ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century Writing Domain Skills Questions and Answers

Question 1

An English learner writes a short paragraph describing their favorite animal.
The response is: 'My favorite animal is dog.
Dog is fast.
Dog is friend.
I like dog.' According to the ELPA21 performance descriptors, this student's writing primarily demonstrates a need for development in which area?

Accepted Answer

Using a wider range of sentence structures and vocabulary.

Answer

Developing a clear topic or claim.

Answer

Organizing ideas into a logical sequence.

Answer

Citing evidence from a source text.

Question 2

A teacher prepares a writing task for students aligned with the ELPA21 framework. The prompt asks students to read two short texts about recycling and then write an essay explaining which text is more persuasive, using evidence from both texts. This task is primarily designed to assess a student's ability to:

Accepted Answer

Construct an argument with claims supported by textual evidence.

Answer

Write a personal narrative with detailed descriptions.

Answer

Compose a fictional story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Answer

Summarize a single informational text using main ideas.

Question 3

Which of the following describes a key feature of the Writing domain within the ELPA21 assessment system?

Accepted Answer

It assesses a student's ability to adapt language for different purposes and audiences.

Answer

It exclusively measures a student's control of English grammar and spelling.

Answer

It is considered a 'receptive' language modality.

Answer

It is always hand-scored by the student's own classroom teacher.

Question 4

A student is working on an ELPA21 writing task that requires them to edit a short paragraph containing several errors. The task provides dropdown menus for specific words or phrases, allowing the student to select the correct option. This type of task is specifically designed to assess:

Accepted Answer

The student's command of the conventions of standard English.

Answer

The ability to generate a creative narrative.

Answer

The skill of summarizing complex information.

Answer

The ability to develop a persuasive argument.

Question 5

According to the ELPA21 Achievement Level Descriptors, a student at an intermediate level of writing proficiency (e.g., Level 3) would typically be working on which of the following skills?

Accepted Answer

Producing and expanding simple and compound sentences to compose brief texts.

Answer

Recognizing and writing a few frequently occurring nouns and verbs.

Answer

Determining the meaning of figurative language and complex text structures.

Answer

Analyzing and critiquing the arguments of others with detailed evidence.

Question 6

A teacher wants to prepare students for an ELPA21 writing task where they must write an email to a friend to organize a group project. Which instructional activity would be MOST beneficial?

Accepted Answer

Providing a template and modeling how to write for a specific, informal audience and purpose.

Answer

Having students write a formal five-paragraph research paper.

Answer

Asking students to diagram complex sentences from a novel.

Answer

Drilling students on spelling lists of academic vocabulary.