ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
4
GRADE
ISAT
Sample Book
2011
Sample Items for Reading, Mathematics, and Science
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Copyright © 2010 Illinois State Board of Education.
All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced or transmitted by downloading and printing for
the purpose of practice testing and not for distribution or resale.
Portions of this work were previously published.
Stanford Achievement Test: Tenth Edition sample items used with permission of NCS Pearson, Inc.
“Swimming with the Pod” [Text & Illustrations]: Reprinted by permission of Cricket Magazine Group,
Carus Publishing Company from CLICK magazine February 2004, Vol. 7, No. 2, text © 2004 by Catherine
Ripley, art © 2004 by Diane Blasius.
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2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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Table of Contents
Introduction 5
READING
Structure of the Grade 4 Reading ISAT 7
Item Formats 7
Reading Sessions 7
Shorter Passage Followed by Multiple-Choice Sample Items 8
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified 11
Longer Passage Followed by Multiple-Choice Sample Items 12
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified 18
Extended-Response Sample Item 19
Extended-Response Scoring Rubric 21

2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
5
Introduction
This sample book contains sample ISAT items classified with an assessment objective from the Illinois
Assessment Frameworks. These 2011 samples are meant to give educators and students a general sense
of how items are formatted for ISAT. All 2011 ISAT test books will be printed in color. This sample book
does not cover the entire content of what may be assessed. Please refer to the Illinois Assessment
Frameworks for complete descriptions of the content to be assessed at each grade level and subject
area. The Illinois Assessment Frameworks are available online at www.isbe.net/assessment/IAFindex.htm
.
The Student Assessment website contains additional information about state testing
(www.isbe.net/assessment
).
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6
Illinois Standards Achievement Test
Reading Samples
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2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
7
Structure of the Grade 4 Reading ISAT
ISAT Reading testing in spring 2011 will consist of 30 norm-referenced items, as well as
criterion-referenced items. The 30 norm-referenced items are an abbreviated form of the Stanford 10
Reading assessment, developed by Pearson, Inc. The criterion-referenced items are all written by
Illinois educators and pilot tested with Illinois students.
Item Formats
All items are aligned to the Illinois Reading Assessment Framework, which defines the elements of the
Illinois Learning Standards that are suitable for state testing.
Multiple-choice items require students to read and reflect, and then to select the alternative that best
expresses what they believe the answer to be. A carefully constructed multiple-choice item can assess

Multiple-Choice Sample Items
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9
GO ON
Reading
Summer Palace
by
Heidi Chang
“Here, Yeh Yeh (grandfather), I drew
another picture for you.”
“Ah, Sasha, you are getting so good
now,” her grandfather said. Sasha liked
to draw so much. She could spend hours
at the kitchen table drawing. Sasha
especially liked giving her drawings to
her grandfather.
Yeh Yeh hung all of Sasha’s pictures
in his study. It made Sasha feel special.
Her grandfather always found a place for
them.
“What is this drawing, Sasha?” her
yeh yeh asked, putting on his glasses
and looking closely. Sasha liked the way
her grandfather took time to talk about
her drawings.
“Well, that’s Dad coming home from
work and taking off his shoes,” Sasha
said.
“It’s very nice. I think I’ll put it here
right next to my books.” Sasha’s

Sasha said. “He liked to draw, too?”
“Yes, Sasha. So you see, I am so glad
you like to draw. Every time you give me
a drawing, I think of my father.”
Sasha smiled and looked around at
all her pictures on the walls. She felt
happy to have given her grandfather so
many memories.
2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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Reading
2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
XEF244
1
Why hadn’t Yeh Yeh told
Sasha about the other artist in
the family before?
A He didn’t want to bore her with
old stories.
≥
B He thought she was too young
to understand.
C It made him sad to tell the
story.
D He was embarrassed about the
story.
XEF245
2
Sasha’s drawings and Yeh Yeh’s

