DIAGNOSTIC CBEST EXAM 6 potx

Here’s an outline of what you’ll find in this Mini-Course: Reading 1: General Strategies page 64 Reading 2: Organization Questions page 66 Reading 3: Unmasking the Main Idea page 70 Read

Each of the 24 lessons in this chapter reviews one important CBEST skill You can either move

through the Mini-Course sequentially or choose the areas you need to study most If you find you need more help after completing the lessons in one area, be sure to consult the More Help section

at the end of this chapter

Here’s an outline of what you’ll find in this Mini-Course:

Reading 1: General Strategies (page 64)

Reading 2: Organization Questions (page 66)

Reading 3: Unmasking the Main Idea (page 70)

Reading 4: About the Author (page 73)

Reading 5: Definite Details and Tables of Contents (page 76)

Reading 6: Impressive Implications (page 79)

Reading 7: Wizard Words, Departed Parts, and Other Oddities (page 81)

Reading 8: Graphs (also applies to Math) (page 87)

CBEST Mini-Course

C H A P T E R S U M M A R Y

The CBEST Mini-Course gives you the essentials you need to pass the CBEST in just 24 lessons By spending just half an hour on each lesson—more on the areas that give you trouble, less on the areas you feel confident about—you can increase your CBEST score and earn your California or Oregon teaching credentials

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Math 1: Words, Words, Words (page 90)

Math 2: Numbers Working Together (page 93)

Math 3: Rounding, Estimation, and Decimal

Equivalents (page 97)

Math 4: Fractions (page 101)

Math 5: Measurement, Perimeter, and Area

(page 104)

Math 6: Ratios, Proportions, and Percents

(page 109)

Math 7: Algebra (page 114)

Math 8: Averages, Probability, and

Combinations (page 118)

Math 9: The Word Problem Game (page 123)

Math 10: The CIA Approach to Word Problems

(page 127)

Math 11: Logic and Venn Diagrams (page 130)

Writing 1: Outlining the Essay (page 133)

Writing 2: Writing the Introduction (page 136)

Writing 3: The Sandwich Paragraphs and the

Last Slice (page 140)

Writing 4: Sentence Doctor (page 143)

Writing 5: Finishing Touches (page 147)

More Help with Reading, Math, and Writing

(page 151)

Most types of questions discussed in each lesson

are accompanied by a gray box that gives success steps

for solving that type of question Look for the gray box

on each page and read it before you try the sample

questions

 R e a d i n g 1 : G e n e r a l S t r a t e g i e s

The reading comprehension section is composed of 50

questions on a variety of passages The passages are

created to simulate high school and college-level

mate-rials, student textbooks, teacher’s guides and

enrich-ment material, and books on student behavior or

psychology The questions are a variety of types This

section explores some general strategies for all kinds of

passages and questions The sections that follow look

in detail at each kind of question you might be asked

Seven Approaches

How do you approach reading comprehension ques-tions? Below are some suggestions from former CBEST takers

■ The Concentrator: “I read the passage thoroughly

before I look at the questions After concentrating

on the passage, I can find the answers to the ques-tions if I don’t already know the answer from my careful reading.”

■ The Skimmer: “I skim the passage before looking

at the questions I can always go back and find the answers once I know how the passage is

arranged.”

■ The Cautious Reader: “I read the questions first

with all their answer choices I want to know what they will ask me before I read the passage so

I can be on the lookout Then I read the passage two or three times until I am sure I understand it completely.”

■ The Game Player: “I read the questions first and

try to answer them from what I already know or can guess Then I read the passage to see whether

I am right After guessing the answers, I am famil-iar with the questions enough to recognize the answers when I find them.”

■ The Educated Guesser: “I read the questions first,

but not the answers When I find the answer in the passage, I look for it among the answer choices.”

■ The Psychic: “I believe the test makers would put

the questions for the first part of the passage first

So I read the first question and go back to the passage for the answer, and then I do the second.”

■ The Efficiency Expert: “First I look at the

ques-tions and do the quesques-tions that have line numbers that indicate where the answer is to be found

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Then I skim the passage for the key words I read

in the other questions This way I sometimes do

not even have to read the whole passage.”

