FLACS Regional Exams Checkpoints A & B

Join us in preparing these important exams.

October 2014

FLACS Exams

FLACS Regional Checkpoint A: FLACS Regional Checkpoint B: Part 1: Speaking (30 points)* Part 1: Speaking (24 points) Part 2: Listening (30 points)* Part 2: Listening (26 points)* Part 3: Reading (20 points) Part 3: Reading (30 points) Part 4: Writing (20 points)* Part 4: Writing (20 points)* • • NEW CHANGES THIS YEAR: Speaking: Checkpoint A—(0—no credit; 1 point—minimal proficiency; 2 points—proficient and beyond). • • Writing Checkpoints A&B: One task will be a Read to Write Task informed by reading sources. The other task will be an option of a typical descriptive or narrative task. New scoring rubrics.

Listening: Checkpoint A—15 listening items; Checkpoint B; 13 Listening items

Changes to the 2015 Exams

Checkpoint A; Part 1 Speaking

Scoring will be 0—no credit, 1 point—minimal proficiency, 2 points—proficient and beyond

Checkpoint A & B; Part 2 Listening

Checkpoint A reduced to 15 items; Checkpoint B reduced to 13 items

Checkpoint A & B; Part 4 Writing

One of the writing tasks will be a Read to Write Common Core task, expository or persuasive tasks, informed by reading sources. Scoring is 10 points each task—total of 20 points for Checkpoints A & B. Picture option will be eliminated on the 2016 Checkpoint B Exams.

Standards/Content

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The New York State Standards for World Languages (LOTE), the (new) National Standards —World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, and the (new) Themes for World Languages in the 21 st Century (based on the Topics from the Modern Language Syllabus, IB and AP Themes) establish the content, skills, knowledge and performance standards for these exams.

Multiple Choice Listening and Reading Test Items

Test items are the building blocks of an exam. All test items are composed of three parts:  Item stem (question)  Correct answer  Distracters (incorrect responses) “Options” refers to all the choices that are available. The correct answer must be 100% correct, 100% of the time.

Writing good MC Items:

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Be sure to choose appropriate content (refer to Themes/Topics).

Make sure topics are well balanced (use the checklist).

The content should be at an appropriate level of difficulty.

Be sure the question does not rely on one word.

Checkpoint A=question and 4 options Checkpoint B=question and 4 options or complete the sentence with four options Do not use negatives in the question or options.

Make sure the options are all roughly the same length.

The options should be viable and not grammatically incorrect.

Students should not be able to answer the question just by reading the question and the options.

Place repeated words in the stem, not in the options.

Use culturally appropriate content (not stereotypes).

Distracters

 Designing plausible distracters is the most challenging aspect of multiple choice item writing.

 A good distracter should be chosen by low achievers, not high achievers.

 The distracters are clearly not the correct answer when the best answer is selected.

 All distracters should be similar in length and format (i.e. verbs, infinitives, statements).  The way to judge a good stem: students who know the content should be able to answer before reading the alternatives.

Distracters

 Be sure reading questions can not be answered without reading the document or passage.

 Do not test the reading of the question and the options…test the reading of the document/ passage.

 Make sure items are culturally appropriate.

 Consider Common Core types of questions: Inference, Title of this article, Tone, etc.  Listening passages should be roughly 4-6 sentences in length. Make sure they are not too long or too short. Look at previous exams as a guide.

 Do not have more than one answer that is possibly correct.

 Do not make correct answer noticeably shorter or longer than the distracters.

 Do not use copyrighted material. Public domain content like newspaper/internet articles and ads are permissible.

Things to Remember

Please keep in mind the ability level of your own students

and students throughout the state as well as Checkpoint A or B standards. The text should be understandable. The vocabulary and grammatical structures should not be out of the reach of the average student who would take the test.

Please include the complete original document for each item

(magazine article, etc.) with a reference to the name and date of the magazine or other source. This pertains to both reading and listening passages.

Item Writing FLACS Regional Exams

Checkpoint A Exams Part 2a Listening Comprehension: The passage is in the target language; the question is in English. One multiple-choice question for each passage.

Part 2b Listening Comprehension: The passage is in the target language; the question is also in the target language. One multiple-choice question for each passage.

Part 2c Listening Comprehension: The passage is in the target language; the question is in English with four pictures as the choices. One multiple-choice question for each passage.

Part 3a Reading Comprehension: Short reading passages or authentic document of similar size; one multiple-choice question for each selection. The questions are in English. Please send the original(s) rather than copies.

