test sampler 8 can’t grow into a full-fledged fizz because of the fact that gas molecules are...

TEST

Reading/LiteratureKnowledge and Skills

SAMPLERGrade 8

Grade 8 Sampler

Office of Assessment and Information Services Test Sampler, Grade 8 Oregon Department of Education 1 September, 2005

AN ASSESSMENT SAMPLER: Grade 8

This sampler includes passages and items similar to ones found on the state reading/literature assessment. Following each passage is a series of questions; text preceding each question identifies the score reporting category (SRC) it is designed to assess. An asterisk indicates a question’s correct answer.

SODA POP SCIENCE (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) Science isn’t just something that happens in a laboratory. Read this article to see how science plays a part in something that’s around you every day—soda pop.

TWO QUESTIONS DOMINATE the field of beginner-level soda-pop science. Are there any bubbles inside a can of soda pop before it’s opened? And why does it go flat an hour or so afterwards?

The answer to the first is yes. Sort of. There are bubbles, but they are too small to see. They can’t grow into a full-fledged fizz because of the fact that gas molecules are leaving them (owing to their high pressure) as fast as they are entering them. When the gas traffic goes back and forth like this at an equal rate, the liquid is at equilibrium.

As soon as the top is removed, the pressure on the bubbles is relieved and the gas traffic into the bubbles (and out of solution where they have “squeezed” into) becomes imbalanced. More gas flows into the bubbles than out.

The result? A $34 billion industry. Later on, the gas flow stabilizes. There is still some gas in

solution, but as it leaves it is once again replaced in equal measure from gas in the bubbles. If you were to suddenly take a flat can of soda pop to the top of Everest, it would get a whole new lease on life thanks to the effective drop in outside pressure, allowing more bubbles to form.

Jearl Walker, in his book The Flying Circus of Physics, recounts a cautionary tale in this connection.

Apparently a tunnel beneath the Thames River was being inaugurated in London sometime near the end of the last century. In honor of the occasion, and for the benefit of the officials and statesmen in attendance at the tunnel’s bottommost point, a case of French champagne was brought along. Unfortunately, because of

Grade 8 Sampler


the aforementioned problems and the pressurized atmosphere in the tunnel, the champagne turned out to be quite flat. Not to be discouraged were the celebrants, who proceeded to imbibe all of the champagne, bubbly or not.

When they returned to the surface (and a reduction in atmospheric pressure), the champagne began to abruptly revive. An observer afterwards described the scene thusly: “The wine popped in their stomachs, distended their vests, and all but frothed from their ears.” One dignitary had to be rushed back to the depths to undergo champagne decompression.

Such are the hazards of ignorance in soda pop science.

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Context and Structural Clues) This article about soda-pop mentions how “the liquid is at equilibrium.” What does equilibrium mean as it is used in this sentence?

A. Likely to bubble up B. Confused and unorganized C. Balanced* D. Fizzy

SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Informational Text) Which of these is the “$34 billion industry” the author refers to?

A. The science of Physics B. Champagne manufacturing C. Soda pop manufacturing* D. Tunnel building

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Significant Ideas) After reading this passage, the main thing the author wants us to know about Soda Pop Science is

A. there is more to understanding what makes soda pop fizzy than most people realize.*

B. drinking too much soda pop can be hazardous to our health. C. French champagne and soda pop are made using a similar process. D. it is dangerous to drink soda pop while underground.

Grade 8 Sampler


SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Author’s Purpose) This is an article about soda pop bubbles, so why did the author tell the story about the men drinking champagne underground?

A. To demonstrate the effects of air pressure on different liquids B. To show one reason why, even in Europe, people tend to drink more soda pop

than champagne C. Because the bubbles in the champagne behave like those in soda pop, so it shows

how soda pop bubbles work* D. It’s a funny story about bubbles, even if it doesn’t have much to do with the topic

TASAKU (LITERARY TEXT) Read this story of the stonecutter Tasaku, a man who wished to be powerful, and then answer the questions.

TASAKU, A LOWLY STONECUTTER, worked at the foot of a mountain. He was happy with his work until one day a noble prince went by in a magnificent royal procession. Tasaku wished aloud for such great wealth, and the spirit who lived in the mountain heard him.

Tasaku was transformed into a wealthy and powerful prince. He walked happily through his gardens until one day the sun burned his flowers and they wilted. Tasaku realized that the sun was more powerful than a prince, and he asked the mountain to change him into the sun.

Tasaku became the sun and, to show his power, he burned the fields and parched the lands. The people begged for water. Then a cloud came and covered his bright rays. Tasaku saw that the cloud was more powerful than the sun, and he told the spirit to change him into a cloud.

