Georgia Milestones EOC

1. Georgia Milestones EOC American Literature

2. Day 1 • Read 2 passages • 3 multiple choice • 1 constructed response • 1 extended writing (argumentative or informational) • Time: 70 – 90 minutes

3. Day 2 • 2 sections • 52 multiple choice based on reading passages (some may have follow-up questions and some may require more than one answer; some of these questions will be field test items – will not count) • 2 constructed responses • 1 extended writing (narrative) • Each section time: 60 – 75 minutes (short break between sections)

4. Sample online Test/Tutorial • http://www.gaexperienceonline.com/

5. Practice TEST

6. Constructed response • Graded on a 2 point scale • 2 - The response achieves the following: • gives sufficient evidence of the ability to justify interpretations of information • includes specific examples/details that make clear reference to the text • adequately supports examples with clearly relevant information from the text • 1 - The response achieves the following: • gives limited evidence • includes limited examples that make reference to the text • explains the development of the author’s idea within the text and the supporting information with limited details based on the text • 0 - The response achieves the following: • gives no evidence of the ability to determine and analyze the development/progression of an author’s idea within the text

7. Constructed Response Explain what makes the relationship between Claude and Ralph complicated. Use details from the excerpt to support your answer.

8. Exemplar response – score of 2 The relationship between Claude and Ralph is complicated for several reasons. Claude, a strong, serious young man, is dedicated to hard work on the family farm. His younger brother, Ralph, is charming and carefree. Ralph’s interest is in modernizing the family farm not by hard work, but by the implementation of machinery. Ralph’s eagerness to modernize the farm annoys Claude, and the brothers disagree about the ability of the machines to simplify life. Claude views the excess machinery that is stored in the cellar as a waste of money and a reminder of his brother’s foolishness. Although Claude is hard-working and thoughtful, his mother sides with Ralph and does not allow Claude to dispose of the stored articles. This further complicates the brothers’ relationship.

9. Score of 1 The brothers have a complicated relationship because Claude is unhappy with the amount of work that he has to do on the farm while Ralph spends the family’s money buying machinery. Claude is disappointed that his mother will not allow him to dispose of the unused machines that clutter the cellar.

10. Score of 0 Claude and Ralph work together to help their parents on the farm. The brothers laugh and joke and are never cross with each other.

11. Narrative writing Graded on a 4 point rubric. To earn a 4: • The student’s response is a well-developed narrative that fully develops a real or imagined experience based on a text as a stimulus. • Effectively establishes a situation, one or more points of view, and introduces a narrator and/or characters • Creates a smooth progression of events • Effectively uses multiple narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, pacing, reflection, and plot to develop rich, interesting experiences, events, and/or characters • Uses a variety of techniques consistently to sequence events that build on one another • Uses precise words and phrases, details, and sensory language consistently to convey a vivid picture of the events • Provides a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events • Integrates ideas and details from source material effectively • Has very few or no errors in usage and/or conventions that interfere with meaning

12. Question #8 Narrative Writing Examples

13. Extended Constructed Response Willa Cather wrote the excerpt using third-person point of view. Imagine how the excerpt might be different if Ralph were narrating. Rewrite the beginning of the excerpt from Ralph’s perspective.

14. Score of 4 “Doughnuts are ready!” Mahailey is calling from the kitchen. I can’t believe that it is time to get up already, I think as I tug on the blue thermal blanket draped across the foot of my bed. In my hurry to go to bed last night, I must have left my bedroom window open. I have to get up and close that window, but I sure wish that there was some way to do that task from the warmth of my bed. Maybe I will just invent self-closing windows. I am sure there are many lazy people like me who don’t want to leave the warmth of their beds. This could be the ticket to a bright future for me, a future that does not involve milking cows or repairing farm implements. I hear thumping sounds coming from Claude’s bedroom next door. That brother of mine certainly wants to prevent anybody from sleeping. Clumsy Claude! Last night at the circus, he bolted from his seat just as my friend Cecil was walking down the aisle with a bag of buttered popcorn. Claude collided with Cecil, creating a popcorn shower over the people sitting nearby. Carolyn Jones, Cecil’s fifteen-year-old cousin who is visiting from Augusta, had popcorn stuck in her curly brown hair. I am sure Carolyn will long remember picking the buttery kernels from her hair.

