 A

10 173 Geometry 6.G.4

11 174 Measurement 6.M.4 6 square units

12 174 Geometry 6.G.9 A
13 175 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P.1

14 176 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.2 C

15 176 Measurement 6.M.3 B
16 176 Geometry 6.G.3 A
17 177 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.13
18 178 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.4 C
I
1
) 179 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.1 B
20 179 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P.1 D
21 179 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.16 C
22 179 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P5 C
23 180 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P4 B
24 ISO Measurement 6.M.4 C
25 181 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P7 D
26 181 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P3 C
27 182 Measurement 6.M.1
28 183 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P4 1 1

29 183 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.4 -g- or equivalent

Any one of the following numbers:

30 183 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.2
2155. 4225, 4270, 6340, or 8410
31 1X4 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.1

32 185 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P2 C

33 185 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.8 B
34 186 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.8 C
35 186 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 6.D.3 C
36 186 Measurement 6.M.5 D
37 186 Patterns, Relation, and Algebra 6.P5 C
38 187 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.3 B
39 187 Number Sense and Operations 6.N.9 A

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice and short-answer items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for
open-response items, which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

189
(

(
>

VIQ. Mathematics, Grade 8

*
 Grade 8 Mathematics Test (
The spring 2003 Grade 8 MCAS Mathematics Test was based on learning standards
in the Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework (2000). The Framework
identifies the five major content strands listed below.

I Number Sense and Operations

I Patterns, Relations, and Algebra

I Geometry

I Measurement

I Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability

The grade 7-8 learning standards for each of these strands appear on pages 62-66 of the
Mathematics Curriculum Framework, which is available on the Department website at

www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/math/2000/final.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Mathematics test results are reported under five

MCAS reporting categories, which are identical to the five Mathematics Curriculum

Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

t
The grade 8 Mathematics Test contained two separate test sessions. Each session
included multiple-choice and open-response questions. Session 1 also included short-

answer questions. Common test items are shown on the following pages as they

appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

During testing, each student taking the Grade 8 Test was provided with a Grade 8
Mathematics Reference Sheet and a plastic ruler. A copy of this reference sheet follows

the final question in this chapter.

While answering questions during Session 2, each student had sole access to a calculator
with at least four functions and a square root key. Calculator use was not allowed during
Session 1. No other reference tools or materials were allowed, with the exception of
bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

and short-answer questions are also displayed in the table.

192
>

HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

>
check your answers.

I
 i

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Mathematics
Session 1

You may use your reference sheet during this session.

You may not use a calculator during this session.

DIRECTIONS
This session contains fifteen multiple-choice questions, five short-answer questions, and two
open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in
your Student Answer Booklet.

^yP The figure below shows an RPM gauge. ^p Which of the following statements
is false?

A. (-12)(-12)(-12) = 3(-12)
B. 12(4 - 1) = 12(4) -
12(1)

C. 12 + (4 -
1) = (12 + 4) - 1

D. -12 + 12 = 12 + (-12)

How many RPMs is the gauge

registering?

A. 44

B. 48

C. 4080

D. 4800

195
Mathematics Session 1

r
$J& The chart below shows the average monthly price per share of HiTek stock for each month
in 2001.

2001 HiTek Stock Prices

Month January February March April May June July August September October November December
Average
22.61 24.25 31.02 27.31 29.92 33.10 36.14 35.50 34.01 31.05 36.20 40.12
Price (in $)

Which of the following curves best models the general behavior of the stock's price
for last year?

A. c.

o
ao T3

o
'C
cu
OJ 00
00 OS
a
_ —
>
<
FMAMJ JASOND J FMAMJ JASOND
J

Month Month r

B. D.

o o
-a

U
o

oo
a
>
< 3
J FMAMJ JASOND J FMAMJ JASOND
Month Month

196
 Mathematics Session 1

15
o If
6x
3x
+
+
2y?
v 6, what is the value of ^p A surveyconducted to find the most
is

popular food among eighth-grade students

at Which of the following
a school.
A. 6
sampling methods would give the most
B. 8 accurate results?

C. 12 A. choose every fourth student

inan alphabetical list of all
D. 16 eighth-grade students

B. choose every eighth-grade teacher

and every eighth-grade parent

C. choose every fourth student

in an alphabetical list of all
eighth-grade girls

D. choose every eighth-grade

student athlete

^p The graph below shows the frequency of test scores on the algebra final exam.

>
Results of A gebra Final
10

9
8

% 6

Cr

£ 4
3

2
1

70 75 80 85 90 95

Scores on Algebra Final Exam

What is the mode of the algebra final exam scores?

A. 88

B. 89

C. 93
)
D. 95

197
Mathematics Session 1

Questions 7 and 8 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the boxes r
<

provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet. You may
do your figuring in the test booklet.

What is the y-intercept of the graph represented by the equation below?

y
y = —x — 1
5

^P The stem-and-leaf plot below shows

store during a sale.
the ages of the people who bought skateboards at a

Ages of People

Stem Leaf r
1 1 34556668
2 178
3 9

4 36
6 55
7 1

Key
6 2 = 62

What is the median age of the people who bought skateboards during the sale?

198
 Mathematics Session 1

I,
Question 9 is an open-response question.
• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 9 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

4(p At student registration, eighth-grade students selected the courses they would be taking next
year as ninth graders. The counselor made the diagram below that shows a relationship
among the percentages of students who chose to take Biology, Algebra, and/or Band.

Student Registration

Biology Algebra

'
25% \ 12% \
/ 15% /

8%
3%
2% \ /
\ /

8%

Band

a. According to the diagram, what percent of the eighth-grade students will be taking
all three courses, Biology, Algebra, and Band, next year?

b. What percent of the eighth-grade students will be taking Algebra and Biology, but not
Band, next year?

c. If900 students signed up to take courses, how many will not be taking Biology, Algebra
or Band? Show or explain your work.

199
 .

Mathematics Session 1

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 10 through 18 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

%!*) If v + 5 is an even integer, which of the %£j Which steps could be used to solve this
following could be the value of y? equation?

A. -2 2
-x + 9 = 15
B. -1 3

C.
A. Subtract 9 from both sides, then
D. 2
multiply both sides by the reciprocal
2
of -.
3

B. Subtract 9 from both sides, then divide

2
both sides by the reciprocal of —

C. Multiply both sides by the reciprocal

2
of — , then subtract 9 from both sides.
3

D. Divide both sides by the reciprocal of

2
— , then subtract 9 from both sides.
3

%j& The graph below shows Carlos* speed on his trip to school.

Carlos' Speed on His Trip to School

Based on the graph, when is Carlos' speed decreasing most rapidly?

A. for times between B and C

B. for times between D and E
C. for times between E and F
D. for times between H and I

200
 h h

Mathematics Session 1

h
^|Cl Which graph below represents the solution mfc* For what value of « is the equation below
to the inequality below? true?

2(2* --
6) >x+ 3
363,600,000 = 3.636 X 10"

A. n =
A.
<—.6-5-4-3-2-10123456
—— — —HH————
I I

I • I l-H I I I

=
3

B. rc 5

C. 7i = 8
B
D « •
3-2-10
I I l I I I 1 1

-
-6 -4 4
-5 -: 1 2 3 5
D. n = 10

c. -6-5-4-3-2-10123456

D.
+
-6
H ——— I

-5-4-3-2-1
I

1 2
—
H
3 4
I •
5
I
—

m«B The line plot below represents the number of raisins that Janika's class counted in each of
20 boxes of cereal.

X
X X
X X X
X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X

20 25 30 35

What was the median number of raisins in a box?

A. 27

B. 29

C. 30

D. 31

>

201
 . .

Mathematics Session 1

r
m># Mei Ling gave the following description of ^J0 If 5x - 8 = 7. what is the value
a three-dimensional figure. of5x + 8?
• The solid has 6 faces. A. -7
• The solid has 8 vertices. B.

