2009 TEXAS TAKS TEST WRITING - Houston ISD

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2009 TEXAS TAKS TESTGrade 11 – English Language ArtsNeeded Correct to Pass: 44, with 2 on compositionCommended Performance: 63, with 2 on compositionTotal Possible Score: 73(To calculate total score, multiply composition score by4 and add to short-answer/multiple-choice score)This file contains the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills administered in Spring,2009, along with the answer key, learning objectives, and, for writing tests, the scoringguide. This document is available to the public under Texas state law. This file was createdfrom information released by the Texas Education Agency, which is the state agency thatdevelops and administers the tests.The number of correct answers required to "pass" this test is shown above. While it issupposedly around 70%, the exact number for each test is determined after the tests havebeen graded, and is often lower than 70%, making it possible to pass the test withoutlearning some important areas of study. Because of this, I believe that making the passinggrade should not be considered "good enough." A student's goal should be to master each ofthe objectives covered by the test. The "Commended Performance" score is a good goal formastery of all the objectives.The test in this file may differ somewhat in appearance from the printed version, due toformatting limitations. Since TAKS questions are changed each year, some proposedquestions for future tests are included in each year's exams in order to evaluate thequestions. Questions being evaluated for future tests do not count toward a student's score.Those questions are also not included in the version of the test made available to the public,until such time as they become part of the official test.The test materials in this file are copyright 2009, Texas Education Agency. All rightsreserved. Reproduction of all or portions of this work is prohibited without express writtenpermission from the Texas Education Agency. The availability of these tests on the Internetdoes not extend to and specifically excludes any use of these materials for commercialpurposes. All reproductions of tests or portions of tests must include notice of the TexasEducation Agency's copyright on each document.Questions and comments about the tests should be directed to:Texas Education AgencyStudent Assessment Division1701 N. Congress Ave, Room 3-122AAustin, Texas 78701phone: 512-463-9536email: Student.Assessment@tea.state.tx.usFor comments and questions about this file or the web site, you can e-mail me atscott@scotthochberg.com, or write to me at the address below. Please include your full nameand home address. To download additional tests, go to www.scotthochberg.com. All costs forposting this material on this web site have been paid for by the Scott Hochberg Campaign6000 Reims #2605 Houston, TX 77036. No tax dollars were used for these purposes.

STUDENT NAMETexas Assessmentof Knowledge and SkillsEXIT LEVELENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTSAdministered March 2009Copyright 2009, Texas Education Agency. All rights reserved. Reproduction of all or portions of this work is prohibitedwithout express written permission from the Texas Education Agency.

READINGANDWRITTENCOMPOSITIONPage 3

DIRECTIONSRead the two selections and the viewing and representing piece. Then answer the questionsthat follow.Breakfast in Virginiaby Langston Hughes“Breakfast in Virginia,” written by the African American author Langston Hughes, takes place in the UnitedStates during World War II, when racial segregation was both openly visible and commonly accepted. Fromthe 1880s into the 1960s, the majority of states enforced segregation through Jim Crow laws. Many states andcities could impose legal punishments on people for associating with members of another race. The mostcommon types of laws forbade intermarriage and ordered business owners and public institutions to keeptheir black and white clientele separated.1Two colored boys during the war. For the first time inhis life one of them, on furlough from a Southern trainingcamp, was coming North. His best buddy was a New Yorklad, also on furlough, who had invited him to visit Harlem.Being colored, they had to travel in the Jim Crow car untilthe Florida Express reached Washington.2The train was crowded and people were standing inWHITE day coaches and in the COLORED coach—thesingle Jim Crow car. Corporal Ellis and Corporal Williamshad, after much insistence, shared for a part of the nightthe seats of other kindly passengers in the coach markedCOLORED. They took turns sleeping for a few hours. Therest of the time they sat on the arm of a seat or stoodsmoking in the vestibule. By morning they were very tired.And they were hungry.3No vendors came into the Jim Crow coach with food, soCorporal Ellis suggested to his friend that they go into thediner and have breakfast. Corporal Ellis was born in NewYork and grew up there. He had been a star trackman withhis college team, and had often eaten in diners on tripswith his teammates. Corporal Williams had never eaten ina diner before, but he followed his friend. It wasmidmorning. The rush period was over, although the diningcar was still fairly full. But, fortunately, just at the door asthey entered there were three seats at a table for fourpersons. The sole occupant of the table was a tall,distinguished gray-haired man. A white man.4As the two brownskin soldiers stood at the door waitingfor the steward to seat them, the white man looked up andsaid, “Won’t you sit here and be my guests this morning? Ihave a son fighting in North Africa. Come, sit down.”Page 4My notes about what I amreadingGO ON

