Connecticut Mastery TestEnglish Language Arts
Jean M. Evans DavilaK-12 English Language Arts Instructional Specialist
Norwalk Public [email protected]
CMT in English Language Arts—4 Subtests
Reading Comprehension
Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)
Editing and Revising
Direct Assessment of Writing
CMT Reading Comprehension—An Overview
2 testing sessions 45 minutes per testing session 2 reading passages per session Approx. 22 multiple choice and 10
open-ended questions (both sessions combined)
Authentic literature Types of reading: literary
experience; information; and performance of task
Passage lengths: Grade 6 550-750 words Grade 7 700-900 words Grade 8 800-1000 words
CMT Reading Comprehension—Multiple Choice Questions
1. In paragraph 1 the author used a question toa. Introduce the topic of the articleb. State the main idea of the articlec. Present the facts about Twaind. Compare Twain and Clemens
2. From the information in paragraphs 5 and 6, you can tell that
a. Twain’s wife persuaded him to move to Connecticut b. Both Twain and his wife planned their house. c. Twain enjoyed warming himself near the fireplace. d. Twain liked reading his work out loud as much as writing it,
CMT Reading Comprehension—Open-ended Questions
The title of this article is “Mark Twain.” What could another title for it be? Support your answer with information from the article.
Write a brief paragraph summarizing the text. Think about a person you know or have heard
about who has had many different experiences. Using information from the article, explain how this person is or is not like Twain.
CMT Reading Comprehension— Four Strands
1. Forming a General Understanding (theme, main idea, story elements, summarizing, predicting)
2. Developing an Interpretation (author’s structure, author’s purpose, draw and support a conclusion)
3. Making Reader/text Connections (text to text, text to world, text to reader)
4. Examining the Content and Structure (literary devices)
CMT Reading Comprehension—Practicing at Home
What is the article/story mainly about? What important lesson does the main character learn? What is the main character’s problem, and how is the problem
solved? How does the character change in the story? What prediction do you have for the next event in the story? What is the author’s purpose? Which character in the story would you like to know and why? Which part of the story was the most interesting and why? Imagine that you were going to give a talk to your class
about______. Using information from the story, write two important ideas that you would include in your speech.
CMT Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)—An Overview
1 testing session 45 minute session 7 reading passages Nonfiction texts on range of
topics 49 multiple choice questions Measures the surface-level
understanding of sentences and paragraphs in text
Level of text difficulty rapidly increases with each passage
Results help teachers choose books for students at their appropriate reading level
CMT DRP—Passage with Multiple Choice Questions
Medieval craft guild were associations of men practicing the same trade. Guilds cared for members’ needs. They nursed sick members, buried dead ones, and found homes for the homeless. Sometimes business was bad or supplies were cut off. Many people were in danger of starving. But guild members were the last to___1___. The guild sustained them during hard times.
Guilds also set prices and monitored the distribution of raw materials. They governed the number of apprentices and workers that members could have. These controls prevented any member from becoming rich at another’s expense. So ____2_____were limited. In return, members were protected against ruinous competition.
1. O vote O suffer
O unite O advance
O finish
2. O sources O profits
O travelers O machines
O universities
CMT DRP—Practicing at Home
Choose a word to white out in a news article. Ask your child to make a list of all the possible words that can fit
in the blank space without changing the meaning of the article. Discuss each word your child included on the list
“How do you know this word is a good choice?” “Can you prove your word fits by showing me other parts of the sentence or
the paragraph that support it?” “Can you tell me why this word is not a good choice now that we have looked
at the other sentences or paragraph?” Show your child the word that was removed from the text, and
ask him/her to use other parts of the text to explain how it fits.
CMT Editing & Revising—An Overview
1 testing session 60 minute session 4 passages Nonfiction texts on range of topics 36-40 multiple choice questions Skills and objectives tested:
Content, Organization and Tone (topic sentence, supporting details, chronological order, tone)
Revising: Syntax (fragments, run-on, awkward construction)
Revision: Word Choice (transition words, misplaced modifiers, redundancy of words)
Capitalization Punctuation
CMT Editing & Revising—Multiple Choice Questions:
Read sentence 3. It is poorly written.
