Praxis Core øvingsprøve

• A. Most students lose all of their reading skills over the summer.
• B. Summer library openings may help prevent reading loss, but their success depends partly on families hearing about them.
• C. Few families use school libraries at any time of the year.
• D. Districts that open libraries in summer should stop doing so until results improve.

Svar: B. Summer library openings may help prevent reading loss, but their success depends partly on families hearing about them.

The main idea has to cover the whole passage: the goal of the openings, the mixed results and the need to reach families. The first choice exaggerates, since the passage says skills slow down, not that they are lost, and the third and fourth choices go beyond anything the passage says. When you check a main idea, ask whether it leaves out a big part of the passage or adds something the writer never claims.

• A. loud and enthusiastic
• B. angry and critical
• C. lacking enthusiasm
• D. long and drawn out

Svar: C. lacking enthusiasm

The clues come after the semicolon: only a few teachers clapped, and they did so politely while most just nodded. That describes a reaction with little energy, so lacking enthusiasm fits. Loud and enthusiastic is the opposite, and nothing in the sentence suggests anger or length. In vocabulary-in-context questions, use the clues in the sentence rather than what you already think the word means.

• A. Visits were higher on Thursday than on any other day.
• B. Visits rose every day until Friday.
• C. Fewer than 40 visits were recorded on two different days.
• D. Tuesday had the second-lowest number of visits.

Svar: A. Visits were higher on Thursday than on any other day.

Thursday's 61 is the largest number in the table. Visits did not rise every day, because Wednesday (48) was lower than Tuesday (55). Only Friday (34) is below 40, and Tuesday's 55 is the second highest, not the second lowest. On table questions, test every number a choice mentions before you pick it.

Velg alle som passer.

• A. The shop owners' main concern is the loss of parking.
• B. The passage proves that bike lanes raise sales.
• C. Supporters used crash data from other cities.
• D. The council voted to build the lanes.
• E. The council member offers evidence for the lanes while noting a limit on it.

Svar: A. The shop owners' main concern is the loss of parking., C. Supporters used crash data from other cities., E. The council member offers evidence for the lanes while noting a limit on it.

The passage says the shop owners worry about eight lost parking spaces, that supporters cited fewer crashes in other cities, and that the council member shared a nearby town's sales increase while warning that the streets differ. It does not prove higher sales, since the council member says the towns are not alike, and it never says how the council voted. On select-all questions, each choice stands or falls on its own.

In an argument, the claim is the point the writer wants you to accept, and _____ is the information offered to support it. A statement that presents the opposing view so the writer can answer it is called a _____.

Alternativer for luke 1: a conclusion, evidence, a transition, a definition

Alternativer for luke 2: counterargument, summary, example, title

Svar: evidence, counterargument

Evidence is what backs a claim up: facts, numbers, examples or expert statements. A counterargument raises the other side, and a strong writer then answers it, which makes the claim more convincing. When you read an argument, mark the claim first, then ask what evidence supports it and whether the writer faces the other side.

• A. The list of required supplies are posted outside the classroom.
• B. The list of required supplies is posted outside the classroom.
• C. The list of required supplies were posted outside the classroom.
• D. The list of required supplies have been posted outside the classroom.

Svar: B. The list of required supplies is posted outside the classroom.

The subject is list, which is singular, so the verb must be singular too: is posted. The phrase of required supplies describes the list but is not the subject, and its plural noun is what tempts people to write are. Cross out the phrase between the subject and the verb, and the sentence The list is posted reads correctly.

• A. The bus was late we waited twenty minutes in the rain.
• B. The bus was late, we waited twenty minutes in the rain.
• C. Because the bus was late, we waited twenty minutes in the rain.
• D. The bus was late, however we waited twenty minutes in the rain.

Svar: C. Because the bus was late, we waited twenty minutes in the rain.

