2021 STAAR English I Rationales
Item# Rationale
21 Option D is correct In paragraph 6, the description of Miss Chevalier is used to emphasize the contrast between her
unusual appear
ance and her congenial personality. Miss Chevalier is small and short, with a “moon
face and chubby fingers and coppery hair” like a poodle, but she is very nice.
Option A is incorrect There is no mention of Miss Chevalier’s demands in this paragraph.
Option B is incorrect Addie explains that Miss Chevalier is a few inches shorter than Addie, but the contrast between them
is not emphasized in the paragraph.
Option C is incorrect Addie explains that Miss Chevalier’s smile “makes you feel like you just did something right,” but this
is not
just toward Addie.
22 Option J is correct Addie compares the settlement home to a lantern in paragraph 1 to symbolize the house as a
comforting place
in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. The house is a bright, warm haven for the
residents of the neighborhood.
Option F is incorrect The building lights up the dark street, which suggests the warm and welcoming aspect of a lantern,
not judgment.
Option G is incorrect There is nothing about the house’s comparison to a bright, welcoming lantern that suggests that its
services are taken for granted.
Option H is incorrect There is nothing about the house’s comparison to a bright, welcoming lantern that suggests that its
architecture is
particularly beautiful.
23 Option C is correct A theme, or central message, of the selection is the importance of the power of encouragement.
Throughout the
selection Addie describes how Miss Chevalier’s encouragement influences her.
Option A is incorrect Addie does not have to defend her rights in this selection.
Option B is incorrect Other people’s struggle for survival is mentioned in paragraph 2, but Addie’s experience in this
selection is not a matter of survival.
Option D is incorrect Addie works hard to learn the poem, but there is no indication that she is trying to get ahead by
doing so
.
Texas Education Agency
Student Assessment Division
August 2021