• The solid has 12 edges. C. 15

Which of the following figures matches D. 23

Mei Ling's description?

A. Use the graph below to answer question 18.

i I

B.

V 1
- 1
-i
- -1 - - -
1
- - o ;
/- t
i
-
9 10" r

C.

'
1

^Sl Which statement best describes the slope

of the line graphed above?

A. The slope is —6.

D.

B. The slope is —
C. The slope is —

D. The slope is 4.

"

2SS2
 Mathematics Session 1

l Questions 19, 20, and 21 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

^|il Triangles ABC and DEF shown below arc congruent.

8 inches

The perimeter of AABC is 23 inches. What is the length of side DF in ADEF?

43S) What is I of \\ ?

>

{££P Write a rule that could be used to show the relationship between x and v in the table below.

X y

-4 16

-1 1

3 9

7 49

203
 .

Mathematics Session 1

Question 22 is an open-response question. :

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 22 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

#gft> In the figure below, the following statements are true.

Lines /, m, and n are parallel.

The perpendicular distance from line m to line n is less than the perpendicular distance from
line m to line /.

Lines m, p, and q intersect at point E.

Lines p and q are perpendicular.

Angles 6 and 7 are congruent.

'

m -<

n <

a. Are triangles DEB and AEC similar? Explain your answer.

b. Are triangles DEB and AEC congruent? Explain your answer.

c. List the 8 angles whose measures are equal to that of /Jl.

d. List all the angles whose measures are equal to that of L 1

r
204
1

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
I

D
 Mathematics
Session 2
You may use your reference sheet during this session.
r
You may use a calculator during this session.

DIRECTIONS
This session contains fourteen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions.
Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

© Which of the following numbers has

same value as the expression below?
the fSJjJ To sell their house, the Fords placed an
advertisement in the local newspaper. For
one week, they recorded the number of
3(0.25)
calls they received each day in response to

4 the advertisement in the following chart.

A. -
3
Responses to Advertisement
3
B.
4 s M T W Th F Sa
n 2 5 2 8 10 4 11
C.
i

i
What is the mean number of calls for the
days shown in the chart?

A. 2 r
B. 5
fgg> The difference between two temperature
readings was 7 degrees. Which of the C. 6
following could be the two temperature
D. 8
readings?

A. -7°andl°
-4° and 3° <£•> The ratio of boys to girls in Meg's chorus
B.
is 3 to 4. If there are 20 girls in her chorus,
C. -l°and 7° how many boys are there?

D. -5° and 12° A. 12

B. 15

C. 16

D. 24

206
 Mathematics Session 2

#jy Juan's parents put $10, 000 into a college education savings account at the rate of 6%
compounded annually. The chart below shows the value of the original investment at the end
of years 1 and 2.

Investment Value

End of Year 1 End of Year 2 End of Year 3 End of Year 4

$10,600.00 $11,236.00 ?

Ifno further deposits or withdrawals are made, what will the value of the original
investment be at the end of year 4? Round your answer to the nearest dollar.

A. $11,836.00

B. $12,436.00

C. $12,584.00

D. $12,625.00

>

207
Mathematics Session 2

Questions 28 and 29 are open-response questions. r

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 28 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

#Sftl The table below shows how C, the circumference of a circle, depends on d, its diameter.

d units C units
1 3.14

2 6.28

3 9.42

4 12.56

10 31.4

An equation that shows the relationship between the diameter of a circle and its r
circumference is C= ird, where 3.14 is used for it.

a. What is the circumference of a circle with a diameter of 6 units?

b. What is the diameter of a circle with a circumference of 26.69 units?

c. On the grid in your Student Answer Booklet, draw a line graph on a coordinate plane
showing the relationship between the diameter of a circle and its circumference. Be sure
to label the axes.

d. Explain how you could use your graph to approximate the circumference of a circle with
a diameter of 9 units.

208
Mathematics Session 2

Write your answer to question 29 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

#jil Jeremy has been saving money to buy some camping equipment from a store. The chart
below shows the prices for some of the equipment he needs.

Camping Equipment Prices

Item Price
Tent $250
Sleeping bag $100
Boots $55
Cooking kit $35

a. The camping equipment store is offering a 20% discount this weekend on each of the
camping items listed in the chart. After the 20% discount, and before tax is added, what
is the price of the tent?

b. Jeremy must also pay a 7% sales tax for his total purchase. Including the discount and
after the tax is added, what will it cost Jeremy to buy one each of the four pieces of
equipment in the chart?

c. Jeremy has a coupon that will allow him to take an additional 10% off the discounted
price of the sleeping bag.

Sleeping Bag

IfJeremy uses the coupon above to buy the sleeping bag, what is the final price of the
sleeping bag, before tax is added?

209
Mathematics Session 2

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 30 through 38 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

fcjl'l Which of the following is an irrational {Cgp The chart below shows the number of
number? restaurant advertisements in a city
directory.
4
A '3
Restaurant Advertisements
B. V24
Type of Restaurant Number
C. V81 Chinese 10
Mexican 17
D. -4.07 Italian 8

French 5

The telephone numbers of these

gyb Harry measured all but one angle of a
restaurants are written on separate slips of
hexagon. The total degree measure for all
paper and one is selected at random. What
of the angles he measured was 550? What
is the probability that the telephone
is the measure, in degrees, of the
number of an Italian restaurant is selected?
remaining angle?
A. 0.025
A. 92°
B. 0.125
B. 120°

170°
C. 0.2
r
C.
D. 0.8
D. 720°

jjcy Mari divided 8 by — Which operation

shown below should produce the same

result?

8 3
A. -
1 2

8 2
B.
1 3

1 2
C.
8 3

D. I I
'

8 2
r
210
 Mathematics Session 2

JCjP A kilometer is about ol a mile. II the fffil The input-output table below shows values
for x and y.
speed limit along a stretch of highway is

80 kilometers per hour, what is the INPUT (x) OUTPUT (y)

-2 6
approximate speed limit in miles per
2 2
hour? 3 6
4 12

A. 70
Which equation could represent a rule for
B. 65 the relationship between x and yl

C. 50
A. y x — x
D. 35
2
B. y x + 2

C. y 2x - 2

@ A recipe for punch uses

mix to
3^ ounces of fruit
make 4 glasses of punch. Based on
D. v — 2x + x

this recipe, how many glasses of this

punch can be made from a 32-ounce bottle
of fruit mix?

A. 25

B. 28

C. 37

D. 40

')

211
Mathematics Session 2

© Guenther drove 260 miles

He
in 5 hours.
has 494 more miles to drive on his trip.
fffil The figure below shows
in a larger square.
a square inscribed

If he continues at this same average rate of

speed, what will his driving time be for the
remainder of his trip?

A. 7.6 hours

B. 9.5 hours

C. 13 hours

D. 14.5 hours

What is the area of the smaller square?

A. 9 square units

B. 16 square units

C. 25 square units r
D. 36 square units

212
Mathematics Session 2

Question 39 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 39 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

1$P Alain works for a company that built a goldfish pond for a local university. He has to plaster
the interior sides of the pond, which is shaped like a rectangular prism with the dimensions
shown in the picture below.

4 feet

a. What is the volume, in cubic feet, of the goldfish pond? Show or explain your work.

b. What is the total surface area of the interior sides and bottom of the pond? Show or
explain your work.

c. If the company charges $1.50 per square foot to plaster the pond, what will it cost to
plaster the 4 interior sides and the bottom of the pond?

213
 RT
s oW* *fyv;

MASSACHUSETTS
COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Grade 8 Mathematics Reference Sheet

Use the information below and your ruler as needed to answer questions in this test.