5“Thank you, sir,” said Corporal Ellis, “this is kind ofyou. I am Corporal Ellis. This is Corporal Williams.”6The elderly man rose, gave his name, shook hands withthe two colored soldiers, and the three of them sat down atthe table. The young men faced their host. CorporalWilliams was silent, but Corporal Ellis carried on theconversation as they waited for the steward to bring themenus.7“How long have you been in the service, Corporal?” thewhite man was saying as the steward approached.8Corporal Ellis could not answer this question becausethe steward cut in brusquely, “You boys can’t sit here.”9“These men are my guests for breakfast, steward,” saidthe white man.10“I am sorry, sir,” said the white steward, “but Negroescannot be served now. If there’s time, we may have a fourthsitting before luncheon for them, if they want to comeback.”11“But these men are soldiers,” said the white man.12“I am sorry, sir. We will take your order, but I cannotserve them in the state of Virginia.”13The two Negro soldiers were silent. The white manrose. He looked at the steward a minute, then said, “I amembarrassed, steward, both for you and for my guests.” Tothe soldiers he said, “If you gentlemen will come with me tomy drawing room, we will have breakfast there. Steward, Iwould like a waiter immediately, Room E, the third carback.”14The tall, distinguished man turned and led the way outof the diner. The two soldiers followed him. They passedthrough the club car, through the open Pullmans, and intoa coach made up entirely of compartments. The white manled them along the blue-gray corridor, stopped at the lastdoor, and opened it.1516My notes about what I amreading“Come in,” he said. He waited for the soldiers to enter.It was a roomy compartment with a large window andtwo long comfortable seats facing each other. The manindicated a place for the soldiers, who sat down together.He pressed a button.Page 5GO ON

17“I will have the porter bring a table,” he said. Then hewent on with the conversation just as if nothing hadhappened. He told them of recent letters from his sonoverseas, and of his pride in all the men in the militaryservices who were giving up the pleasures of civilian life to1help bring an end to Hitlerism. Shortly the porter arrivedwith the table. Soon a waiter spread a cloth and took theirorder. In a little while the food was there.18All this time Corporal Williams from the South had saidnothing. He sat, shy and bewildered, as the Virginialandscape passed outside the train window. Then he drankhis orange juice with loud gulps. But when the eggs werebrought, suddenly he spoke, “This here time, sir, is the firsttime I ever been invited to eat with a white man. I’m fromGeorgia.”19“I hope it won’t be the last time,” the white man replied.“Breaking bread together is the oldest symbol of humanfriendship.” He passed the silver tray. “Would you care forrolls or muffins, Corporal? I am sorry there is no butter thismorning. I guess we’re on rations.”20My notes about what I amreading“I can eat without butter,” said the corporal.21For the first time his eyes met those of his host. Hesmiled. Through the window of the speeding train, as itneared Washington, clear in the morning sunlight yet faroff in the distance, they could see the dome of the Capitol.But the soldier from the Deep South was not looking out ofthe window. He was looking across the table at his fellowAmerican.22“I thank you for this breakfast,” said Corporal Williams.“Breakfast in Virginia” from SHORT STORIES by Langston Hughes. Copyright 1996 by RamonaBass and Arnold Rampersad. Reprinted by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Strausand Giroux, LLC.1 Hitlerism—Nazism or National Socialism—was a political belief promoting anexclusive German race and a strong and centrally governed state. The term is mostoften used in connection with Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship of Nazi Germany from 1933 to1945.Page 6GO ON

