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I can develop and strengthen an argumentative essay.

Writing W.11-12.5

15

Assessment #1 “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to

Their Phones”

Assessments & Reading Passages W.11-12.5

Standard W.11-12.5 I can develop and strengthen an argumentative essay.

Assessment #1: “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their Phones” 2

“Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their Phones” By Associated Press modified by Goalbook

Lexile Level: 1350 | 307 Words


1 Parents lament their teenagers' noses constantly in their phones, but they

might want to take stock of their own screen time habits.

2 “A study out last week from the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds

of parents are concerned about the amount of time their teenage children spend

in front of screens, while more than a third expressed concern about their own

screen time.

3 Meanwhile, more than half of teens said they often or sometimes find their

parents or caregivers to be distracted when the teens are trying to have a

conversation with them. The study calls teens' relationship with their phones at

times "hyperconnected" and notes that nearly three-fourths check messages or

notifications as soon as they wake up. Parents do the same, but at a lower if still

substantial rate — 57 percent.

4 Big tech companies face a growing backlash against the addictive nature of

their gadgets and apps, the endless notifications and other features created to

keep people tethered to their screens.

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _________________


5 Many teens are trying to do something about it: 52 percent said they have

cut back on the time they spend on their phones and 57 percent did the same

with social media.

6 Experts say parents have a big role in their kids' screen habits and setting

a good example is a big part of it.

7 "Kids don't always do what we say but they do as we do," said Donald

Shifrin, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of

Medicine, who was not involved in the Pew study. "Parents are the door that kids

will walk through on their way to the world."

8 The study surveyed 743 U.S. teens and 1,058 U.S. parents of teens from

March 7 to April 10 with the margin of error at 4.5 percentage points.

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _____________________

Standard W.11-12.5


1

DOK 1

A student is conducting research on the topic of cell phones. Read the information

the student has underlined from “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to

Their Phones.”

2 A study out last week from the Pew Research Center found that two-thirds of parents are concerned about the amount of time their teenage children spend in front of screens, while more than a third expressed concern about their own screen time.

3 Meanwhile, more than half of teens said they often or sometimes find their parents or caregivers to be distracted when the teens are trying to have a conversation with them. The study calls teens' relationship with their phones at times "hyperconnected" and notes that nearly three-fourths check messages or notifications as soon as they wake up. Parents do the same, but at a lower if still substantial rate — 57 percent.

Which of the student’s basic questions can be answered by the underlined text?

a. What are the arguments for cell phone use?

b. What background information is necessary to understanding cell phone use?

c. What statistics communicate the problem of cell phone use?

d. How has cell phone use changed in the past 10-15 years?



DOK 2

3

2

DOK 1

Read the student’s research claim for an argumentative essay.

Managing levels of cell phone use is possible.

The student is evaluating whether evidence from the article “Teens and Adults Say

They Feel Tethered to Their Phones” will support her claim. Complete the student’s

graphic organizer by listing 2 pieces of evidence that support the claim.

Evidence

from the

article that

supports my

claim.

Detail 1 (paragraph ___ ) Detail 2 (paragraph ___ )

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Reread the student’s research claim for an argumentative essay.

Managing levels of cell phone use is possible.

Write a 1-sentence counterclaim for the student to use in his argumentative essay

that provides a differing perspective regarding cell phone use. Add 1 piece of evidence

from the text to support the counterclaim.

Counterclaim: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Evidence: __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Assessment #1: “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their Phones”

6

Read the writing prompt, and then answer the question that follows.

Use the article “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their

Phones” to write two to three paragraphs of an argumentative paper for

a school-wide debate on cell phone usage. Make sure you establish an

argumentative claim, address potential counterarguments, and support

your claim using details from the source you have read plus your own

experiences.

A student is planning a response to this writing prompt. Which problem-based

question will most help the student because it offers many possible answers for the

argument?

a. Why do apps make up so many minutes in an individual’s cell phone usage?

b. How does technology play a role in the amount of time people spend on their

cell phones?

c. How does age relate to people’s cell phone use?

d. What is the most effective way to impact the amount of time people

spend on their cell phones?

