Study Guide

Core Academic Skills Assessment (CASA): Writing
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

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Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment

This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment in which you will be asked to respond to an educational issue described in two passages that contain opposing viewpoints on the issue. You should prepare a response of approximately 400–600 words. You may use the word-count feature in the lower left-corner of the response box to monitor the length of your response. You will not be allowed to type more than 1,000 words.

Read the assignment carefully and think about how you will organize your response before you begin to type.

Your response will be evaluated on the following criteria.

Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials. Your response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work. Remember to review what you have written to ensure that you address all aspects of the assignment and make any changes you think will improve your response. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English.

Sample Constructed-Response Assignment

Objective 0012
Writing Assignment (Standard 8)

Read the articles below on requiring students to graduate from high school; then complete the assignment that follows.

The Educational Forum

Require Students to Stay in School

The United States faces a high school dropout emergency. Yet in much of the country, students are legally permitted to drop out of school at the age of 16. It is well past time to change these absurd laws. Students should be required to stay in school until they graduate from high school.

High school graduation rates in the United States have declined to crisis levels. Shockingly large numbers of students drop out rather than finish school. If anything, the nation is actually losing ground as the children of high school graduates join the ranks of dropouts. Given the circumstances, requiring students to complete their education is warranted.

If students are required to stay in school until they graduate, they will reap real benefits. A diploma increases an individual's earning power substantially. In 2009, the average annual income for high school graduates was nearly $8,000 higher than that of dropouts. Put another way, if all students who dropped out of one high school graduating class were instead required to stay in school, their projected lifetime earnings would be over $150 billion higher. That is a compelling reason to require students to complete their education.

Mario T. Ruiz
President and CEO
Focus on Schools, Inc.

 

The Educational Forum

Young Adults Must Be Allowed to Drop Out

High school students in the United States are not required to graduate. While allowing students to leave school may seem permissive, it is in fact appropriate. If high school students do not want to be in school, they should not be forced to remain there.

The individuals choosing not to complete high school are, for most purposes, adults. They are entitled to many adult rights. Students are permitted to leave school at the age of 16 in much of the country because they are capable of making, and often already are making, major life decisions. A 16-year-old would not be wise to drop out of high school, but it is that young adult's right to do so if he or she chooses.

Furthermore, taking away the right of students to drop out could generate serious problems for districts. In its overview of compulsory education laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures notes the potential costs associated with requiring young adults to stay in school. Forcing students into the classroom can drive up rates of truancy and in-class disciplinary problems, in turn draining limited resources. School districts should not have these problems thrust upon them. Requiring students to stay in school would be a mistake.

Dr. Tyrese Patterson
Principal
Walter Jay High School

In an essay written in your own words for an audience of educated adults, present a clear, coherent, and cohesive argument to fully support a claim about requiring students to graduate from high school.

Your essay must:

While you should use ideas from the articles, your writing and the development of your argument must be your own.

Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment

Proponents and opponents of requiring students to graduate from high school agree on one point: a diploma is not an end in itself. These days, high school skills are not enough to succeed in the competitive employment marketplace that American students enter when they graduate. High school graduates do earn more than drop-outs, but money is not the only reason we should require students to graduate. The true value of a high school education and the reason we, as a country, need to require our students to graduate, is that the road to graduation shows our students the importance of hard work and prepares them to contribute to society.

American children spend most of their lives in school. If we were to allow students to drop out, it would run counter to school's centrality in students' lives. It would send a mixed message: stay in school until you're sixteen, but the last two years aren't important. The opposite is true. In the last two years of high school, students often take advanced classes in math or a foreign language, classes which serve as a culmination of the work from the previous years. Geometry becomes pre-calculus and rudimentary vocabulary skills in Spanish turn into the fluency necessary for foreign travel. When students drop out, they don't see the results the hard work during the last years of high school yields.