15. Score of 3 Mahailey just yelled upstairs to tell me that breakfast is ready. I am going to ignore that call for just a few minutes and warm myself up. Last night I must have forgotten to close the bedroom window. This morning my bedroom is quite chilly. If only there could be a way to close the window without having to get up out of bed. Maybe I can invent a way of doing that. I imagine that there are other people like me who dislike getting out of a warm bed. This may just be the invention that will make me rich! I hear sounds coming from Claude’s bedroom. He must be moving his clumsy body around just so I can’t get any more sleep. That brother of mine sure knows how to make a bad impression. Last night at the circus he bumped into Cecil and made him spill his popcorn all over the people who were sitting nearby. Cecil’s pretty cousin from Augusta had to pick popcorn from her hair

16. Score of 2 I hear Mahaileys voice telling me that breakfast is ready. I don’t want to get up out of bed because it is to cold in my bedroom. I accidentally left my window open last night. I sure wish that there was a way to close the window without getting out of bed. Maybe I will use some spare parts to try to make something to do that job. Claude is moving around in his room. He sure is a clumsy brother. Last night he made Cecil spill his popcorn at the circus. It landed on many people who are sitting nearby. A pretty girl had popcorn stuck in her hair.

17. Score of 1 Breakfast is ready, but I don’t want to get out of bed. My bedroom is cold. I wish that I had close the window last night. My brother is very clumsy and loud. He caused a boy to spill his popcorn at the circus.

18. Score of 0 Mr. Wheeler brought his new truck into the garage. He wanted too clean the mud off of the tires. Old tunes were playing on the radio.

19. Constructed Response – Question#9 Question #9 – Which author's style and content MOST effectively support his purpose? Use details from BOTH articles to support your answer. This question is scored on a 2 point scale. You only need to write a well-developed paragraph. You can choose either article (no right or wrong answer); you need to focus on supporting your opinion.

20. Score of 2 I think the author of the first article does the best job of using style and content to support his purpose. In the first place, this author is the most fair. He does not try to prove that museums just steal other countries’ treasures. Instead, he takes a very reasonable approach and focuses on those cases where a country really should have the right to take back their property. His example of the marble sculptures that were taken from Greece when it was under Turkish rule and placed in a British museum is very persuasive. Of course these sculptures should be returned to Greece if they want them back! All the way through this article, the author’s style is logical and calm and fair. The author of the second article has a condescending style when he writes about how “expert” museum workers are and how they can take better care of artifacts than people in the country where the artifacts came from can. That makes it sound like the home country has no experts and no real right to its own history.

21. Score of 2 The style and content in the second article is by far most effective. The strongest argument this writer makes is that preserving ancient treasures is so important that we cannot afford to risk their loss. He argues over and over again that museums have a very special and important role: they are protectors. They protect artifacts from war, from being eroded by time, and sometimes even from unstable countries that aren’t equipped to take care of them. I think his style is very powerful when he says, “These antiquities are part of a shared history that spans many countries. They should be placed where they will be safe, cared for, and enjoyed by millions.” I think countries and people need to remember that no one can really own objects so important to everyone around the world.

22. Score of 1 I think the second author’s article is the most convincing because he shows how many reasons there are that a museum might need to hold onto artifacts that they bought and paid for and care about saving. The first article just makes the whole problem too simple.

23. Score of 0 The purpose of both authors is to have the readers agree with them.

24. Essay question • Answer the prompt. Some of you will receive an ARGUMENTATIVE prompt while others receive an INFORMATIVE/EXPLANATORY prompt. Follow the writing task of the prompt. • Use evidence from BOTH texts in your essay. You MUST cite the source information (quotes or paraphrase) by including the title of the essay. • Graded on a 7 point scale.

