GLA Scoring Criteria 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: On the GLA writing task, what does the 'development' dimension primarily evaluate?
- Spelling and punctuation accuracy
- How well the writer elaborates ideas with supporting evidence (Correct answer)
- The variety of sentence structures used
- Paragraph length and organization
Correct answer: How well the writer elaborates ideas with supporting evidence
Development scores assess how thoroughly a writer supports and elaborates their central ideas with relevant details and evidence.
Question 2: A student response that addresses the prompt but provides only vague, general statements without specifics would most likely receive a low score in which domain?
- Conventions
- Voice
- Development (Correct answer)
- Fluency
Correct answer: Development
Vague statements without specific support reflect weak development, which is the domain concerned with elaboration and evidence.
Question 3: When scoring GLA reading comprehension, a response that correctly identifies the main idea but misinterprets a key detail would typically receive which score?
- Full credit
- Partial credit (Correct answer)
- No credit
- Extra credit for effort
Correct answer: Partial credit
Correctly identifying the main idea earns partial credit even when a supporting detail is misread, since partial understanding is demonstrated.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes a '4' score on a 4-point GLA writing rubric?
- A response with no errors whatsoever
- A response that demonstrates consistent command of the skill with only minor lapses (Correct answer)
- A response that exceeds grade-level expectations significantly
- A response that shows emerging skill with frequent errors
Correct answer: A response that demonstrates consistent command of the skill with only minor lapses
A score of 4 indicates strong, consistent performance with minor lapses — it does not require perfection.
Question 5: A GLA scorer notices a student used a sophisticated vocabulary word incorrectly. How should this affect the conventions score?
- It should not affect the score since effort is rewarded
- It should lower the score because the word choice is an error (Correct answer)
- It should raise the score for attempting advanced vocabulary
- It depends solely on how many words are misspelled
Correct answer: It should lower the score because the word choice is an error
Incorrect word usage is a conventions error that lowers the score regardless of the student's apparent intent.
Question 6: What is the purpose of anchor papers in GLA scoring?
- To provide students with sample essays to copy
- To give scorers calibrated examples that define each score point (Correct answer)
- To identify which students need remediation
- To calculate the average score for a class
Correct answer: To give scorers calibrated examples that define each score point
Anchor papers are pre-scored exemplars used during training to help scorers apply rubric criteria consistently.
Question 7: If a GLA student response is off-topic and does not address the writing prompt, how should a scorer proceed?
- Score it generously if the writing quality is high
- Award full marks for strong mechanics alone
- Assign the lowest possible score or mark it as non-scorable (Correct answer)
- Return the paper to the student for revision
Correct answer: Assign the lowest possible score or mark it as non-scorable
Responses that fail to address the prompt are non-scorable or receive the lowest score since task completion is a fundamental requirement.
GLA Scoring Criteria 2
On the GLA writing task, what does the 'development' dimension primarily evaluate?