If you don’t already have a preferred method, try

some of these approaches as you work through the

practice exercises in this book See which method fits

your own mix of talents

Hints for Reading the Passages

Try Short Cuts

The purpose of a reading comprehension problem is

to be as accurate as possible in the given amount of

time Practice will help you determine whether you

need to read the questions first, the answers first, or

some combination thereof Try some of the shortcuts

listed above to find out which works for you

Associate with the Passage

Every passage has something to do with real-life

situ-ations Your mission is to discover the answers to such

questions as:

■ What is the author trying to express?

■ Who might the author be?

■ Does the author tell readers in the beginning

what to expect later in the passage?

■ How does the author structure the work to

con-vey meaning?

■ Does the author make any statements that might

surprise or interest you?

■ To what conclusions is the author leading

read-ers? What conclusions are stated?

If the passage seems boring or on a topic that is

foreign to you, try imagining that your best friend is

talking to you on the same subject, and it totally

inter-ests him or her It might not be your thing, but it’s your

friend’s, so listen to every detail and nuance of what your friend has to say and try to associate with it

To Mark or Not to Mark

Some test takers find it helpful to underline text or make notes in the margins to designate the stated sub-ject, supporting facts, conclusions, etc For others, marking a passage seems a waste of time You are free

to make as many marks as you want on the test book-let, so if marking helps, go for it If you are not sure, now is the time to try out this method If you decide to mark a passage, don’t mark so much that the meat of the passage is obscured Marking a few key words and ideas is more helpful than underlining the majority of the passage

Notice Transitions

Pay special attention to words that give you an insight into the author’s purpose or that change the context of

the passage, such as however, nevertheless, etc In at least

one passage, these words will be left for you to fill in This topic will be discussed in more detail in Reading Lesson 7

Hints for Reading the Questions

Reading the questions carefully is just as important as reading the answers

Read the Questions as Carefully

as the Passage

It is crucial that you read the questions and answers as carefully as you read the passage Should you read all the answer choices or stop when you have found one that seems right? Test takers differ on this Some who read all the answers become confused or worry about wasting time Others feel more secure when they can eliminate every answer but the right one It’s up to you

to find the best method

Know Question Types

If, for example, you answer an implication question as

a detail question, you will get the answer wrong, even

though the answer you chose is in the passage The

les-sons after this one will show you how to recognize the

different question types and how to quickly choose the

best answer

Avoid Controversial Answers

There will probably be some type of ethnic or

envi-ronmental passage on your CBEST Stay away from

answers that seem negative toward any ethnic or

gen-der group or any environmental issues Test makers

usually steer clear of right answers that say something

negative or controversial

Answer Only from the Passage

Everything you need to know has to be somewhere in

the passage While it is helpful to have some knowledge

of the subject in order to better understand the author,

don’t rely on your experience to answer the question

An answer can be true and still not be the correct

answer

Not or Except

Look for words in the question such as NOT or

EXCEPT, especially if you cannot find your answer or

there seem to be more than one answer For example,

a question might read: “Which of the following facts is

NOT stated in the passage?”

Eliminate

Eliminate all the answers that are obviously off the

subject or otherwise wrong Physically cross off the

obviously wrong answers in your test booklet so you

won’t waste time reading them again Test takers say

that they are often left with two close answers There

has to be one answer that is better than the other

Check the passage for clue words that might point to

one choice over the other If, after trying out all the

strategies you learn in this book, you are still left with two answers, go ahead and guess, and get on with the test

None Left?

If you eliminate all of the answers, go back over the eliminated answers to determine whether there might

be another meaning for any of them Try to find a rea-son that would make each answer correct If there is no possible way an answer could be right—for example,

it is completely off the subject—then eliminate that answer Choose the answer that is the least wrong

Marking the Unknown Question

Should you mark questions to come back to later? If you do, you will probably have to read the passage again, which can waste valuable time If an answer jumps out at you after reading the passage once or twice, choose it Many teachers and test takers recom-mend going with your first answer, your “gut” instinct

To save time and avoid dealing with passages more than once, answer all the questions about one passage before continuing on to the next passage

Using the Steps

The lessons that follow discuss types of reading ques-tions you may encounter They offer sample question beginnings, as well as steps for solving each type of problem There is no need to memorize all the steps They are tips that clue you into what the test makers expect You may be able to find the answer by your own methods without looking at the steps So much the better The steps are not there to bog you down, but

if any of them can help you, use them

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 R e a d i n g 2 : O r g a n i z a t i o n

Q u e s t i o n s

Passages on the CBEST are always organized logically

Learning to recognize that organization may also give

you some ideas on organizing your essays in the

Writ-ing section In this lesson, you’ll learn about two types

of organization questions: structure and misplaced

sentences

Structure Questions

Structure questions have stems (the question part) that

start out like these:

■ Which of the following best represents the

arrangement of the passage?