4

DOK 2

A student is using a graphic organizer to evaluate her original claim for an

argumentative essay that concludes that cell phones are beneficial. Examine her original

claim and her counterclaim. Add evidence to support her counterclaim from the article

“Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their Phones,” and then determine

whether the original claim should be revised. Evaluate the strength and development of

the student’s original claim in 2-3 sentences.

Student’s claim: Cell phone use has positive effects.

Student’s counterclaim:

Cell phone use has

negative aspects.

Counterclaim evidence:

from “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their

Phones” (paragraph ___ )

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Evaluate the original claim: After examining the evidence for the counterclaim, I

believe the student’s claim appears ____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

DOK 3


5

Scoring Rubric W.11-12.5 Assessment #1:

“Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered to Their Phones”

Question/Level

Key / Rubric Points

#1

DOK 1

c. What statistics communicate the problem of cell phone use? 0 1

#2

DOK 1

Supporting evidence may include: - 52 percent said they have cut back on the time they spend on their phones and 57 percent did the same with social media. (paragraph 5) - Experts say parents have a big role in their kids' screen habits and setting a good example is a big part of it. (paragraph 6)

0 1

#3

DOK 2

Answers will vary. Counterclaim: Managing levels of cell phone use is impossible and unnecessary.

Evidence: - Today, mobile devices are staples of how we interact with the world. - The study calls teens' relationship with their phones at times "hyperconnected" and notes that nearly three-fourths check messages or notifications as soon as they wake up. (paragraph 3) - Big tech companies face a growing backlash against the addictive nature of their gadgets and apps, the endless notifications and other features created to keep people tethered to their screens. (paragraph 4) SCORING: 1 point: determines relevant counterclaim 1 point: distinguishes supporting evidence

0 1 2

Student Name: ____________________________ Date of Administration: _____________

Teacher Name: ____________________________________________________________________


#4

DOK 2

d. What is the most effective way to impact the amount of time people spend on their cell phones?

0 2

#5

DOK 3

Model Student Response

Student’s claim: Cell phone use has positive effects.

Student’s counterclaim: Cell phone use has negative aspects.


from “Teens and Adults Say They Feel Tethered

to Their Phones” (paragraph 3)

Meanwhile, more than half of teens said they often or sometimes find their parents or caregivers to be distracted when the teens are trying to have a conversation with them.

Evaluate the original claim: After examining the evidence for the counterclaim, I believe the student’s claim appears weaker in comparison and should be revised. More research would likely support the claim that “The amount of time spent on cell phones reflects that our lives are more technologically integrated.” The student would need evidence showing how cell phones are beneficial, such as: People are spending more hours per day on their phones because mobile devices have become practical and functional, and people who adapt to advances in technology will be able to thrive.

SCORING: 1 point: demonstrates understanding of audience and purpose

1 point: selects evidence to support counterclaim

+1 point: evaluates and revises original claim (up to 2 points total)

0 1 2 3 4

TOTAL ___ / 10


15

Assessment #2 “Elite Colleges Tell Low-Income Students That

They Do Not Belong”

Assessments & Reading Passages W.11-12.5

Standard W.11-12.5 I can develop and strengthen an argumentative essay.

Assessment #2: “Elite Colleges Tell Low-Income Students That They Don’t Belong” 2

“Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don’t Belong”

By Clint Smith modified by Goalbook



1 Recently, the Justice Department charged 50 people with involvement in an

elaborate scheme to purchase spots in some of the country’s top schools. The

plot purportedly included faking learning disabilities, using Photoshopped images

to make it seem as if students played sports that they did not actually play, and

pretending that students were of different ethnicities in an effort to exploit

affirmative-action programs.

2 The case, rightfully, has set off a wave of conversations about how the

wealthy are able to lie and manipulate their way into the country’s elite colleges

and universities. But the scandal also provides an opportunity to interrogate how

these universities are set up in ways that systematically amplify and exacerbate

the class differences between their students. Students from low-income

backgrounds receive daily reminders—interpersonal and institutional, symbolic

and structural—that they are the ones who do not belong.

