CCRA.R.8

Description: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 8A

Exemplars

8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

Description: Judge Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: K-17

K-17

Grade level: 11
Word count: 2145 words
Author: Lionel Beasley
Synopsis: With the passage of Title IX, women and girls were entitled to receive equal funding for all educational programs, including sports.
Excerpt: Before 1972, when the law was passed, the only forms of physical activity often open to girls were dance classes and cheerleading. In the 1971-72 academic year, only 294,000 girls participated in school sports -- less than 7 percent of the female student population.

Currently, 48 percent of all athletic scholarships are awarded to women, with the number of women's college sports doubling in the last 20 years. More than 3,000,000 girls now play high school sports -- 41 percent of the female student population.

Question: How does the author substantiate the success of Title IX?
  1. by citing statistics that show huge increases in sports participation by females
  2. by noting the number of female athletes who go on to coach women's teams
  3. by pointing out the increase in the number of female sports commentators
  4. by mentioning the discontinuance of traditional men's teams at the college level

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Think about how an author's bias affects the validity of a claim. Choose a selection you have read and explain whether or not the author's bias has caused him or her to make a false claim.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions