Exam strategy for the Ohio English II test: complete overview - Ohio's State Test for ELA II

Exam strategy is its own skill on Ohio's State Test for English Language Arts II: knowing the two-part structure, the item types, how to pace yourself, how to use the prompt and rubric, and what the scores mean. This site breaks it into five dot points, from the structure to the performance levels and graduation. This overview maps the five skills, how they connect, and how to study them.

The five exam-strategy skills

Each skill is a way to navigate the test rather than a reading or writing skill itself.

• The two-part structure. How the test is delivered in two parts on computer, what each part contains, and the three reporting categories. See the two-part structure.
• Technology-enhanced item types. Multiple choice, multi-select, drag-and-drop, drop-down, hot-text, and evidence-based two-part items, and how to answer each. See technology-enhanced item types.
• Pacing the test. Budgeting time across the two parts, reserving a block for the essay, and using flag-and-return for hard items. See pacing the test.
• Reading the prompt and the rubric. Using the prompt and Ohio's writing rubric together to write toward the three scored domains on purpose. See reading the prompt and the rubric.
• Performance levels and graduation. The five performance levels, the competency score of 684, and the support, retake, and approved alternatives. See performance levels and graduation.

The thread through every skill: know the test, then use it

Two ideas run through all five skills. The first is that the test is knowable: its structure, its item formats, its rubric, its performance levels, and its competency score are all published, so preparation can be precise rather than anxious. The second is that knowing the test lets you use it: plan your time around the two parts, answer each item format on its own terms, write straight toward the rubric's three domains, and understand what the scores count for. Strategy does not replace reading and writing skill; it makes sure that skill is not wasted on poor time use, a misread format, or a misunderstood prompt. Used together, these five skills turn the test from a surprise into a plan.

How the test reports and counts

• Five performance levels: Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced (lowest to highest).
• Graduation competency: a scaled score of 684 in English II for the classes of 2023 and beyond, which falls in the Basic level, below Proficient.
• If a student falls short: support, at least one retake, then approved alternatives (College Credit Plus, remediation-free ACT or SAT scores, a career-experience and technical-skill pathway, or military enlistment).

How to study exam strategy

1. Learn the structure. Two parts on computer, reading items plus at least one extended response, three reporting categories.
2. Know the item formats. Practice multiple choice, multi-select, drag-and-drop, drop-down, hot-text, and the two-part evidence items.
3. Plan your pacing. Reserve a block for the essay and use flag-and-return for hard reading items.
4. Write toward the rubric. Read the prompt for the mode and task, then aim at all three rubric domains on purpose.
5. Understand the stakes. Know the five levels and the 684 competency score, and that support and alternatives exist if you fall short.

For the official exam materials

ODEW publishes practice tests, the writing rubrics, performance-level information, and graduation rules on its assessment and graduation pages. See the ELA II course resources page and Ohio's graduation requirements pages. Always study from the current released materials, because the item types, scoring, performance levels, and competency score are set by ODEW.