English Language Arts
Paper-Pencil Practice Test and
Answer Booklets
Teacher Companion Document
Grades 6–High School
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Directions for Using the Paper-Pencil Practice Test and Answer
Booklets:
This companion document provides information about the paper presentation of test
questions, instructions on how students record their answers in the answer booklet, and
guidance for using the English Language Arts Paper-Pencil Practice Test and Answer Booklets
for Grades 6
–High School. These documents are intended to help students and teachers
become familiar with using two booklets for the paper-pencil version of the Smarter
Balanced assessment. Educators are encouraged to become familiar with the information in
this companion document prior to using the test and answer bookle
ts with students.
This document does not contain examples or guidance on every type of item or question
students might see on a paper-pencil version of the Smarter Balanced Assessment. However,
the sample and practice items provided should help students become familiar with the most
commonly-used item and response types and how to use the Answer Booklet to record their
responses. These item types and response formats can be incorporated into classroom
lessons and assessments for additional practice. See the
Smarter Balanced item
specifications for specific item type and prompt guidance.
Overview of the Student Booklets
There are two booklets provided for student use, the Paper-Pencil Practice Test Booklet and
the Paper-Pencil Practice Answer Booklet. You will need one copy of each for each
student.
The test and answer booklets both contain directions similar to those in the Smarter Balanced
Paper-Pencil Summative Assessment. Students will first, with guidance from the teacher,
complete sample items (labeled Samples A
–F). Following the samples, practice items taken
from the online Smarter Balanced Practice Test have been formatted to appear as they will in
the paper-pencil version of the summative assessment (labeled Practice Questions 1
–5). Each
item in the student test booklet has a corresponding answer space in the answer booklet.
Companion Document Items
The answer key for each item is included as a reference. To compare how the questions are
presented online versus paper-pencil, access the online Smarter Balanced Practice Tests for
grade 8: https://wapt.cambiumtds.com/student.
Note: The actual paper-pencil summative test booklet is separated into three sessions.
Session
Content
Item Types
1
Listening
Multiple Choice(s)/Matching Table
2
Reading
Research
Writing
Multiple Choice(s)/Short Text
Multiple Choice(s)/Short Text
Brief Write
3 (Performance Task)
Research
Writing
Multiple Choice(s)/Matching Table/Short Text
Full Write
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Directions for Sample Items
The following directions include teacher information in italics followed by directions to be read
aloud to students marked as Say.
The test booklet contains several different types of items or questions as shown below. Each
sample shows what a certain type of question looks like in the test booklet followed by how
that question’s response format will appear in the answer booklet. This guided exercise provides
students the opportunity to read questions in the test booklet and practice marking the correct
bubble in the corresponding answer booklet.
Say:
This test booklet contains several different types of questions as shown below. Each sample
shows what a certain type of question looks like in the test booklet. Respond to each problem in
your answer booklet. Let’s begin!
Sample A
Sample A is a multiple-choice, single correct response item. Students read the item in the test
booklet and fill in one bubble for the correct option in their answer booklet.
Say:
Sample A is a multiple-choice, single correct response question. Read the question in the test
booklet. The correct answer is D. In your answer booklet fill in the circle with the letter D.
Test Booklet
Answer
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Sample B
Sample B is a multiple-choice, multiple correct response item. Students read the item in the test
booklet and fill in the bubbles for all correct options in their answer booklet. Notice the direction,
“Select two” below the answer bubbles in the answer booklet.
Say:
Sample B is a multiple-choice, multiple correct response question. Read the question in the test
booklet and then fill in the bubbles for the correct options in your answer booklet. Notice the
directions in the answer booklet under the answer bubbles remind you how many answers to
mark. This question says “Choose two…” The correct answers are B and E. In your answer booklet
fill in the circle with the letter B and the circle with the letter E.
Test Booklet
Answer
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Sample C
Sample C is a two-part multiple choice item. Students choose a correct answer for Part A
followed by an answer for Part B. The answer for Part B is based on the answer for Part A.
