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.

Essays often identify their central idea in the beginning paragraphs. Identify this essay's central idea. Explain how it helps you to understand the rest of the essay. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. A later starting time for school can impact the life of a family. Identify three reasons, from the viewpoint of the author, why parents oppose school starting at a later time. Explain how the author believes a later starting time can affect the economic situation of the family. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. The author presents conflicting viewpoints about starting the school day later. Compare how starting the school day later can have a positive or negative impact on a student's time spent at home, according to the author's argument. Explain how this supports the central idea of the essay. 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.