Exemplar Grade 4
Reading Test Questions
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© 2016 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. ACT Aspire® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.
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Introduction
Introduction
This booklet explains ACT Aspire® Grade 4 Reading test questions by presenting, with their answer
keys, sample questions aligned to each reporting category on the test. A key includes the question’s
depth-of-knowledge (DOK) level,1 an explanation of the task posed by each question, a thorough
explanation of correct responses, ideas for improvement, and more. The exemplar test questions
included here are representative of the range of content and types of questions found on the
ACT Aspire Grade 4 Reading test. Educators can use this resource in several ways:
• Become familiar with ACT Aspire question types.
• See what typical questions in each ACT Aspire reporting category look like.
• Help reinforce or adjust teaching and learning objectives.
• Learn how ACT Aspire improvement idea statements can help students identify key skills they
have not yet mastered.
Each ACT Aspire Reading assessment contains several passages, including literary narratives (prose
fiction, memoirs, personal essays) and informational texts (social science, natural science). Within
and across grade levels, the passages span a range of complexity levels in order to provide students,
teachers, and parents with information about how well students understand texts of increasing
difficulty. Students answer a series of selected-response (multiple-choice), technology-enhanced,
and constructed-response questions that assess their abilities to recognize meaning in, reason
logically about, and make connections between and among texts. ACT Aspire Reading questions
operate at various DOK levels, or cognitive complexities, and reflect a range of difficulty appropriate
for the grade level.
All levels of ACT Aspire Reading assessments include constructed-response tasks that measure the
higher-order cognitive processes necessary for reading and understanding increasingly complex
texts. Constructed-response tasks are scored according to rubrics that allow students to receive
varying amounts of credit for responses that are correct or partially correct, enabling differentiation
between multiple skill levels.
The types of constructed-response tasks in ACT Aspire Reading assessments include the following
examples:
• Formulate a conclusion by making connections within a passage, and provide support using
specific details from the text.
Norman L. Webb, “Depth-of-Knowledge Levels for Four Content Areas,” last modified March 28, 2002, http://facstaff.wcer.
wisc.edu/normw/All%20content%20areas%20%20DOK%20levels%2032802.doc.
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Introduction
• Formulate a conclusion by making connections between a pair of passages, and provide support
using specific details from both texts.
• Identify cause-and-effect relationships within a passage, and provide support using specific
details from the text.
• Identify similarities and differences between the key ideas of paired passages, and provide
support using specific details from both texts.
Reporting Categories
ACT Aspire Reading tests assess skills in the following reporting categories, which are the same as
the categories listed in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Reading strand and those found in
the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards in Reading.
Key Ideas and Details
These questions require students to read texts closely; to determine central ideas and themes and
summarize information and ideas accurately; and to understand sequential, comparative, and
cause-effect relationships.
Craft and Structure
These questions require students to determine word and phrase meanings and analyze an author’s
word choice rhetorically as well as influences on the English language; to analyze text structure; and
to understand purpose and point of view.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
These questions require students to understand how arguments are constructed and to make
connections to prior knowledge and between and among texts.
Improvement Ideas
ACT Aspire includes simple improvement ideas at the reporting category (skill) level on student
and parent reports. These improvement ideas are provided for the lowest performing skill for each
subject tested. The skills are always ordered from highest performing to lowest performing based on
the percentage of points correct. If the percentages for two or more skills are tied, the skill with the
lower number of total points is displayed first.
Keep in mind that the order of skills listed on reports may not always be exemplary of where to focus
learning. For example, the skills in which a student performed within the ACT Readiness Range may
not always be listed first, and the skills in which a student did not perform within the ACT Readiness
Range may not always be listed last. Also, keep in mind the total number of points possible in each
skill when interpreting the percentage correct.
There are two levels of improvement idea statements (low and high) for ACT Aspire summative
reporting. Low statements are given on the report if the student’s lowest skill score is below the
ACT Readiness Range for that particular skill. High statements are given on the report if the
student’s lowest skill score is at or above the ACT Readiness Range for that particular skill.
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Answer Key
Answer Key
This section presents a reading passage and the sequence number, grade, question type, DOK level,
alignment to the ACT Aspire reporting categories, and correct response for each question. Each
question is accompanied by an explanation of the question and the correct response as well as
improvement idea statements for ACT Aspire Reading.
Passage: “Lewis and Clark and the Great Falls Portage”
Lewis and Clark and the
Great Falls Portage
The Corps would have to hike
18 miles to get around the five
waterfalls. They left their heaviest boat
and equipment hidden near the base
of the falls. The other canoes and
supplies were carried, dragged, and
pushed. The Corps created makeshift
wagons. When the wind was strong,
they attached the boat sails to help
move the equipment.
3 The Corps of Discovery was a group of
military volunteers led by Captain Meriwether
Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark. This
group of men and one woman explored the
northwestern region of the United States.
Lewis was thrilled to see the
enormous waterfall, the Great Falls of
the Missouri. It was 900 feet wide and
80 feet high with a “beautiful rainbow”
just above the spray. Lewis called it
“the grandest sight” he “ever beheld.”
More importantly, it meant that he and
Clark had chosen the right fork in the
Missouri River. All winter long they had
been talking with Native Americans
about a water route across the west.
The Native Americans had described
the territory in detail, including
important landmarks like the waterfall
in front of Lewis.
1 The ground was rocky, uneven,
and hard. Prickly pear cactuses were
everywhere. The Corps wore through
their moccasins every two days. The
intense heat of the summer sun was
interrupted by violent storms, with
thunder, rain, and hailstones the size of
eggs. Swarms of gnats and mosquitoes
pestered them. Rattlesnakes and
grizzly bears were a constant threat.
4 Finally, after nearly a month of
hard labor, the portage was complete.
The Corps and their equipment were
on the other side of the falls. They
built new boats to replace the one
left behind. They started back on
their journey on the Missouri River on
July 15, 1805. They were more than a
month behind schedule, but happy to
be past the Great Falls.
5 Now it was time for the portage
(the carrying of goods over an
obstacle): Lewis and Clark’s expedition
party needed to carry their canoes and
supplies around the waterfalls. Before
they saw the Great Falls, Lewis and
Clark thought the portage would be
less than a mile. As Lewis scouted
further, he found four more waterfalls
and realized that the portage would be
much longer.
2 Adapted from the article “Lewis and Clark and the
Great Falls Portage” (©1954 by The Library of
Congress).
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Answer Key
Question 1
Sequence
Grade
Question type
DOK level
Reporting category
Correct response
1
4
Technology
Enhanced
2
Key Ideas and
Details
“Lewis and Clark talked with
Native Americans…”
“Lewis saw a rainbow…”
“Lewis found four more…”
“The Corps attached sails…”
“The Corps built…”
This technology-enhanced question requires students to understand a sequence of events in a text
(aligns with the Common Core State Standards College and Career Readiness anchor standard
[CCRA] R.3). To answer the question, students must carefully read the passage, determine the
chronological relationship among events in the Lewis and Clark expedition, and arrange the events
in the correct order.
Correct Response
Only one response identifies an accurate sequence of events in the Lewis and Clark expedition
(“Lewis and Clark talked with Native Americans about the territory,” “Lewis saw a rainbow above
the Great Falls,” “Lewis found four more waterfalls,” “The Corps attached sails to the wagons to help
move the supplies,” and “The Corps built new boats”). All other answer options present sequences of
events that are not supported by the text.
Improvement Idea Statements
Reporting
category
Key Ideas
and Details
Grade
4
Low statement
(scored below ACT Readiness Range)
High statement
(scored at or above ACT Readiness Range)
Read as many grade-level texts as
you can. Work on identifying important
details, drawing reasonable conclusions,
recognizing main ideas and themes, and
understanding how parts of a text relate to
one another.
Read as many above grade-level texts as
you can. Work on identifying main ideas and
themes and on recognizing sequences and
relationships (comparative, cause/effect).
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Answer Key
Question 2
Sequence
Grade
Question type
DOK level
Reporting category
Correct response
2
4
Selected Response
3
Craft and Structure
A
This selected-response question requires students to analyze the rhetorical role of a paragraph
(aligns with CCRA R.5). To answer the question, students must read the entire highlighted
paragraph carefully, determine its implied purpose, and distinguish this purpose from functions that
are subordinate or for which no text support exists.
Correct Response
Only answer option A accurately describes the main purpose of the highlighted paragraph (“To show
how difficult the portage was for the Corps”). The other answer options reference information from
the paragraph, but none describe the main purpose of the paragraph.
Improvement Idea Statements
Reporting
category
Craft and
Structure
Grade
4
Low statement
(scored below ACT Readiness Range)
High statement
(scored at or above ACT Readiness Range)
As you read, think about the purpose of
texts and parts of texts, how texts are
organized, how authors use point of view,
and how information in texts can help you
figure out what words mean.
Read as many above grade-level texts
as you can. Think about how texts are
structured, how authors use point of
view, how context helps determine word
meanings, and how authors use words and
phrases.
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Answer Key
Question 3
Sequence
Grade
Question type
DOK level
Reporting category
Correct response
3
4
Constructed
Response
3
Integration of Knowledge
and Ideas
See scoring guide.
This constructed-response task requires students to make connections between information and
ideas in two texts (aligns with CCRA.R.9). Specifically, this task requires students to determine
how the hiking conditions described in “Lewis and Clark and the Great Falls Portage” are similar to
the conditions for hikers described in “Hiking the Presidential Traverse.” Students must read both
texts carefully, compare the information provided in the two texts, and determine how the hiking
conditions described in both situations are similar. Students must then construct a written response
identifying this similarity, citing evidence from both texts to support their answer.
Improvement Idea Statements
Reporting
category
Integration of
Knowledge
and Ideas
Grade
4
Low statement
(scored below ACT Readiness Range)
High statement
(scored at or above ACT Readiness Range)
As you read, think about how authors
present and support their ideas. Also read
different texts on the same topic and think
about how these texts are similar and
different.
Read as many above grade-level texts
as you can. Think about how authors use
reasons and evidence to support their ideas.
Also, look for connections between and
among related texts.
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Scoring Guide
Scoring Guide
Synthesis–Compare
Explain how the hiking conditions for the Corps in “Lewis and Clark and the Great Falls Portage”
are similar to the conditions for hikers in “Hiking the Presidential Traverse.” Use one detail from the
passage and one detail from the selection to support your answer.
Scoring Framework
This Synthesis–Compare task is scored on a 0–3 point scale. A full-credit response includes the
following components:
Claim
Evidence
a general explanation of how the hiking
conditions for the Corps and the conditions for
hikers on the Presidential Traverse are alike
(1 point)
a detail from the passage that supports the
claim (1 point)
a detail from the selection that supports the
claim (1 point)
Acceptable Responses
The following chart is not a definitive list of acceptable responses. Other responses will also be seen
in the anchor papers and practice sets.
Claims
Evidence
•The Corps endured bad weather around the waterfalls, •The Corps endured intense heat from the summer sun;
Mount Washington has some of the worst weather in
just as hikers along the Presidential Traverse can
the world.
experience bad weather.
•The Corps encountered violent storms, thunder,
•The Corps had to hike many miles and overcome
rain, and hailstones the size of eggs; hikers on the
obstacles to get around the waterfalls, just as hikers
Presidential Traverse can encounter winds blowing
along the Presidential Traverse encounter obstacles on
over one hundred miles an hour, sudden drops in
their way to their final stops.
temperature, and snow in the summer.
•The Corps had to move their supplies eighteen miles to
get around the five waterfalls; the Presidential Traverse
covers twenty-three miles.
•The ground the Corps had to walk was uneven, hard,
and rocky; the Presidential Traverse crosses over
seven mountains.
Unacceptable Responses
The following chart is not a definitive list of unacceptable responses. Other responses will also be
seen in the anchor papers and practice sets.
Responses
•The hiking conditions for both the Corps at the waterfalls and
hikers on the Presidential Traverse were easy, and inexperienced
hikers could take part.
•Both the Corps at the waterfalls and hikers on the Presidential
Traverse had to move heavy loads.
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Scoring Rubric and Guidelines
Scoring Rubric and Guidelines
Score
point Description and example(s)
3
2
1
0
Notes
The answer includes an accurate claim and
two pieces of accurate evidence.
•A creditable claim is an interpretive statement
based on evidence from the text.
•A claim may appear as a single statement or
EXAMPLE 1
sentence or in different parts of the response.
Both had to hike in bad weather. The Corps had to walk
•Creditable evidence may be verbatim,
in the heat and rain, and hikers on the Presidential
paraphrased, or a logical inference based on
Traverse might have to walk in wind and snow.
information from the text.
•A
single sentence or statement can contain
EXAMPLE 2
both
a claim and evidence.
Both had to walk a long and hard route. The Corps hiked
18 miles on rocky ground, and hikers on the Presidential •Credit may be given to an otherwise
insufficient claim if the student offers accurate
Traverse walk 23 miles over seven mountains.
and appropriate evidence.
The answer includes an accurate claim and one
•Credible evidence must indicate a logical
accurate piece of evidence OR two pieces of
connection to the claim.
evidence.
•Some students may offer evidence that implies
a claim. In the case of Example 4, a point is
EXAMPLE 3
awarded for each textual detail, but not for
The hike was hard work for both. Like how the Corps
the implied claim. The maximum score for a
had to deal with bugs and sun.
response that offers two or more pieces of
evidence but no claim is score point 2.
EXAMPLE 4
•The maximum score for a response that offers
The Corps hiked 18 miles around the waterfalls. Hikers
more than one claim but no evidence is score
on the Presidential Traverse hike 23 miles.
point 1.
The answer is a single claim OR a piece of evidence. •If a response gives the same answer or
support twice using different words, it only
EXAMPLE 5
earns 1 point.
Both trails were hard to walk on.
•Responses do not have to be in complete
sentences or paragraphs. Even a one- or twoEXAMPLE 6
word response can receive a point.
Hikers have to hike in 100-mph winds.
•Extraneous material in a response, as long as
it doesn’t contradict the appropriate response,
The answer shows effort but offers neither an
is not taken into consideration when assigning
acceptable claim nor acceptable pieces of evidence.
a score.
EXAMPLE 7
•When a response offers an incorrect claim,
Both had to move heavy loads.
evidence is not creditable, even if this evidence
is listed among the acceptable responses.
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