Part 3b Reading Comprehension: Short reading passages or authentic document of similar size; one multiple-choice question for each selection. The questions are in the target language. Please send the original(s) rather than copies.

Item Writing FLACS Regional Exams

Checkpoint B Exams Part 2a Listening Comprehension: The passage is in the target language; the question is in English. One multiple-choice question for each passage.

Part 2b Listening Comprehension: The passage is in the target language; the question is also in the target language. One multiple-choice question for each passage.

Part 3a Reading Comprehension: Long reading passage; five multiple-choice questions based on the reading. The questions are in the target language. Please send the original(s) rather than copies (100- 300 words).

Part 3b Reading Comprehension: Short reading passages or authentic document of similar size; one multiple-choice question for each selection. The questions are in English. Please send the original(s) rather than copies.

Part 3c Reading Comprehension: Long reading passage; five multiple-choice questions based on the reading. The questions are in English. Please send the original(s) rather than copies.

Reading Comprehension

 For all reading comprehension items, the questions may be phrased as either a complete question or an incomplete statement. (Ex. “The main idea of this selection is….”)  Please make sure that the actual physical size is appropriate – materials should not be at either extreme. A reading selection should not be so huge that it cannot fit on the test paper and it should not be so small that the text is impossible to read.

 Color: Please make a copy of the selection first to make sure that it will reproduce well in black and white. If the answer depends upon the color of certain parts of the selection, then it will not work .

Sample Listening Item

You are listening to the radio and you hear the following: If you are interested in helping with a local neighborhood clean up, join us this Tuesday in the park to collect bottles, trash, and paper to give our community a pleasant place to enjoy nature. If you can donate at least two hours to the community service effort, it would help a great deal. Please sign up by going to the website: savetheplanet.com and we will email you with more details. As a thank you for helping, you will receive a T-shirt and a water bottle. Join us today! Why would someone want to go to this event?

1-To clean up a park 2-To clean up the neighborhood 3-To get the free T-shirt and water bottle 4-The opportunity to learn about other planets How can this item be improved?

Sample Listening Item~

Enhanced

You are listening to the radio and you hear the following: If you are interested in helping with a local neighborhood clean up, join us this Tuesday in the park to collect bottles, trash, and paper to give our community a pleasant place to enjoy nature. If you can donate at least two hours to the clean up effort, it would help a great deal. Please sign up by going to the website: savetheplanet.com and we will email you with more details. As a thank you for helping, you will receive a T-shirt and a water bottle. Join us today! Why would someone want to go to this event?

1-To engage in community service 2-To learn about the environment 3-To go for a nature walk 4-To donate money to people in need

Sample Reading Item

How can this item be improved?

Why would someone be interested in this ad?

1-To get a good deal on water delivery 2-To get free water 3-To give business to a local company 4-To get a water supply that is not bottled and comes cold

Sample Reading Item

~Enhanced

What is this ad about?

1-A water supply company 2-Saving water from contamination 3-How to purify water at home 4-A new way to conserve water

Starting the item writing process: Find or Create Listening and Reading Comprehension Stimuli

 Listening passages can also be derived from reading sources.

 Reading passages are texts, articles from authentic sources (schedules, tickets from events, travel, advertisements, etc.)  Long reading passages can be taken from a variety of sources.

 Authentic documents=realia.

How can we ensure cultural accuracy?

Think of your students…

 Why are you choosing this listening or reading passage or document? Is it based on the goals for the course/student learning objectives?

 Read the passage, document, or article, decide why you selected this item. Is it giving you information about the students’ knowledge, skill, ability in the language that is meaningful?

 Create items that you know would be challenging yet appropriate for the level of students you teach.

Checklist for item writing

Item is based on standards/learning objectives Addresses one of the topics/Is culturally accurate Is written at appropriate level of difficulty Answer is not based on one word No double negatives Options are all same format, length, etc.

Document is clear, legible and reprints well There are no grammatical errors in item

Let’s talk about Item Writing and the Common Core

Do we want our items to ask students to demonstrate they know what one word means? Too many of our items do that.

Can we create items based on sources that are appropriate to the level of our students, address our standards and the common core standards for reading?

What are the CCSS for Reading?