PERIMETER FORMULAS AREA FORMULAS

square P = 4s square A = s

rectangle P = 2b + 2h rectangle A = bh

triangle P = a + b + c OR
A = Iw

triangle A = \bh
CIRCLE FORMULAS
circle A = ur~
circle C = 2irr
trapezoid A = + b2)
\h(bi
OR
C = ird

A = TIT
2 VOLUME FORMULAS r
rectangular prism V = Bh
(B = area of base)
PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM 1 2u
cone V
cylinder V= irr h

cube V= s~

(s = length of an edge)
a 2 + b2 = c

CONVERSIONS

1 mile = 5280 feet

1 square mile = 640 acres

214
 Grade 8 Mathematics
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC/SA)*

1 195 Measurement 8.M.1 D

2 195 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.8 A
3 196 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability S.I). 2 B
4 197 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.7 C
5 197 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.1 A
6 197 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.3 C
7 198 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.6 -2
S 198 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability S.I). 2 20 years old
9 199 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.2

10 200 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.2 B

1 1 200 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.7 A
12 200 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.5 B
13 201 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.7 D
14 201 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.4 C
15 201 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.3 D
16 202 Geometry 8.G.7 B
17 202 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.7 1)

IS 202 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.5 C

19 203 Geometry 8.G.2 10 inches
9
20 203 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.12 -g- or equivalent

21 203 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.1 v = x 2 or x2 = y

22 204 Geometry 8.G.3
23 206 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.9 B
24 206 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.10 B
25 206 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability S.I). 3 C
26 206 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.3 B
27 207 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P1 D
28 208 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.1

29 209 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.10

30 210 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.2 B
31 210 Geometry 8.G.1 C
32 210 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.4 C
33 210 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.9 A
34 211 Measurement 8.M.2 C
35 211 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.3 D
36 211 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P.1 A
37 212 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 8.P9 B
38 212 Measurement 8.M.3 C
39 213 Measurement 8.M.3

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice and short-answer items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for
open-response items, which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

215
r

r
»

> DC Mathematics, Grade 10 and Retest

)
 Grade 1 Mathematics Test and
Mathematics Retest
i

The spring 2003 Grade 10 MCAS Mathematics Test and Retest were based on learning standards in the

Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework (2000). The Framework identifies the five major
content strands listed below.

I Number Sense and Operations

I Patterns, Relations, and Algebra

I Geometry

I Measurement

I Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability

The grade 9-10 learning standards for each of these strands appear on pages 72-75 of the
Mathematics Curriculum Framework, which is available on the Department website at

www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/math/2000/final.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS School Reports and
District Reports, Mathematics Test results are reported under five MCAS reporting categories, which are
identical to the five Mathematics Curriculum Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

i

The grade 10 Mathematics Test and the Retest each included two separate test sessions, which were
administered on consecutive days. Both sessions included multiple-choice and open-response questions.
Session 1 also included short-answer questions. Common test items are shown on the following pages as

they appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

During testing, each student taking the Grade 10 Test or the Retest was provided with a Grade 10
Mathematics Reference Sheet. A copy of this reference sheet follows the final question in this chapter.

During Session 2, each student had sole access to a calculator with at least four functions and a square root
key. Calculator use was not allowed during Session 1. No other reference tools or materials were allowed,

with the exception of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category and the Framework
learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice and short-answer questions are also

displayed in the table.

218
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

i
and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

>
 c

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Mathematics
Session 1
f)
You may use your reference sheet during this session.
You may not use a calculator during this session.
DIRECTIONS
This session contains fourteen multiple-choice questions, four short-answer questions, and three
open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

A landing pad for a helicopter is in

the shape of a circle with a radius of
o A book is
cover. If the
1 inch thick, not including the
book contains 364 sheets of
7 meters. Which of the following is paper, which measure is closest to the
closest to the area of the landing pad? thickness of one sheet of paper?

A. 44 square meters A. 0.003 in.

B. 154 square meters B. 0.030 in.

C. 205 square meters C. 0.300 in.

D. 308 square meters D. 0.364 in.

v
O Alison's car gets about 32 miles per
gallon of gas. If gas prices range from
%jj The below shows a linear
table
relationship between x and y.
$1.80 to $2.10 a gallon, which of the
following is closest to the amount of
money Alison will spend on gas for a X y
1200-mile road trip this summer? -7 a
A. $40 -3 10

B. $55 -1 6

C. $75 4

D. $240 5 -6

What is the value of al

A. -18
B. -14
C. 14

D. 18

221
Mathematics Session 1

r
^p What is the simplified form of the You may want to use the grid below to answer
question
expression V 450 ? 7.

A. I5V2"
B. 45VT
C. 75VT
D. 225 Vl

%^ Each of the following statements is true.

x
16 = 4

9
V
= 3
4-v
= 2

What the value of 3*?

is
r
A. 1 On the coordinate plane, what is the
distance between the points (3, 4) and
B. V~2
(11,10)?
C. V3 A. 10
D. 9
B. 7

C. 5

D. 14

222
Mathematics Session 1

4& Which point most closely indicates the location of V 60 on the number line below?

W, X Z

2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7

A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z

^P In the figure shown below, triangle TUV is formed by joining the midpoints of the sides of
equilateral triangle (^S. Triangle WYZ is formed by joining the midpoints of the sides of
triangle TUV.

If the area of triangle QRS is 64 square inches, what is the area of triangle WYZ7
A. 1 square inch

B. 4 square inches

C. 8 square inches

D. 16 square inches

223
Mathematics Session 1

mp Joshua spun the arrow on each spinner shown below exactly once. He recorded the sum of
the resulting two numbers.

What is the probability that the sum of the resulting two numbers will be 2?

1
A.
12

B.

r
1
C
3

D.
12

%JP A rectangle has a perimeter of 44 inches

and an area of 72 square inches. What are
the lengths of the sides of the rectangle?

A. 2 inches and 36 inches

B. 4 inches and 18 inches

C. 8 inches and 9 inches

D. 1 1 inches and 1 1 inches

224
 Mathematics Session 1

^ pi The right cylinder and right cone shown %JjJ Which of the following is closest to the
below have the same radius and volume.
7
The cylinder has a height of 12 inches. value of
2

A. 1.1

B. 2.8

C. 6.0

D. 6.3

What is /?, the height of the cone?

A. 18 inches

i
B. 24 inches

C. 36 inches

D. 42 inches

© The volume of a rectangular prism is

3
(6n — An). The height of the prism is
(
— 2ri). What is the area of the base of the
prism?

A. 3/r - 2
2
B. -3n + 2

C. -3n 2
2
D. 3n

225
Questions 15 and 16 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

m?P What is the solution to the equation \A = 16?

w\£9 The volume of the iee cream cone in the diagram below is \2ir cubic centimeters. If the height of
the ice cream cone is 9 centimeters, what is the diameter of the opening of the cone?

9 centimeters

226
Mathematics Session 1

Question 17 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 17 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^]^ Larissa plans to select one of the two mobile phone services described in the chart below.
Each of the two companies charges a fixed monthly fee plus an additional charge for each
minute in excess of the free time allowance.

Mobile Phone Service

Free Minute Cost for Each

Company Monthly Fee
Allowance per Month Additional Minute

Cellco $35 300 $0.08

Firstfone $22 400 $0.15

Larissa plans to use her mobile phone as her only phone and predicts that she will use betweenit

600 and 900 minutes per month. To find t, the total monthly charge for each company based on
m minutes of phone use, Larissa wrote the two equations shown below.

Cellco: t = 35 + (m - 300)(0.08) for m> 300

Firstfone: t = 22 + (m - 400)(0.15) for m> 400

a. Which is the less expensive plan for 600 minutes of phone use per month? Show or
explain how you obtained your answer.

b. Which is the less expensive plan for 900 minutes of phone use per month? Show or
explain how you obtained your answer.

c. Determine the number of minutes for which the monthly charges for the two companies
would be exactly the same amount. Show or explain how you obtained your answer.

d. How can Larissa use the results for parts a, b, and c to make her selection of a cell phone
company? Explain your reasoning.