■ Which of the following best describes the

organi-zation of the passage?

■ The sequence of the passage is best represented

by which of the following?

Where to Find Structure Answers

in the Passage

To answer structure questions, you will need to skim

the passage carefully enough to discover the gist of

each sentence; that is, whether it is a statistic, an

exam-ple, a quote, an opinion, and so on

Practice Passage and Questions

Try the six Success Steps on the structure questions that follow this passage

Many extended-time programs use heterogeneous grouping of multi-age and/or multi-ability stu-dents Mixed-ability grouping is based on the the-ory that lower-ability students benefit from working

in small groups with their higher-achieving peers, and high-ability students reinforce their knowledge

by sharing with their lower-achieving peers Researchers also have found that multi-age group-ing benefits students’ mental health as well as aca-demic achievement and contributes to positive attitudes toward school

Because the voluntary nature of participation in

an extended-time program results in a range of stu-dent ages and skills, heterogeneous groups may result naturally Often, however, extended-time program planners arrange groups so that high- and low-ability students work together—with the expectation of cooperative rather than competitive learning In Chicago’s ASPIRA program, students are selected for participation with a goal of mixing high achievers and at-risk participants—and these groups work together closely in all activities

1 Skim the passage or read the topic sentences to understand the general topic and the purpose of the

passage

2 Notice the logical sequence of ideas that the author uses.

3 The description of sentences in the answers goes in the same order as the sentences in the passage So

notice the first sentences Do they state a theory, introduce a topic, quote a famous person, or ?

4 Look at the answer choices If the first few sentences state a theory, then the first part of the correct answer

should say that the author stated a theory, gives a hypothesis, or other words to that effect Eliminate any answers that do not match

5 Go back to 3 and 4 above; look at the next few sentences.

6 You should have eliminated at least one or two answers When only two or three are left, read them to see

what possibilities they reveal for the rest of the passage Read the next sentences of the passage and find the answer that matches the rest of the structure

Six Success Steps for Structure Passages

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1 Read the passage to determine the main idea.

2 Be suspicious of any sentence that has nothing to do with the main idea.

1 Which of the following best describes the

struc-ture of the passage?

a The passage begins with a hypothesis, and

then gives an explanation and support for this

theory

b The passage starts with a main idea, gives an

example, and then draws a conclusion

c The passage opens with an introduction to the

topic, then gives a more detailed account of

the topic

d The passage begins with a statement, supports

that statement with research, and gives real life

examples

e The passage begins with an event and then

continues the narrative

2 Which of the following would be the best outline

for the passage?

a I Statement

II Facts

III Quotations

b I Theory

II Practices

c I Research

II Discussion

III Example

d I Question

II Answer

III Support

e I Quote

II Thesis

III Examples

Answers

Here’s how you could use the six Success Steps to

answer question 1

1 It seems as though the passage is about students

of different ages and abilities learning together

2 The first paragraph tells why and the second tells

how students come to be in groups of mixed age and ability

3 The first sentence states a fact The other

sen-tences in the paragraph seem to cite research It doesn’t say so at first, but later it says,

“Researchers also found ” which implies that research was involved in the theories before that sentence

4 Answers c and e are out The passage does not

give much introduction to the topic, and does not start with an event

5 The next sentences support the topic sentence with research The answer must be d.

6 For this question, you don’t need to use this hint.

If you use the same method to answer question 2,

you will quickly eliminate answers d and e on the basis

of the first few sentences You eliminate a because there are no quotations You are left with b and c, which are

very close Answer c contains a vague word, discussion,

which could be almost any kind of structure Answer

b is more precise The first paragraph in the passage

gives the theory, and the second gives the application

of the theory The better answer is b.

Misplaced Sentences

You may be asked to find the sentence that does not logically flow, or that is not necessary to the purpose of the passage Such questions often start out like this:

■ Which sentence, if omitted from the passage, would be least likely to interrupt the sequence of ideas?