The Crystal Nightby Lore Metzger1When Adolf Hitler became chancellorof Germany in January 1933, I had justcelebrated my twelfth birthday. I was astudent in the all-girl high school ofLandau, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mythoughts and hobbies were typical of anybudding teenager’s, and my biggestworries were to get perfect grades and tobe noticed just for a moment by one of thestudents of the all-male high school.2My childhood was an abundance ofhappy occasions: birthday parties, theannual children’s masquerade at the citytheater, long walks through Landau’sbeautiful parks, visits to the zoo, skatingand sledding in winter, swimming, biking,and hiking in summer. I loved to climbhigh in the mountains, each crowned byromantic ruins, castles of kings andemperors of long ago. Life was joyous,carefree, safe.3Shortly after Hitler’s rise to power,menacing signs sprang up everywhere, atthe swimming pool, the zoo, the parks, thetheaters, the restaurants: “Jewsforbidden.” Jewish homes were soiled withswastikas and hate slogans, Jewish storeswere boycotted, Jewish men and evenchildren were beaten in the streets. Inschool, Jewish students, now “nonAryans,” were segregated from their fellowstudents. To have to sit in the so-calledJew corner, to have to listen to the mostdegrading remarks and avoid all contactwith classmates who until then had beenmy friends, made those years agony forme. More and more of my Jewishclassmates left Germany with theirfamilies.Page 7For the longest time my parentsrefused to think about emigration, but in1938 they finally made the decision to goto America. The German government nolonger allowed Jews to take money out ofthe country, but we could take what wewanted of our household possessions aslong as we paid a special tax. ByNovember all the plans for the big movehad been made. We were to set sail forAmerica on the S.S. Washington onNovember 28.4During the dreary days of earlyNovember, the damp, cold mood of MotherNature reflected our own only too well.Through the terrible years of the Naziregime, our home, with its beautifullyfurnished rooms and magnificent garden,had always been a center of peace andcomfort. Now my brother and I could readthe sadness and fear in our parents’ eyes.They had both been born in Landau, ashad my grandparents. They had bothserved in the military during World War I,and they were deeply involved in thesocial, cultural, and economic life ofLandau. My father didn’t know how hewould support his family in a strangeland, with no knowledge of English andfew resources. My mother couldn’t sleepfor worrying about her aged father, whowould have to be left behind because theAmerican consulate wouldn’t issue a visato anyone over seventy. We were all sopreoccupied with the emotions of leavingour home and the preparations for themove that we hardly noticed the news item5 see Crystal Night, page 2GO ON

Crystal Night, cont. from page 1that was to carry such enormousconsequences. In Paris, an enraged PolishJew shot and killed an employee of theGerman embassy when he learned that hisparents had been deported from Germanyback to Poland.678At seven o’clock on the morning ofNovember 10, one of our maids came intomy bedroom and awakened me with soft,halting words: “Honey, if you want to seethe temple again get up now, because it’son fire.” Shaking all over, I dressed andran outside, without stopping for a coat. Assoon as I left the house, I could detect aburning odor in the foggy air. I stopped infront of the hotel about a block from thetemple and stood there paralyzed by shockand disbelief. Flames were shooting out ofthe stained-glass rose window, and asecond later more flames engulfed thebeautiful five-domed sanctuary. How long Iremained there I cannot remember.In tears, I ran back home. My parentswere sitting down to breakfast, and I wasjust about to tell them of the dreadfulthing I had witnessed when I heard loudmale voices in the hall. In my confusion, Ihad left the front door open. Suddenly sixor eight men pushed their way in, andwithout so much as a word, one of themyanked the tablecloth off the table,sending the breakfast dishes crashing tothe floor. Another grabbed my father bythe arm and barked, “You are underarrest!” When my father asked why, hewas told, “Today we get all the Jews.” Wewatched, stunned, as they led him away.Moments later a dozen storm troopersburst into the room brandishing axes,Page 8Page 2crowbars, hammers, and revolvers. Likebeasts of prey fallen upon their victims,they went from room to room,systematically smashing furniture anddishes, cutting up oriental rugs, tearingopen feather pillows, even slashingcanvases in their frames—my mother’sown paintings. As they were about todestroy a recently completed picture, mymother found the courage to say, “What doyou want from us? We have servedGermany faithfully both in peace and inwar,” and with that she pointed to thechina cabinet, where the militarydecorations bestowed upon her and myfather lay on a black velvet pillow, alongwith my grandfather’s medals from theFranco-Prussian War. When the men sawthese, one of them immediately gave thecommand to stop, but it was too late.No sooner had they gone than one ofour faithful servants arrived and brokedown at the sight of the devastation.Struggling to compose herself, she told usshe had heard that during the comingnight all Jewish houses were to be set afireand all Jewish boys killed. She wanted totake my brother and hide him in theforest, but my mother declined hercourageous offer and tearfully sent heraway, not wanting to endanger her life aswell.9Darkness fell early that Novemberafternoon. My mother dressed us in extrawarm clothes, and we left our home andwent through the desolate park in thedirection of the Jewish cemetery. There we10 see Crystal Night, page 3GO ON