25. Argumentative Essay • Pick a side and support it. • Include the counter-argument • SAMPLE: Write your argumentative essay in your own words, supporting one side of the debate in which you argue EITHER that museums must return cultural treasures to their country of origin if that country requests it OR that museums do sometimes have a right to deny those requests. Be sure to use information from BOTH texts in your argumentative essay.

26. Informative/Explanatory essay • Explain the topic that is addressed. • SAMPLE: Type an informational/explanatory essay in your own words explaining some ways in which libraries are adapting and changing in the 21st century. Be sure to include evidence form BOTH texts in your informational/explanatory essay.

27. Score of 7 There is no question that museums play a huge role in the preservation of our history. In fact, museums have been most important in spreading culture and helping us grow as a species. The doubt arises when cultural treasures are housed outside of their original cultures. To whom do these treasures rightfully belong and how can they best be preserved for people? If it is true that, “most often, museums acquire objects with full cooperation from the originating country,” as stated in the article, “Bring Them Home,” objects then become the rightful property of the museum and are best housed there for several reasons. Rightful ownership is the least of these legitimate reasons. If a house is purchased fairly, it would seem crazy for a previous owner to claim that the house should be returned to him simply because he has a history with the house. But there are more important reasons, beyond clear ownership, that museums should be allowed to retain legally acquired exhibits. (continued on next slide)

28. Museums were created for preservation. Professional curators are “trained in the best ways to preserve and restore ancient art and other relics,” according to the author of “Museums Preserve the Cultures of the World.” The expertise of these curators may prevent further deterioration or destruction of important exhibits. In a museum, pieces may be kept safe from the ravages of time and war, and most importantly, maintained for all to see. History, whether it is Greek or Egyptian, is human history and belongs to everyone. Both articles reference treasures of Egypt which have been held in Germany and Britain for several generations. According to the first article, Egypt would like those artifacts back. Egyptians feel, not only that the artifacts belong to them, but that Egypt is now in a state to preserve these artifacts. Egyptians also claim that many of the artifacts are the spoils of tomb raiding rather than legitimate business transactions. This is all probably true, but the biggest question should be how to best preserve the artifacts for the most people to learn from them. Though compensation should be made to people robbed of their treasures, the safe keeping of those treasures in well maintained environments that offer opportunities for study to the largest number of people is the best place for these exhibits. Museums open to the public and dedicated to the preservation of humanity’s treasures will always be the best keepers of history.

29. Problems: Academic Dishonesty prompt • Pick a side; some just wrote about cheating in general or wrote about both sides as a problem. • MUST use quotes/paraphrases from both sources • MUST cite the sources by including the title of the article (each time that you use info from the source) • Include the title of the article in quotation marks • Write at least 4 – 5 paragraphs • Be sure to separate your ideas into paragraphs • Use 3rd person in formal writing (avoid: I, you, our, we, us) • Explain more about the quotes/sources. Don’t just allow the sources to explain everything • Great to include a counterargument also (if you have an argument topic)

30. Argumentative Sample #1 Pressure is put on students to excel academically by colleges, jobs, parents, sports, etc. With the increased pressure on youth to compete with other students academically, there has been a great increase in academic dishonesty. Cheating has always been a problem at most institutions, with studies showing that a startling 95 percent of high school students have cheated at some point in their education. Colleges are becoming more and more competitive to get into and some not even looking at a student without a 4.0 average. Colleges are harder to get into than they were a century ago, but today people are usually expected to have a college degree to get any worthwhile job. Because of how intense this competition to get into college is it creates a lot of pressure to succeed and excel in school. As stated in “Academic Cheating on the Rise,” “The profile of a cheater has changed from a struggling student to the modern college-bound student.” Previously teachers just had to worry about the kids that were struggling to cheat to try to pass, but now even the high achieving students will do it to get a better grade. As stated in “College Cheating: Success Above Honor,” “High-achieving student are as likely to cheat as those who struggle academically.”

31. Each class has an exam that accounts for 20 percent of a student’s grade; “until we don’t put so much emphasis on a very few high-stakes test, there are always going to be students who feel the need to cheat” (“College Cheating: Success Above Honor”). Institutions are so focused on grades rather than actually having a student learning and understanding that there is likely to always be cheating. Students are even finding “cutting corners as nothing serious and become aided by cheating-friendly technology” (“College Cheating: Success Above Honor”). The evolution of technology has opened up new ways for students to cheat but it isn’t the reason; students cheat because they fear failing. There has been an increase of cheating everywhere inside and outside of schools because of these attitudes. So much is expected of students to excel and until that changes, there will always be cheating.

32. Sample #2 The pressure felt by today’s students is higher than ever before. Schools, teachers, and parents are constantly checking up on students and pushing them too far in order to try and help them succeed. Has it become too much? The increased number of students cheating on assignments shows that it has. Most students feel that if they do not get an A on a paper or test that their academic career is in jeopardy. Statistics show that as academics get more difficult, cheating increases. Even the top universities with the brightest students have problems with cheating. This is because high-achieving students feel a tremendous amount of pressure to keep their grades high. These students feel as though their teachers, parents, and peers are looking down on them if they receive a grade that is below their normal standards. This also leads to increased anxiety. As stated in “Academic Cheating on the Rise,” “I work with students who are panicking about these standardized tests … We live in a very competitive society.” Pressure is put on students at the beginning of high school. They are constantly being asked where they want to go to college, and what they want to do in life, and they are being compared with their classmates with class ranking. Because of this pressure to do well and succeed, kids are afraid to make bad grades, so they resort to cheating. If they cheat, they get the answers right and get a high grade, which helps relieve some of the pressure.

33. Many people also associate cheating with the influence of role models and successful people. The author of “College Cheating: Success Above Honor” says, “As students see business leaders, athletes, ad their peers cheating … the practice no longer carries the social stigma it once did.” While this is true, it is not very reliable. Everyone has different people they look up to and perceive issues different ways. Different role models have different values. Some may have cheated to get where they are, and some have not. If students are not influenced by the same person, how are the number of students cheating so high? Mostly every person in school is pressured by some factor that makes them feel the need to succeed. Nobody likes to fail, so they cheat. There are too many different influences in terms of role models, and because the term is so broad it is not a solid argument.

34. If schools want to decrease the number of students cheating, the pressure put on students needs to decrease as well. Teachers and parents put too much emphasis on grades when they should be supporting their students to do their best. Cheating would not be as common if there was not as much pressure put on class rankings, grades, and colleges. Supporting students and helping them achieve what they want to achieve is the best option for lessening this epidemic.

35. Informational sample The cost of a college education has increased rapidly over the course of several years. Many college students have become overwhelmed by the substantial college debt they have received, and are now having to become creative on ways to repay this increasing loan. According to “Unpacking the Student Loan Dilemma,” “This fall, almost 20 million students will enter the halls of college and universities throughout the United States.”  These students are having to pay thousands of dollars worth of loans, just to attain an education. Although many would assume that the college enrollment rate would decrease, “Unpacking the Student Loan Dilemma” actually states, “Yet research shows that college enrollment has actually accelerated.” Why is that? Many students believe that without a college education, they will not achieve a stable job after college. Due to these thoughts, students apply for financial aid and loans to make attending college easier, when ultimately their lives just become harder in the long run.

36. It does not stop there. Putting off the payments of these student loans and continuing to attend college causes these students’ interest rates to increase. According to “Dealing with Student Debt,” interest continues to accumulate, often adding thousands to the original debt.” This is causing many college students to have to move back in with their parents, and leading many to believe they will have to continue to work the rest of their lives to pay off these enormous debts. In “Dealing with Student Debt” a financial planner states, “Don’t take on a loan that is larger than you will be able to pay.” Applying for student loans that you are confident you will be able to pay off is much easier than having to spend your whole life trying to catch up on paying impossible loans. Student loans in the United States have rapidly increased, but this is not stopping college students from following their dreams. There are always alternative choices for these students desiring to attend college, such as attending a college in your community, or taking online classes. Even attending college in the state you live in could be a tremendous decrease in the price, and make student loans more manageable.