PAPA TESTS
Sample Selected-Response Questions
READING
Use the passage below to answer the four questions that follow.
1 The one-room school is on the verge of extinction. Over the last century, the number of such schools
has dropped from 190,000 to less than 400. They are now found only in the most isolated places.
Although these buildings will never be seen by most of the population, the students and communities they
serve hold them in high regard. The next few years will be critical in determining whether we can preserve
this connection to our past or let it become a fading memory of a more innocent time.
2 One-room schools typically serve rural communities isolated from more developed areas. Each school
has one teacher and between 4 and 16 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The grades taught
vary each year, but the teachers' approach is fairly consistent. At any given time, a portion of their classes
will be working independently or in small groups as they provide more focused instruction to other
students. It is a learning environment in which older children help younger children and all do their part to
carry out daily tasks. This collaborative atmosphere largely eliminates disciplinary problems and gives
students the support needed to perform at a high level.
3 Ensuring the survival of one-room schools will not be easy. If these schools existed in highly populated
areas, parents would go to great lengths to guarantee their children a spot. But few families are willing to
move to the most sparsely populated areas of the country to take advantage of the schools' benefits. The
best course of action may be for researchers to study these schools while they still have the chance.
Information gathered on their operating style and the unique communities they provide might generate
ideas that can be incorporated into other school environments. If the one-room school cannot survive as a
physical entity, the least we can do is try to find ways to keep it alive in spirit.
Objective 001: Determine the meanings of words and phrases used in a variety of texts.
1. Which of the following words is a synonym for collaborative as it is used in Paragraph 2?
a. informal
b. creative
c. flexible
d. cooperative
Objective 0002: Recognize purpose, main idea, and organization in a variety of texts.
2. Which of the following organizational approaches does the author use to develop ideas in the
passage?
a. decreasing importance b. problem and solution c. increasing complexity d. comparison and contrast.
Objective 0003: Analyze and evaluate ideas and information presented in a variety of texts.
3. According to information presented in the passage, one major reason for the decline of one-room
schools is:
a. the schools' inability to recruit teachers. b. the organization of the schools.
c. the teaching method used in the schools. d. the schools' location in isolated areas.
Objective 0004: Make inferences from ideas and information presented in a variety of texts.
4. In the passage, the author expresses most clearly which of the following opinions of one-room schools?
a. Their structures leave much to be desired. b. They are only effective with highly motivated students.
c. There is much to be learned from them. d. They are most effective at teaching basic skills.
MATH
Objective 0005: Understand numbers and the number system.
1. If
, then which of the following integers could n equal?
a. 17
b. 64
c. 75
d. 81
Objective 0006: Apply principles of algebra to expressions and equations.
2. The cost to heat a house will increase by 5% next year. If the current cost is x, which of the following
expressions represents the cost to heat the house next year?
a. (0.05)x
b. (1.0 + 0.05)x
c.
d. x + 0.05
Objective 0007: Apply principles of algebra to linear and nonlinear functions.
3. A child has $2.60 in dimes and nickels. The number of nickels is twice the number of dimes. If n is the
number of nickels and d is the number of dimes, which of the following pairs of equations can be used to
determine the number of nickels and dimes?
a. 0.10d + 0.05n = 2.60
n=2
b. d + n = 2.60
2n = d
c.
d + n = 2.60
n = 2d
d.
0.10d + 0.05n = 2.60
2n = d
Objective 0008: Understand measurement concepts and geometry principles.
4. The speed of sound in air is approximately 1126 feet per second. Which of the following expressions
gives the speed of sound in miles per hour?
A.
B.
C.
D
Objective 0009: Demonstrate knowledge of data, statistics, and probability.
5. The Venn diagram below represents the inventory of cars available at a car dealership.
In the dealer's lot there are 50 cars. Twenty-five have a blue exterior, 15 have a tan interior, and 5 have a
blue exterior with a tan interior. Based on this information, what is the probability that a randomly selected
car on the lot will have a tan interior and an exterior that is not blue?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Objective 0010: Understand problem solving, reasoning, and mathematical communication.
6. The effectiveness of computer passwords depends on the number and type of characters that can be
used in creating them. Developing effective passwords is a direct application of which of the following
mathematical concepts?
a. factors and common multiples
c. permutations and combinations
b. functions and abstract algebra
d. trigonometry and calculus
WRITING
Use the writing sample below to answer the two questions that follow.
1
The pineapple, the pear, and the orange are all
straightforward fruits: they smell as good as they taste.
2
3
Other fruits, however, are not so simple. __________
_____________________________________________
4
While descriptions of the durian's sweet almond flavor are
brief and to the point, commentary on its aroma could fill
5
volumes. One writer has likened the smell to a cross between
rotten onions, turpentine, sweaty socks, and a pig pen, and
6
more foul comparisons are made by others. Grown
exclusively in Southeast Asia, the durian has an odor so
offensive that it is commonly banned from hotels, offices,
7
subways, shopping malls, and other public areas. People are
best advised to eat it in the privacy of their homes, holding
their noses and accepting the fruit's sulfurous bouquet as the
price for such a rare taste sensation.
Objective 0011: Understand effective writing.
1. Which of the following edited versions of Part 5 is most effective?
a. One writer has used rotten onions, turpentine, sweaty socks, and a pig pen to describe the smell; more
foul things can be used to describe it.
b. The smell has been likened to a cross between rotten onions, turpentine, sweaty socks, and a pig pen
by one writer, and others have made even more foul comparisons.
c. One writer has likened the smell to a cross between rotten onions, turpentine, sweaty socks, and a pig
pen; others have made even more foul comparisons.
d. Likening the smell to crossing rotten onions, turpentine, sweaty socks, and a pig pen, one writer and
others have made foul comparisons.
Objective 0012: Understand clear, concise, and coherent writing.
2. Which of the following sentences, if inserted as Part 3, would be the most effective topic sentence for
the paragraph?
a. People use the durian to sweeten a broad range of dishes.
b. The durian might be the world's most confusing fruit.
c. People have been eating the durian since prehistoric times.
d. The durian can be eaten at various stages of ripeness.
Objective 0013: Understand grammatical writing.
3. Which of the following phrases would be most appropriate to use in the blank in the sentence below?
I am good at gymnastics, but __________.
a. my sister is even better
b. even better, is my sister
c. my sister, even, is better
d. better is my sister, even
Objective 0014: Understand writing mechanics and the conventions of Standard American English.
4. Which of the following sentences contains an error in capitalization?
a. His Father especially enjoyed the month of September.
b. Our class president will attend the University of Pittsburgh.
c. I sent my federal tax forms to the Internal Revenue Service.
d. The artist Winslow Homer lived in Maine for many years.
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