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LouisianaEnglish Language

Exam Strategy

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What are the five LEAP achievement levels, what do they mean, and how does a LEAP English score fit into Louisiana graduation?

Achievement levels and what they mean: the five LEAP achievement levels (Advanced, Mastery, Basic, Approaching Basic, Unsatisfactory), what they indicate about a student's mastery of the Louisiana Student Standards, the role of LEAP English I or II as a graduation-required end-of-course test, and how the score contributes to the course grade, for LEAP English I or II.
The five LEAP achievement levels (Advanced, Mastery, Basic, Approaching Basic, Unsatisfactory), what each indicates about mastery of the Louisiana Student Standards, and how LEAP English I or II works as a graduation-required end-of-course test that also counts toward the course grade.
9 min answer →

How do you budget your time across the three LEAP English sessions so you read the passages well and finish the writing tasks?

Pacing the assessment: budgeting time across the three LEAP English I and II sessions (about 90, 90, and 80 minutes), splitting each writing session between reading the passages, planning, drafting, and proofreading, allowing for the longer evidence-based and technology-enhanced items, and avoiding the common pacing mistakes on a computer-based test.
How to pace the LEAP English I and II assessment across its three sessions (about 90, 90, and 80 minutes): splitting writing sessions between reading, planning, drafting, and proofreading, budgeting for longer item types, and avoiding common pacing mistakes on the computer-based test.
9 min answer →

How do you read a LEAP writing prompt to find exactly what it asks, and how do you use the rubric to write toward the score?

Reading the prompt and the rubric: analyzing a LEAP English I or II writing prompt to identify the task, the mode (analyze, explain, argue, or narrate), and the sources to use, and using the matching LEAP writing rubric (analytic or narrative) to write toward the dimensions, so the response answers the question asked and aims at the score.
How to read a LEAP English I or II writing prompt and rubric: identifying the task, the writing mode, and the sources to use, and writing toward the dimensions of the matching rubric (analytic or narrative). Answering the exact question asked and aiming at the rubric is what lifts the score.
9 min answer →

What item types appear on LEAP English, and how do you handle multiple-select, evidence-based, drag-and-drop, and hot-text items correctly?

Technology-enhanced and selected-response item types on LEAP English I and II: multiple choice, multiple select (choose all correct answers), evidence-based selected response (two-part or three-part, worth two points with partial credit), and technology-enhanced items such as drag-and-drop and hot text, and how to read and answer each format correctly on a computer-based test.
The item types on LEAP English I and II: multiple choice, multiple select, evidence-based selected response (two-part, worth two points with partial credit), and technology-enhanced items like drag-and-drop and hot text. How to read and answer each format correctly on the computer-based test.
9 min answer →

How are the three LEAP English sessions structured, what does each carry, and how does the test fit together as a whole?

The three-session structure of LEAP English I and II: the three computer-based sessions and roughly what each carries (a writing task with a passage set in Sessions 1 and 2, reading literary and informational texts in Session 3), the integration of reading and writing, the role of the universal Research Simulation Task, and how the test fits together, for LEAP English I or II.
How the LEAP English I and II assessment is structured across three computer-based sessions: a writing task with a passage set in Sessions 1 and 2 and reading in Session 3, with reading and writing integrated. Knowing the structure helps you plan the test, including the universal Research Simulation Task.
9 min answer →