Sample Performance Task You are the assistant to Pat Williams, the president of DynaTech, a company that makes precision electronic instruments and navigational equipment. Sally Evans, a member of DynaTech's sales force, recommended that DynaTech buy a small private plane (a SwiftAir 235) that she and other members of the sales force could use to visit customers. Pat was about to approve the purchase when there was an accident involving a SwiftAir 235. You are provided with the following documentation: 1: Newspaper articles about the accident 2: Federal Accident Report on in-flight breakups in single engine planes 3: Pat's e-mail to you & Sally's e-mail to Pat 4: Charts on SwiftAir's performance characteristics 5: Amateur Pilot article comparing SwiftAir 235 to similar planes 6: Pictures and description of SwiftAir Models 180 and 235 Please prepare a memo that addresses several questions, including what data support or refute the claim that the type of wing on the SwiftAir 235 leads to more in-flight breakups, what other factors might have contributed to the accident and should be taken into account, and your overall recommendation about whether or not DynaTech should purchase the plane. Sample Writing Prompts The Make-an-Argument prompt presents an opinion on an issue and asks the students to address the issue from any perspective they wish, so long as they provide relevant reasons and examples to explain and support their views on topics such as: Government funding would be better spent on preventing crime than in dealing with criminals after the fact. The Critique-an-Argument prompt requires students to critique an argument by discussing how well reasoned they find it; they must do so by considering the soundness of the argument's logic (rather than agree or disagree with the position presented). An example prompt is: The number of marriages that end in separation or divorce is growing steadily. A disproportional number of them are from June weddings. Because June weddings are so culturally desirable, they are often preceded by long engagements as the couples wait until the summer months. The number of divorces increases with each passing year, and the latest statistics indicate that more than 1 out of 3 marriages will end in divorce. With the deck stacked against “forever more” it is best to take every step possible from joining the pool of divorcees. Therefore, it is sage advice to young couples to shorten their engagements and choose a month other than June for a wedding. CLA Task Definitions and Scoring Criteria Click here to learn more about the definitions of the skills assessed by the CLA and the criteria used for scoring the CLA measures.