EXPLORE TEST 9th Grade Students Friday, April 18th 2008

WHY TAKE THE EXPLORE TEST? Shows you your academic strengths & weaknesses Helps you search for careers & learn which ones might be right for you Helps you choose high school courses that will help prepare you for college & work 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. BASIC INFO Taken by 8th or 9th grade students Scaled score 1-25 Same company as the PLAN & ACT tests 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. BASIC INFO 4 multiple-choice tests in: English, Math, Reading & Science Collects info about your interests, needs, plans, etc. Results help you develop a high school coursework plan that prepares you to achieve your post-high school goals 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. BASIC INFO Results will show your scores in each area & a composite score Will show your scores compared to the scores of others Will list areas for improvement Will list suggested occupational areas Will list required education & high school coursework for suggested careers 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. ENGLISH TEST 40 questions in 30 minutes Tests 2 main areas of English: Conventions (Usage & Mechanics) Rhetorical skills 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. CONVENTIONS Punctuation: 6 questions Internal & end-of-sentence punctuation Emphasis on punctuation for clarity & appositives 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. CONVENTIONS Grammar & Usage: 8 questions Subject-verb agreement Pronoun-antecedent agreement Modifiers Verb formation Pronoun case Comparative & superlative adjectives & adverbs Idiomatic usage 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. CONVENTIONS Sentence Structure: 11 questions Clauses Placement of modifiers Shifts in construction 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. RHETORICAL SKILLS Strategy: 5 questions Choosing expressions appropriate for audience & purpose Adding, revising, or deleting material Judging relevancy of statement in context 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. RHETORICAL SKILLS Organization: 5 questions Choosing opening, transitional, & closing sentences 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. RHETORICAL SKILLS Style: 5 questions Selecting precise & appropriate words and images Maintain style & tone Avoid ambiguous pronoun references, wordiness, & redundancy When it comes to style, short & clear is usually the best answer! 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

TIPS FOR THE ENGLISH TEST Don’t read the entire passage—only the parts that relate to the question Remember that NO CHANGE is an option, and can be correct sometimes Choose the answer that sounds best to you Look at other sentences for context clues You can mark in the book 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. Practice Test Time! 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. READING TEST 30 questions in 30 minutes No former knowledge needed 3 passages with 10 multiple choice questions each Prose Fiction (short stories, novels) Social Sciences (history, geography, biography, political science, etc.) Humanities (architecture, art, ethics, film, language, music, philosophy, theater, etc.) 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. READING TEST Tests reading comprehension skills Determining main idea Locating & interpreting important details Order of events Making comparisons Cause-effect relationships Context-dependent words, phrases, statements Drawing conclusions Analyzing author’s voice & method 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

TIPS FOR THE READING TEST Try to skim the passage quickly and spend most of your time working on the questions Not all answers will be directly stated; some will be paraphrased You can mark in the book 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.

copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved. Practice Test Time! 1/2/2019 copyright 2006 www.brainybetty.com; All Rights Reserved.