The original joins two complete sentences with only a comma, which is a comma splice. Making the first part a dependent clause with because fixes it and shows how the ideas connect. The first choice becomes a run-on, the second repeats the error, and the fourth still splices two sentences, because however is not a conjunction that can be joined with a comma alone.

• A. As a result,
• B. However,
• C. Otherwise,
• D. Previously,

Svar: A. As a result,

The second sentence is a consequence of the first: the garden had plenty of tomatoes, so the cafeteria made soup. As a result signals that cause-and-effect link. However signals a contrast, otherwise signals an alternative, and previously points back in time, and none of those fit this pair of sentences.

Velg alle som passer.

• A. After the assembly ended, the students returned to class.
• B. My sister, who lives in Denver, is a nurse.
• C. The students who finished early, left the room.
• D. We bought apples, pears, and plums at the market.
• E. She said, that she would be late.

Svar: A. After the assembly ended, the students returned to class., B. My sister, who lives in Denver, is a nurse., D. We bought apples, pears, and plums at the market.

A comma follows an introductory clause, and commas set off extra information such as who lives in Denver. A list of three or more items takes commas between the items, and the comma before and is a style choice as long as you are consistent. The third sentence wrongly separates the subject from its verb, and the fifth puts a comma after said before an indirect statement.

Moving a sentence to a better place in a paragraph is an example of _____, while correcting a misspelled word is an example of _____.

Alternativer for luke 1: revising, editing, drafting

Alternativer for luke 2: revising, editing, drafting

Svar: revising, editing

Revising changes what the writing says or how it is organized: adding, cutting, reordering or clarifying ideas. Editing fixes the surface of the writing, such as spelling, grammar and punctuation. The Writing test has revision-in-context questions, and a useful habit is to fix the ideas and order first and the small errors last.

• A. 60
• B. 90
• C. 120
• D. 150

Svar: B. 90

Add the fractions read: 3/8 + 1/4 = 3/8 + 2/8 = 5/8 of the book. That leaves 3/8 of 240 pages, which is 90 pages. The answer 150 is the number of pages already read. Reading the question for what is asked, pages left and not pages read, saves points on problems like this.

• A. $120.00
• B. $132.00
• C. $108.00
• D. $118.80

Svar: D. $118.80

A 10% increase gives $120 x 1.10 = $132.00. The 10% decrease applies to the new price, so $132.00 x 0.90 = $118.80. The two changes do not cancel, because the second percent is taken of a larger amount. Each percent step applies to the amount you have at that point.

• A. 11
• B. 12
• C. 13
• D. 14

Svar: C. 13

A mean of 12 across five numbers means the total is 5 x 12 = 60. The four known numbers add up to 8 + 10 + 14 + 15 = 47, so the missing number is 60 - 47 = 13. Whenever a question gives a mean and asks for a missing value, work from the total.

Velg alle som passer.

• A. (2, 3)
• B. (3, 1)
• C. (1, 4)
• D. (0, 6)
• E. (4, -1)

Svar: A. (2, 3), B. (3, 1), E. (4, -1)

Substitute each pair. For (2, 3): 4 + 3 = 7, which works. For (3, 1): 6 + 1 = 7, which works. For (4, -1): 8 - 1 = 7, which works. The pair (1, 4) gives 2 + 4 = 6 and (0, 6) gives 0 + 6 = 6, so neither works. Remember to double the x-value before you add y.

A right triangle has legs of 9 inches and 12 inches. Its hypotenuse is _____ inches long and its area is _____ square inches.

Alternativer for luke 1: 15, 18, 21, 108

Alternativer for luke 2: 27, 54, 108, 180

Svar: 15, 54

By the Pythagorean theorem, the hypotenuse is the square root of 9^2 + 12^2 = 81 + 144 = 225, which is 15. The area of a right triangle is half the product of its legs: (1/2)(9)(12) = 54. The number 108 is the product of the legs, which is the area of the rectangle, not the triangle.