1:12 pm, Sep 13, 2021

Fall Semester
Common Assessment

English I
Student Test Booklet

Assessments are administered ONLINE only.

Please DO NOT print student copies.

2091 21 2
Test Code Year SW
DISTRICT FALL CA ENGLISH I 21-22

Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

adapted from “The Stolen Party”

by Liliana Heker

1 “I don’t like you going,” her mother told her. “It’s a rich people’s party.”

2 “I’m going because I’ve been invited,” she said, “and I've been invited because Lucy is my friend.”

3 “Listen, Rosa,” she said at last. “That one’s not your friend. You know what you are to them? The maid’s
daughter, that’s what.” Rosa blinked hard, but she wasn’t going to cry since every afternoon she went to
Lucy’s house and they would both finish their homework while Rosa's mother did the cleaning.

4 “I’m going because it will be the best party in the whole world, and there will be a magician, and he will
even have a monkey.”

5 The mother swung around to take a good look at her child, and incredulously put her hands on her hips.
“Monkeys at a birthday?” she chortled. “Listen to you, believing any nonsense you’re told!”

6 “I’ll die if I don’t go,” she whispered, almost without moving her lips.

7 The afternoon of the party, Rosa knocked on the front door of Lucy’s house, and it was answered by a
girl wearing a bow in her hair.

8 “Who are you?”

9 “I’m a friend of Lucy,” answered Rosa.

10 Without warning, as if by serendipity, Lucy’s mother appeared behind the door and asked Rosa if she
would mind helping serve the hot-dogs since she knew the house so much better than anyone else. All the
children at the party were delightful, and of course she liked Lucy the best, with her golden birthday crown,
leaving Rosa feeling that she had never been so happy in all her life. But the best was yet to come, for after
Lucy blew out the candles, Lucy’s mother had asked Rosa to help pass the cake around, and Rosa had
enjoyed the task immensely.

11 After the cake came the magician with a fine red cape, a true magician since he could untie
handkerchiefs by blowing on them and make a chain with links that had no openings, and a monkey was his
assistant. His final trick would be wonderful since one of the children would have to hold the monkey in her
arms while the magician made him disappear. The magician looked at the group of children for someone to
stand up and help with the trick.

12 “You, with the Spanish eyes,” said the magician, and everyone saw that he was pointing at Rosa. A few
minutes later, she was holding the monkey when the magician made him vanish, and then the magician flung
his red cape over Rosa’s head and uttered a few magic words, and the monkey reappeared in her arms. The
children clapped furiously, and before Rosa returned to her seat, the magician said, “Thank you very much,
my little countess.”

13 She was so pleased with the compliment that a while later, when her mother came to fetch her, that
was the first thing she told her, and it was strange because until then, Rosa had thought that she was
angry with her mother, but instead she was so thrilled that she told her mother all about the wonderful
magician. Her mother smiled and said, “So now you're a countess,” and she could see that Rosa was
ecstatic. As they stood in the entrance with several other mothers and children who were leaving, Lucy’s
mother walked up, smiling, and asked Rosa and her mother if they could stay for just a moment.

14 Her mother suddenly seemed worried. “What is it?” she asked Rosa.

15 “It’s nothing; she just wants to get the presents for the kids who are leaving,” replied Rosa, and then
she said no more because Lucy’s mother came back with two bags, one pink and one blue. First she went up

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to a boy, gave him a yo-yo out of the blue bag, and the boy left with his mother, and then she went up to a
girl and gave her a bracelet out of the pink bag, and the girl left as well. Finally, Lucy’s mother came up to
Rosa and her mother with a big smile on her face, and looked down at Rosa, then looked up at her mother,
and then said something that made Rosa proud. “What a marvelous daughter you have!”

16 For an instant, Rosa thought that Lucy’s mother would give her two presents, the bracelet and the yo-
yo, and Lucy’s mother bent down as if about to look for something, so Rosa also leaned forward, stretching
out her arm, but she never completed the movement, for Lucy’s mother didn’t look in the pink bag, nor did
she look in the blue bag; instead, she rummaged in her purse, and in her hand appeared two bills. “Thank
you for all your help, my pet,” she finally said after handing them over.

17 Rosa felt her arms stiffen, stick close to her body, and then she noticed her mother’s hand on her
shoulder, and instinctively, she pressed herself against her mother’s body. Rosa’s eyes had a cold, clear look
that fixed itself on the older woman’s face, while Lucy’s mother, motionless, stood there with her hand
outstretched, as if she didn’t dare draw it back since the slightest change might shatter an infinitely
delicate balance.

1. Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

“Listen, Rosa," she said at last. "That one’s not your friend. You
know what you are to them? The maid’s daughter, that’s what.”

How do these words, spoken by Rosa’s mother, affect the plot of the story?

A. They are a flashback to an argument Rosa had with Lucy.

B. They help Rosa to resolve the conflict she eventually faces.

C. They reinforce the narrative’s chronological plot structure.

D. They foreshadow the actions of Lucy’s mother at the end.

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2. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

In paragraph 10, the word serendipity means —

A. unimportant
B. reliable
C. unexpected
D. soothing

Part B:

Which words from paragraph 10 help the reader understand the meaning of serendipity?

A. Without warning
B. Lucy’s mother
C. helping serve
D. much better

3. Why does Lucy’s mother ask Rosa to serve hot dogs and pass cake around during the party?

A. She wants Lucy’s friends to treat Rosa nicely.

B. She thinks it will make Rosa feel more confident.

C. She considers Rosa a servant like Rosa’s mother.

D. She believes it will punish Lucy for inviting Rosa.

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4. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

How do paragraphs 13 and 14 affect the plot of the story?

A. They resolve the main conflict.

B. They add unexpected suspense.
C. They introduce two flashbacks.
D. They cause confusion for readers.

Part B:

Which sentence from paragraphs 13 and 14 best supports the answer to Part A?

A. She was so pleased with the compliment that a while later… her mother came to fetch her…
B. Rosa had thought that she was angry with her mother, but instead she was so thrilled…
C. Her mother smiled seeing that Rosa was ecstatic.
D. Her mother suddenly seemed worried. “What is it?” she asked Rosa.

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5. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

At the end of the story, Rosa’s reaction to Lucy’s mother shows she feels —

A. boredom
B. betrayal
C. confusion
D. jealousy

Part B:

Which sentence from paragraphs 16 and 17 best supports the answer to Part A?

A. …Rosa thought that Lucy’s mother would give her two presents, the bracelet and the yo-yo, and
Lucy’s mother bent down as if about to look for something…
B. …Lucy’s mother didn't look in the pink bag, nor did she look in the blue bag; instead, she
rummaged in her purse, and in her hand appeared two bills…
C. Rosa felt her arms stiffen, stick close to her body, and her eyes had a cold, clear look that fixed
itself on the older woman’s face.
D. Lucy’s mother…stood there with her hand outstretched, as if she didn't dare draw it back since the
slightest change might shatter an infinitely delicate balance.

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6. What is the best summary of the selection?

A. A girl insists on going to a birthday party for a friend even though her mother warns her that she
may not fit in with the other kids. The girl enjoys serving hot dogs and cake and being part of a
magic trick. When the girl is leaving the party, the host’s mother offers her money, making her
realize that she was a servant and not a guest.

B. A girl tells her mother about an upcoming birthday party, including the promise that a monkey will
be at the gathering. When the girl arrives, she is treated coldly at the door but rescued by the
mother of the party’s host. All the boys and girls who leave the party get a small gift from a bag
except for the protagonist.

C. After serving hotdogs and cake at her friend’s birthday party, a girl is chosen by a magician to
participate in a magic trick. The magician has the girl hold a monkey and then makes him disappear
and reappear. When the girl’s mother picks her up after the party, the daughter is no longer mad
at her mother about the party.

D. At the end of a birthday party, the host’s mother is giving departing boys yo-yos from a blue bag
and departing girls bracelets from a pink bag. When the host’s mother asks to speak with the
protagonist and her mother, the girl anticipates receiving both a yo-yo and a bracelet. Instead she
is offered money for serving at the party.

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DISTRICT FALL CA ENGLISH I 21-22

Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

“Como Tu” (Like You)

by Richard Blanco

Como tu, I question history’s

blur in my eyes
each time I face a mirror. Like
a mirror, I gaze
5 into my palm a wrinkled map I
still can’t read,
my lifeline1 an unnamed road I
can’t find, can’t
trace back to the fork in my
10 parents’ trek2
that cradled3 me here. Como tu,
I woke up to
this dream of a country I didn’t
choose, that
15 didn’t choose me—trapped in
the nightmare
of its hateful glares. Como tu,
I’m also from
the lakes and farms, waterfalls
20 and prairies
of another country I can’t fully
claim either.
Como tu, I am either a mirage4
living among
25 these faces and streets that
raised me here,
or I’m nothing, a memory
forgotten by all
I was taken from and can’t
30 return to again.

