ISAT Sample Book 8: Sample Items for Reading and Mathematics 2009 ppt

2009

ISAT
Sample Book

GRADE

8
Sample Items for Reading and Mathematics

ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

999-8738-94-6


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
“The Mystery and History of Soap”, from The Christian
Science Monitor, June 3, 2003, copyright © 2002 by Sharon
Huntington and used by permission.
“They Might Be Giants” copyright © 1988 by Dave Barry.
Reprinted with the author’s permission. Cartoon by Jeff
MacNelly, copyright © 1988, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Reprinted with permission.

Copyright © 2009 by NCS Pearson, Inc. Copyright © 2009 by the Illinois State Board of Education. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the copyright owner. Pearson and the Pearson logo are trademarks, in the U.S. and/or other countries, of
Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). Portions of this work were previously published. Printed in the United States
of America.
Printed by the authority of the State of Illinois, 20000, IL00002889.

2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 5
READING
Structure of the Grade 8 Reading ISAT ................................................................................. 9
Item Formats ...................................................................................................................................................9
Reading Sessions ...........................................................................................................................................9
Shorter Passage Followed by Multiple-Choice Sample Items .......................................... 11
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified .......................................................... 14
Longer Passage Followed by Multiple-Choice Sample Items ........................................... 15
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified .......................................................... 20
Longer Passage Followed by Extended-Response Sample Item ...................................... 21
Extended-Response Scoring Rubric .................................................................................... 25
Annotated Extended-Response Student Samples............................................................. 27
MATHEMATICS
Structure of the Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ....................................................................... 41
Item Formats .................................................................................................................................................41
Answer Document for Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ..........................................................................41
Mathematics Sessions ...............................................................................................................................42
Calculator Use for Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ...................................................................................42
Rulers for Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ...................................................................................................42
Scratch Paper for Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ....................................................................................42
Reference Sheet for Grade 8 Mathematics ISAT ...............................................................................43
Multiple-Choice Sample Items ............................................................................................ 44
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified .......................................................... 56
Short-Response Scoring Rubric ........................................................................................... 60
Using Short-Response Samples .......................................................................................... 60

Blank Short-Response Template ......................................................................................... 61
Short-Response Sample Items and Annotated Student Samples .................................... 62
Extended-Response Scoring Rubric .................................................................................... 72

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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Using Extended-Response Samples.................................................................................... 73
Blank Extended-Response Template .................................................................................. 74
Extended-Response Sample Items and Annotated Student Samples ............................. 77

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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Introduction
This sample book contains sample ISAT items classified with an assessment objective from the Illinois
Assessment Frameworks. These samples are meant to give educators and students a general sense of how items
are formatted for ISAT. All 2009 ISATs will be printed in color. This sample book does not cover the entire
content of what may be assessed. Please refer to the Illinois Assessment Frameworks for complete descriptions
of the content to be assessed at each grade level and subject area. The Illinois Assessment Frameworks are
available online at www.isbe.net/assessment/IAFindex.htm. The Student Assessment website contains
additional information about state testing (www.isbe.net/assessment).

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Illinois Standards Achievement Test

Reading Samples

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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Structure of the Grade 8 Reading ISAT
ISAT Reading testing in spring 2009 will consist of 30 norm-referenced items, as well as
criterion-referenced items. The 30 norm-referenced items are an abbreviated form of the Stanford 10

Reading assessment, developed by Pearson, Inc. The criterion-referenced items are all written by Illinois
educators and pilot tested with Illinois students.

Item Formats
All items are aligned to the Illinois Reading Assessment Framework, which defines the elements of the Illinois
Learning Standards that are suitable for state testing.
Multiple-choice items require students to read and reflect, and then to select the alternative that best
expresses what they believe the answer to be. A carefully constructed multiple-choice item can assess any of
the levels of complexity, from simple procedures to sophisticated concepts.
Extended-response items require students to demonstrate an understanding of a passage by explaining key
ideas using textual evidence and by using this information to draw conclusions or make connections to other
situations. The extended-response items are scored with a holistic rubric and count as 10% of the scale score
of the test.

Reading Sessions
All standard time administration test sessions are a minimum of 45 minutes in length. Any student who
is still actively engaged in testing when the 45 minutes have elapsed will be allowed up to an additional 10
minutes to complete that test session. More details about how to administer this extra time will appear in the
ISAT Test Administration Manual. This policy does not affect students who already receive extended time as
determined by their IEP.

Reading ISAT Grade 8
Session 1
45 minutes

6 shorter passages—30 multiple-choice items total

Session 2
45 minutes

Two longer passages consisting of:
1 expository passage with 10 multiple-choice items
1 literary passage with 10 multiple-choice items
1 extended-response item

Session 3
45 minutes

Two longer passages consisting of:
1 expository passage (or paired passage) with 10 multiple-choice items
1 literary passage (or paired passage) with 10 multiple-choice items
1 extended-response item
(Some items will be pilot items.)

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10

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Shorter Passage Followed by
Multiple-Choice Sample Items

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11

Reading
XEJ231 Passage

XEJ231.AR1

School Photographer
by
Kristine O’Connell George

5

10

When I am behind my camera lens
I can make people stand closer,
wrap their arms around each other,
even get them to smile.
When I am behind my camera lens
I see things others don’t.
I can record a single moment
That distorts or tells the truth.
When I am behind my camera lens
I can see everything
Except my own self, hiding
behind my camera.

GO ON
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Reading
XEJ231

1

XEJ237

4

The poet most likely took the
idea for this poem from —

≥

A
B
C
D

If you did not know the
meaning of distorts in stanza 2,
you should —

a book on photography
a volume of poetry
her camera’s owner’s manual

her own experience

≥
XEJ232

2

A look for other words in the poem
that begin with “d”
B say the word over and over to
yourself
C read on, looking for clues
D decide on the word’s part of
speech

Why does the speaker feel
hidden?

≥

A No one can see her.
B She is looking through the
camera.
C There is no one around.
D Other people are standing in
front of her.

In this poem, which point of
view does the poet use?

≥A

First person (one person who
describes her own thoughts)
B Third person (a person outside
the story who describes the
thoughts of one other person)
C Third person omniscient (a
person outside the story who
describes the thoughts of several
characters)
D Third person objective (a person
outside the story who describes
events objectively)

XEJ234

3

XEJ239

5

In line 6, when the speaker
says, “I see things others don’t,”
she most likely means —

≥A

people often overlook what’s

around them
B people don’t pay attention when
their picture is taken
C cameras are the most accurate
form of record keeping
D the camera lens is like a
microscope

GO ON
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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified
Correct
Answer

Assessment Objective

1

D

2.8.04 Compare stories to personal experience, prior knowledge, or other
stories.

2

B

1.8.19 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and
support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.

3

A

2.8.10 Identify literary devices: (e.g., figurative language, hyperbole,
understatement, symbols, dialogue).

4

C

1.8.03 Determine the meaning of an unknown word using word,
sentence, and cross-sentence clues.

5

Shorter Passage

Item
Number

A

2.8.05 Recognize points of view in narratives (e.g., first person).

To view all the reading assessment objectives, download the Illinois Reading Assessment Framework for
Grades 3–8 online at www.isbe.net/assessment/IAFindex.htm .

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Longer Passage Followed by
Multiple-Choice Sample Items

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Reading
RG8Soap0807E-V1

Soap0807E_AR1

The mystery & history of SOAP
It has the most unlikely ingredients. For centuries, no one knew how it worked.
But it did — and still does.
by Sharon J. Huntington
1

2

3

4

5

6
7

8

What’s the best substance to clean your clothes
with? Fat or oil, of course! That doesn’t sound right?
Well, how about adding some ashes to the oil?
Sounds worse, doesn’t it? But that’s the basis of soap,
and people have been using it to clean themselves
and their belongings for thousands of years.
No one knows who first started using soap. There
are recipes for soap on Sumerian clay tablets dating
from 2500 BC, but the recipes don’t say what the
soap was used for. Later cultures used a similar
mixture — as hair gel.
One story has it that Roman women were doing
laundry in the Tiber River some 4,000 years ago
when some fat and ashes from animal sacrifices
upstream washed into the water and then seeped
into the clay of the riverbank. Women found that
their clothes cleaned more easily with the ashes-fat
mixture in the clay.
The sacrifices were performed at Mt. Sapo, which