3 Top colleges and universities are and have long been havens of the

wealthy. In 2017, students coming from families in the top 1 percent—those who

make more than $630,000 a year—are 77 times more likely to be admitted to and

attend an Ivy League school than students coming from families who make less

than $30,000 a year. While many top schools have taken steps to provide more

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _________________


access to disadvantaged students and become more socioeconomically diverse,

they remain saturated with wealth.

4 The doubly disadvantaged population are students who arrive at these top

institutions from neighborhood public schools, many of which are overcrowded

and underfunded. They are schools where these students have excelled, but that

are ill-equipped to give them the tools necessary to understand how these elite

colleges operate. For example, without being explicitly told, how would students

know what “office hours” are, and that they are encouraged to use them? Many

low-income students attending these universities are unfamiliar with “the hidden

curriculum,” those invisible rules and expectations that can lead some students to

success while leaving others floundering.

5 Also, many colleges close their dining halls during spring break. Many low-

income students cannot afford to leave campus, much less go on vacation for break,

and as a result take extraordinary measures to make sure they have enough to eat.

Some students ration their food, skipping meals to make a limited supply last the

entire break.

6 These low-income students—overwhelmingly students of color—arrive on

elite-college campuses and are perpetually made to feel as if they don’t deserve to

be there, overhearing an offhand comment about how their acceptance was

predicated on the color of their skin or the lower socioeconomic status of their

family. Meanwhile, many wealthy students for all intents and purposes have their

parents buy their way into these schools through private-school tuition, test prep,

donations to colleges, and myriad other advantages. And they rarely experience the

same level of skepticism as to whether they have “earned” their place.

7 I have seen this sense of frustration and disillusionment in the eyes of

undergraduates… navigating a school environment that both implicitly and explicitly

tells them that the only reason they were admitted was an undeserved handout, that

their place was not earned but is instead an act of charity, that they were given

someone else’s spot. This scandal demonstrates that the very idea of our society


being a “meritocracy” was made up to justify existing social hierarchies. What is real

is the advantages of wealth and race, which often combine to give people things

that they have told themselves they deserve. What is real is that students who have

done everything right are often the ones made to feel as if their place on campus is

anything other than earned.

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _____________________

Standard W.11-12.5


1

DOK 1

A student is conducting research on the topic of college admissions. Read the

information the student has underlined from “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-

Income Students That They Don’t Belong.”

6 These low-income students—overwhelmingly students of color—arrive on elite-college campuses and are perpetually made to feel as if they don’t deserve to be there, overhearing an offhand comment about how their acceptance was predicated on the color of their skin or the lower socioeconomic status of their family. Meanwhile, many wealthy students for all intents and purposes have their parents buy their way into these schools through private-school tuition, test prep, donations to colleges, and myriad other advantages. And they rarely experience the same level of skepticism as to whether they have “earned” their place.

Which of the student’s basic questions can be answered by the underlined text?

a. What is college admissions?

b. Why is the college admissions problem so difficult to solve?

c. What are some effects of the college admissions problem?

d. What approaches to the problem of college admissions have other

institutions discovered?

Assessment #2: “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don’t Belong” 5


DOK 2

3

2

DOK 1

Read the student’s research claim for an argumentative essay.

Certain common experiences negatively affect low-income students within elite universities.

The student is evaluating whether evidence from the article “Elite Colleges

Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don’t Belong” will support her

claim. Complete the student’s graphic organizer by listing 2 pieces of evidence that

support the claim

Evidence

from the

article that

supports my

claim.

Detail 1 (paragraph ___ ) Detail 2 (paragraph ___ )

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Reread the student’s research claim for an argumentative essay.

Certain common experiences negatively affect low-income students within elite universities.

Write a 1-sentence counterclaim for the student to use in his argumentative essay

that provides a differing perspective regarding cell phone use. Add 1 piece of

evidence from the text to support the counterclaim.