227
Mathematics Session 1

Questions 18 and 19 are short-answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the i
boxes provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet.
You may do your figuring in the test booklet.

^y) I" me figure below. A, C. and D are collinear, the area o\' AABC is 24 square centimeters, and the

area of AABD is 40 square centimeters. If the measure of AB is 8 centimeters, what is the length

of DC?

B
8 cm

m& The line plot below shows

month of April.
the average daily temperature in a city for each day during the

Average Daily Temperatures (°F)

• •

30 35 40 45 50 55 60

What was the median temperature?

<

228
 ?

Mathematics Session 1

Questions 20 and 21 are open-response questions.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.

• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 20 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

#^>1 Use the following sums to answer question 20.

1 3
- + - = 1
4 4

1 I 1 - 2
6 6 6
~ 2

13
-+-+-+-=2
7 5

8 8 8 8

—13
10
+ — + — + — + — = -
10
5

10
7

10
9
10
5

a. Write the next series of fractions in the pattern and find its sum. Show or explain how
you got your answer.

b. What is the denominator of the series of fractions in the pattern that has a sum of 4?
Show or explain how you got your answer.

c. What is the sum of the series of fractions in the pattern in which the first term is —
^"
Show or explain how you got your answer.

d. If the denominator is an even number, n, what is the sum of the series in terms of nl
Show or explain how you got your answer.

229
Mathematics Session 1

Write your answer to question 21 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

§S|b The highest possible score on a college admissions mathematics examination is 800. The
stem-and-leaf plot shows the scores for a group of 20 students who were granted early
admission to their chosen universities.

Stem Leaf
68 055
70 0055
71 5

73 005
74 05
75 05
78 005 Key
80 00 68 = 680

a. What is the median score for these 20 students? Show or explain how you obtained
your answer.

b. What is the range of the scores for these 20 students? Show or explain how you obtained
r
your answer.

c. What are the lower (first) quartile and the upper (third) quartile?

d. Make a box-and- whisker plot that displays the same data given in the stem-and-leaf plot
above. Be sure to label the minimum, the lower quartile, the median, the upper quartile,
and the maximum on your box-and-whisker plot.

230
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Mathematics
Session 2
You may use your reference sheet during this session.
e
You may use a calculator during this session.
DIRECTIONS
This session contains eighteen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions.
Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

§Z£M Water is flowing from a 1.5-inch nozzle with water pressure of 65 pounds per square inch.
The rate (in gallons per minute) at which the water flows from this nozzle is represented by
the expression 29.7 X (1.5) V65. What is the approximate rate at which the water flows?

A. 239 gallons per minute

B. 293 gallons per minute

C. 359 gallons per minute

D. 539 gallons per minute

#jcf What is the first term in the exponential #sj> Which of the following equations is false
sequence below? for all positive values of nl

{
.,81,243,729,...} A. ir n{n)

A. 1 B. n~ = n{—n)
B. 3 C. n = —n(—ri)

C. 9 D. n 2
—

D. 27

232
 Mathematics Session 2

©
r

%& The diagram below shows APQR on a The probability that a customer will bring
coordinate plane. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 items to the express
lane in a grocery store is shown in the
chart below.

4 -2
N ? f 6 f
Number of
Items
Items Brought to an
Express Lane

Probability

1 14%
2 11%
Which of the following is the result of a
3 8%
reflection of APQR! 4 11%
5 31%
A.
6 25%

What is the probability that a customer

will bring less than 5 items to the
express lane?

A. 0.11
B.
B. 0.31

C. 0.44

D. 0.75

1g0 What is the slope of the line defined by the

C. equation shown below?

5x + 2y — 10
4

2
A. ~5
-4 -2 2 4 6
f-2'
-4

5
B.
2
D.

5
C.
2

2
D.
5

233
Mathematics Session 2

#ffif Tina solved a quadratic equation and found the solutions to be — and 6. Which of

the following is equivalent to the quadratic equation that Tina solved?

A. (jc - 6)(3jc + 2) =
B. (jc - 6)(2jc + 3) =
C. (jc + 6)(2jc - 3) =
D. (jc + 6)(3jc - 2) =

#j?> Amy drew a circle graph to represent the ages of people who were surveyed for a consumer
group. Of those surveyed, 30% were over the age of 65. Which one of the following graphs
best represents the survey results?

A. C.

B. D.

234
Mathematics Session 2

fcjll The students at Albemarle High held wash each week for 10 weeks to earn money for
a car
the student council. The students made the scatter plot below to represent the amount of the
money they earned each week.

Car Wash Earnings

J
i

300 -

250 -
T3

E £ 200 -
m O
150 - •
•
<=
o c
.9
• •
• • • •
100 - • •

50 -

—x
3 4 5 6 7 10

Week

Which of the following equations best represents the line of best fit for these data?

A. y = 110

B. y = HOjc

C. y = x + 55

D. y = -x + 55

235
Mathematics Session 2

Question 31 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 31 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fCjp An art collector paid $7,000 for two paintings, a portrait and a landscape, at the same
auction. Each painting cost $3,500.

a. The collector predicts that the portrait will increase in value by $600 per year. If she is
correct, how many years after the date of purchase will the value of the portrait painting
first be at least twice its original cost? Show or explain how you obtained your answer.

b. Two years after the date of purchase, the portrait $4900. What was the
was appraised at
percent of increase from the collector's purchase price to the appraised value? Show or
explain how you obtained your answer.

c. The collector predicts that the value of the landscape painting will increase by 15% per
year. If she is correct, what will its value be one year after the date of purchase? Show or
explain how you obtained your answer.

d. Assume that the landscape painting continues to increase in value according to the
collector's prediction. How many years from the date of purchase will its value first be
twice its original cost? Show or explain how you obtained your answer.

<j

236
Mathematics Session 2

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 32 through 40 in the spaces provided in your
Student Answer Booklet.

fcjg> The stem-and-leaf plot below shows the ages of 50 teachers in the Bernard Township school
system.

Ages of 50 Teachers in the Bernard Township School System

2 1 2 3 5 7
3 1 2 3 5 5 7 7 8
4 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 8
5 1 2 3 4 4 4 6 7 8 9 9 9
6 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 7

Key
6 1 =61

Based on the stem-and-leaf plot, what percent of the teachers are over 50 years of age?

A. 26%
B. 47%
C. 51%
D. 52%

237
Mathematics Session 2

#Cffl The diagram below shows the location of fg£p The trapezoid pictured below has the
EF on a coordinate plane. measurements shown.

y> I

1
e' V
I 4,2 6,2

8^-7 _6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1
— i
12345678 x

-J
/i

Which measure is closest to the perimeter

—I)

c
of the trapezoid?
—1
A. 41 inches

) '
B. 59 inches

C. 64 inches
Suppose that EF is rotated 180° clockwise
D. 66 inches
about the origin. What are the coordinates
of the image of point El
A. (-2, -4)

B. (-4, -2)

C. (4, -2)

D. (-4,2)

238
 Mathematics Session 2

?
© Jennifer keeps a box under her bed to store
clothes. The box is in the shape of a
© The mean exam score for 3 1 students in a
geometry class was 79. The median exam
rectangular prism as shown in the figure score for the same set of students was 75.
below. Two additional students took the exam at a
later time and scored 65 and 93. How did
the mean and median change when these
two additional scores were included?

A. The median increased and the mean

stayed the same.
i

B. The median stayed the same and the

mean increased.
C. The median and the mean both stayed
the same.

Jennifer's sister, Molly, made a box that D. The median and the mean increased.
had the same height as Jennifer's box.
Molly, however, realized that she could
triple the length and double the width and #cj:l Juliaand Marcia bought identically priced
it would still fit under her bed.
cans of chili and identically priced jars of
salsa to make a dip.
What is volume of Molly's
the ratio of the
box to the volume of Jennifer's box? • Julia bought 3 cans of chili and 2 jars
of salsa for $10.07.
A. 6:1
• Marcia bought 2 cans of chili and
B. 12:1 4 jars of salsa for $12.98.
C. 36:1 Which of the following systems of
D. 216:1 equations could be used to find x, the cost
of one can of chili, and v, the cost of one
jar of salsa?

