View the Performance Task
Astronauts Informational Performance Task
This performance task is part of the Smarter Balanced practice test. This specific task requires students to read two informational articles describing the life and work of astronauts in space. Students answer three research questions (constructed- and selected-response items) that require them to evaluate sources and identify evidence to support ideas. Finally, students are asked to use more than one of the sources to write an informational article supporting a main idea about astronauts.
Smarter Balanced Resources
Download Student Work and Scoring Examples
Research Questions
Full Write Essays
| Organization & Purpose |
Evidence & Elaboration |
Conventions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scored Student Samples |
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| Unscored Student Samples |
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| Scoring Key |
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Download Case Studies
Each of the two case studies provides an analysis of an individual student’s responses to all of the questions in a performance task, unpacks the scoring, and considers next steps for supporting the student to demonstrate college and career readiness. Case study 1 is an analysis of an EL student’s responses to the performance task.