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Study Guide

Field 32: Special Education: Visually Impaired
Sample Written Performance Assignment

The following materials contain:

Sample Test Directions for Written Performance Assignment

TRANSCRIPTION SECTION DIRECTIONS

This section of the test involves transcribing a passage into Grade 2 Literary Braille. Your transcription must be made using a braillewriter that can accommodate the 11 and 1 half inch by 11 inch paper provided by your test administrator. You must use a 40-cell line and should make maximum use of each line. However, do not divide or hyphenate words at the end of a line. Your transcription should be done in Grade 2 Literary Braille. It is not necessary to number your pages in braille.

The following errors will be counted as incorrect in your transcription.

  • contractions omitted or misused
  • characters misformed (including added or omitted dots)
  • letters inserted or omitted
  • text omitted or repeated
  • spacing errors
  • format irregularities (including improper cell format and improper indentation at the beginning of a paragraph)
  • punctuation or composition signs omitted or inserted
  • erasures detectable by touch

If you need additional braille paper, notify your test administrator. When you have completed your final version of the transcription, check the appropriate box at the bottom of the page containing your final version. Your score for this section will be based solely on the version of your transcription that you designate as the final version.

Sample Written Performance Assignment

Transcribe the following passage into braille.

The mid-nineteenth century expansion of settlements west of the Mississippi is a common subject of historians' work. In examining this phenomenon, it is important to keep in mind that this expansion was the sum of many individual experiences. Those people who moved westward were courageous pioneers who made many sacrifices along the way. In her writings, Laura Ingalls Wilder recorded her family's experiences as they moved from the relatively crowded territory of Minnesota to the vast open prairie of South Dakota.

Scoring Rubric

SPECIAL EDUCATION: VISUALLY IMPAIRED—PERFORMANCE ASSIGNMENT SCORING SCALE

Circle the "C" on the scoring form (denoting "Correct" response) for each item if, and only if, the candidate's response is described by the following:
Braille Transcription Notation Notation Description
Items 1 through 32 C Correct—The candidate's response is a correct and appropriate representation of the word, partial word, letter, number, or symbol transcribed from the written passage, i.e., the response conforms to the standards of Grade 2 Literary Braille.

If the response is not correct, circle one of the following choices:
Braille Transcription Notation Notation Description
Items 1 through 32 NC Not Correct—The candidate's response is an incorrect representation of the word, partial word, letter, number, or symbol transcribed from the written passage, i.e., the response does not conform to the standards of Grade 2 Literary Braille.
Items 1 through 32 U Unscorable—The candidate's response is illegible or is not in braille.
Items 1 through 32 B Blank—The candidate provides no response whatsoever.