© The perimeter of a child's rectangular play

yard is 64 yards. The length and width of
A. x +
x +
y
y
=
=
10.07
12.98
the yard are consecutive odd integers. If
the length (x) is the longer of the two
dimensions, what is the width of the B. 10.07.x- + 12.98y = 11

play yard? x + y = 11

A. 15 yards
C. 2x + 4y = 10.07
B. 17 yards
2x + 3y = 12.98
C. 31 yards

D. 33 yards D. 3x + 2y = 10.07
2x + Ay = 12.98

239
 '

Mathematics Session 2

fffil Jenny studied the effect of light on plant %j$p A cup shape of a cone has a height
in the

growth. She graphed a scatterplot to of 8 units and a radius of 4 units as shown

represent her data. in the figure below. The water in the cup
reaches a height of 5 units.
Effect of Light
J; on J J iant Lrrovvtn
i 1

35

o 30

c 25
O•—
<u |1
£ 20
< • < »
•4— c
C V
2
15 • •
ft
4 1
# «>
• • •
10

• • •
a
•53
5

4 8 12 16 20 24
Hours of Light What is the value of r, the radius of the
Per 24 Hours surface of the water?

A. 1.6 units
Which of the following best represents the
equation for the line of best fit for the data B. 2.5 units

shown? C. 6.4 units

A. y = -0.4x + 5
D. 10.0 units

B. y = OAx + 5

C. _y = -Ax + 5

D. y = Ax + 5

^
240
Mathematics Session 2

Questions 41 and 42 are open-response questions.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.

• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 41 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fj|P When map of the Caribbean Sea is placed on a grid, Island A is represented by A (2,
a 1
),

and Island B is represented by B (6, 4). Graph and label these points on the grid in your
Student Answer Booklet.

a. What is the length of line segment AB on the grid? Show or explain how you got your
answer.

b. If each unit on the grid represents 12 actual miles, what is the shortest distance in miles
from Island A to Island B? Show or explain how you got your answer.

c. On the same map and grid, Island C is represented by C (2, 3). Graph point C on the
same grid used in part a. What is the least possible number of miles complete round
in a
trip of the three islands? (From A to B to C and back to A). Show or explain your answer.

241
Mathematics Session 2

Write your answer to question 42 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

%}& A can shaped like a right circular cylinder holds 2 pounds of coffee and has a diameter of 6
inches and a height of 6| inches.

hi in.H

6 in.-

Coffee 6 4 in.

a. What is the total surface area of the coffee can? Show or explain how you obtained your
answer.

b. What is the volume of the can? Show or explain how you obtained your answer.

c. A conical scoopused to remove coffee from the can and place it into a coffee maker.
is

The scoop has a 1-inch diameter and a 2-inch height. If one level scoop is used to make
each cup of coffee, how many cups of coffee can be made from a full 2-pound can of
coffee? Show or explain how you obtained your answer.

4*

242
 ,

H>ART/\lf/v
s0

MASSACHUSETTS
OMPREHENSIVE
1

ASSESSMENT
SYSTEM
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
Grade 10 Mathematics Reference Sheet

AREA FORMULAS VOLUME FORMULAS

triangle A = -bh cube .V=s 3
2 (s = length of an edge)
rectangle A = bh
rectangular prism V- Iwh
square A= s OR
trapezoid A = -h{b + x
b2 ) V=Bh
(B = area of the base)

CIRCLE FORMULAS sphere V= -Trr3

3

C= 2ttt right circular cylinder V = tit2 //

A= Trr"

right
b circular cone V= -Ttr2 h
3

right square pyramid .v=-s 2 h

3

LATERAL SURFACE AREA FORMULAS

rectangular prism LA = 2(hw) + 2(7/7)

right circular cylinder LA = lirrh
right circular cone LA = ttt€
right square pyramid LA = 2s£
(€ = slant height)

TOTAL SURFACE AREA FORMULAS

cube SA = 6s 2
rectangular prism SA = 2(lw) + 2(hw) + 2(7/7)

sphere SA = 4ttt2
right circular cylinder SA = 2ttt2 + 2ttt/7
right circular cone SA = Trr2 +Trr€
right square pyramid SA = s 2 + 2si
(€ = slant height)

243
 Grade 10 and Retest Mathematics
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC/SA)*

1 221 Measurement 10.M.1 B

2 221 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.4 C
3 221 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.4 A
4 221 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.7 D
5 222 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.2 A
6 222 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 1 0.P.1 C
7 222 Geometry 10.G.7 A
8 223 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.3 B
9 223 Geometry 10.G.4 B
10 224 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.4 A
1 1 224 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.7 B
12 225 Measurement 10.M.2 C
13 225 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.3 B
14 225 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.3 B
15 226 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.3 256
16 226 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.7 4 centimeters
17 227 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.8

IS 228 Measurement 10.M.1 4 centimeters

19 228 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.1 46 F

20 229 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 1 0.P.1

21 230 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability- 10.D.1

22 232 Number Sense and Operations 10.N.4 D

23 232 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 1 0.P.1 B
24 23~> Number Sense and Operations 10.N.1 B
25 233 Geometry 10.G.9 B
26 233 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 8.D.4 C
27 233 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.2 B
28 234 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.5 B
29 234 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.1 C
30 235 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.2 A
31 236 Number Sense and Operations 8.N.12

32 237 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.1 D

33 238 Geometry 10.G.9 B
34 238 Measurement 10.M.1 C
35 239 Measurement 10.M.3 A
36 239 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P7 A
37 239 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.1 C
38 239 Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 10.P.8 D
39 240 Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability 10.D.2 B
40 240 Geometry 10.G.4 B
41 241 Geometry 10.G.7

42 242 Measurement 10.M.2

Answers are provided here for multiple-choice and short-answer items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for
open-response items, which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

244
d

X. Science and Technology/Engineering, Grade 5

 Grade 5 Science and
Technology/Engineering Test
The spring 2003 Grade 5 MCAS Science and Technology/Engineering Test was based
on learning standards in the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering
Curriculum Framework (2001). The Framework identifies the four major content strands
listed below. Page numbers for the grade 3-5 learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Earth and Space Science (Framework, pages 22-26)

I Life Science (Biology) {Framework, pages 41-44)

I Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) (Framework, pages 57-59)

I Technology/Engineering (Framework, pages 75-76)

The Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework is available on the

Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/2001/0501.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Science and Technology/Engineering test results are

reported under four MCAS reporting categories, which are identical to the four Science

and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

The grade 5 Science and Technology/Engineering Test contained two separate test

sessions. Each session included multiple-choice and open-response questions. Common

test items are shown on the following pages as they appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

No reference tools or materials were allowed during any grade 5 Science and
Technology/Engineering test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word
dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

questions are also displayed in the table.

246
d

HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

5 check your answers.
NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
 Science and Technology/Engineering

Session 1

DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions and two open-response questions.
Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^P Three animals shown below are reptiles ^p The diagram below shows precipitation
and one is a mammal. Which animal is forming in a large cloud.
a mammal?
A.

Ice pellets rise

and fall through
B. the cloud many
times.

C.

The ice pellets grow larger each time they

D.
rise and fall through the cloud. What type
of precipitation is this process producing?

A. hail

B. rain

C. sleet

D. snow

o What causes sound?

A. sunlight

B. vibrations

C. x-rays

D. pitch

249
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

4%P A diagram of a lever is shown below.

Lever

100 pound rock

A lever such as the one shown above is used to move heavy objects. By pushing down on the
lever, you can lift the rock without too much strength. Which would be the most practical to use
as a lever?

