Ohio's State Test for English Language Arts II (English II EOC): complete guide to the two parts, the extended-response writing task and the Ohio writing rubrics, the item types, the five performance levels, and the role in graduation

Ohio's State Test for English Language Arts II is the Ohio high school English end-of-course (EOC) exam, administered by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) through Ohio's State Test portal and delivered on computer by the state vendor Cambium Assessment (formerly AIR). It assesses transferable skills applied to unseen texts: close reading of literary and informational material, evidence-based writing, command of language, and the ability to revise and edit. This page is the index for our English II content: a map of the two parts, the extended-response writing task and its rubrics, the item types, Ohio's Learning Standards behind the test, the five performance levels, the competency score that counts toward graduation, and how to study, with links to every dot point.

The test at a glance

English II is delivered in two parts on computer. The reading items are machine-scored; the extended-response essay is hand-scored on Ohio's writing rubric.

• Reading sections. You read unseen literary texts (fiction, drama, poetry, literary nonfiction) and informational or argumentative texts and answer questions on them. Some passages are paired so you can compare them.
• The extended response. At least one writing task in which you read one or more source texts and write a full essay drawing evidence from them. At the English II level the mode is argumentation or informative or explanatory writing, and the essay is scored by trained readers on Ohio's grades 6-12 writing rubric.
• Question formats. Multiple choice (one best answer), multi-select (more than one correct answer), and technology-enhanced items: drag-and-drop, drop-down menus, hot-text selection, and evidence-based selected-response (two-part) items.
• Reporting categories. Results are grouped for reporting into Reading Literary Text, Reading Informational Text, and Writing.

Scores are reported in five performance levels (Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced) using ODEW's standards for that administration.

Reading literature

The test presents unseen literary texts and asks you to analyze them. Questions test theme and central idea, plot and structure, character and point of view, the craft of fiction and poetry, and figurative language. The reliable approach is to read actively, then answer with the text in front of you, returning to the lines a question points to.

• Analyzing theme in literary texts
• Plot, conflict, and structure
• Character and point of view
• Figurative language and literary devices
• Reading poetry on the English II test
• Comparing two literary texts

Reading informational texts

Informational passages ask you to analyze central ideas, the structure and logic of an argument, an author's purpose and craft, and how two texts relate. The questions test reading skill, not background knowledge of the topic.

• Central ideas in informational texts
• Analyzing argument and claims
• Author's purpose and rhetoric
• Text structure and organization
• Text evidence and inference
• Comparing and synthesizing paired texts

Language and vocabulary

The Language standards are tested in context: vocabulary in a passage, figurative and connotative meaning, word parts, and the conventions of standard English. These skills also feed the Conventions domain of the writing rubric.

• Vocabulary in context
• Word parts: roots, prefixes, and suffixes
• Denotation, connotation, and figurative meaning
• Grammar and usage conventions
• Punctuation and sentence structure

The extended response

The extended response is the test's essay: one full response to a passage or paired set, scored on Ohio's grades 6-12 writing rubric. You establish a clear claim or controlling idea, develop it with specific evidence from the texts and analysis, organize it logically, and write with clean conventions.

• Understanding the extended response
• Analyzing the prompt and the writing mode
• Writing a claim or controlling idea
• Using text evidence in the essay
• Developing and organizing the response
• Ohio's writing rubric and scoring

Revising and editing

Revising and editing items present a draft and ask you to improve it. Revising targets clarity, development, and organization; editing targets grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. The same conventions are scored on the extended response.

• Revising for clarity and organization
• Editing for grammar and usage
• Sentence boundaries and combining
• Word choice and precision
• Revising and editing item types

Exam strategy

Knowing the two-part structure, the item types, the rubric, the five performance levels, and the competency score is its own skill. These pages cover how to navigate the test and budget your time.

• The two-part structure
• Technology-enhanced item types
• Pacing the test
• Reading the prompt and the rubric
• Performance levels and graduation

Ohio's writing rubric

The extended response is scored on Ohio's grades 6-12 writing rubric, and learning it is one of the highest-leverage things you can do.

• Three domains. Purpose, Focus, and Organization (a clear claim or controlling idea and a logical structure), scored 0 to 4; Evidence and Elaboration (specific, relevant text evidence with explanation), scored 0 to 4; and Conventions of Standard English (grammar, usage, and mechanics), scored 0 to 2.
• Judged by domain, then combined. A trained reader reads the whole response and chooses the best-fitting score point for each domain, then the domain scores are combined.
• Two rubric versions. There is one rubric for argumentation and one for informative or explanatory writing. The prompt sets the mode, so the development you provide must match the task the prompt sets.

The standards behind the test

English II is aligned to Ohio's Learning Standards for English Language Arts (the standards adopted in 2017), specifically the grades 9-10 band for the English II course. The reading standards are organized under Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, and Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, across Reading: Literature (RL) and Reading: Informational Text (RI). The extended response and the revising and editing items assess Writing (W) and Language (L); vocabulary items assess Language. The English I and English II tests use the same standard groupings, but English II uses more complex texts and higher expectations.

How to study English II

1. Treat reading and writing as one connected skill, because the extended response is text-based and the reading items reward the same close analysis.
2. Read unseen texts widely (literary prose, drama, poetry, and informational or argumentative pieces), practicing close analysis and inference.
3. Write toward the rubric. Know the three domains so your claim is clear, your evidence is specific and explained, and your conventions are clean.
4. Find the line that proves it. Most reading items and all good essay evidence come back to a specific place in the text; practice locating it quickly.
5. Practice the item types and the pacing (multiple choice, multi-select, drag-and-drop, drop-down, hot-text, and evidence-based two-part items) using released ODEW practice tests, and rehearse the extended response under time.

For the official exam materials

ODEW publishes practice tests, scoring guides, the writing rubrics, test blueprints, and graduation resources on its assessment pages. See the ELA II course resources page, the sample test items and practice tests page, and the assessments for English language arts page. Ohio's Learning Standards for ELA are published on the English language arts standards page, and graduation rules are on Ohio's graduation requirements page. Always study from the current released materials, because the item types, scoring, performance levels, and competency score are set by ODEW.