Like memory, at times I wish I

could erase
the music of my name in
Spanish, at times
35 I cherish it, and despise my
other syllables
clashing in English. Como tu, I
want to speak
of myself in two languages at
40 once. Despite
my tongues, no word defines
me. Like words,
I read my footprints like my
past, erased by
45 waves of circumstance, my
future uncertain
as wind. Like the wind, como
tu, I carry songs,
howls, whispers, thunder’s
50 growl. Like thunder,
I’m a foreign-borne cloud

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that’s drifted here,

I’m lightning, and the balm5 of
rain. Como tu,
55 our blood rains for the dirty
thirst of this land.
Like thirst, like hunger, we
ache with the need
to save ourselves, and our
60 country from itself
1 lifeline:
a line in the palm of a person’s hand
2 trek:journey
3 cradled: to cause to be born
4 mirage: something that is not real
5 balm: something that heals and brings

comfort

7. Read these lines from the poem.

…I gaze
into my palm a wrinkled map I
still can’t read,
my lifeline an unnamed road I
can’t find…

The poem’s speaker uses these lines to express a feeling of —

A. sadness

B. outrage

C. boredom

D. confusion

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8. Read these lines from the poem.

…can’t
trace back to the fork in my
parents’ trek
that cradled me here. Como tu,
I woke up to
this dream of a country I didn’t
choose, that
didn’t choose me…

In lines 8 through 15 above, the poet describes a conflict between —

A. his parents’ hopes and their heritage

B. what he knows and what he doesn’t

C. being human and being American

D. his parents’ fears and his own fears

9. Read these lines from the poem.

Como tu, I am either a mirage

living among
these faces and streets that
raised me here,
or I’m nothing, a memory
forgotten by all
I was taken from and can’t
return to again

The poem’s language in lines 23 and 27 suggests the speaker feels —

A. disconnected from American society and his cultural heritage

B. disappointed he rejected his parents’ culture to be American

C. disoriented when he tries to travel from one place to another

D. disengaged from things he loves but that also make him sad

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10. The poet repeats the words “como tu” throughout the poem to suggest that —

A. most people are the same no matter where they were born

B. some people should be more grateful for the things they have

C. few people really understand life and the things they believe

D. many people face the very same problems that the poet faces

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Use “The Stolen Party” and “Como Tu (Like You)” to answer the questions.

11. Rosa in “The Stolen Party” and the speaker in “Como Tu” would both agree that —

A. almost anyone can find acceptance from a group to which she wishes to belong

B. even if you want to be accepted by a group, you can still feel excluded from it

C. you must understand where you come from in order to know where you are going

D. it is wise to follow the advice of your parents when making an important decision

12. Unlike the speaker in “Como Tu,” the alienation that Rosa feels is related to a misunderstanding about —

A. ethnic identity

B. personal confidence

C. social equality

D. language proficiency

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DISTRICT FALL CA ENGLISH I 21-22

Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

“Hate Speech and the First Amendment”

Debating the ‘Mighty Constitutional Opposites’
by the American Bar Association

Debating Hate Speech

1 Hate speech is speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion,
national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits. While people agree that hate speech must be
discouraged, doing this runs the risk of limiting an individual’s ability to exercise free speech that is
guaranteed by the first amendment. When a conflict arises about which is more important—protecting
community interests or safeguarding the rights of the individual—balance must be found that protects
the civil rights of all people without limiting the civil liberties of each individual.

2 In this country there is no absolute right to say whatever someone wants to, especially words
directed to an individual that would provoke him or her. For example, a person cannot utter a racial or
ethnic epithet to another if those words are likely to cause the listener to react violently; however, under
the First Amendment, individuals do have a right to speech that the listener disagrees with and to
speech that is offensive and hateful.

3 Think about it. It’s always easier to defend someone’s right to say something with which you agree;
but in a free society, you also have a duty to defend speech to which you may strongly object.

Acts Speak Louder Than Words

4 One way to deal effectively with hate speech is to create laws and policies that discourage bad
behavior but do not punish bad beliefs, and in two recent hate crime cases, the U.S. Supreme Court
concluded that acts, but not speech, may be regulated by law.

5 One of these cases involved a white 14-year-old who burned a cross on the front lawn of the only
black family in a St. Paul, Minn., neighborhood. The family brought charges, and the boy was prosecuted
and convicted under Minnesota criminal law. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled
that the Minnesota law was unconstitutional because it violated the youth’s First Amendment free speech
rights.

6 The Court did not rule that the act of burning a cross on the family’s front lawn was legal; instead,
the law was found to be unconstitutional because it attempted to punish the youth for the content of his
message, not for his actions.

7 In a second case from Wisconsin, several black youths were outside a movie theater after viewing
Mississippi Burning, a movie which portrays violence against people of color. A white man happened to
walk by, and one of the young men yelled, “There goes a white guy; get him,” resulting in an attack on
the man passing by.

8 Under Wisconsin law, the penalty for assault is increased if the offender intentionally selects the
victim “because of the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation and national origin or ancestry of

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that person.” The Supreme Court ruled in this case ruled that the Wisconsin law’s increased penalty did
not violate the free speech rights of the accused. The Court reasoned that the law’s penalty was
increased because the act itself was directed at a particular victim, not because of the accused’s
thoughts. Over and over, the Court has signaled that the content or message of a person’s speech is
less important than what a person does or what the message incites someone else to do.

Libertarian And Communitarian Perspectives

9 There is a range of approaches to when hate speech might be regulated: on one end is the
libertarian perspective; on the other, the communitarian.

10 Libertarians believe that individuals have the right to free speech and that government should be
able to limit it only for the most compelling reasons. Communitarians take a different approach. They
believe that the community’s wellbeing is society’s most important goal and that an individual’s right to
free speech may be limited in the interests of community harmony. They believe that treating people with
fairness and dignity justifies at least some free-speech restrictions-that eliminating or reducing hate
speech is a sufficiently compelling goal to justify government regulation.

11 Can a middle ground be found—a way to accommodate both the communitarian and libertarian
perspectives? Perhaps so. Government has the obligation to protect speech by disallowing laws that are
too restrictive, yet it can also encourage individuals to speak and act with respect towards each other.

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13. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

In paragraph 2, the word epithet means —

A. insult
B. praise
C. warning
D. encouragement

Part B:

Which words from paragraph 2 help the reader understand the meaning of epithet?

A. someone wants to
B. a person cannot
C. racial or ethnic
D. right to speech

14. The author organizes this article by —

A. defining hate speech and then providing examples

B. explaining a few court cases and what they mean

C. arguing that some kinds of speech are not ever free

D. showing what happens when people break the law

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15. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

Which inference about free speech does the article support?

A. What a person says is much less important than when a person says it.
B. Societies must guarantee the safety of everybody, even if individuals suffer.
C. Societies must ensure the freedom of individuals, even if the group suffers.
D. What a person says is less important than a person’s actions and their result.

Part B:

Which sentence from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?

A. While people agree that hate speech must be discouraged, doing this runs the risk of limiting an
individual’s ability to exercise free speech that is guaranteed by the first amendment. (paragraph 1)
B. It’s always easier to defend someone’s right to say something with which you agree; but in a free
society, you also have a duty to defend speech to which you may strongly object. (paragraph 3)
C. Over and over, the Court has signaled that the content or message of a person’s speech is less
important than what a person does or what the message incites someone else to do. (paragraph 8)
D. Government has the obligation to protect speech by disallowing laws that are too restrictive, yet it
can also encourage individuals to speak and act with respect towards each other. (paragraph 11)

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16. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

Why does the author end the article with the contrast between the libertarian and communitarian
approaches to the regulation of hate speech?

A. It provides a detailed explanation of why hate speech and free speech are so complicated.
B. It summarizes the conflict between individual freedom and the good of a whole group.
C. It argues that a compromise may not be possible between two very different beliefs about free
speech.
D. It discusses examples of how judges may decide cases involving freedom of speech.

Part B:

Which sentence from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?

A. …under the First Amendment, individuals do have a right to speech that the listener disagrees with
and to speech that is offensive and hateful. (paragraph 2)
B. Libertarians believe… individuals have the right to free speech and that government should be able
to limit it only for the most compelling reasons. (paragraph 10)
C. Communitarians… believe that the community’s well-being is society’s most important goal and…
an individual’s right to free speech may be limited… (paragraph 10)
D. Government has the obligation to protect speech by disallowing laws that are too restrictive, yet it
can also encourage individuals to speak and act with respect towards each other. (paragraph 11)

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17. This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

What is the thesis of the selection?

A. Allowing free speech in a society requires weighing the rights of all people vs. the rights of
individuals.
B. Hate speech that causes some people to act unlawfully must be tolerated to protect free speech
for everybody.
C. Societies must protect the rights of individuals, even if that sometimes limits the power of
government.
D. A society must protect the well-being of most of its members, even if that means limiting the
rights of some individuals.

Part B:

Which sentence from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?

A. …a balance must be found that protects the civil rights of all people without limiting the civil
liberties of each individual. (paragraph 1)
B. In this country there is no absolute right to say whatever someone wants to, especially words
directed to an individual that would provoke him or her. (paragraph 2)
C. There is a range of approaches to when hate speech might be regulated: on one end is the
libertarian perspective; on the other, the communitarian. (paragraph 9)
D. …treating people with fairness… justifies… reducing hate speech is a sufficiently compelling goal to
justify government regulation. (paragraph 10)

18. The primary purpose of this article is to —

A. convince readers to accept its point of view about hate speech

B. provide information about an important and very complex topic

C. showcase progress courts have made in deciding free speech cases

D. describe the advantages of taking more time to define free speech

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19. What is the best summary of the selection?

A. Hate speech should be discouraged, but it also has to be tolerated in a society that allows free
speech. In the U.S., no one has the right to say anything that will provoke another person to
break the law. It is easy to defend free speech if you agree with someone but harder to tolerate
speech with which you disagree.

B. A court case in Minnesota ruled that an offensive message based on hatred was constitutional
since Minnesota law had tried to restrict the message’s content. Another court case in Wisconsin
upheld a law that allowed greater punishment for a message whose intent was to harm a certain
group of people.

C. Libertarians believe that the right of free speech must be protected for individuals to be free in a
society. Communitarians believe that free speech must sometimes be limited in order to protect
the best interests of the greatest number of people.

D. Having free speech in a society means balancing the rights of all people with the rights of
individual people. U.S. courts have ruled that the content of a message is less important than
what that message causes someone to do. Libertarians and Communitarians have different
approaches to the boundaries of free speech.

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Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

NaTonya did research on the American poet Richard Blanco. Read NaTonya’s paper and look for the
revisions she needs to make. Then answer the questions that follow.

Richard Blanco, American Poet [Part 1 - REVISING]

(1) Richard Blanco has been well-known for decades as a poet and public speaker. (2) He had several
siblings who were born in Cuba. (3) Then he was chosen to read a poem at Barack Obama’s second
inauguration. (4) He was asked to compose three poems. (5) From which inauguration officials would
select one. (6) After reading the poem they chose “One Today,” he became a household name. (7) He is
the first immigrant, the first Latino, and the youngest person ever to read a poem at a presidential
inauguration.

20. Which sentence from the first paragraph (sentences 1–7) does not belong in the paragraph?

A. Richard Blanco has been well-known for decades as a poet and public speaker.

B. He had several siblings who were born in Cuba.

C. Then he was chosen to read a poem at Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

D. He was asked to compose three poems.

21. What is the best way to combine sentences 4 and 5?

A. He was asked: to compose three poems, from which inauguration officials would select.

B. He was asked to compose three poems; but inauguration officials would select only one.

C. He was asked to compose three poems from which inauguration officials would select one.

D. He was asked to compose, three poems, from which inauguration officials select one.

22. What is the best way to revise sentence 6?

A. Change they to he

B. Insert a comma after chose

C. Change became to becomes

D. Insert a question mark after name

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Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

Continue reading NaTonya’s paper about the American poet Richard Blanco and look for ways she should
correct it before submitting it to her teacher. When you finish reading, answer the questions that follow.

Richard Blanco, American Poet [Part 2 - EDITING]

(1) After he read a poem at the 2013 presidential inauguration Richard Blanco’s public poetry readings
became popular. (2) His passion has been introducing poetry to people of all ages; from young children to
the oldest Americans. (3) Blanco, through conferences and non-profit organizations, has performed his
poems across America. (4) One of his dreams, Blanco says is that one day all Americans will make the time
in their lives to read or listen to poetry.

23. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 1?

A. Insert a comma after poem

B. Insert a comma inauguration

C. Change Blanco’s to Blancos

D. Make no change

24. What change should be made to sentence 2?

A. Insert a comma after passion

B. Insert a semicolon after people

C. Replace the semicolon after ages with a comma

D. Replace the period after Americans with a colon

25. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 3?

A. Delete the comma after Blanco

B. Insert a comma after conferences

C. Delete the comma after organizations

D. Make no change

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26. What change should be made to sentence 4?

A. Delete the comma after dreams

B. Insert a comma after says

C. Insert a colon after that

D. Change their to his

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