The following 18 Sample Student Responses represent a range of score points.

Score for Sample Student Response #1: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. The student chooses the first photograph (because the dark, powerful picture of the tide creates the intense feeling that is seen in the essay) and then compares the two pictures literally (while no crab can be viewed in the first picture, one can assume a crab is there; picture two shows several crabs). By emphasizing the importance of the nighttime setting and the tone, the student establishes a central theme (for a human to see the world of the crab; his habitat) that clarifies and extends understanding beyond the literal (The crab is not the main focus of the essay; [it] is the crab's place in the environment and its own world). (Compare to this Level 3 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #2: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response demonstrates a partial understanding of the texts. The student uses implied information to support the choice of the second picture (crabs comming out of the water and onto the sand; shows the beauty and mystery of the life that goes on during the night). An attempt to provide some insight is given (also creates mood; makes you see beyond the surface, and into a whole new world of exotic creatures). However, the student needs to further clarify and extend understanding to receive a higher score. (Compare to this Level 2 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #3: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. While the first picture is rejected ([it] is chatoic and rushed; no creature could be 'suspended;' a picture for tourists), the second photograph is viewed as bringing the ideas in "Ghost Crab" into "sharp focus" (night light resembles the 'blackness of the night;' the solitude of each crab; in its own world). The student extends understanding beyond the literal in the explanations for the photograph choices (not a picture of primative earth but of modern day aspirations; crabs show resistance and determination to withstand the oceans force and even more bravery to withstand the invasion of mankind; truly feel like 'an onlooker from outer space'). (Compare to this Level 3 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #4: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the texts. Reasons for the selection of the bottom photograph are provided (the setting is dark the crabs are on the surface of the sand; the crabs are in it's habitat). However, a misreading of Carson's essay is indicated when the student misinterprets "ghost" crabs (they might blend and scare a person walking one night). More appropriate expressed/implied information from the texts is needed for a higher score. (Compare to this Level 1 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #5: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response demonstrates a partial understanding of the texts. The student selects the first picture because of the number of crabs in the second one (many crabs comming out of the ocean and they seem to be very active). Using expressed information, the essay is then contrasted with the second photo ('the little crab alone;' the sounds of the ocean and the wind), and an interpretation is provided (creates a very calm scene in the readers mind).

Score for Sample Student Response #6: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the texts. A choice is made (top picture). Reasons are given for both the selection of photo one (you see the water rushing up on the shore) and the rejection of photograph two (picture shows many crabs on the beach; essay is talking about one crab). More expressed/implied information is needed for a higher score. (Compare to this Level 1 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #7: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: Using both expressed and implied information, this response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. The student selects the first photograph (essay spoke of seeing a lone Ghost Crab upon the beach, I chose the picture without the crabs; primarily for the sentence that described the setting as 'the blackness of the night possessed water, air, and beach;' the 'wind blowing over water and sand, and the waves crashing on the beach'). Interweaving insight throughout (water and beach are melding; symbolizing the world's life before man; as if freezing time; nothing else exists except for the peaceful melding), the response clarifies and extends understanding beyond the literal. (Compare to this Level 3 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #8: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response demonstrates a partial understanding of the texts. This student provides both expressed information ('little crab alone with the sea becomes a symbol that stood for life itself') and implied information (second image doesn't really fit; all about multiple crabs) to support the recognition (the essay realy isn't about the ghost crab; more about the nature and surroundings of the crab). More clarity and extended understanding are needed for a higher score.

Score for Sample Student Response #9: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the texts. The student selects the bottom photo and provides a few relevant details (how small the crabs are in the vast shoreline of the water; 'became a symbol that stood for life itself'). (Compare to this Level 1 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #10: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: Through an interweaving of information and insight, this response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. The top photo (this frothing sea and the crashing wave) is equated to a quote from Carson ('no sound but the all-enveloping, primeval sounds of wind;' 'no other visible life - just one small crab'). Additional expressed and implied information is interspersed throughout (the ocean consumes the picture; empty, powerful ocean; 'harsh realities of the inorganic world') as the student frequently pauses to move beyond the literal (sense of emptiness; evokes the feeling of harshness; the whiteness, compared to the dark coloring of the photograph, almost physically hurts the eyes, which represents the harshness).

Score for Sample Student Response #11: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response demonstrates a literal understanding of the texts. Parallels are drawn between the essay and the lower photograph (several crabs scuttling along their own merry way). While several of these similarities are shown (a crab right before the surf; crabs right next to the foamy waves; the complete lack of human intervention; the natural, inorganic force), the student does not clarify and extend understanding beyond the literal. (Compare to this Level 2 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #12: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows evidence of a minimal understanding of the texts. The second picture is compared to the essay (I drew a picture of a man sitting down on the beach at night, looking at this small ghost crab; actually has ghost crabs), and expressed information is given ('dug just above the surf'). Note that the reference to another story, "High Tide in Tucson," is irrelevant.

Score for Sample Student Response #13: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: From the opening paragraph to the conclusion, this student discusses the theme of aloneness, thereby demonstrating an understanding of the complexities of the texts. Using expressed and implied information, the solitary crab is described (a lone object; 'lying in a pit he had dug') as is the onlooker ('the world to which I belonged did not exist'). The student clarifies and extends understanding through the insightful recognition that both the crab and the person share this same characteristic (oblivious to the author's presence; creatures live solitarily in their own worlds; gives the feeling that the reader is all alone; an onlooker)

Score for Sample Student Response #14: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response shows a partial understanding of the texts. The student supplies support, both expressed and implied, for the selection of the second photo (the author actually describes an image of a crab; 'no other visible life;' how little things deal; 'the little crab all alone'). A small insight is provided (its just those little crabs against the whole, big ocean); however, more extension and clarification of the complexities of the text are needed for the response to receive a higher score. (Compare to this Level 2 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #15: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. Strongly focussed on the "significance of small thing that affect our lives," the student provides details from both the first photograph and the essay to support this concept (crab is a symbol; gives more emotion to the audience; 'for the first time I knew the creature'). The end of the body paragraph is particularly successful in clarifying and extending understanding (the poem is not specifically about the crab, it is more about the person being able to see life and the value). (Compare to this Level 3 anchor paper.)

Score for Sample Student Response #16: Rubric Score 1

Annotation: This response shows only a minimal understanding of the texts. While the first sentence contains some repetition of the prompt, the student does cite the common elements of the second picture and the essay (water and beach; crab) and then provides a statement (the essay is about crabs) which repeats information given previously.

Score for Sample Student Response #17: Rubric Score 2

Annotation: This response demonstrates a partial understanding of the texts. Using implied information (only one crab; could have been like the lone crab's view), this student gives a brief interpretation (crab is alone looking at the ocean, part of a more elemental, primeval world; better portrays the mood) of the ideas expressed in the essay and photograph.

Score for Sample Student Response #18: Rubric Score 3

Annotation: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the texts. In the opening sentences, an overarching concept (focuses on the crab and how it is small in comparison to the power of the ocean) is given. Both expressed information ('delicate, destructible, yet incredibly vital force;' 'the shore at night is a different world;' 'inorganic world') and implied information (actual crabs, shows their size, and delecey; tiny and slightly slivery in the flash from the cammera) support this concept. The student clarifies and extends understanding (essay focuses on life and its struggles; crabs, sharing this struggle; a symbol of life like the ghost crabs) to provide additional insight for the theme. (Compare to this Level 3 anchor paper.)

Anchor Papers used in scoring