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 Assessment 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.

In this story, people do not always express what they are really thinking or feeling. Although he smiles during C Band practice, Mr. Helmholtz continues to "brood inwardly." Identify what this phrase means. Explain how this habit affects events later in the story. Provide specific information from the story to support your response. We read that, when Mr. Helmholtz considers that Plummer has been in C Band for three years, he feels a mixture of "pity and fear." It is unusual to pity and fear a person at the same time. Identify why Mr. Helmholtz pities Plummer. Explain what his fear of Plummer reveals about his own personality. Provide specific information from the story to support your response. Near the end of this story, Plummer tells Mr. Helmholtz, "I'm growing up, and you're not." Identify what Plummer means by this statement. Explain how this statement helps you to understand the theme of the story. 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.