HSA 2006 English Item 20

Read the prompt below. Follow the directions in the prompt for writing your essay.

Consider the following:

Some school systems in the United States and in other countries are using a year-round school schedule. With this schedule, students go to school the entire year and are given several breaks of two to three weeks throughout the year instead of one extended summer break. Do you think that this is a schedule your school system should adopt?

Write a well-organized essay in which you agree or disagree with the idea of a year-round school schedule. Support your position with specifi c examples from your studies, experiences, or observations. Be sure that your essay is fully developed, that it is logically organized, and that your choice of words clearly expresses your ideas.

Use the space on page __ in your Answer Book for planning your essay. Then write your essay on the lines on pages __ and __.