Beyond the coursework, high school prepares students to contribute to society. In high school, students learn to balance work and play (classes and free time) and live in a community (a student body). The skills required to negotiate all of the academic and social demands of the typical high school experience have a direct translation to adult life, where someday students will have co-workers and neighbors, careers and families. When students join debate or basketball teams, they learn more than how to argue and dribble. They learn to strategize with their peers, to work together for specific results. Whether those results are executing a play designed for the final seconds on the basketball court or memorizing a rhetorical flourish for a rebuttal, participation in a high school community provides students with an opportunity to be a part of something larger than themselves.

Those in favor of allowing students to drop out before graduating cite the costs of keeping students in school, whether related to books, buses, or instruction, but those costs are a relatively small burden when compared to the cost of allowing students to drop out. In the long-term, drop-outs contribute disproportionately to the cost of social programs, law enforcement, and incarceration, all of which are paid for by tax dollars. Requiring students to stay in school could bring down and even avoid some of these costs for our entire society. It may cost more than some would like to keep students in school for the short-term, but in doing so we can avoid even costlier expenses tomorrow. It makes more sense to keep students in school when we consider the big picture.

Opponents of requiring students to graduate also argue that it infringes on students' rights to keep them in school beyond the age of 16. It is true that as Americans we have countless rights (e.g., to bear arms, to free speech), but schools and society have found it necessary to limit certain rights in public spaces and under certain circumstances. Individuals are not allowed to bring weapons into schools, for example, and schools can limit speech if it is controversial, such as banning certain phrases on t-shirts. Having rights, but knowing where and when to limit them is what has made our system as functional as it is. Requiring students to graduate from high school is an example of a reasonable limitation of individual rights.

As a country, we need to keep the bigger picture in mind. Though opponents of requiring students to graduate argue that short-term costs and students' rights should be reason enough to allow students to drop out, they neglect more important concerns. All students should earn a high school diploma because in the end they will be more than high school graduates; they will be, through their hard work and persistence, ready to participate in and positively contribute to American society.

Rationale

Appropriateness: The response is written in a style that is appropriate for the specified audience of educated adults; it is written in formal American English, not in casual speech or in slang. The response is written in the candidate's own words, not borrowed from the stimulus material. It fulfills the purpose of the assignment, which is to take a position, include reasons in addition to those given in the stimulus material, and address counterclaims. The position is taken in paragraph one, additional arguments follow in paragraphs two and three, and counterclaims are addressed in paragraphs four and five.

Focus and Unity: The main idea is presented in the opening paragraph: "The true value of a high school education and the reason we, as a country, need to require our students to graduate, is that the road to graduation shows our students the importance of hard work and prepares them to contribute to society." This idea is carried through each of the arguments. For example, paragraph two discusses hard work and dedication, paragraph three discusses how high school prepares students for society, and the conclusion returns to the main idea. The response does not drift in focus to other topics.

Organization: From sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph, the response is effectively and coherently sequenced. Transitions are used from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. For example, "Beyond the coursework," in the first sentence of paragraph three, refers back to paragraph two, making the transition between paragraphs clear. In paragraph five, the use of "also" in the first sentence signals that the paragraph will focus on the second counterclaim. Each paragraph also focuses on a single argument or counterclaim—paragraph two on "hard work and dedication," paragraph three on "preparation for society," paragraph four on "costs," and paragraph five on "rights."

Development: There is relevant, varied, and specific support that elaborates the main idea using additional arguments to those presented in the stimulus material. Two arguments in addition to those in the stimulus material, "hard work and dedication" and "preparation for society," are developed in paragraphs two and three. There are specific examples and details in each paragraph, such as "Geometry becomes pre-calculus and rudimentary vocabulary skills in Spanish turn into the fluency necessary for foreign travel" in paragraph two, and "Whether those results are executing a play designed for the final seconds on the basketball court or memorizing a rhetorical flourish for a rebuttal" in paragraph three. Two counterclaims to the arguments in the opposing side of the stimulus material, "costs" and "rights," are fully and effectively addressed in paragraphs four and five. The address of counterclaims is signaled through the use of conjunctions that suggest a contrast, such as "but those costs are a relatively small burden when compared to the cost of allowing students to drop out" in paragraph four, and "but schools and society have found it necessary to limit certain rights in public spaces and under certain circumstances" in paragraph five.

