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Table of Contents

Smarter Balanced ELA Performance Task Review


Review the Grade 4 Smarter Balanced ELA Performance Task: “Animal Defenses,” first presented in Unit 2.

Refer to the rubric on pages 17–19 of the document and answer the following questions:

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Sample responses

Time to Apply

Below are the links to other Smarter Balanced performance tasks for writing in higher grades. Select one that is closest to your grade span and familiarize yourself with the task and the scoring information. Scroll to the page numbers indicated and consider each question presented above as you review the rubric. Note that this information is useful to educators of all disciplines in evaluating student writing, not only for ELA:


Select the icon to review a Grade 6 Performance Task example (see pp.16–18).


Select the icon to review a Grade 11 Performance Task example (see pp.13–15).

Time to Extend

Evaluating Rubric Quality: An Internet search for rubrics will yield an abundant number of hits, but how does an educator sort the wheat from the chaff?


Review a quality rubric developed by the Kansas Department of Education that can be used to evaluate any rubric.