Distinguished - Creates a comprehensive presentation, including a thorough description of what has been learned about balanced literacy.

Proficient - Creates a presentation, including a description of what has been learned about balanced literacy. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Creates a brief presentation, including a description of what has been learned about balanced literacy. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to create a presentation, including a description of what has been learned about balanced literacy; however, significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The presentation is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Distinguishes probable implications of the text for contexts, perspectives, or issues outside the assigned task or beyond the author’s explicit message.

Proficient - Uses the text, general background understanding, and/or specific knowledge of the author’s context to draw more intricate inferences about the author’s message and approach.

Basic - Considers how textual features (e.g., sentence and paragraph structure or tone) contribute to the author’s message; draws fundamental inferences about context and rationale of text.

Below Expectations - Inadequately captures vocabulary and makes an effort to paraphrase or summarize the information the text communicates.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Appraises tactics for relating ideas, text structure, or other textual features in order to gain knowledge or insight within and across texts and disciplines.

Proficient - Recognizes connections among ideas, text structure, or other textual features, to analyze how they support a sophisticated understanding of the text as a whole.

Basic - Recognizes the connections among portions of a text in considering how these connections contribute to a fundamental understanding of the text as a whole.

Below Expectations - Makes an effort to recognize portions of a text as needed to respond to inquiries posed in the assignment.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors, and is very easy to understand.

Proficient - Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors, and is mostly easy to understand.

Basic - Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors, which may slightly distract the reader.

Below Expectations - Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors, which distract the reader.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - The length of the assignment is equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted slides. 

Proficient - The length of the assignment is nearly equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted slides. 

Basic - The length of the assignment is equivalent to at least three quarters of the required number of correctly formatted slides.

Below Expectations - The length of the assignment is equivalent to at least one half of the required number of correctly formatted slides.   

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference slide are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Proficient - Uses required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference slide are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Basic - Uses less than the required number of sources to support ideas. Some sources may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference slide are used within the body of the assignment. Citations may not be formatted correctly.

Below Expectations - Uses inadequate number of sources that provide little or no support for ideas. Sources used may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference slide are not used within the body of the assignment. Citations are not formatted correctly.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.