Apply Reading Standards to Literature Practice Test

Literary text (fiction excerpt):

When the power went out, the elevator stopped between floors with a sigh.

“Perfect,” Jaden said. “Of course it’s perfect.”

Mrs. Lin, their neighbor, clicked on her small flashlight. “We will be fine. It is only dark.”

“It’s not only dark,” Jaden muttered. “It’s… stuck-dark.”

Mara pressed the emergency button. Nothing.

Mrs. Lin’s voice stayed calm. “Breathe in. Count four. Breathe out.”

Jaden laughed once, sharp and too loud. “Yeah, sure. Breathing fixes elevators.”

Mara looked at Jaden’s hands. He had shoved them into his hoodie pocket so hard his knuckles turned white.

Writing task (RL.8.3): Analyze how the dialogue in this excerpt reveals character and/or propels the action. Use specific evidence.

Which written response best demonstrates RL.8.3?

Literary text (fiction excerpt):

Tariq’s grandmother never called it a “family rule.” She called it a “doorway debt.”

“Every gift opens a door,” she said, tapping his forehead with one finger. “And every door wants something back.”

When Tariq won the scholarship, the letter felt heavier than paper.

His grandmother set a bowl of salt by the window. “For the thing that followed you home,” she whispered.

Tariq laughed, but later that night he heard scratching—polite, patient—on the outside of his bedroom door.

Writing task (Evaluate Analysis Quality): A student wrote the analysis below to apply RL.8.4 (word choice and figurative language).

Student analysis:

“The author uses figurative language to show Tariq is nervous. For example, the scholarship letter ‘felt heavier than paper,’ which means he is thinking a lot about it. Also, the scratching is ‘polite, patient,’ which is weird because scratching can’t be polite. This makes the story sound creepy. The phrase ‘doorway debt’ is also figurative because it compares gifts to doors and shows you have to pay things back.”

Question: Does the student analysis effectively apply RL.8.4? Choose the best evaluation.