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.

The majority of adults view sleep "more as a luxury than a necessity." Identify what this statement means and explain how it introduces the essay's central idea. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. This essay claims that many teenagers are a "valuable child care resource" for families. Identify what is meant by this description and explain how it relates to the central problem of this essay. Use specific information from the essay to support your response. Most teenagers have many responsibilities. Identify three responsibilities any teenager might have. Explain how this helps you to understand the importance of the problem this essay discusses. 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.