NYSTCE ATAS - NYSTCE Assessment of Teaching Assistant Skills Writing and Grammar Conventions Questions and Answers

Question 1

A teaching assistant is reviewing a student's writing assignment and finds the following sentence: 'The student's, who were excited about the field trip, boarded the bus quickly.' Which of the following corrections is needed?

Accepted Answer

Remove the comma after 'student's'.

Answer

Change 'who' to 'that'.

Answer

Add a comma after 'bus'.

Answer

Change 'quickly' to 'quick'.

Question 2

Which of the following sentences demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

Accepted Answer

The group of children from various schools is waiting for the museum to open.

Answer

Each of the students are responsible for their own supplies.

Answer

The teacher, along with her assistants, were setting up the classroom.

Answer

Neither the principal nor the teachers was available for a comment.

Question 3

A teacher asks you to combine the following two sentences into one clear and grammatically correct sentence: 'The science experiment was successful. The students recorded their observations carefully.' Which option is the BEST way to combine them?

Accepted Answer

The science experiment was successful, and the students recorded their observations carefully.

Answer

The science experiment was successful the students recorded their observations carefully.

Answer

Because the science experiment was successful, so the students recorded their observations carefully.

Answer

Successful was the science experiment, their observations were recorded carefully by the students.

Question 4

A teaching assistant is creating a worksheet and needs to write a sentence that correctly uses a semicolon. Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?

Accepted Answer

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day; the students quickly packed their bags.

Answer

The students were excited for the assembly; but they needed to finish their work first.

Answer

The classroom was decorated with several items; a world map, a colorful rug, and student artwork.

Answer

I need to buy supplies; such as pencils, paper, and glue.

Question 5

When proofreading a memo to be sent home to parents, a teaching assistant notices a capitalization error. Which of the following sentences contains an error in capitalization?

Accepted Answer

We will be studying the Revolutionary War in our Social Studies class.

Answer

The next Parent-Teacher Association meeting is on Tuesday, April 15.

Answer

Please remember to pack a lunch for your child's field trip to the Bronx Zoo.

Answer

Principal Thompson announced that the school would be closed for the holiday.

Question 6

A student wrote the following sentence: 'Reading her book, the dog suddenly started barking.' Which of the following best describes the grammatical error in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Dangling modifier

Answer

Sentence fragment

Answer

Run-on sentence

Answer

Incorrect verb tense