A. a=
a plastic pipe that is \ -inch in diameter and 8 feet long

« W »ll.*) * ..lli .. ^ « -„ ., .„.„ „ » mu WMiHiii

^3 . „
, r

B.
a piece of wood that is 2" x 4" wide and 8 feet long

C.
a length of \ -inch rope that is 8 feet long

D.
an 8-foot length of steel that weighs 200 pounds

250
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

ri

^p A caterpillar changing into a butterfly is an ^p The diagram below shows a compass

example of and a magnet.

A. instinct.

B. duplication.

C. reproduction.

D. metamoiphosis.

A magnet is held near a compass as

%^ Gavin has two rocks. Both rocks are made shown above. Which shows how the
up entirely of the same mineral. What compass would look if the magnet's
other property of his two rocks is most poles were reversed?
likely to be the same?

A. size

B. shape

C. color

D. weight

251
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

•
^p Which of the following tools would be <E> Drake has started a garden. What can
most useful in determining the length Drake do to enrich the soil so that his
and width of a school cafeteria? plants will grow better?

A. scale A. remove earthworms

B. centimeter ruler B. add more water to the soil

C. tape measure C. increase the amount of pesticide

he uses
D. thermometer
D. mix decomposed plant matter into
the soil

^y The picture below shows flowering plants.

O Freda always hangs her wet swimsuit
outdoors after getting out of the swimming
pool. Which of the following is least
likely to affect the rate at which Freda's
swimsuit dries?

A. the heat of the Sun

.

B. the speed of the wind

C. the temperature of the water in '

the pool

D. the amount of water vapor in the air

If all the flowers arepicked off the plants

above, the plants will not be able to

A. grow taller.

B. produce seeds.

C. make their own food.

D. absorb nutrients from the soil.

252
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

^pi Below is a picture of the drum that

students in a 5th grade class are going
to make.

In order for the students to make music,

the material they use for the top of the
drum must be
A. flexible.

B. heavy.

C. reflective.

D. rough.

253
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

^jjep The table below shows corn seeds that have been placed in various positions to germinate.

Direction of Root Growth of Seeds

Seed
Position Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

When a corn seed germinates (begins to grow), the root always emerges first. The arrows
indicate the direction of the root growth on days 1-4.

Which statement best describes the growth of the roots on Day 4?

A. All the roots are growing downward.

B. The roots are growing in the direction in which the seed was placed.

C. Half the roots are growing upward, and half are growing downward.

D. The roots are growing in the same direction in which they grew on Day 2.

254
 .

Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

D\
/]

^j,l Why does a town in the desert rarely

experience early morning fog as compared
to a town along the coast?

A. There is less rainfall in the desert.

B. Temperatures vary more in the desert.

C. There is less water vapor in the

desert air.

D. There are fewer plants in the desert.

^JjP The figures below show a light bulb connected

to a battery in two different ways.

plastic
ring

Battery
1.5V

Figure 1 Figure 2

When the switch in Figure 1 is closed the bulb

will light. A plastic ring is inserted in the
circuit as shown in Figure 2.

What will happen when the switch is closed

in Figure 2?

A. The bulb will light just as it did in Figure 1.

B. The bulb will be brighter than it was in

Figure 1.

C. The bulb will light, but will be less bright

than it was in Figure 1

D. The bulb will not light at all.

255
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

*
%^ Which of the objects shown below is a
simple machine?

A.

B.

<f

D.

256
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

D\
/l

%]P Some stages in the development of a frog are shown below.

Day 13 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33

At approximately what day in the development of the frog would you expect it to be in the
stage shown below?

A. Day 4
B. Day 6

C. Day 12

D. Day 20

257
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

DIRECTIONS
Questions 18 and 19 are open-response questions.
• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 18 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

l[si The students in Mr. Garcia's elass designed and made containers to measure rainfall. They
set their containers outside during a rainy weekend. The table below shows the amount
of rain recorded by five different students using five different containers.

Student Amount of Rain

Marcos 3.2 cm

Elise 4.9 cm

Jamie 3.5 cm

Bill 3.4 cm

Nan 0.9 cm

List and explain four reasons why each student recorded a different amount of rain.

258
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

Write your answer to question 19 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

m^l The pictures below show a duck and a hawk.

The duck lives near water and eats small organisms from the water. The hawk lives on land and eats
animals such as mice and rabbits.

a. Identify and describe one way that the beak of each bird is adapted to the bird's diet.

b. Identify and describe one way that the feet of each bird are adapted to the bird's habitat.

259
 Science and Technology/Engineering

Session 2
<P

DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions.
Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

*j>l What causes day and night on Earth? f££P The diagram below shows two boards.
A. Earth's rotation on its axis

B. the Sun's revolution around Earth

C. Earth's revolution around the Sun

D. the Sun's rotation on its axis

#JP Which of the following is least likely to

change from a solid state to a liquid state
when heat is applied?
Morgan needs to fasten two boards
A. butter together but she has no tools. Which
of the following items can be used to
B. paper
fasten the boards together tightly without
C. ice using tools?

D. candle wax
A.

B.
<umu\U\\\r ~^

D.

Be

260
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

fyl The diagram below shows a plant. #jgy Which set of magnets shown below will be
attracted to each other?

A. S N
S N

B. s N N S

(J. s N S N

D. N S S N

fgffl A considered a complex

bicycle is

machine because it is
The primary purpose of structure 3 is to
A. used to perform a task.
A. absorb water.
« B. make food.
B. made from natural materials.

C. made up of more than one

C. protect flowers.
simple machine.
D. produce seeds.
D. complicated to build and repair.

f££P During which of the processes below does

water vapor change to liquid water?

A. melting

B. freezing

C. evaporation

D. condensation

261
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

#jy The leaves of which plant below show the fjsl Ruben is using a compass to find out
best structural adaptation for protecting which direction the wind is blowing.
the plant from predators? Which of the following would be best
for him to observe to help him find the
direction of the wind?

A. a flag on a pole

B. the temperature on a thermometer

C. birds flying above the trees

D. the shadow of a building

B.

D.

262
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

D>
fjil The figure below shows a glass partly jcjll Marcus designed a television stand like the
filled with water. one shown below for his family.

42 in.

•10 in.

His father is worried that the stand

Grace tapped the glass with a metal spoon could tip over. Look at the measurements
and heard a sound. Which action would in the drawing. How can Marcus improve

raise the pitch when she taps the glass the design so the stand would be less

again with the metal spoon? likely to tip over?

A. Pour some of the water out of A. make the base wider

the glass.
B. make the stand taller

B. Put more water into the glass. C. make the top narrower

C. Heat the water in the glass.

D. use a different material
D. Cool the water in the glass.

263
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

#6|b Which of these is not an instinctive

behavior?

A. a bird building a nest

B. a turtle burying its eggs

C. a bear hibernating in winter

D. a horse pulling a plow

fffiF The diagram below represents the Sun and planets of our solar system.

i i

Sun © (§) (h) © L (m) ®

Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun and make up the solar system. Which planet
on the above diagram represents Earth?

A. G
B. H
C. K
D. N

264
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

DIR
fCjSl Air has no color and cannot be seen, yet it
fg£P A student has designed a cabinet that
takes up space. What could be done to he can use to store his books, as
show that air takes up space? shown below.

A. observe clouds forming

B. measure the air temperature

C. blow up a beach ball or balloon

D. weigh a glass before and after it is

filled with water

To give him more storage space, what can

he most easily change in his design?

A. use a different type of wood

B. move the hinges so the doors open to
the outside

C. put doors on the top and the bottom of

the cabinet as well as the front

D. use wood glue instead of mechanical

fasteners to attach the different pieces

265
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

^^ Which of the following traits of a dog is fgjsj The picture below shows the Sun. a stick.
inherited from its parents? and the stick's shadow.

A. the presence of fleas in its fur

B. the color of its fur

C. the ability to sit up and beg

D. the habit of barkins to so outside

i
On a clear day at 10:00 a.m., the stick
casts ashadow as shown in the picture.
At 3:00 p.m., what will happen to the
shadow made by the stick?