Crystal Night, cont. from page 2spent the night, wandering around in adaze or sitting on the tombstones of mygrandparents’ graves.1112At daybreak we returned to the park,where we had a perfect view of our homethrough the leafless trees. It had not beenburned. We saw a large car pull up in frontof the house. Two SS men got out and wentinside. I was terrified and wanted to runback to the safety of the cemetery, but mymother thought they might have news ofmy father, so we hurried across the park.As we entered the house, the two menwere voicing their disgust at thedestruction all around them. Oddlyenough, they were the same two officerswho had inspected our belongings severalweeks before to determine the exit tax.They assured my mother that theythemselves would see to it that thegovernment paid for repairs. “We wouldnot want you to go to America and talkabout us Germans as barbarians,” theytold her.After they left, my mother sent mybrother and me to bed. I dreamed of thetelephone, which rang and rang and rang,until I finally realized that this was nodream. The phone—miraculouslyundamaged—was indeed ringing. Istumbled to the den through the debrisand picked it up. A harsh male voice said,“Pack your bags and be at the railroadstation by noon. Be sure to take all yourmoney and jewelry with you.” My mother,who had been out when the call came,returned to this dreadful news and beganpacking. Shortly before noon onNovember 11, the three of us left our homefor the last time.Page 9Page 3Lugging our heavy suitcases, wewalked past the temple, which was stillburning, and past the ransacked homes ofour friends. Worst of all, we walked pastthe people of Landau, our formerneighbors, who stared at us with wordlesshostility. Some of them forced us off thesidewalk into the busy street.13A cold drizzle was falling as we reachedthe plaza in front of the station. Thereabout two hundred women and childrenwere huddled together, trembling andscared, knowing nothing of the fate oftheir husbands and fathers, or of theirown. True to her greatness, my mothermade it her business to go around andspeak to everyone encouragingly,especially the children.14One by one, the women and childrenwere taken to a small room in the station,ordered to disrobe, and examined bymembers of the Nazi women’s group, whowanted to be sure that no money orjewelry was hidden on their bodies. All thevaluables we brought with us had alreadybeen confiscated, except wedding bands. Alittle after eight o’clock, we boarded a trainthat took us to Mannheim, on the otherside of the Rhine River. That day thePalatinate was to be made judenfrei—freeof Jews.15We were fortunate to have distantrelatives who ran a small hotel inMannheim. These good people sent a taxiand umbrellas and money to the station.By a miracle, their place had not beentouched the day before, and I could hardly16 see Crystal Night, page 4GO ON

Crystal Night, cont. from page 3believe my eyes when we stepped into thewarmly lit foyer. It was difficult tocomprehend that such things as unbrokenfurniture still existed. The dining roomtable was set, awaiting us, and on it wasthe most beautiful sight of all: two burningSabbath candles. It was Friday night, andthe Sabbath had begun. After the events ofthe past two days, the radiance of theirflickering light gave me an indescribablefeeling of peace. Suddenly I discovered anew pride in being a Jew, and in my heartI knew that God would never forsake us.17The next day my father was releasedfrom the Dachau concentration camp. Hetraced us to Mannheim with the help ofPage 10Page 4our former chauffeur, and we werereunited at last. The two SS men kepttheir word, and my mother was allowed toreturn to Landau to pack our repairedfurniture.Twenty-three years later, in 1961, myhusband and I went back to Landau. Forthe first time in my life I saw bombed-outhouses, whole blocks leveled by air strikes,and I was grateful—yes, grateful—for Irealized that the events that drove us fromhome, the horrors of the Hitler years, ofthat Crystal Night, had spared my familythe horrors of war.Copyright 1993 by the Jewish Association for Services for theAged. Used by permission of Francis Goldin Literary Agency.GO ON18

The Delano Courier-TimesA5 Bettmann/CORBISBreaking the FastMarch 10, 1968—Delano, CA—Senator Robert Kennedy (left) breaks bread with Union Leader César Chávezas Chávez ends a 23-day fast in support of nonviolence in the strike against grape growers. The strike began in1965 when Chávez rallied his union workers to boycott grape producers in support of better working conditions.Befor

from information released by the Texas Education Agency, which is the state agency that develops and administers the tests. The number of correct answers required to "pass" this test is shown above. While it is supposedly around 70%, the exact number for each