Grade 8 Sampler


Tasaku became a cloud. With his new powers he made violent storms. Fields flooded; huts and palaces washed away. But the mountain remained. Tasaku was furious. “Make me into a mountain!” he demanded. The spirit obeyed and then departed, for he could do no more.

Tasaku became the mountain and was more powerful than the prince, the sun, and the cloud. But Tasaku felt the sharp sting of a chisel. It was a humble stonecutter, chipping away at his feet. Deep inside, he trembled.

SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Literary Text) According to the story, which statement below is true?

A. Tasaku started out as a prince. B. When he was a storm, Tasaku eroded the mountain. C. Tasaku became unhappy when he wasn’t the most powerful.* D. Tasaku had a lot of respect for many forms of nature.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Development of Theme) Based on how this story ends, what is the author’s intended theme?

A. Mountains are the most powerful things on the earth. B. Wishes can come true. C. Greed and ambition often cause unhappiness.* D. Man is far happier living in harmony with nature.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Significant Ideas) The most important quality the author is trying to establish about the character of Tasaku in this selection is

A. his appreciation of the strength in nature. B. his gratitude to the spirit that granted his wishes. C. his greedy, cruel personality.* D. his impatience with his job as a stonecutter.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Use of Literary Devices)

Sometimes an author makes something happen differently from what the readers expect. In literature this is called irony. Where in the story of Tasaku do you see irony?

A. When Tasaku is a mountain and a stonecutter begins chipping at his feet* B. When Tasaku makes violent storms and floods the fields C. When Tasaku demands that the spirit make him into a mountain D. When Tasaku wishes aloud for wealth and is transformed into a prince

Grade 8 Sampler


PEANUT BUTTER (INFORMATIONAL/PRACTICAL TEXT) Peanut butter has always been a popular partner with jelly for sandwiches in school lunches. Read the article and look at the chart to learn more about this sticky favorite.

TWO POPULAR PEANUT BUTTERS trace their roots to one man. Joseph L. Rosefield licensed his process in the late 1920s to a firm that called its product Peter Pan. A few years later, he created his own label, Skippy. Latecomer Procter & Gamble brought out Jif in 1956. Jif now outsells both Skippy and Peter Pan.

Until recently, one peanut butter was pretty much like another, nutritionally. Whether creamy or crunchy, from a supermarket or a health-food store, with or without added sugar, a three-tablespoon serving typically contained about 24 grams of fat and 285 calories.

But last year, the three leading manufacturers introduced Jif Reduced Fat, Skippy Reduced Fat, and Peter Pan Smart Choice. By cutting about a third of the peanuts and substituting soy protein and corn syrup solids or maltodextrin, they created a product with about 25 percent less fat per serving—and the same 285 calories.

The reduction in fat alone offers little reason to switch to a new peanut butter. Even if you stay with a regular, full-fat product, peanut butter is a fairly nutritious choice. Combined with bread, it delivers a lot of protein, fiber, and vitamins, as our sandwich-to-sandwich comparison shows.

Which sandwich is best? Spread on bread, peanut butter is a cheap source of protein, niacin,

and folic acid, and it provides about as much fiber as a bowl of bran flakes. We pitted regular and reduced-fat peanut butter sandwiches against

sandwiches made with American cheese, chunk light tuna in water, beef bologna, and low-fat ham, each with a tablespoon of reduced-fat mayonnaise, and a sandwich of low-fat turkey with a teaspoon of mustard.

We made all sandwiches with two slices of white bread. For filling, we used either three tablespoons of peanut butter, two ounces of tuna, two slices of meat, or two slices of cheese. (A tablespoon of jelly would add 52 calories to the peanut butter sandwich.)

Overall, the peanut butter, tuna, and turkey sandwiches proved better choices than the others. Details are in the table that follows.

Grade 8 Sampler


Sandwich Calories Fat Sat. Fat Choles. Protein Sodium Calcium Fiber

Regular peanut butter 419 26 g. 5 g. 0 mg. 16 g. 495 mg. 69 mg. 4 g.

Reduced-fat peanut butter

419 20 3 0 16 645 69 4

American cheese 386 23 12 54 17 1202 402 1

Tuna 240 5 1 17 19 581 61 1

Beef bologna 354 21 9 30 10 990 62 1

Low-fat ham 231 7 2 32 14 1159 56 1

Low-fat turkey 174 2 1 3 12 787 54 1

SRC 2 Read to Perform a Task (Synthesize Information) Which statement below is true about the calories in various sandwiches compared on the chart?