Say:
Sample C is a two-part question. Read the question in the test booklet. First choose a correct
answer by filling in a bubble for Part A. The correct answer is C. In your answer booklet fill in the
circle with the letter C for Part A. Next, choose an answer for Part B that supports your answer for
Part A. The correct answer is C. In your answer booklet fill in the circle with the letter C for Part B.
Test Booklet
Answer
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Sample D
Sample D is a matching-table response item. Students read the item which includes a table and
mark the correct response on the corresponding bubbles in the answer booklet. Notice the
lowercase, italicized letters in front of each statement in the test booklet, a–d. These italicized
letters will also appear in the answer booklet for this item. Also notice the column titles, day and
night. Corresponding letters D and N appear inside the bubbles in the answer booklet. While
students may write their answers within the table in the test booklet, remind them to record their
answers in the answer booklet.
Say:
Sample D is a matching-table question. Read the question. Choose the correct answers by filling
in the bubbles in the answer booklet. Notice the letters a, b, c, d in front of each word in the test
booklet. Also notice the column titles, day and night. Letters appear inside the bubbles in the
answer booklet: D for day and N for night. The correct answer for a is D. In your answer booklet fill
in the circle with the letter D for a. The correct answer for b is N. In your answer booklet fill in the
circle with the letter N for b. The correct answer for c is D. In your answer booklet fill in the circle
with the letter D for c. The correct answer for d is N. In your answer booklet fill in the circle with
the letter N for d.
Test Booklet
Answer
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Sample E
Sample E is a short-text response item. On the paper-pencil test, students read the item in the
test booklet and write their answer in the space provided in the answer booklet. While this
sample item demonstrates a brief write short-text, students will also encounter short-text
responses for reading.
Say:
Sample E is a short-text response question. Read the question in the test booklet and write your
answer on the answer lines provided in the answer booklet.
Test Booklet
Answer Booklet
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Sample F
Sample F is a full write response item. On the paper-pencil version of the summative assessment,
students will not be shown a sample of a full write within the directions. One is provided here to
give you an opportunity to discuss and practice it with your students.
The performance task full write is Part 2 of Session 3. On the summative assessment, students will
read multiple sources and be given a specific writing assignment. Students will record their
essay in the answer booklet. For practice, only the student’s assignment is included.
Say:
Sample F is a full write response question. On the actual summative test you will read multiple
sources and be given a specific writing assignment. For practice, only the writing assignment is
included.
Test Booklet
Answer
Sample F does not include a sample student response
Say:
Check to be sure you have correctly recorded your answers in your answer booklet.
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Practice Questions
Now, have students practice items on their own.
Practice questions 1–2 are based on the reading passage, “Antoine of Oregon: A Story of the
Oregon Trail,” which is not included in the test booklet. However, the passage is included at the
end of this document as a reference, to be printed for student use at educators’ discretion.
Since the purpose of the test and answer booklets is to practice navigating between the two
booklets, it is not necessary to provide the passage.
Say:
Now turn to page 6 of your test booklet. This section of the test booklet contains questions to
practice on your own. Continue recording your responses in your answer booklet. Your responses
will not be scored for this practice section.
1 The reader can infer that the narrator is in charge of the group. Which sentence
from the text best supports this inference?
Which sentence from the text best supports this inference?
A. There we drove down a dry ravine on our winding way to the river bottoms,
stopping now and then to gather a store of wild currants and gooseberries
which grew in abundance.
B. There was in the company a girl of about Susan's age, whose name was
Mary Parker, and from that time I had two companions as I rode in advance
of the train.
C. I could have found no fault with these new members of our company, for
they obeyed my orders without question from the oldest man to the
youngest child.
D. It was such a sight as I had seen more than once, but to my companions it
was terrifying at the same time that it commanded their closest attention.
Key: C
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Practice Questions
2 This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.
Part A
Which statement best summarizes the central idea of the text?
A. Several small families traveled the lengthy Oregon Trail.
B. There were numerous small towns along the Oregon Trail.
C. Many hardships and obstacles were met on the Oregon Trail.
D. Stormy weather often faced the travelers on the Oregon Trail.
Part B
Which detail from the text best supports your answer in Part A?
A. Susan rode with me, as she had from the beginning of the journey. Nothing
of note happened to us, unless I should set down that this day was stormy,
and on that day the sun shone, until we came into the valley of the North
Fork of the Platte, through a pass which is known as Ash Hollow.
B. Truly it was a small company to set out on so long a march, and when the
leader begged that they be allowed to join us, I could not object,
understanding that unless the strangers had someone of experience to guide
them, the chances were strongly against their arriving at the Columbia
River.
C. Mary Parker was a companionable girl, and she and Susan often cheered me
on the long way, for even when the rain was coming down in torrents,
drenching them to the skin, they rode by my side, laughing and singing.
D. This fort, if it can be called such, is simply a wall enclosing an open square
of twenty-five yards each way, along the sides of which are the dwellings,
storerooms, blacksmith shops, carpenter shops, and offices all fronting
inside, while from the outside can be seen only two gates, one of which
faces the north and the other the south.
Key: Part A: A; Part B: C (Must have both correct)
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Practice Questions
3 A student is writing a realistic fiction narrative for language arts class. Read
the draft of the narrative and complete the task that follows.
An Important Decision
With a few clicks on the school's website, I find what I am looking for - the
dates for volleyball tryouts. Nothing makes me happier than that sport.
Whether I am casually bumping the ball with friends in the backyard or spiking
one into the opposition's court with laser accuracy, I feel completely alive.
Even though the official tryouts are a few weeks away, I have been practicing
relentlessly when the gymnasium is open to students.
My excitement leads me to call my best friend Katelyn. As soon as I hear the
line ringing, a thought occurs to me and makes my heart flutter. The first day
of tryouts is the same date as Katelyn's dance recital! She is depending on my
moral support. When Katelyn's chipper voice answers, a sudden paralysis
takes over my mind and body. Eventually I mumble, "Hey Katelyn . . . hang on
a second . . . uh, let me call you back."
Continue the narrative by writing one to three paragraphs that help readers
better understand the central conflict of the story. Write your answer in the
lines provided in the answer booklet.
Key: Answers will vary, see the grade 8 practice test scoring guide for rubric and exemplars
4 Select the two sentences that are punctuated correctly.
A. While I was growing up in the Midwest my favorite question to hear from
my parents was “Guess where we're going this time?”
B. Although by that point, my parents had the whole vacation planned out;
the moment they told me, I started looking up the location to see what
activities were available.
C. When I was eight my family voted on a vacation to New York City where
we stayed in downtown Times Square. Then later when I was ten we flew
to Florida again, this time we departed on a cruise to Mexico, Jamaica and
the Bahamas for a second time.
D. The average life expectancy is seventy years on this planet, this planet
has so many different geological features, different climates and different
cultures.
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E. The places I have already visited make my curiosity even greater, and I
think that it's important to view the world and ways of life from a different
point of view.
F. Last year when I was sixteen we went on another cruise where we sailed
the Western Caribbean to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas yet again and St
Thomas.
Key: B, E
(Must have both correct)
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Practice Questions
On the actual summative assessment Performance Task students will read multiple sources
before answering research questions. For this practice test we have not included source
materials.
5 Look at the claims in the table. Decide if the information in Source #3,
Source #4, both sources, or neither source supports each claim. Select the
box that identifies the source that supports each claim. There will be only
one box selected for each claim.
Source #3:
Give a
Penny—
Save the
The Ever-
Changing
Penny
Both
Neither
a.
The penny has
more value
than what it
can buy.
(1) (2) (3) (4)
b.
Rounding price
totals will cause
an increase in
prices.
(1) (2) (3) (4)
c.
The low value of
a penny is a
good thing.
(1) (2) (3) (4)
d.