resulted in the word “soap.” It’s a nice story, though probably not true. It is likely,
however, that soap’s discovery was accidental. Who would think of using ashes and oil to
get things clean? People knew it worked long before they could explain why.
One way that soap cleans is by reducing water’s surface tension. What’s that? Water
molecules are attracted to one another. On the surface of the water, the molecules are
attracted to the water, not to the air. They are pulled toward the rest of the water. This
pull is called surface tension. It’s why water beads up on surfaces.
Surface tension makes it hard for water to wash away dirt. The water tends to stick to
itself, not to the dirt.
Soaps are made from fats and oils. More specifically, they are made from the fatty acids
in fats and oils. This is done by treating them with a strong alkali, which causes a
chemical reaction. That’s where the ashes come in. (An alkali is the opposite of an acid.
Just as lemon juice is slightly acidic, plant ashes are slightly alkaline.) Plant ashes first
provided the alkali needed to make soap. Today the alkalis can be made commercially.
If you look at the ingredients for a bar of soap, you might see potassium hydroxide or
sodium hydroxide. These are the alkalis that react with fatty acid molecules. The
molecules that are formed are called “surface active agents” or surfactants. Surfactants
break down water’s surface tension to make the water “wetter,” so it can react with dirt
more easily.

GO ON
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Reading
RG8Soap0807E-V1

Soap0807E_AR1_continued

One side of each soap molecule is attracted to water. It is called the hydrophilic (waterloving) end. The other side of the molecule is attracted to oil and grease and is repelled by
water. It is the hydrophobic (water-hating) end. The water-hating end “grabs” the grease,
and the water-loving end pulls the grease away from whatever you’re trying to clean and
toward the water. The soap holds the grease in the water until it is rinsed away.
10
Soapmaking was an established business in Europe by the 600s. In the American
colonies, the first soapmakers arrived in 1608 on the second ship from England to reach
Jamestown, Va. But for a long time many colonists and pioneers made their own soap.
They boiled fat with wood-ash lye. (Lye was made by letting rainwater trickle through a
barrel of wood ashes.) Lye soap was smelly and scratchy. By the 1850s, soapmaking was
one of America’s fastest-growing industries.
11
Then, in the early 1900s, the first detergents were created. Instead of using fat or oil,
detergents are made synthetically, created chemically from a variety of raw materials. By
1953, detergents outsold soaps in the United States and now can be found in soap bars
as well as laundry and dishwashing agents. Each person in the US uses an average of
30-1⁄ 2 pounds of detergents and soaps each year. About 10 million tons of soaps and
detergents were produced globally in 1998.
12
Mostly, soap is for cleaning. But it can be for fun, too. Check out the activities below.
9

Have some good clean fun
Bubble forecasts
Bubbles are a good example of surface tension. The water molecules are drawn together.
They form into the shape that gets them as close together as possible around the air inside
the bubble. That shape is a sphere.
If you want to impress your friends, tell them that you can predict when a bubble will
pop. Here’s how: Watch the top of the bubble closely. When a black band begins to form

on top of the bubble, announce that it is ready to pop! Blow several bubbles and tell
which one will pop first. The black band forms because the bubble wall becomes thinner
before it pops. Gravity is pulling the moisture downward. Less light is being reflected at
the top, and this results in a black band.
Here’s a bubble-liquid recipe from the Soap and Detergent Association: Combine 4-1⁄ 2 cups
water with 1⁄2 cup of hand dishwashing detergent and 1⁄2 cup of corn syrup or glycerin.
Magic moving toothpicks
You need a straw, some sugar, and soap to make two toothpicks move in water. Fill a
bowl with water and have two toothpicks ready. Then take a drinking straw and dip one
end in a little sugar. (The sugar sticks better if you get that end of the straw wet first.) Dip
the other end in a few drops of dishwashing detergent. Float the two toothpicks on the
water. Leave enough space between them so you can dip the straw in the gap. First, dip in
the end of the straw that’s coated with sugar. The toothpicks will move together. Then put
in the soapy end, and the toothpicks will move apart. Why? The sugar absorbs water.
Not much, but enough to move the toothpicks toward each other as water moves into the
sugar. The soap on the other end of the straw lowers the surface tension of the water so
that it moves away from the straw and pushes the toothpicks outward.

GO ON
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Reading
3527991

1

3527979

4

Why does the author include
this text from paragraph 1 in
the passage?

Based on the etymology of the
word synthesis [from Gk.
synthesis “composition”; from
syntithenai “put together”], what
does synthetic mean?

“What’s the best substance to
clean your clothes with? Fat or
oil, of course!”

