General Information
Test Item Specifications
- incorrect comparisons;
- incorrect contrasts;
- similarities or differences drawn from the text but unrelated to the test item;
- facts and details drawn from the text but unrelated to the test item; and
- plausible but incorrect distractors based on the text.
The student will identify similarities between elements within or across texts or will identify differences between elements within or across texts.
Grade-level appropriate texts should include elements that can be compared or contrasted and may include, but are not limited to, character, setting, descriptive language, subject, author’s purpose, author’s perspective, main idea, themes, and topics.
Compare (similarities within/across texts)
Contrast (differences within/across texts)
Texts should be literary or informational.
Other stimuli may include, but are not limited to, illustrations with captions, graphics, and charts.
Texts should provide sufficient information that establishes a clear relationship between the similarities or a clear relationship between the differences.
Texts should include elements that compare or contrast.
To assess this benchmark within a text, items should be based on elements that can be compared or contrasted.
To assess this benchmark across texts, items should be based on two related texts that contain elements that can be compared or contrasted.
Distractors may include, but are not limited to
Note: When constructing a comparison item, distractors should not contrast elements. When constructing a contrast item, distractors should not compare elements.
Note: For differentiating between Benchmark LA.910.1.7.7 and Benchmark LA.910.6.2.2, items that require students to compare or contrast specific details within the text should be aligned with Benchmark LA.910.1.7.7. Items that require students to synthesize similarities or differences and to draw conclusions from those similarities or differences within or across text(s) should be aligned with Benchmark LA.910.6.2.2.
Sample Test Items (4)
Test Item # | Question | Difficulty | Type |
Sample Item 1 | Sample Question for Grade 9 The sample item below is based on “A Day in the Stream” on page H–2. How does the narrator’s impression of her client and his wife change throughout the passage? |
N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |
Sample Item 2 | Sample Question for Grade 9 The sample item below is based on “Swing Is the Thing!” on page H–6. According to the article, what do musicians Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles have in common? |
N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |
Sample Item 3 | Sample Question for Grade 10 The sample item below is based on “Quest-4 Cell Phone” on page H–13. The “SYMBOLS” chart is different from the other text features in the User Manual because it |
N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |
Sample Item 4 | Sample Question for Grade 10 The sample item below is based on “Woman with Flower/Offspring” on page H–12. In “Offspring,” the images of nature in the first stanza differ from those in the second stanza. In the first stanza, the images |
N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |