Subtest 1 - English

Read the excerpt from a speech below; then answer the two questions that follow. 1While Washington, D.C., does send a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, this official cannot cast a vote on the floor of the House or in committee, leaving D.C. residents without an effective voice in Congress. 2Like Americans living in every other part of the country, however, residents of the District pay federal income taxes. 3(Indeed, the per capita income tax paid by D.C. residents is higher than in all but a handful of states.) 4It is a bitter irony that the only other U.S. citizens who are denied full voting rights are convicted felons. 5Some D.C. residents now compare their plight to that of pre- Revolutionary War colonists; the phrase "No taxation without representation" has become something of a local rallying cry. Which of the following research questions would provide the most appropriate starting point for an objective investi- gation of issues raised in this excerpt?

Are there other respects in which D.C. residents lack full citizenship rights? Are there any groups of citizens other than felons who are denied voting rights? Why do D.C. residents pay relatively high per capita income taxes? What arguments are raised by opponents of Congressional representation for D.C.? What arguments are raised by opponents of Congressional representation for D.C.?

Which of the following statements best explains how knowing a language that is historically related to English (e.g., German, French, Spanish) can facilitate an individual's acquisition of English as a second language?

Many words and roots are likely to have similar spellings and meanings in English and in the individual's first language. English prefixes and suffixes are likely to resemble the affixes used in the individual's first language. The most frequently occurring speech sounds in English and in the individual's first language are likely to be the same. Social conventions relating to language use are likely to be similar in English and in the individual's first language. Many words and roots are likely to have similar spellings and meanings in English and in the individual's first language.

Read the passage below; then answer the two questions that follow. In the presidential election of 1828 Andrew Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams. This victory was largely due to the machinations of Adams's political opponents in Congress. Senator Martin Van Buren of New York led the opposition to Adams. When Jackson swept into the White House, a wild throng of supporters greeted him, happy to have a president whom they perceived as a man of the people. Van Buren had a smart plan of causing it to look like Adams had raised tariffs on imported goods. In fact, Van Buren himself was behind the increase in tariffs. A raucous party broke out during the inauguration, spilling from the White House onto the lawn. Which of the following changes could best improve the logical organization of the passage?

Move Sentence 4 so that it follows Sentence 1. Move Sentence 4 so that it follows Sentence 6. Move Sentence 7 so that it follows Sentence 1. Move Sentence 7 so that it follows Sentence 4. Move Sentence 4 so that it follows Sentence 6.

Read the paragraph below; then answer the question that follows. 1Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the regular meeting site of an international society of engineers who specialize in bridge building. 2This choice of locale is no accident. 3Pittsburgh is famous for the dozens of bridges spanning the city's three rivers. 4Almost every conceivable type of bridge can be found in or around Pittsburgh. 5Many of these bridges have idiosyncratic features, due to the unique requirements posed by the city's undulating terrain. Which of the following is the topic sentence of this paragraph?

Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Sentence 4 Sentence 3

Read the excerpt from a speech below; then answer the two questions that follow. 1While Washington, D.C., does send a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, this official cannot cast a vote on the floor of the House or in committee, leaving D.C. residents without an effective voice in Congress. 2Like Americans living in every other part of the country, however, residents of the District pay federal income taxes. 3(Indeed, the per capita income tax paid by D.C. residents is higher than in all but a handful of states.) 4It is a bitter irony that the only other U.S. citizens who are denied full voting rights are convicted felons. 5Some D.C. residents now compare their plight to that of pre- Revolutionary War colonists; the phrase "No taxation without representation" has become something of a local rallying cry. Which sentence most strongly suggests that the speech is persuasive in its intent?

Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 4 Sentence 5 Sentence 4

Read the passage below; then answer the two questions that follow. In the presidential election of 1828 Andrew Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams. This victory was largely due to the machinations of Adams's political opponents in Congress. Senator Martin Van Buren of New York led the opposition to Adams. When Jackson swept into the White House, a wild throng of supporters greeted him, happy to have a president whom they perceived as a man of the people. Van Buren had a smart plan of causing it to look like Adams had raised tariffs on imported goods. In fact, Van Buren himself was behind the increase in tariffs. A raucous party broke out during the inauguration, spilling from the White House onto the lawn. Which of the following revisions of a sentence would best improve the style of the passage?

Sentence 1: Political opposition in Congress led to the defeat of John Quincy Adams by Andrew Jackson in the presidential election of 1828. Sentence 3: The opposition was led by Senator Martin Van Buren, who hailed from New York. Sentence 5: Van Buren cleverly made it appear that Adams had raised tariffs on imported goods. Sentence 7: The party that occurred during the inauguration could not be contained within the walls of the White House. Sentence 5: Van Buren cleverly made it appear that Adams had raised tariffs on imported goods.

Which of the following sentences contains a relative clause?

The circus that came to town in August has an excellent trapeze act. After looking in the attic, I gave up my search for the records. As the waiter walked toward the table, he slipped and fell. They ran down the street, but they couldn't catch the ice cream truck. The circus that came to town in August has an excellent trapeze act.

In which of the following sentences is the underlined word used correctly?

When my supervisor spoke with me, she inferred that I'd better start showing up on time. To what do you infer this sudden change in the weather? When I made that remark, I didn't mean to imply that you had caused a problem. I'm not sure it's possible to imply much of anything from this data. When I made that remark, I didn't mean to imply that you had caused a problem.

Which of the following would be most important to include in the introduction to a persuasive essay?

an explanation of why the issue addressed by the essay is important a description of the author's credentials and qualifications a detailed summary of the logical steps in the essay's argument a rebuttal of alternative points of view an explanation of why the issue addressed by the essay is important

Read the poem below, "The Creature" by Gary Soto; then answer the two questions that follow. This morning something Perched like a bird On my left shoulder, And was silent. If I brushed it away, It reappearedLike a premonition. If I ran, It clawed deepInto my coat, My wool coat, And closed its eyes— Or what I thought Were its eyes. So, here I was Walking the town Perplexed like a priest, My neck stiff As a new beard, And no friend Waving ¡Hola! That afternoonI prayed and lit A candle for the spirit Of my wife Dead two years, And still this Creature tightened And yawned Into my ear. At supper in my room, It ate my bread And the handle Of a sharp knife. To that I said Enough! And left hatless For the cantina, Where again the creature Lay on my shoulder Like the hand of someone Bearing grief. The narrator of the poem can best be characterized as:

angry at himself. seeking to evade emotional pain through restless activity. desperate for human companionship. unwilling to acknowledge the fact of his wife's death. seeking to evade emotional pain through restless activity.

An extensive oral vocabulary is most likely to contribute to a reader's decoding skills by helping the reader:

apply phonics generalizations to sound out a word. use syntactic cues to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word. relate an unfamiliar word to known words with similar spellings. recognize a word after sounding it out. recognize a word after sounding it out.

Which of the following word identification strategies typically is most advanced?

applying phonics knowledge using context clues recognizing sight words analyzing word structure analyzing word structure

Oral rhyming activities are most likely to promote phonemic awareness by helping a child learn to:

attend to the sounds shared by words in the same word family. identify the junctures between syllables in spoken words. recognize how the structure of a word relates to its meaning. identify spelling patterns that correspond to specific sounds. attend to the sounds shared by words in the same word family.

Increasing the rate of speech in an oral presentation would be most effective for:

compensating for poor acoustics in a room. conveying a feeling of excitement. stating the conclusion of a logical argument. emphasizing an important point. conveying a feeling of excitement.

A lack of variation in rate, pitch, and rhythm is most likely to undermine the delivery of an oral presentation by:

diminishing the presentation's emotional effect. interfering with the logical continuity of the presentation. causing some audience members to feel excluded. requiring the audience to attend to multiple stimuli. diminishing the presentation's emotional effect.

Which of the following phonemic awareness skills typically is easiest for children to acquire?

identifying the initial sound in a word (e.g., /b/ in bed) recognizing that two words contain the same sound (e.g., thin and path) blending sounds together to form a spoken word (e.g., /t/ + /a/ + /g/ = tag) identifying a word that does not belong in a group of three spoken words (e.g., gate, game, shake) identifying the initial sound in a word (e.g., /b/ in bed)

According to current research, which of the following competencies best predict a child's success in learning to read in the primary grades?

logical and analytical abilities letter knowledge and phonemic awareness perceptual and motor skills concept knowledge and oral vocabulary letter knowledge and phonemic awareness

Read the poem below, "The Street" by Octavio Paz; then answer the two questions that follow. A long and silent street.I walk in blackness and I stumble and fall and rise, and I walk blind, my feet stepping on silent stones and dry leaves.Someone behind me also stepping on stones, leaves: if I slow down, he slows: if I run, he runs. I turn: nobody.Everything dark and doorless. Turning and turning among these corners which lead forever to the street where nobody waits for, nobody follows me, where I pursue a man who stumbles and rises and says when he sees me: nobody. In this poem, the repetition of words and rhythms reinforces the poem's:

metrical regularity. mood of anxiety. rhetorical emphasis. hostile tone. mood of anxiety.

According to current research, reading difficulties that are not the result of limited intelligence or lack of educational opportunity are most often caused by:

poorly developed visual discrimination skills. a deficit in phonological processing. poorly developed oral language abilities. a lack of motivation. a deficit in phonological processing.

Read the poem below, "The Creature" by Gary Soto; then answer the two questions that follow. This morning something Perched like a bird On my left shoulder, And was silent. If I brushed it away, It reappearedLike a premonition. If I ran, It clawed deepInto my coat, My wool coat, And closed its eyes— Or what I thought Were its eyes. So, here I was Walking the town Perplexed like a priest, My neck stiff As a new beard, And no friend Waving ¡Hola! That afternoonI prayed and lit A candle for the spirit Of my wife Dead two years, And still this Creature tightened And yawned Into my ear. At supper in my room, It ate my bread And the handle Of a sharp knife. To that I said Enough! And left hatless For the cantina, Where again the creature Lay on my shoulder Like the hand of someone Bearing grief. In this poem, the image of "the creature" most clearly symbolizes the:

psychological disorientation that results from loss of religious faith. self-destructive dimensions of human behavior. fragmented consciousness that results from self-deception. unavoidable, persistent anguish of personal loss. unavoidable, persistent anguish of personal loss.

Some common vowel patterns are associated with more than one pronunciation (e.g., steam and bread). Which of the following nonsense words illustrates a vowel pattern that is highly consistent in its pronunciation?

stook troan spow mough troan

Read the excerpt below from the Hausa folk tale "The Rabbit, the Elephant, and the Giraffe"; then answer the two questions that follow. The rabbit once suggested to the elephant that they should farm in partnership. "You can clear the bush" he said "and I'll burn the trees when you have pushed them over." The elephant agreed and began pushing over trees to clear the land. The rabbit next went to the giraffe and suggested to him too that they should go into farming together. "I'll push over the trees" he said "and you can burn them." The giraffe agreed and went and burnt all the trees which the elephant had previously pushed over. As for the rabbit, he just took care that neither the elephant nor the giraffe knew what the other was doing. This passage is typical of many traditional folk tales in its:

subtle characterization. satire of inept government officials and political factions. intricate plot. inclusion of a character who is a trickster. inclusion of a character who is a trickster.

Read the passage below from The Promised Land, a memoir by Mary Antin that was first published in 1912; then answer the question that follows. What happened next was Dover Street. And what was Dover Street? Ask rather, What was it not? Dover Street was my fairest garden of girlhood, a gate of paradise, a window facing on a broad avenue of life. Dover Street was a prison, a school of discipline, a battlefield of sordid strife. The air in Dover Street was heavy with evil odors of degradation, but a breath from the uppermost heavens rippled through, whispering of infinite things. In Dover Street the dragon poverty gripped me for a last fight, but I overthrew the hideous creature, and sat on his neck as a throne. In Dover Street I was shackled with a hundred chains of disadvantage, but with one free hand I planted little seeds, right there in the mud of shame, that blossomed into the honeyed rose of widest freedom. In Dover Street there was often no loaf on the table, but the hand of some noble friend was ever in mine. The night in Dover Street was rent with the cries of wrong, but the thunders of truth crashed through the pitiful clamor and died out in prophetic silences. Which of the following qualitative factors would likely contribute most significantly to the difficulty level of the passage for sixth-grade students?

the author's use of conventions of the memoir genre demands on students' knowledge of a specific setting the author's use of figurative language to express ideas demands on students' knowledge of archaic language the author's use of figurative language to express ideas

The languages of the world are most similar in which of the following respects?

the basic principles of phrase structure (e.g., the subject-predicate structure of sentences) the speech sounds that are used to form words the basic rules of morphology (e.g., adding s to a singular noun to make a plural) the role of volume in communicating information the basic principles of phrase structure (e.g., the subject-predicate structure of sentences)

Read the poem below, "The Street" by Octavio Paz; then answer the two questions that follow. A long and silent street.I walk in blackness and I stumble and fall and rise, and I walk blind, my feet stepping on silent stones and dry leaves.Someone behind me also stepping on stones, leaves: if I slow down, he slows: if I run, he runs. I turn: nobody.Everything dark and doorless. Turning and turning among these corners which lead forever to the street where nobody waits for, nobody follows me, where I pursue a man who stumbles and rises and says when he sees me: nobody. The last two lines of the poem most clearly support which of the following themes?

the importance of perseverance the cowardice of individuals who deny their true feelings the triumph of courage over fear the isolation and alienation of modern life the isolation and alienation of modern life

Read the excerpt below from the Hausa folk tale "The Rabbit, the Elephant, and the Giraffe"; then answer the two questions that follow. The rabbit once suggested to the elephant that they should farm in partnership. "You can clear the bush" he said "and I'll burn the trees when you have pushed them over." The elephant agreed and began pushing over trees to clear the land. The rabbit next went to the giraffe and suggested to him too that they should go into farming together. "I'll push over the trees" he said "and you can burn them." The giraffe agreed and went and burnt all the trees which the elephant had previously pushed over. As for the rabbit, he just took care that neither the elephant nor the giraffe knew what the other was doing. The style of the passage most clearly reflects the style of many traditional folk tales in its:

use of a simple narrative structure with repeated words and phrases. reliance on dialogue rather than exposition to advance the plot. use of personification to develop psychological complexity. reliance on extended metaphor to develop the primary theme. use of a simple narrative structure with repeated words and phrases.