A. Tuna is about the same as low-fat ham.* B. American cheese would be the best choice for someone trying to cut calories. C. Reduced-fat peanut butter and low-fat turkey are about the same. D. Beef bologna has fewer calories than tuna.

SRC 2 Read to Perform a Task (Synthesize Information) The selection tells you that peanut butter on bread provides about as much fiber as a bowl of bran flakes. According to the chart, which statement is also true about fiber?

A. Cheese has more fiber than turkey. B. Reduced-fat peanut butter has twice as much fiber as ham. C. Regular peanut butter has more fiber than reduced-fat peanut butter. D. Tuna and bologna have the same amount of fiber.*

JUSTICE LION (LITERARY TEXT) Set in Vermont, JUSTICE LION by Robert Pack, features the friendship between Hem Lion, the son of a rugged mountain man, and Muncie Bolt, the son of a town lawyer. Read the following passage to discover how Muncie reacts to his first attempt at coon hunting.

WITH HIS LONG ARM straight up, Hem pointed upward into a blue spruce. As my eyes sifted through the branches, I saw the two shiny-

Grade 8 Sampler


black beads, and the face of a treed raccoon in the moonlight. At the base of the trunk, Whelper and Blue took turns springing into the air, almost climbing the big spruce tree, tails whipping to and fro in wild excitement. Both coonhounds continued to bugle.

As I saw Hem Lion raise his gun, I near to covered my eyes. And closed my eyes, too. I wanted to run.

“Here,” said Hem, handing the gun to me. “Ever shoot a coon, Muncie?”

“No.” The gun was heavy in my hands as I sighted upward. Beyond the

mouth of the iron barrel, two black little eyes looked at me, judging me. My thumb clicked the hammer back. No, I thought. Gunning a coon up a tree is no measure of manhood. Not of the man I want to be. Do I

really want to be another Hem Lion? Isn’t being Muncie Bolt enough?

“Hold the gun steady on him, Muncie. Freeze your aim and don’t yank the trigger. Just pull her back soft and slow.” Beneath my finger, the curve of the trigger felt hard and cruel. I hated loud noise, and I had heard that a shotgun made more noise than a rifle. Every year, on Memorial Day, I used to almost cry and muff my ears whenever they'd fire off the howitzer in the town square. To honor our fallen soldiers. Well, I decided, it was my turn to honor a coon. Swaying the barrel, making sure I’d miss, I squinted my eyes tight and pulled the trigger.

Wham! Hem’s twenty-gauge kicked my cheek. Real

hard. Inside both ears, I heard a persistent ringing that wouldn’t quit, as my throat tightened with the

sudden explosion of sulphur and saltpeter stinging inside my nostrils. I knew the coon was up in the branches, and alive.

The dogs stilled. Whelper and Blue looked at me with what I swear was the

same expression that Hem Lion wore on his face. A look of disgust, disappointment.

Hem stood with hands on his hips, as though he didn’t know what to do or say. Slowly taking the shotgun from my hands, he

Grade 8 Sampler


broke it open, ejected the spent shell that was still smoking, in order to ram in a fresh load. The iron snapped shut.

“Them dogs,” said Hem Lion. “If old Whelper and Blue could talk, do ya know what they’d be telling you right off?”

“That I missed.” “In lots of ways,” Hem said, “a dog thinks like a man. He expects

the other guy to hold up his end, and do proper.” “I’m sorry, Hem.” “Ain’t the end of the world.” Hem squinted at me. “But ya can’t unfair a coondog, Muncie. No more than you can

short a neighbor. It’s near to robbing a mouse away from a cat. You cheated them dogs, boy. Don’t ever think for one breath that an honest coondog won’t remember.”

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Literal/Figurative Meanings) What does Hem’s phrase “unfair a coondog” mean?

A. Fool a coondog B. Discipline a coondog C. Change a coondog D. Cheat a coondog*

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Predict Outcomes) Based on events in this passage, what would likely happen next?

A. Muncie will try again to shoot the coon so the dogs won’t be disappointed. B. After reloading, Hem will try to shoot the coon.* C. The dogs will lose interest and wander away. D. The coon will climb out of the tree and escape.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Infer Reasons for Actions) Which sentence best expresses Muncie’s reason for not killing the coon?

A. “Beyond the mouth of the iron barrel, two black little eyes looked at me, judging me.” B. “Gunning a coon up a tree is no measure of manhood.”* C. “I used to almost cry and muff my ears whenever they’d fire off the howitzer in

the town square.” D. “Don’t ever think for one breath that an honest coondog won’t remember.”