Josh jumped up he grabbed the broom from the closet.
What is the best way to rewrite this sentence?
O Josh jumped up. He grabbed the broom from the closet.
O Josh jumped up, he grabbed the broom from the closet.
O Josh jumped. Up he grabbed the broom from the closet.
O Josh jumped up he grabbed. The broom from the closet.
Choose the word or phrase that BEST fits at the beginning of sentence 4.
O Since,
O However,
O Even though,
O In other words,
CMT Editing & Revising—Practicing at Home
Review your child’s writing assignments at home:
Ask questions about meaning and wording Call attention to specific areas where you see strengths Ask questions about parts that are not clear to you Identify areas where you need more information or
explanation Ask your child to read his/her writing aloud, so s/he can pay
attention to fluency and word choice Ask your child to explain the way s/he organized the writing Be alert to the basics-- spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation rules
CMT Direct Assessment of Writing (DAW)—An Overview
1 testing session 45 minute session 1 “writing on demand” task Maximum length of student
response—3 pages Types of writing tested:
Grade 6—Expository Grade 7—Persuasive Grade 8—Persuasive
Evaluated on overall strength of writing (elaboration, fluency, and organization)
Errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage do not count
CMT DAW—Expository Writing Prompt Sample
What do you usually do on a weekend in the summer? What do you usually do on a weekend in the winter? Write a comparison of your weekend activities in the summer and winter.
CMT DAW—Persuasive Writing Prompt Sample
Your local school board has decided to lengthen the school day by one hour. What is your opinion on the best way to use this additional hour? Write a letter to your principal expressing your opinion on the best way to use the additional hour and presenting reasons that will convince the principal to agree with your position.
CMT DAW—Practicing at Home
Parents of Grade 6 Students: In speaking and writing, ask your child to provide details to support his/her
ideas Encourage your child to express him/herself in writing to others (e.g., writing
thank you notes for gifts, etc) Ask your child to write accounts of his/her experiences in emails or letters to
family members (even a postcard will do fine) Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes and challenge your child to list or web
all the details s/he could include to explain a given task or topic Parents of Grade 7-8 Students:
In speaking and writing, encourage your child to choose words and ideas that are appropriate for a particular audience when expressing a message
Encourage your child to support his/her opinions with facts or examples Find opportunities to help your child argue a controversial issue from
television, news, or a magazine article Set the microwave timer for 3 minutes, and challenge your child to make a list
or web of his or her reasons for supporting a given issue
The School and the District are Supporting Your Child’s Success
Focus in all classrooms Summarizing texts using school-wide strategies Learning vocabulary terms using school-wide strategies Reading and writing about nonfiction Data teams with pre- and post-test to target instruction on
specific skills SIOP strategies to support teaching and learning
Focus in ELA classrooms 4 District Writing Prompts that are similar to CMT DAW 2 District DRP tests that are professionally scored CMT open-ended questions woven into classroom lessons Using evidence from text to support ideas
All PRMS Teachers are Supporting Your Child’s Success
All Subject Area Teachers Are. . . Using summarizing strategies Teaching vocabulary using school-wide
strategies Increasing nonfiction reading and writing Using Pre- and Post-tests to target skills
for instruction Learning SIOP strategies for instruction
All ELA Teachers Are. . . Administering 4 Norwalk Writing
Prompts and 2 Norwalk DRP tests Including open-ended questions in
lessons Requiring text evidence to support ideas
Tips for Enrichment at Home
Encourage 30 minutes of reading daily. Model your own enjoyment of reading Bring your child to the library or bookstore to get fiction
and nonfiction. Discuss read assignments with open-ended questions. Collect and explore new words together as a family.
Make a reward system for using the words correctly. Read an article together and discuss your views on it. Encourage the use of writing at home (letters, emails,
notes on the kitchen table, diaries, journals, family histories, letters to the editor of the local paper, etc.)