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-P-031.

According to research, teens who start school later show improvement in areas other than just sleepiness during class. Some of these improvements are unexpected. Identify one of these unexpected improvements. Explain how it helps you to understand the importance of recognizing the sleep habits of teens. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. One of the objections to the change in school starting times is that buses are not available for many activities, such as field trips. Suggest one solution to this problem other than keeping current starting schedules. Explain why this solution would please both supporters and critics of later starting times for schools. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. It has been said that late starting times will "negatively influence athletic and extracurricular activities." Identify the reason activities and athletics would be negatively influenced. Explain why a person might value athletics and school activities as highly as classroom time. Use specific information from the essay 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.