Grade 8 Sampler


SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Point of View) One likely reason the author chose to tell this story through a first person narrator, Muncie, is

A. it helps readers understand Muncie’s actions in this scene.* B. Muncie is a more interesting character than Hem. C. it would have been confusing to tell the story through Hem’s eyes. D. it was the only way to let readers know what the dogs were thinking.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Impact of Setting) What is the effect of the author’s use of a coon hunt as the setting for this story?

A. It lets the author show how different these two characters are.* B. It provides a comic moment when the dogs seem confused. C. It places the action in a particular time in history. D. It lets the author share his views on gun control.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Use of Dialogue) Hem’s dialect or manner of speaking helps to make the story more

A. serious. B. understandable. C. authentic.* D. suspenseful.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Use of Dialogue) At the end of this passage, Hem tells Muncie, “…ya can’t unfair a coondog, Muncie. No more than you can short a neighbor. It’s near to robbing a mouse away from a cat. You cheated them dogs, boy. Don’t ever think for one breath that an honest coondog won’t remember.” The author uses Hem’s words to

A. explain how disappointed he is that Muncie missed the coon. B. confirm what Muncie already suspected—the dogs felt “disgust, disappointment”

when he missed the coon.* C. show that Hem and Muncie were friends when they were boys but have little in

common as adults. D. encourage Muncie to give it another try.

Grade 8 Sampler


MANDATORY SEAT BELT USE LAWS (INFORMATIONAL TEXT) Although many people wear seat belts when they’re in a car, not everyone does. Should they be required by law to wear them? (They are required in Oregon.) These two articles talk about such laws.

WHAT ARE MANDATORY USE laws (MULs)? Mandatory use laws, laws which require motor vehicle occupants

to “buckle up” under penalty of law, are not a new concept. In 1970, Victoria, Australia became the first location to mandate safety belt use. Today, MULs operate in over 30 countries. Even with MULs, however, belt usage never reaches 100 percent.

The combination of strong enforcement and public education assures dramatically higher public acceptance and compliance.

Why are MULs needed? Although safety belts have been standard automobile equipment

since the late ‘60s, fewer than two out of every three vehicle occupants use them. Numerous public education programs encouraging voluntary use of belts have failed to cause complete use.

The carnage on our streets and roadways is of catastrophic proportions and represents a personal tragedy for thousands of American families. Over the past ten years, 470,000 men, women and children were fatally injured in motor vehicle accidents, and millions more were maimed and hospitalized.

Auto crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans under age 44, the major source of paraplegia and quadriplegia, and a significant cause of epilepsy.

Motor vehicle injuries and fatalities cost the American public over $40 billion each year.

Mandatory use laws, properly enforced, dramatically reduce the risks of injury and death behind the wheel.

Grade 8 Sampler


Click It or Ticket in North Carolina: A Case Study of a successful Campaign to Raise the Seat Belt Use Rate

Governor Jim Hunt launched North Carolina’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign in 1993 to increase seat belt and child safety seat use rates through stepped-up enforcement of the seat belt law.

Before the campaign began, about 65 percent of North Carolinians buckled up. Three weeks later, the use rate hit 80% for the first time. Today, because of “Click It or Ticket,” seat belt use is at 82%−one of the highest rates in the nation.

Since the advent of “Click It or Ticket,” fatal and serious traffic-related injuries in North Carolina have been cut by 14 percent, resulting in a savings of $135 million in health care related costs.

How did all this happen? Could it happen in other states, too? In a large measure, it happened because the North Carolina

Governor’s Highway Safety Program issued a call to action and local, county and state law enforcement enthusiastically responded. The strategy adopted is simple to articulate: a tandem approach of highly visible enforcement, with special emphasis on checkpoints, and intense media coverage to hammer the point across that there would be no more warnings for noncompliance with the state’s seat belt law. Nearly all of the State’s law enforcement agencies participate in “Click It or Ticket.” Since the start of the program, officers, troopers and deputies have held nearly 35,000 checkpoints and issued more than 260,000 seat belt and 23,000 child safety seat citations.

Although the strategy sounds simple, putting it in action took a lot of hard work, by a lot of people. This case study is offered in the hope that the trail North Carolina worked so hard to blaze will prove easier for others to follow.

SRC 1 Vocabulary (Verify Word Meaning) The first author states that “carnage on our streets and roadways is of catastrophic proportions…” One example he gives that explains what he means by carnage is

A. “Even with MULs, however, belt usage never reaches 100 percent.” B. “Over the past ten years, 470,000 men, women and children were fatally injured.”* C. “Auto crashes are … a significant cause of epilepsy.” D. “Today, MULs operate in over 30 countries.”