≥

A To explain how soap is made
B To draw the reader into the
passage
C To explain how fat and oil work
together
D To make the reader skip to the
next section

≥

Which of these is the best

summary of “The Mystery and
History of Soap”?

What is the meaning of tension
in paragraph 5?

≥

A
B
C
D

Suspense
Stretching
Emotional strain
A measuring device

≥

3527978

3

Produced in large quantities
Found naturally on the earth
Formed by combining materials
Manufactured by small
companies

3527985

5

3527980

2

A
B
C
D

A Adding ashes to oil is still the
method for producing soap.
B Every year, tons of soaps and
detergents are manufactured
and sold.
C Soap has been useful and
important to people for
thousands of years.
D Soap is important because it
reduces bacteria, and it keeps
people healthier.

In paragraph 9, one end of a
molecule of soap is hydrophilic
and one end is hydrophobic.
What does hydro– mean?

≥

A
B
C
D

Side
Agent
Water
Grease

GO ON
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Reading
3527990

6

3527987

8

What is the most likely reason
the section “Have some good
clean fun” is included in the

passage?

≥

In the section titled “Magic
moving toothpicks,” which
of these steps must be done
before toothpicks will move
“magically”?

A To help people produce better
soap bubbles
B To show how easily people can
make their own soap
C To give ideas for entertaining
others with soap
D To learn how to perform
important scientific experiments
with soap

≥

3527986

7

A Dipping two toothpicks in water
at the same time
B Dipping one end of a toothpick
in sugar and water

C Dipping one end of a straw in
sugar and one in soap
D Dipping both ends of a straw in
a mixture of sugar and soap

3527995

9

In the section titled “Bubble
forecasts,” what happens before
a soap bubble pops?

≥

What literary device is used in
the text below?
“You need a straw, some sugar,
and soap . . .”

A Hot air pushes the moisture
upward.
B Gravity pulls the moisture
downward.
C The walls of the bubble become
thicker.
D The top of the bubble reflects
more light.

≥

A
B
C
D

Symbolism
Alliteration
Personification
Understatement

3527993

10

What genre is “The Mystery and
History of Soap”?

≥

A
B
C
D

Myth
Short story
Legend
Nonfiction

STOP
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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified
Correct
Answer

1

Longer Passage with Multiple-Choice Items

Item
Number

B

1.8.24 Determine the author’s purpose as represented by the choice of
genre, and literary devices employed.

2

B

1.8.05 Determine the meaning of a word in context when the word has
multiple meanings.

3

C

1.8.01 Determine the meaning of an unknown word or content-area
vocabulary using knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and word roots (see
Roots and Affixes list).

4

C

1.8.02 Use etymologies to determine the meanings of words.

5

C

1.8.16 Summarize a story or nonfiction passage, or identify the best
summary.

6

C

1.8.24 Determine the author’s purpose as represented by the choice of
genre, and literary devices employed.

7

B

1.8.18 Identify the causes of events in a story or nonfiction account.

8

C

1.8.18 Identify the causes of events in a story or nonfiction account.

9

B

2.8.10 Identify literary devices: (e.g., figurative language, hyperbole,
understatement, symbols, dialogue).

D

2.8.13 Identify various subcategories of genres: poetry, drama (comedy
and tragedy), science fiction, historical fiction, myth or legend, drama,
biography/autobiography, short story, poem, fairy tale, folktale, fable,
nonfiction, and essay.

10

Assessment Objective

To view all the reading assessment objectives, download the Illinois Reading Assessment Framework for

Grades 3–8 online at www.isbe.net/assessment/IAFindex.htm .

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Longer Passage Followed by
Extended-Response Sample Item

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Reading
Giants0805I

Giants0805I_AR1

This is a story about one parent’s experiences with Little League baseball. His descriptions of
these games show how exciting and unpredictable a baseball game can be.

They Might Be Giants
by Dave Barry
1

OK, fans. Time for Great Moments in Sports. The situation is this: The Giants are
playing a team whose name we did not catch in the hotly contested Little League Ages
6 and 7 Division, and the bases are loaded. The bases are always loaded in this particular

Division for several reasons.

2

First off, the coach pitches the ball to his own players. This is because throwing is not
the strong suit of the players in the Ages 6 and 7 Division. They have no idea, when they
let go of the ball, where it’s headed. They just haul off and wing it, really try to hurl that
baby without getting bogged down in a lot of picky technical details such as whether or
not there is now, or has ever been, another player in the area where the ball is likely to
land. Generally there is not, which is good, because another major area of weakness, in
the Ages 6 and 7 Division, is catching the ball.

