Grade 11 - Claim 1 - Target 10
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Target 10
Word Meanings
Determine intended meanings of words, including academic/tier 2 words, domain-specific (tier 3) words, and words with multiple meanings based on context, word relationships (e.g., connotation, denotation), word patterns, etymology, or use of reference materials (e.g., dictionary), with primary focus on determining meaning based on context and the academic (tier 2) vocabulary common to complex texts in all disciplines.
Sample Item
Grade 11Test
Claim 1
Reading
Standards
L-4
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11-12 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
L-4a
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
L-4b
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., conceive, conception, conceivable).
L-4c
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech,...
L-4d
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
L-5b
Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.
L-6
Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when...
RH-4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key...
RI-1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
RI-4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key...
RST-4
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11-12 texts and topics.
Clarifications
Targeted vocabulary words and phrases should be important to the text and worth assessing. The targeted vocabulary words and phrases should be one to two grade levels above testing grade. If the targeted word/phrase...
Range Achievement Level Descriptors
Evidence Required
1
The student will determine the meaning of a word or phrase based on its context in an informational text.
2
The student will determine the intended meaning of academic/tier 2 words and domain-specific/tier 3 words in an informational text.
3
The student will use reference materials to determine the correct meaning of an unknown word or phrase in an informational text.
4
The student will use connotation/denotation, word patterns, relationships, or etymology to determine the correct meaning of an unknown word or phrase in an informational text.
Item Guidelines
Depth of Knowledge
R-DOK1
Level 1 requires students to receive or recite facts or to use simple skills or abilities. Oral reading that does not include analysis of the text as well as basic comprehension of a text is included. Items require only a...
R-DOK2
Level 2 includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response; it requires both comprehension and subsequent processing of text or portions of text. Intersentence analysis of inference is required. Some important concepts are covered but...
Allowable Item Types
- Multiple Choice, single correct response
- Multi-Select, multiple correct response
- Hot Text, select text
Stimuli
Passages
Texts may be of low to high complexity; each text must include one or more words that are at grades 11-13 reading level, OR words that have nuanced meanings, OR words that have multiple meanings and are used differently in...
Dual-Text Stimuli
When a dual-text set contains one literary and one informational text, the literary text (text #1) is the primary focus, and the set of items must include items from the literary stimulus as well as items written across both texts....
Accessibility
Refer to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines for information on accessibility.
Task Models
Task Model 1
Item Types
Multiple Choice, single correct responseDepth of Knowledge
R-DOK1, R-DOK2
Target Evidence Statement
The student will determine the meaning of a word or phrase based on its context in an informational text.
The student will determine the intended meaning of academic/tier 2 words and domain-specific/tier 3 words in an informational text.
The student will use reference materials to determine the correct meaning of an unknown word or phrase in an informational text.
The student will use connotation/denotation, word patterns, relationships, or etymology to determine the correct meaning of an unknown word or phrase in an informational text.
Task Description
The item stem will pose a question about the meaning of a targeted word or phrase in the text. The sentence or sentences in which the targeted word is found are excerpted and need...
Appropriate Stems
(Note: In this automated version of the item specification, underlined text appears in italics.) Read the sentence(s). [Provide directly excerpted sentence(s) from text, with targeted word/phrase underlined] What is the meaning of the [word/phrase] [targeted word/“targeted phrase”]? Read...
Appropriate Stems for Dual-Stimuli
(Note: In this automated version of the item specification, underlined text appears in italics.) Read the sentence(s) from [title text #2]. [Provide directly excerpted sentence(s) from text, with targeted word/phrase underlined] Which sentence from [title text #1]...
Scoring Rules
Correct response: 1 point; Incorrect response: 0 points