For all three assessments, school districts will control the logistics of the prompt/speech assignments. For example, all speeches may be given in one day, or they may be spread over a five-day period. Students will be given 60 minutes for preparation during which time they may prepare notes, outline, write and revise, and/or create visuals, and rehearse.

Students will be assessed on their ability to construct a response and communicate it clearly. Two trained assessors will use the New Jersey Speaking Rubric to evaluate each speech.

Students will:

• respond clearly and appropriately to a given prompt.
• select a focus and appropriate details to support it.
• organize the speech to include an introduction, conclusion, and transitions.
• use elaboration to engage the audience.
• use conventions of spoken English and specific conventions of speech (verbal and nonverbal messages, as delineated in Macro 3.1 of the Content Domain Outline for speaking).  (See Appendix B.)
• be conscious of and use varied sentence structure and word choice.
• express an interest in the topic.
• interact with the audience and make adjustments to sustain engagement.
• make generalizations and lead their audience toward a conclusion.