Alaska Constructed Response Scoring Text-Based Explanatory and Supporting Opinion or Claim Grades 3-8

A successful response displays the following characteristics: • Responds accurately to all parts of the prompt • Restates and/or explains the opinion as required by the prompt (SOC only) • Is written mostly in the student's own words • Includes relevant supporting details or evidence as required by the prompt • Stays on task/on topic; does not introduce unrelated ideas or information • Uses linking words, phrases, and clauses to connect the idea(s) and supporting details • Introduces the topic, groups ideas logically, and provides a sense of closure • Uses sentences that are complete and correct • Uses precise and/or domain-specific language to write about the topic (grades 4 and 5 only)

A partially successful response displays the following strengths: • Addresses all parts of the prompt • Is written mostly in the student's own words • Makes reference to the opinion as required by the prompt (SOC only) But it also displays one or more of the following weaknesses: • Contains details or evidence that may be vague (e.g., references the supporting details in a sweeping manner rather than drawing on specific information from the text), weakly linked (e.g., identifies evidence but does not explain its connection to the idea), incomplete (e.g., includes one piece of evidence when two are required), or excessive • Inserts unnecessary or inaccurate information, such as personal opinion or information from the text that is not applicable to the prompt • Does not effectively use linking words to connect ideas • Demonstrates weaknesses in organization, such as not introducing the topic, not providing a sense of closure, not grouping ideas logically, or not organizing ideas in a traditional paragraph structure (e.g., ideas are complete but presented as bullets or an outline) • Contains errors in sentence structure and/or word choice that weaken clarity.

A minimally successful response displays the following strengths: • Attempts to address all or part of the prompt • Demonstrates an awareness of the topic But it also displays one or more of the following weaknesses: • Contains mostly inaccurate information • Lacks an explanation as required by the prompt • Consists mostly of quoted or copied text • Does not include relevant supporting details or evidence as required by the prompt • Displays no logical organization (e.g., contains a list of words or ideas that relate to the prompt but do not form a cohesive paragraph) • Contains errors in word choice and/or sentence structure that severely impede meaning and clarity.

A response cannot be scored if it displays any of the following characteristics: • Consists entirely of text that is copied from the prompt and/or passage • Is completely off topic • Is incoherent • Is not written in the target language • Is blank • Is inadequate for scoring.