On the 2018 M-STEP, writing will be assessed through both selected response items and a single constructed response item at all ELA M-STEP grades. All students in grades 3-8 will be presented with a Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) item embedded in the Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). A TDA consists of two components – the TDA passage and the TDA writing prompt. The TDA passages are either narrative or informational. The writing prompt will require the students to analyze an element of the passage; the response requires students to support their ideas with evidence from the text. The TDA
item is aligned to Claim 2/Target 4.