Grade 8 Sampler


SRC 3 Demonstrate General Understanding (Comprehend Informational Text) According to the first article,

A. auto crashes are the second ranked cause of death for Americans. B. a little more time is all that is needed to convince people to buckle up. C. epilepsy can occur as a result of an auto crash.* D. shoulder harnesses are more effective than air bags.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Predict Outcomes) States that implement seat belt laws will most likely

A. see a reduction in health care costs.* B. raise speed limits on freeways. C. hire more law enforcement officers. D. rely on money from traffic fines as a stable source of revenue.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Analyze Author’s Beliefs) Which of the following does the author of the first article most want to see happen?

A. Strictly enforced laws requiring that seat belts be worn* B. More public education programs about seat belt use C. Traffic laws that are the same from country to another D. Better hospital facilities to care for emergency injuries

SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Compare/Contrast Information on Same Topic)

Although these two articles agree that seatbelt use is important, they differ in their approaches to this problem. How does the approach in the second article differ from the first?

A. The second article gives more statistics about causes of accidents than the first one. B. The second article is not as hopeful as the first one about being able to increase

the use of seatbelts. C. The first article focuses more on solutions and the second article has more

information about the reasons seatbelt laws are needed. D. The first article states that more law enforcement will help; the second article

states that law enforcement and media coverage have to work together.*

Grade 8 Sampler


SRC 5 Examine Content and Structure of Informational Text (Analyze Author’s Support)

In which paragraph does the author of the first article make a shift from being mostly informative and giving background information to being more persuasive and giving specific details to convince readers?

A. Paragraph 2 B. Paragraph 3 C. Paragraph 4* D. Paragraph 5

MY PRAIRIE YEAR (LITERARY TEXT) The story below is taken from a book called MY PRAIRIE YEAR by Brett Harvey. Read it to find out what winter was like for one family living on the prairie long ago.

IN THE WINTER THE SNOW was so deep and the cold so terrible that we sat around the enormous cylindrical stove which was red hot, swathed in blankets, overcoats and woolens. We had to put the butter on the stove so that it would melt enough to cut. I cried because of the cold, standing on my soapbox with my arms in the steaming dishwater.

At first the snow looked just the way it had back in Maine. But soon it was coming down so fast and thick we could see only white outside our windows. Daddy said it looked like a blizzard and that it might go on snowing for days. He went out and stretched a strong rope from our front door to the barn. The wind was howling like wolves and the snow kept coming down so heavily that you couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of you. Daddy would push the door open with

Grade 8 Sampler


all his might, letting in a great blast of icy, snowy wind, and feel his way blindly along the rope to the barn to feed and water the animals.

The winter days stretched out long and cold and dark and boring. I thought spring would never come.

Then one day a box arrived from Aunt Addie, Mother’s sister back in Maine. We unpacked it on the big pine table, exclaiming at all the treasures. There were jars of real fruit−apples, oranges and lemons−wools and cottons for new clothes, toys, and best of all, books and magazines. I was starving for something to read. I drank in the smell of fresh new pages and printer’s ink.

There was a special package for Mother with paints and canvases in it. To our surprise, she sat right down and began painting a long spray of pink apple blossoms against a deep blue sky. I knew she was thinking of Maine because there were no apple trees on the prairie. We were all feeling a little homesick, but Mother’s apple blossoms made us think spring might come after all.

And spring did come! Overnight, it seemed, the prairie was dotted with pale lavender pasqueflowers. The sky was as blue as the sky in Mother’s painting. Tiny dickcissels swayed on top of the weeds and called to each other in high thin chirps. Wild geese flew far overhead, babbling to each other like a crowd of faraway people. Sleepy gophers poked up out of their holes and scanned the sky for hawks.

SRC 4 Develop an Interpretation (Characters’ Actions and Motives) The father in this story probably tied a rope from the front door of the house to the door of the barn so that

A. wolves would not be able to get into the yard. B. the children could safely play in the snow. C. he wouldn’t get lost going to feed the animals.* D. the doors would stay closed in the blizzard.

SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Analyze Use of Literary Devices)

Which of the examples below contains the figure of speech called a simile? A. The snow was so deep and the cold so terrible. B. Daddy said it looked like a blizzard. C. The wind was howling like wolves.* D. I was starving for something to read.

Grade 8 Sampler


SRC 6 Examine Content and Structure of Literary Text (Evaluate Effect of Literary Elements)

How does the author help develop the setting? A. He introduces and describes each character. B. He changes the setting from Maine to the Midwest. C. He uses vivid details and images to describe the winter experiences.* D. He uses suspenseful events to interest the reader.

test sampler 8 can’t grow into a full-fledged fizz because of the fact that gas molecules are...

Documents