Changing the
metals in the
penny is a
possible
solution for
people who
want to keep
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Key: a) 3
b) 4
c) 1
d) 2
(Must have all correct)
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Page 14 of 16
Optional – For Practice Questions 1–2
Antoine of Oregon
A Story of the Oregon Trail
by James Otis
Susan rode with me, as she had from the beginning of the journey. Nothing of note
happened to us, unless I should set down that this day was stormy, and on that
day the sun shone, until we came into the valley of the North Fork of the Platte,
through a pass which is known as Ash Hollow.
There we drove down a dry ravine on our winding way to the river bottoms,
stopping now and then to gather a store of wild currants and gooseberries which
grew in abundance.
Near the mouth of the ravine we came upon a small log cabin, which had evidently
been built by trappers, but the emigrants on their way into the Oregon country had
converted it into a post office, by sticking here and there, in the crevices of the
logs, letters to be forwarded to their friends in the States. Hung on the wall where
all might see it, was a general notice requesting any who passed on their way to
the Missouri River to take these missives, and deposit them in the nearest regular
post office.
The little cabin had an odd appearance, and Susan confessed that, almost for the
first time since leaving Independence, she was growing homesick, solely because of
seeing this post office.
After crossing the stream we came upon a party of emigrants from Ohio, having
only four wagons drawn by ten yoke of oxen, and driving six cows.
Truly it was a small company to set out on so long a march, and when the leader
begged that they be allowed to join us, I could not object, understanding that
unless the strangers had someone of experience to guide them, the chances were
strongly against their arriving at the Columbia River.
There was in the company a girl of about Susan's age, whose name was Mary
Parker, and from that time I had two companions as I rode in advance of the train.
I could have found no fault with these new members of our company, for they
obeyed my orders without question from the oldest man to the youngest child.
Mary Parker was a companionable girl, and she and Susan often cheered me on the
long way, for even when the rain was coming down in torrents, drenching them to
the skin, they rode by my side, laughing and singing.
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Page 15 of 16
On the twenty-fourth day of June we arrived at Fort Laramie, in the midst of a
heavy storm. We had traveled six hundred sixty-seven miles since leaving
Independence, if our course had been the most direct; but allowing for the
distances some of us had ridden in search of cattle or here and there off the trail
looking for a camping place it must have been that we made at least a hundred
miles more.
Fort Laramie is on the west side of a stream known as Laramie's Fork and about
two miles from the Platte River. It is a trading post belonging to the North American
Fur Company, and built of adobe, by which I mean sun dried bricks, with walls not
less than two feet thick and twelve or fourteen feet high.
This fort, if it can be called such, is simply a wall enclosing an open square of
twenty-five yards each way, along the sides of which are the dwellings, storerooms,
blacksmith shops, carpenter shops, and offices all fronting inside, while from the
outside can be seen only two gates, one of which faces the north and the other the
south.
Just south of the fort is a wall enclosing about an acre of land, which is used as a
stable or corral, while a short distance farther on is a cultivated field, the scanty
crops of which give good evidence that the soil is not suitable for farming.
About a mile below Fort Laramie, and having much the same appearance as that
fortification, although not so large, is Fort John, which is in possession of the St.
Louis Fur Company.
We were given quarters inside Fort Laramie, which was much to our liking.
Then, when we set off once more, it was with greater cheerfulness and increased
hope, for the way could not have been improved nor made more pleasant.
Ten days after we celebrated the independence of this country we encamped near
the Narrows, within sight of the snow-capped Wind River Mountains, and then it
was that our company got some idea of what a herd of buffaloes looked like.
When we broke camp in the morning it seemed as if the entire land was covered
with the animals. They were in such throngs that the sound of their hoofs was like
the rumbling of distant thunder.
One could compare the scene to nothing more than to an ocean of dark water
surrounding us on every side, pitching and tossing as if under the influence of a
strong wind.
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It was such a sight as I had seen more than once, but to my companions it was
terrifying at the same time that it commanded their closest attention.
"Antoine of Oregon" by James Otis, from http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/43897/pg43897.txt. In the public
domain.