3

Until I became a parent, I thought children just naturally knew how to catch a ball,
that catching was an instinctive biological reflex that all children are born with, like
knowing how to operate a remote control or getting high fevers in distant airports. But it
turns out that if you toss a ball to a child, the ball will just bonk off the child’s body and
fall to the ground. So you have to coach the child. I go out in the yard with my son, and
I give him helpful tips such as:
“Catch the ball!” And: “Don’t just
let the ball bonk off your body!”
Thanks to this coaching effort, my
son, like most of the players on
the Giants, has advanced his game
to the point where, just before the
ball bonks off his body, he winces.

4

So fielding is also not the strong
suit of the Giants. They stand
around the field, chattering to
each other, watching airplanes,
picking their noses, thinking
about dinosaurs, etc. Meanwhile
on the pitchers’ mound, the coach
of the opposing team tries to
throw the ball just right so that it
will bounce off the bat of one of
his players, because hitting is
another major area of weakness in
the Ages 6 and 7 Division.

GO ON
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Reading

5

The real athletic drama begins once the opposing coach succeeds in bouncing the ball
off the bat of one of his players, thus putting the ball into play and causing the fielders to
swing into action. It reminds me of those table-hockey games, where you have a bunch
of little men that you activate with knobs and levers, except that the way you activate the
Giants is, you yell excitedly in an effort to notify them that the ball is headed their way.
Because otherwise they’d probably never notice it.

6

“Robby!” I’ll yell if the ball goes near my son. “The ball!” Thus activated, Robby goes on
Full Red Alert, looking around frantically until he locates the ball, which he picks up
and — eager to be relieved of the responsibility — hurls in some random direction. Then,
depending on where the ball is headed, some other parent will try to activate his child,
and the ball will be hurled again and again, pinball-style, around the field, before
ultimately bonking off the body of the first baseman. Of course at this point the batter
has been standing on the base for some time. Fortunately, in this league, he is required to
stop there; otherwise, he could easily make it to Japan.

7

This is why the bases are always loaded, which is what leads us to today’s Sports
Moment. Standing on third base is James Palmieri, who is only 5, but who plays for the
Giants anyway because his older brother, T.J., is on the team. James got on base via an
exciting play: He failed to actually, technically, hit the ball, but the Giants’ wily coach,
Wayne Argo, employed a classic bit of baseball strategy. “Let’s let James get on base,” he
said. And the other team agreed, because at this point the Giants were losing the hotly
contested game by roughly 143 — 57.

8

So here it is: James is standing on third, for the first time in his entire life, thinking
about dinosaurs, and next to him, ready to activate, is his mom, Carmen. And now Coach
Wayne is throwing the pitch. It is a good pitch, bouncing directly off the bat. Bedlam
erupts as parents on both teams try to activate their players, but none is shouting with
more enthusiasm than Carmen. “Run, James!” she yells, from maybe a foot away. “Run!”

9

James, startled, looks up, and you can almost see the thought forming in his mind: I’m
supposed to run. And now he is running, and Carmen is running next to him, cheering
him on, the two of them chugging toward the plate, only 15 feet to go, James about to
score his first run ever. Then suddenly, incredibly, due to a semi-random hurl somewhere
out in the field, there appears of all things: the ball. And — this is a nightmare — an
opposing player actually catches it, and touches home plate and little James is OUT.

10

Two things happen:
• Carmen stops. She says a bad word. A mom to the core.
• James, oblivious, keeps running. Chugs right on home, touches the plate smiling and
wanders off, happy as a clam.

11

You can have your Willie Mays catch and your Bill Mazeroski home run. For me, the
ultimate mental picture is James and Carmen at that moment: the Thrill of Victory, the
Agony of Defeat. A Great Moment in Sports.

GO ON
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Reading

Assessment Objective: 2.8.06 Determine what characters are like by their words, thoughts, and
actions, as well as how other characters react to them.

3352050

1

In the story, the author describes the behavior of adults at a little league game. Explain
why adults behave as they do in this story. Use information from the story and your own
observations and conclusions to support your answer.

STOP
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2009 ISAT Grade 8 Sample Book

Extended-Response
Scoring Rubric

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