MCAS ELA Grade 4 case studies
MCAS ELA Grade 4 · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English Language Arts test for grade 4 is one of the statewide standardized tests Massachusetts gives to students in grades 3–8 and 10 in English language arts and mathematics. It is a school-administered test, not a professional credential: fourth graders take it because federal and state laws require statewide testing, and because the state says results give families an objective measure of a child's and school's progress. The MCAS ELA Grade 4 case studies are 5 cases and about 2,503 words.
1The River Bank or the Money Bank?
During a small-group reading lesson, four students read the sentence: 'After the long hike, the tired students sat on the bank and skipped stones across the water.' The teacher asks what 'bank' means here. Student A says, 'It means a place where people keep money, because a bank is a place.' Student B says, 'It means the edge of the river, because they sat there and skipped stones across the water.' Student C says, 'It means a row of switches, because the sentence is about a machine.' Student D says, 'It means to tilt to one side, because the students were tired.' The teacher wants to use the disagreement to teach context clues, not just give the answer.
438 words, about 2 min2Which Summary Covers the Whole Paragraph?
Okafor's class reads this paragraph: 'Honeybees communicate in a surprising way. When a scout bee finds flowers, it returns to the hive and performs a "waggle dance." The direction of the dance shows which way to fly.
434 words, about 2 min3Revising an Ambiguous Sentence Without Guessing
Delgado conferences with a fourth grader about this sentence: 'Maya and her friend Lila carried the cake to the table, and she cut it, and everyone clapped because they were happy.' The student says the sentence is clear. Delgado sees two problems: the sentence strings three ideas together with 'and,' and the pronoun 'she' could refer to Maya or Lila.
590 words, about 3 min4Do Both Authors Really Agree About Recess?
Students read two short texts about recess. Text A: 'Recess is not just free time.
569 words, about 3 min5Is the Snow Really a Blanket?
During a poetry lesson, students read this four-line poem: 'The snow is a blanket, / Soft and white. / It covers the grass / All through the night.' A student says, 'The poem says snow is a blanket, so that is a fact.
472 words, about 2 min