Grammar and Conventions: The response shows strong control of grammar and conventions through the correct use of semicolons, parentheses, and subjunctive mood. Sentence structure is effective because of the use of both simple and complex syntax, with varying sentence length. Usage is effective and precise (e.g., "competitive employment marketplace," "culmination," "direct translation"). There are no errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization.

Performance Characteristics

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the constructed-response assignment.

Appropriateness The extent to which the response is written in the candidate's own words, addresses the purpose of the assignment, and uses language and style appropriate for the specified audience
Focus and Unity The extent to which the response clearly states, and maintains clear connections to, the main idea or thesis statement, written in the candidate's own words
Organization The extent to which the response is effectively and coherently sequenced from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph
Development The extent to which the response provides relevant, varied, and specific support to elaborate on the main idea or thesis statement, including addressing counterclaims
Grammar and Conventions The extent to which the response is written in the candidate's own words and shows control of grammar, sentence structure, usage, and mechanical conventions (i.e., spelling, punctuation, and capitalization)

Scoring Scale

Scores will be assigned to each response to the constructed-response assignment according to the following scoring scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response demonstrates a strong command of writing skills.
  1. The response is written in the candidate's own words and fully addresses the purpose of the assignment. Language and style are appropriate.
  2. The main idea or thesis statement is clearly expressed and written in the candidate's own words. Connections to the main idea or thesis statement are effectively maintained.
  3. The response is effectively organized. Connections from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph are clear and purposeful.
  4. Support is strong and full. It is relevant, varied, and specific and includes arguments not found in the stimulus material. Counterclaims are effectively addressed.
  5. The response is written in the candidate's own words and there are very few, if any, errors in grammar and mechanics. Usage and word choice are effective and precise. Sentence structure is correct, effective, and varied.
3 The "3" response demonstrates a general command of writing skills.
  1. The response is generally written in the candidate's own words and generally addresses the purpose of the assignment. Language and style are generally appropriate.
  2. The main idea or thesis statement is expressed and generally written in the candidate's own words. Connections to the main idea or thesis statement are generally maintained.
  3. The response is mostly organized. Connections from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph are generally clear.
  4. Support is general. It is generally relevant, may not be varied, and includes at least one argument not found in the stimulus material. There are some specifics. Counterclaims are addressed.
  5. The response is generally written in the candidate's own words and there are minor errors in grammar and mechanics. Usage and word choice may be basic and contain minor errors. Sentence structure may contain minor errors and show only some variation.
2 The "2" response demonstrates a limited command of writing skills.
  1. The response may be only partially written in the candidate's own words and it partially addresses the purpose of the assignment. Language and style may be inappropriate.
  2. The main idea or thesis statement may have to be inferred or may be only partially written in the candidate's own words. Connections to the main idea or thesis statement are only partially maintained.
  3. The response is only partially organized. Connections from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph may be unclear.
  4. Support is limited. It may be only partially relevant and may not be specific. It may use only the arguments found in the stimulus material. The response includes an attempt to address counterclaims.
  5. The response may be only partially written in the candidate's own words and major and minor errors in grammar, mechanics, usage, word choice, and sentence structure are distracting and may interfere with meaning.
1 The "1" response demonstrates a weak command of writing skills.
  1. The response may be almost entirely written in language copied from the stimulus material. It attempts to address the purpose of the assignment. Language and style are inappropriate.
  2. The main idea or thesis statement is not clear or is merely copied from the stimulus material. Connections to the main idea or thesis statement are not maintained.
  3. There is little or no organization in the response. Connections from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph are unclear.
  4. Support is weak. There is little or no relevant development. It uses only the arguments found in the stimulus material. Counterclaims are not addressed.
  5. The response may be almost entirely written in language copied from the stimulus material. Numerous major and minor errors in grammar, mechanics, usage, word choice, and sentence structure impede meaning.
U The response is unrelated to the purpose of the assignment, illegible, primarily in a language other than English, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.