R1: Reading to determine what the text says explicitly, citing textual evidence R2: Determine central ideas or themes, with supporting details R3: Analysis of how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact R4: Interpretation of words and phrases; analysis of meaning or tone R5: Analysis of the structure of texts

R6: Assessment of how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text R7: Integration and evaluation of content presented in diverse formats and media R8: Evaluation of arguments in a text R9: Analysis of how two or more texts address similar themes or topics R10: Independent reading and comprehension of complex literary and informational texts

Read to Write Common Core Items

Find an appropriate reading passage(s), document, ad, etc.

Create a writing task based on the text(s).

Ensure that students can reference evidence from text(s) .

The rubric has been revised to include assessment of Read to Write Task.

Samples will be provided for practice.

Word count for Checkpoint B is eliminated.

New Rubrics

Developed by, Jennifer Nesfield, Chair of FLACS Exams

Examples of Read-to-Write Tasks

Sources must be referenced in response to task.

There will be a description of the task with bulleted prompts.

Rubrics have been revised to address the new tasks and use of sources.

Let’s look at examples…

The following examples are

DRAFTS

of Read to Write Tasks.

The actual tasks on the FLACS exams will have bulleted prompts and will have one or two reading sources. The Read to Write Task is mandatory. There will be two other tasks to choose from for the second writing task on both Checkpoint A and B exams.

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - French

You are going to participate in a French Exchange program.

Your teacher has provided you with several student profiles of students from your exchange school.

Write an email to your teacher explaining which of the students you would like as your exchange partner using information from the profile to support your selection.

© Lauria 2014

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - French

Example of a Read to Write Task Checkpoint A—Italian Example of a Read to Write Task Checkpoint A—Italian

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Italian

You are planning a party for your brother’s 13 th birthday.

Read the advertisements and write an e-mail to your friend discussing the location you would like to choose for the party.

You must include: The reasons for your selection What kinds of foods you will be serving © Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Italian

An acceptable response

: Cara Maria, posto Domenica è il compleanno di mio fratello. Io voglio avere la sua festa al ristorante molto. Vuoi venire?

“Italo’s.” Loro servono la carne e a mio fratello piace molto la bistecca. La domenica costa solo E 14.00 e possiamo mangiare molto. Possiamo anche ballare! Questo è perfetto. Io inviterò dieci dei suoi amici e ci divertiremo Tanti baci, Francesca © Lauria 2014

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Spanish

You and your family are planning a trip during the next school vacation but are unsure about the ideal destination. You would prefer visiting a warm destination.

You have found some information you would like to share with your parents.

Write a note to them explaining why a warmer destination is more desirable. Use information from the ads to support your preference.

• • • • • • • You may wish to include: when you are going where you going the activities that you are going to do on the trip what will be included in the price of the trip what meals are included how you will be travelling how you feel about the trip © Lauria 2014

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Spanish

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Spanish

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You are meeting a friend for lunch. You go downtown early to check out the menus at a few restaurants. Using information from the sources provided, write your friend an email telling her where you prefer to eat and why. You may wish to include:

• • • • •

which restaurant you prefer where the restaurant is what you plan to order how much you should be prepared to spend any food restrictions or allergies that may have to do with your decision

Example of a Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint A - Spanish

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint B - French

Your school is sponsoring a trip to France this summer. In addition to visiting Paris, your teacher is giving you the option of selecting another city in France to visit. Read the descriptions of the four cities, and write an email to your teacher using information from your articles to explain which city you would like to visit.

© Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to Write Task Checkpoint B - Italian

Read the following blog. Then, write a well organized comment. In your comment you should compare the event described in the blog to one that you have planned for a later date. Your answer must be written in your own words, no credit will be given for a response that is copied.

© Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint B - Italian

© Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint B - Spanish

Recently, there has been a lot of information about the importance of exercise. One of your friends does not seem to think that exercise has enough benefits. Read the article and the ad above and in an email message, write an email to your friend in which you try and persuade him/her to join you and your friends in some form of planned exercise activity. In your email, you may wish to include: • • • • • • what kind of activity you are planning when and where this activity will take place who will be joining you for this activity what skills are necessary for this activity the cost of this activity the benefits of this activity © Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint B - Spanish

http://www.muyinteresante.es/innovacion/medi cina/articulo/salud-cerebral-la-actividad-fisica modifica-el-cerebro-851363860033 © Lauria 2014

Example of Read-to-Write Task Checkpoint B - Spanish

http://www.saludesencial.org/blog/siete-razones-para-hacer-ejercicio-y-no es-unicamente-para-perder-peso/ © Lauria 2014