A. It will disappear.

B. It will look the same as it did at

10:00 a.m.

C. It will be in the same position,

but shorter.

D. It will be in a different position.

266
 Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

n DIRECTIONS
Questions 37 through 39 are open-response questions.
• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 37 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^^ The lever, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, wheel-and-axle, and screw are simple machines,

a. Identify and sketch four of these simple machines.

b. For each of the four machines that you sketch, describe an example of how it is used.

Write your answer to question 38 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fffil A food chain is show n below.

GRASS -> GRASSHOPPER -> SMALL BIRD -> HAWK

A sudden decrease in the population of one type of organism in the food chain will affect all of the
other organisms in the food chain.

a. Identify two changes thatwould likely happen to organisms in this food chain if most
of the small birds in this area became diseased and died.

b. Explain why each change is likely to occur.

267
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

Write your answer to question 39 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

jffil Look at the objects shown below.

Rubber band Paper clip Glass tube Copper tubing Clothes hanger

Some of these objects are conductors of electricity and some are insulators,

a. List all the objects that are conductors.

b. List all the objects that are insulators.

c. Describe the difference between a conductor of electricity and an insulator of electricity.

268
 Grade 5 Science and Technology/Engineering
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 249 Life Science (Biology) 1 C

2 249 Earth and Space Science 7 A
3 249 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 11 B
4 250 Technology/Engineering 1 B
5 251 Life Science (Biology) 4 D
6 251 Earth and Space Science 2 C
7 251 Physical Sciences (Chemistiy and Physics) 9 C
8 252 Technology/Engineering 1 C
9 252 Life Science (Biology) 2 B
10 252 Earth and Space Science 5 1)

11 252 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 3 C

12 253 Technology/Engineering 1 A
13 254 Life Science (Biology) 9 A
14 255 Earth and Space Science 10 C
15 255 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 7 1)

16 256 Technology/Engineering 1 c
17 257 Life Science (Biology) 4 c
18 258 Earth and Space Science 6

19 259 Life Science (Biology) 6

20 260 Earth and Space Science 14 A

21 260 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 2 B
22 260 Technology/Engineering 1 I)

23 261 Life Science (Biology) 2 B

24 261 Earth and Space Science 10 D
25 261 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 9 C
26 261 Technology/Engineering 1 C
27 262 Life Science (Biology) 6 I)

28 262 Earth and Space Science 6 A

29 263 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 11 A
30 263 Technology/Engineering 2 A
31 264 Life Science (Biology) 8 D
32 264 Earth and Space Science 13 B
33 265 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 2 C
34 265 Technology/Engineering 2 B
35 266 Life Science (Biology) 5 B
36 266 Earth and Space Science 14 D
37 267 Technology/Engineering 1

38 267 Life Science (Biology) 11

39 268 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 7

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

269
XI. Science and Technology/Engineering, Grade 8
 Grade 8 Science and
Technology/Engineering Test
The spring 2003 Grade 8 MCAS Science and Technology/Engineering Test was based
on learning standards in the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering
Curriculum Framework (2001). The Framework identifies the four major content strands
listed below. Page numbers for the grade 6-8 learning standards appear in parentheses.

I Earth and Space Science {Framework, pages 29-30)

I Life Science (Biology) (Framework, pages 46-48)

I Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) (Framework, pages 60-62)

I Technology/Engineering (Framework, pages 76-79)

The Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework is available on the

Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/2001/0501.pdf .

In Test Item Analysis Reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS
School Reports and District Reports, Science and Technology/Engineering test results are

reported under four MCAS reporting categories, which are identical to the four Science

and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework content strands listed above.

Test Sessions and Content Overview

The grade 8 Science and Technology/Engineering Test contained two separate test

sessions. Each session included multiple-choice and open-response questions. Common

test items are shown on the following pages as they appeared in test booklets.

Reference Materials and Tools

No reference tools or materials were allowed during any grade 8 Science and
Technology/Engineering test session, with the exception of bilingual word-to-word
dictionaries used by limited English proficient students.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item's reporting category

and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice

questions are also displayed in the table.

272
 HOW TO ANSWER
OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Be sure to

read all parts of each question carefully.

make each response as clear, complete,

and accurate as you can.

check your answers.

 •

NO TEST MATERIAL
ON THIS PAGE
M

(#
 Science and Technology/Engineering

Session 1

DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions and two open-response questions.
Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

^P The diagram below shows a food web. ^p The best evidence that two land areas
were once connected is the discovery that
both land masses
Food Web
A. have the same climate.

Hawks Snakes B. are in the same stage of succession.

and and
Owls Raccoons C. exist along the same line of longitude.

D. have similar types of rocks and fossils.

Rabbits Mice
and ^p What energy transformation occurs when
Rats an electric lamp is turned on?
Grasshoppers
and A. electrical energy to light and heat
Crickets
energy

B. light energy to electrical and

mechanical energy
Grasses
C. heat energy to electrical and light
energy

If the corn and oats were completely D. electrical energy to mechanical and
removed from the above food web, heat energy
which of the following would be the
most affected?
A. mice and rats

B. hawks and owls

C. snakes and raccoons

D. grasshoppers and crickets

275
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

#
<43fr Based on which of the
the illustrations, ^fp Which of the following is a necessary
following vehicles will likely produce the condition for a lunar eclipse to occur?
least drag?
A. The Moon must be full.
B. The Moon must be waxing.
A.
C. It must be the beginning of the month.

D. Itmust be winter in the Northern

Hemisphere.

B.
%^ A scientist combines oxygen and hydrogen
to form water. This combination illustrates
that water is

A. an atom.

B. an element.

C. a mixture.

D. a compound.

^P Which of the following activities is

performed by the marketing department
D. of a manufacturing organization?

A. advertising

B. shipping

C. storage

D. quality control

276
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

^p A rabbit population has increased ^JB Copper is an element that is used in

noticeably in the past ten years. Which of electrical wires. What is the smallest unit
the following is a reasonable hypothesis of copper that still maintains the
for this population growth? characteristics of copper?

A. Competition for food has increased A. the atom

among rabbits.
B. the electron
B. The main predator has been
rabbit's
C. the nucleus
eliminated by human development.
D. the proton
C. Abnormal weather conditions have
decreased water levels of the local
ponds.
4(£^ Which of the following parts of a car
D. An organism that relies on similar food belongs to its control system?
sources has migrated into the area.
A. fuel tank

B. hydraulic jack
^y Which is the thickest layer of Earth?
C. steering wheel
A. crust
D. windshield wipers
B. inner core

C. mantle
^fSP Oxygen and sugar are the products of
D. outer core
A. cell division.

B. digestion.
^j|t} Which of the following correctly lists the
C. photosynthesis.
organizational hierarchy of organisms
from simplest to most complex? D. respiration.
A. cells, organs, tissues, organ systems,
organisms
^Jj[P The pull of gravity on Earth is a direct
B. cells, tissues, organs, organ systems,
result of the
organisms
A. mass of Earth.
C. tissues, cells, organs, organ systems,
organisms B. magnetic field of Earth.

D. tissues, organs, cells, organ systems, C. rotation of Earth on its axis.

organisms
D. weight of Earth's atmosphere.

277
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

^^ The graph below shows a beetle's ^[£P Harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun are
movement along a plant stem. primarily absorbed by

A. dust.
Beetle's Movement Along B. ozone.
a Plant Stem C. land masses.
1U
o D. water vapor.
o
6

£ —
\
O %£0 Which of the following symbiotic
4 -
ZL
\ relationships is considered parasitic?
o
c
c3
z _
o
\ A. ticks feeding on a dog
\
B. bees transporting pollen from flowers
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Time (min) C. pilotfish swimming under sharks

D. birds eating the insects from the back

During which span of time was the beetle of a hippopotamus
not moving?

A. from to 4 minutes

B. from 4 to 6 minutes

C. from 6 to 14 minutes

D. from 14 to 16 minutes

278
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 1

DIRECTIONS
Questions 18 and 19 are open-response questions.
• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answers to questions 18 and 19 in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

*j[«l The pictures below show a spaee shuttle and an airplane.

Space Shuttle Airplane

Fast-moving Ki
— 000 CX
hot gases
•4- -
-4- -
•4- -
•4- -
-4- -
•4- - Airflow

L i
a. Explain in detail the roles that lift, thrust, and gravity play in propelling the space shuttle
through the air.

b. Explain in detail the roles that lift, thrust, and gravity play in propelling the airplane
through the air.

mS} Nathan plants one tomato plant in his garden. He performs an experiment to see whether
fertilizer affects the growth of a plant.

• He treats the soil around his plant with fertilizer and observes that the plant grows several inches.

• He concludes that the fertilizer increased the growth rate of the plant.

Are Nathan's experimental design and conclusion correct? Explain your answer and note
any changes that could be made in his experimental setup.

279
 Science and Technology/Engineering

Session 2
DIRECTIONS
This session contains seventeen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions. Mark
your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fjll What kingdom contains organisms that are §sgl A carefully measured amount of soil is
multicellular,have no chlorophyll, and placed in an oven and heated to burn off
absorb nutrients from decaying tissue? the organic material. Which of the
following tools is best used to measure
A. Fungi
the mass of the remaining soil?
B. Plantae
A.
500-
C. Protista
400-
mL 300-
D. Animalia 200-

100-

€> In 1995, a private bus company

Washington, D.C., introduced a
in
B.
program to run all its tour buses
with fuel obtained from soybeans.
The buses are powered by

A. nuclear fuel.

B. biogas.
C.
C. coal gas.

D. diesel fuel.

D.
D

280
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

#jel Which of the following is the best §sjsF In an automobile, which of the following
example of a custom-made product? components is designed specifically to
give feedback to the driver?
A. graphing calculator
A. steering wheel
B. light bulb
B. speedometer
C. needle nose pliers
C. brake pedal
D. artificial leg

D. car key

fsjl The diagram below shows a river.

%£•} A container is filled with 100 mL of water
and placed in a freezer. The water in the
container freezes A second
at 0°C.
container filled with 90 mL of water is
placed in a second freezer. At what
temperature does this second container of
water freeze?

A. -10°C
B. -1°C
C. 0°C
D. 10°C

The shaded land areas on either side of the

river were most likely formed by

A. tectonic activity.

B. the deposition of sediments.

C. land development by humans.

D. compression of preexisting rock.

281
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

%Jfr The diagram below shows a bacterium. 4& An engineer designing a suspension bridge
discovers it will need to carry twice the
load that was initially estimated. One
change the engineer must make to her
original design to maintain safety is to
increase the

A. length of wires in tension.

B. diameter of wires in tension.

C. height of support towers.

D. length of the bridge.

fcjtl The surface gravity of Pluto is the weakest

The part of the cell indicated by the arrow of the nine planets because Pluto

is responsible for which of the following A. has the lowest temperature.

functions?
B. has the smallest mass.
A. absorption
C. rotates the slowest.
B. breathing
D. is farthest from the Sun.
C. locomotion

D. reproducing
§6|p On Jenny walked home from the
a hot day.
grocery store with a bag of chocolate
#jsl Kendra's mom purchasing a car. but
is
chips. When she arrived home the
chocolate chips had melted in the bag.
cannot decide what color to get. Kendra
advises her mom that a car with a black Why did the chocolate chips melt?

exterior will be uncomfortable in the A. Heat transferred from the chocolate

summer. This observation is correct chips to the bag.
because dark objects, as compared to
lighter colored objects, B. Heat evaporated from the bag to the
chocolate chips.
A. reduce heat transfer.
C. Heat transferred from the environment
B. are generally more dense. to the chocolate chips.

C. absorb more of the Sun's energy. D. Heat condensed from her hand to the
chocolate chips.
D. reflect sunlight more efficiently.

282
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

§Cg# Single-celled organisms can reproduce fcfcl The maps below show the positions of
and create cells exactly like themselves two continents at two different times.
without combining genes from two
different parent cells. When they do this,
they use a type of

A. asexual reproduction.

B. gamete formation.

C. natural selection.

D. sexual reproduction.

fCjCl The manufacturing process used to

permanently put parts together is called

A. cutting.

B. shaping.

C. finishing.

D. assembling.

The movement of the two continents as

fcgl Which two body systems work together shown may best be explained by
to transport oxygen to the cells?
A. volcanic eruptions.
A. skeletal and respiratory
B. magnetic changes.
B. digestive and respiratory
C. coastal flooding.
C. respiratory and circulatory
D. plate tectonics.
D. respiratory and reproductive

283
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

fCjSE Which of the following graphs represents a

train moving at constant speed?

CD
o
c
£

Time

B.

Time

CD
O
c
C/)

Time

D.

CD
O
c
CO
*—•

Time

284
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

DIRECTIONS
Questions 37 through 39 are open-response questions.
• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.
• Show your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.
all
• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 37 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

{£ZP The diagram below shows a cube being studied by a science class.

The density of water is 1.0 g/cm 3 Although

. the class has no water, the students want to know if the
cube will float or sink in water.

a. List the instruments needed to conduct this investigation.

b. Explain, in detail, the steps that must be taken to determine if the cube will float or sink.

285
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

Write your answer to question 38 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fcfcl The following structures are found in both plant and animal cells.

Nucleus

Chromosomes
Cell membrane
Cytoplasm

Mitochondria

a. Pick two of the above structures and describe their functions.

b. Name two additional cell parts found in plants but not in animals. Describe one function
of each of these plant cell structures.

286
Science and Technology/Engineering Session 2

Write your answer to question 39 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

fCffB The pictures below show daytime and nighttime eoastal wind patterns during the summer months.

Warm air

Cool air

a. Describe the wind patterns in each diagram.

b. Explain, in detail, what causes the differences between the wind patterns in the diagrams.

287
 Grade 8 Science and Technology/Engineering
Spring 2003 Released Items:
Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers
A

Correct Answer
Item No. Page No. Reporting Category Standard
(MC)*

1 275 Life Science (Biology) 14 A

2 275 Earth and Space Science 7 D
3 275 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 13 A
4 276 Technology/Engineering 6 A
5 276 Earth and Space Science 9 A
6 276 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 7 D
7 276 Technology/Engineering 4 A
8 277 Life Science (Biology) 17 B
9 277 Earth and Space Science 2 C
10 277 Life Science (Biology) 5 B
11 277 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 6 A
12 277 Technology/Engineering 6 C
13 277 Life Science (Biology) 16 C
14 277 Earth and Space Science 8 A
15 278 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 12 C
16 278 Earth and Space Science 4 B
17 278 Life Science (Biology) 13 A
18 279 Technology/Engineering 6

19 279 Life Science (Biology) 16

20 280 Life Science (Biology) 1 A

21 280 Technology/Engineering 7 B
22 280 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 3 B
23 281 Technology/Engineering 4 D
24 281 Earth and Space Science 6 B
25 281 Technology/Engineering 2 B
26 281 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 9 C
27 282 Life Science (Biology) 4 C
28 282 Earth and Space Science 3 C
29 282 Technology/Engineering 5 B
30 282 Earth and Space Science 10 B
31 282 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 16 C
32 283 Life Science (Biology) 9 A
33 283 Technology/Engineering 4 D
34 283 Life Science (Biology) 6 C
35 283 Earth and Space Science 5 D
36 284 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 12 B
37 285 Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) 3

38 286 Life Science (Biology) 3

39 287 Earth and Space Science 4

Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items,
which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department's website later this year.

288
»
 isbn •m-ami-bb-a

9 789998H19667