11
To view all the reading assessment objectives, download the Illinois Reading Assessment Framework for
Grades 3–8 online at www.isbe.net/assessment/IAFindex.htm
.
Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified
Item
Number
Correct
Answer
Assessment Objective
Shorter Passage
1B
1.4.17 Determine the answer to a literal or simple inference question
regarding the meaning of a passage.
2C
1.4.22 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text, and
support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.
3D
1.4.19 Identify the main idea of a selection when it is not explicitly stated
(e.g., by choosing the best alternative title from among several suggested
for a given passage).
4A
1.4.22 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text, and
support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge.
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12
Longer Passage Followed by
Multiple-Choice Sample Items
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almost completely out of the water and crashes down again. KERSPLASH! Another
cousin swims sideways and smacks her flipper playfully against the water. SLAP!
6 Now Grandmother is speeding toward shore and the family follows. She rubs
her massive body through the smooth rounded rocks on the bottom of the bay.
Mom goes next and the young male follows. The family spends the next
hour “beach rubbing.” Scientists think this feels good to orcas
and may help keep their skin clean.
7 But most of the pod’s day is spent finding food. The
whales spread out and send out a series of fast clicks as
they swim down the bay together. Click, click, click!
The orcas can tell from the way their clicks echo
through the water if a school of salmon is nearby!
8 Some orcas hunt seals, sea lions, and porpoises,
instead of fish. They live in small groups and are
silent when they hunt. No chatting allowed! Their
prey might be listening!
9 But the young male’s pod eats mainly
salmon. The whales use many calls to stay
in touch as they hunt. “Wee-oo-uuo,”
cries a cousin from across the bay.
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GO ON
Reading
2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
“Wee-oo-uuo,” answers Grandmother. “Squ-eee-AL, CRe-e-e-eak,” calls Mom. Each
pod “speaks” slightly differently from the next, and scientists can recognize a
particular pod by the sounds its whales make.
10 Soon the orcas’ bellies are tight with salmon. It is time for a rest. Orcas cannot
sleep under the water. They must come to the surface every few minutes to

4
In the passage, KERSPLASH,
SLAP, and ZZZZZZ are
examples of —
A rhyme.
B alliteration.
C consonance.
D onomatopoeia.
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GO ON
Reading
2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
5
According to the passage, which of these goes in the empty box?
A Mom rubs on the smooth rocks.
B Uncle is the last one to “beach rub.”
C The cousins rub on rocks next to the young male.
D The young male follows his cousins to “beach rub.”
Grandmother orca
leads her family
toward the shore.
Grandmother orca
rubs on the
smooth rocks.
The family spends
about an hour
“beach rubbing.”
6
Which of the following describes the correct order of the passage?

10
Where would the reader most
likely find this passage?
A A journal
B A story book
C A nature magazine
D A science fiction book
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2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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Answer Key with Assessment Objectives Identified
Item
Number
Correct
Answer
Assessment Objective
Longer Passage with Multiple-Choice Items
1D
1.4.06 Use antonyms to define words.
2D
1.4.04 Determine the meaning of an unknown word using word,
sentence, and cross-sentence clues.
3A
1.4.05 Use synonyms to define words.
4D
2.4.12 Identify examples of poetic devices using sound,
(e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme, consonance).
5A
1.4.21 Identify or summarize the order of events in a story.
6B

passage and your own ideas and conclusions to support your answer.
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Extended-Response
Scoring Rubric
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2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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Reading Extended-Response Scoring Rubric
Readers identify important information found explicitly and implicitly in the text. Readers use this
information to interpret the text and/or make connections to other situations or contexts through
analysis, evaluation, or comparison/contrast. A student-friendly version of this extended-response rubric
is available online at www.isbe.net/assessment/r
eading.htm.
CriteriaScore
4
• Reader demonstrates an accurate understanding of important information in the text by focusing on the key ideas presented
explicitly and implicitly.
• Reader uses information from the text to interpret significant concepts or make connections to other situations or contexts logically
through analysis, evaluation, inference, or comparison/contrast.
• Reader uses relevant and accurate references; most are specific and fully supported.
• Reader integrates interpretation of the text with text-based support (balanced).
3
• Reader demonstrates an accurate understanding of information in the text by focusing on some key ideas presented explicitly and
implicitly.
• Reader uses information from the text to interpret significant concepts or make connections to other situations or contexts logically
(with some gaps) through analysis, evaluation, inference, or comparison/contrast.
• Reader uses relevant and accurate references; some are specific; some may be general and not fully supported.
• Reader partially integrates interpretation of the text with text-based support.
2

2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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Grade: 4 Sample: 2 Score: 2
Make sure you
– Read the question completely before you start to write your
answer,
– Write your answer to the question in your own words,
– Write as clearly as you can so that another person can read
your answer and understand what you were thinking,
– Read over your answer to see if you need to rewrite any
part of it.
DI RECTIONS
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2011 ISAT Grade 4 Sample Book
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*This response demonstrates an accurate but limited understanding of the text. The reader makes some
simple comparisons. The reader uses text references without providing any interpretation.
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