Are You Smarter Than A 10th Grader? Find Out With MCAS Questions

MASSACHUSETTS — Public school students are taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System Exam this month, which was first developed in 1993 as part of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act.

Last week, students in grades 3-10 took the math exams, while this week they are taking English language arts exams. While students have been known to refer to MCAS as the "Massachusetts Child Abuse System," the annual exams carry high stakes. The exams are mandated by state and federal law, can impact state funding to school districts, and students who fail the 10th grade exams cannot graduate high school.

Below are some sample questions from the exams given to 10th graders, which were released in this fall by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Math

1. Silvia is planning to use a 4-year loan to purchase a car.

• The price of the car is $8,575.
• The amount of interest she will have to pay on the loan is $1,036.

Silvia will combine the price of the car and the amount of interest to determine how much she must repay. She will make 48 equal monthly payments.

Which of the following is the best estimate of each monthly payment Silvia will make?

A. $175

B $200

C. $225

D. $250

2) Consider the equation:

5x-1=x^2+2x+1

Which of the following values of x makes the equation true?

Select the two correct values.

A. -2

B. -1

C. 0

D. 1

E. 2

3) A system of equations is shown.

y= -1/2x

x^2+y^2=20

Which of the following ordered pairs are solutions of the system of equations?

Select the two correct answers.

A. (-8, -4)

B. (-4, 2)

C. (0, 0)

D. (4, -2)

E. (8, -4)

4) A data set with an outlier is shown

20, 35, 40, 45, 45, 50,75

Which of the following best describes the effect on the mean of the data if the outlier is removed?

A. The mean will increase.

B. The mean will decrease.

C. The mean will remain the same.

D. There is not enough information to make a conclusion.

5) A candidate received 59% of the votes cast in an election. In the election, 76% of the 39,881 registered voters cast a vote.

Which of the following is closest to the total number of people who cast a vote for the candidate in the election?

A. 12,000

B. 14,000

C. 16,000

D. 18,000

English Language Arts

6) Read the sentence from the paragraph 1 of Where the Sea Used to Be.

The disparity between his fine dress and the awkwardness of his posture only made him seem more unpredictable — as if he was trapped, and as such, always within only a stone's throw of rage or harm-making.

What is the main effect of the sentence.

A. It suggests the theme.

B. It provides a flashback.

C. It increases tension.

7) Read the sentence from Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen.

Everything they were, all the ages since their time began, the instincts of countless eons of wolves coursing after herds of bison and caribou were still there, caught in genetic strands, and they came to the fore and the dogs went berserk with it.

What d0es the sentence reveal about Paulsen?

A. He believes the dogs' energy is a natural response.

B. He admires the dogs' hunting skills despite their informal training.

C. He is concerned about the long-term health of the dogs participating in the race.

D. He is conflicted about racing with dogs so closely related to their wild ancestors.

8) Read the paragraph from Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen.

Worse, the dogs became excited. And like the barking, excitement breeds on itself until dogs I thought I'd known for years were completely unrecognizable, were almost completely mad with eagerness. It wasn't just that they wanted to run — there simply wasn't anything else for them. Everything they were, all the ages since their time began, the instincts of countless eons of wolves coursing after herds of bison and caribou were still there, caught in genetic strands, and they came to the fore and the dogs went berserk with it.

What does the underlined sentence mainly suggest?

A. Paulsen will be unable to manage the situation.

B. Paulsen will not hear instructions for the race.

C. Paulsen will no longer use the same dogs in the race.

D. Paulsen will be unable to find his dogs if they get lost.

Answers

1. B,

2. D, E

3. B, D

4. B

5. D

6. C

7. A

8. A

Correction: An earlier version of this article gave the incorrect answers for questions 2 and 5.