2002-2003 PRACTICE MATERIALS
New Jersey Department of Education
HSPA/SRA LANGUAGE ARTS LITERACY
Performance Assessment Task (PAT)

Please call Miza Fletcher (609-633-7180) in the Office of Assessemnt and Research. She will fax a copy of the passage to you. Please note that we are not able to post the passage on the Internet. Text # SRA-N-006.

Mr. Helmholtz is known for never losing his temper when students play badly. We are told that when some students in the C Band played very badly, his "expression did not change." Identify a possible reason why he does not become irritated. Explain how this helps you to understand his behavior toward students later in the story. Provide specific information from the story to support your response. In fiction and in real life, people often do not say to each other what they truly feel. Identify a particular example of this behavior between two characters in this story. Explain why this example leads to the unhappiness of one of the characters. Provide specific information from the story to support your response. It is often difficult to tell people that they are mistaken or foolish. Identify a passage in this story when one character tries to give advice to another but is unsuccessful. Explain why you think this character failed. Provide specific information from the story to support your response. Materials/Resources: Access to a word processor or computer, if desired. Tape recorder or camcorder if student makes an oral presentation. Techniques for PAT Scoring: See Reading Item-Specific Rubric for this PAT.