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OhioEnglish 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.

How do you budget your time across the two parts so the reading items and the extended response both get the time they need?

Pacing the Ohio English II test: budgeting time across the two parts so the machine-scored reading items and the hand-scored extended response both get enough time, reserving sustained time for planning and writing the essay, using a flag-and-return strategy for hard items, and reading passages efficiently without rushing comprehension.
How to pace the Ohio English II test: budgeting time across the two parts, reserving sustained time for the extended response, flagging and returning to hard reading items, and reading passages efficiently. Pacing protects both the reading items and the essay so neither runs out of time.
10 min answer →

What are the five performance levels, what is the competency score that counts toward graduation, and what happens if you do not reach it?

Performance levels and graduation on the Ohio English II test: the five performance levels (Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced), the competency score of 684 that counts toward graduation for the classes of 2023 and beyond, how it relates to the Proficient level, and the support, retake, and approved alternatives for students who do not reach it.
How the Ohio English II test reports results and counts toward graduation: the five performance levels (Limited, Basic, Proficient, Accelerated, Advanced), the competency score of 684 for the classes of 2023 and beyond, how it relates to the Proficient level, and the support, retake, and approved alternatives if a student falls short.
11 min answer →

How do you use the writing prompt and the rubric together as a strategy, reading the prompt for the task and writing toward the three rubric domains on purpose?

Reading the prompt and the rubric on the Ohio English II test: using the extended-response prompt and Ohio's grades 6-12 writing rubric together as a strategy, reading the prompt to fix the mode and task and writing deliberately toward the three rubric domains, Purpose Focus and Organization, Evidence and Elaboration, and Conventions, so the essay earns marks in each.
How to use the extended-response prompt and Ohio's grades 6-12 writing rubric together as a strategy on the Ohio English II test: read the prompt to fix the mode and task, then write toward the three rubric domains on purpose. Knowing both the prompt and the rubric is the surest way to earn writing marks.
10 min answer →

What are the technology-enhanced item types on the test, drag-and-drop, drop-down, hot-text, multi-select, and evidence-based two-part items, and how do you answer each?

Technology-enhanced item types on the Ohio English II test: multiple-choice, multi-select, and the technology-enhanced formats, drag-and-drop, drop-down menus, hot-text selection, and evidence-based selected-response two-part items where a second part asks for the supporting line, and how to read and answer each format accurately.
The item types on the Ohio English II test: multiple-choice, multi-select, and technology-enhanced formats, drag-and-drop, drop-down menus, hot-text selection, and evidence-based two-part items where Part B asks for the supporting line. How to read and answer each format accurately.
10 min answer →

How is the English II test organized into two parts, what is in each part, and how does knowing the structure help you plan your work?

The two-part structure of the Ohio English II test: how the test is delivered in two parts on computer, what each part contains (reading passages with machine-scored items and at least one hand-scored extended response), how the reporting categories of Reading Literary Text, Reading Informational Text, and Writing map onto it, and how knowing the structure helps you plan.
How the Ohio English II test is organized: two parts delivered on computer, each with unseen reading passages and machine-scored items, plus at least one hand-scored extended response. How the reporting categories of Reading Literary Text, Reading Informational Text, and Writing map onto it, and how the structure shapes your plan.
10 min answer →