Counterclaim: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Evidence: __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Assessment #2: “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don’t Belong”

7

Read the writing prompt, and then answer the question that follows.

Use the article “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students

That They Do Not Belong” to write two to three paragraphs of an

argumentative paper for a school-wide debate on college admissions.

Make sure you establish an argumentative claim, address potential

counterarguments, and support your claim using details from the

source you have read plus your own experiences.

A student is planning a response to this writing prompt. Which problem-based

question will most help the student because it offers many possible answers for the

argument?

a. What portion of the student population is from low-income families?

b. Which advantages are available to wealthy students?

c. How can the treatment of low-income students be improved?

d. What will happen to colleges that discriminate?

4

DOK 2

A student is using a graphic organizer to evaluate her original claim for an

argumentative essay that concludes that elite colleges have discriminatory unwritten

rules and practices. Examine her original claim and her counterclaim. Add evidence to

support her counterclaim from the article “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income

Students That They Don’t Belong” and then determine whether the original claim

should be revised. Evaluate the strength and development of the student’s original claim

in 2-3 sentences.

Claim: Elite Universities are creating opportunities to serve low-income students.

Student’s counterclaim:

Elite universities make

navigating college

difficult for their low-

income students.


from “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students

That They Do Not Belong” (paragraph ___ )

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Evaluate the original claim: After examining the evidence for the counterclaim, I

believe the student’s claim appears ____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

DOK 3


5

Scoring Rubric W.11-12.5 Assessment #2:

“Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Do Not Belong”

Question/Level

Key / Rubric Points

#1

DOK 1

c. What are some effects of the college admissions problem? 0 1

#2

DOK 1

Supporting evidence may include: - Many low-income students attending these universities are unfamiliar with “the hidden curriculum,” those invisible rules and expectations that can lead some students to success while leaving others floundering. (paragraph 4) - Also, many colleges close their dining halls during spring break. Many low-income students cannot afford to leave campus, much less go on vacation for break, and as a result take extraordinary measures to make sure they have enough to eat. (paragraph 5) - I have seen this sense of frustration and disillusionment in the eyes of undergraduates… navigating a school environment that both implicitly and explicitly tells them that the only reason they were admitted was an undeserved handout… (paragraph 7) SCORING: 1 point: recalls supporting evidence

0 1

#3

DOK 2

Answers will vary. Counterclaim: Elite universities are striving to provide opportunities for disadvantaged student to prevent social and economic disparity. Evidence: - While many top schools have taken steps to provide more access to disadvantaged students and become more socioeconomically diverse... (paragraph 3) SCORING: 1 point: determines relevant counterclaim 1 point: distinguishes supporting evidence

0 1 2

Student Name: ____________________________ Date of Administration: _____________

Teacher Name: ____________________________________________________________________


#4

DOK 2

c. How can the treatment of low-income students be improved?

0 2

#5

DOK 3

Model Student Response

Student’s claim: Elite universities are creating opportunities to serve low-income students.

Student’s counterclaim: Elite universities make navigating college difficult for low-income students.


from “Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income

Students That They Do Not Belong” (paragraph

4)

For example, without being explicitly told, how would students know what “office hours” are, and that they are encouraged to use them?

Evaluate the original claim: After examining the evidence for the counterclaim, I believe the student’s claim appears weaker in comparison and should be revised. More research would likely support the claim that “Universities should do more to support disadvantaged communities.” The student would need evidence showing how elite colleges could provide access to opportunities and facilities, resources, and expertise.

SCORING: 1 point: demonstrates understanding of audience and purpose

1 point: selects evidence to support counterclaim

+1 point: evaluates and revises original claim (up to 2 points total)

0 1 2 3 4

TOTAL ___ / 10


Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.


Explain how you demonstrated improvement or mastery of this standard’s key skills in this assessment, and how you might use these skills again. _______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

W.11-12.5

Reflect and relate:

Name: _____________________________________

quick assessments & reading passages · reread the student’s research claim for an...

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