CAASPP English Language Arts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student reads a passage arguing that schools should extend lunch periods. Which type of evidence would BEST strengthen this argument?
- A personal story about a student who was hungry
- Statistical data showing improved academic performance linked to longer lunch breaks (Correct answer)
- An opinion from a popular athlete about nutrition
- A description of what foods are served in school cafeterias
Correct answer: Statistical data showing improved academic performance linked to longer lunch breaks
Statistical data provides objective, measurable support that directly connects longer lunch periods to the author's claim about benefits.
Question 2: Read this sentence: 'The ancient oak tree, its branches twisted by decades of wind, stood sentinel over the empty playground.' What does 'sentinel' most likely mean?
- A type of old tree
- A guard or watchful presence (Correct answer)
- A playground structure
- A weather instrument
Correct answer: A guard or watchful presence
Context clues like 'stood over' and the watchful, enduring image of the tree suggest 'sentinel' means a guard or watchful presence.
Question 3: A narrator describes events only as experienced by one character, using 'he' and 'she' but not 'I.' This point of view is called:
- First person
- Second person
- Third person limited (Correct answer)
- Third person omniscient
Correct answer: Third person limited
Third person limited uses 'he/she/they' pronouns but restricts the reader's knowledge to one character's thoughts and experiences.
Question 4: Which revision BEST improves the coherence of this paragraph opener: 'Dogs make great pets. The sky is blue. Many families own dogs.'?
- Dogs make great pets, and many families own them. (Correct answer)
- The sky is blue, and dogs are great.
- Many families own dogs. The sky is blue. Dogs are great pets.
- Dogs are great. Blue skies exist. Families have dogs.
Correct answer: Dogs make great pets, and many families own them.
Combining the related ideas about dogs into one sentence removes the irrelevant detail about the sky and creates a coherent, focused opening.
Question 5: An author writes: 'She had butterflies in her stomach before her speech.' This is an example of:
- Simile
- Hyperbole
- Idiom (Correct answer)
- Alliteration
Correct answer: Idiom
An idiom is a phrase whose figurative meaning differs from its literal meaning; 'butterflies in her stomach' means nervousness, not actual butterflies.
Question 6: When writing an informational text, a student wants to show contrast between two ideas. Which transition word is MOST appropriate?
- Furthermore
- Therefore
- However (Correct answer)
- Similarly
Correct answer: However
'However' signals a contrast or shift in ideas, making it the appropriate transition for showing opposing information.
Question 7: A student is asked to identify the central idea of a nonfiction article. Which strategy is MOST effective?
- Choose the first sentence of the article
- Find the idea that is supported by most of the text's details (Correct answer)
- Select the most interesting fact mentioned
- Use only the title to determine the main point
Correct answer: Find the idea that is supported by most of the text's details
The central idea is the point that the majority of the text's evidence and details work together to support throughout the passage.
CAASPP English Language Arts 2
A student reads a passage arguing that schools should extend lunch periods.
Which type of evidence would BEST strengthen this argument?