ELPAC Practice

ELPAC reading practice questions for grades 3–5

Passages followed by comprehension questions, plus word and sentence choice tasks.

These 32 questions are grouped by task type, one group at a time. Answer a question to see whether it was right and why. Nothing is timed and nothing is recorded.

Set 1 of 6. 0 of 32 questions answered.

Read and Choose a Sentence

The student reads three or four sentences and chooses the one that best describes a picture.

Look at the picture, then answer the questions.

Three students behind a table in a hallway selling lemonade to a teacher dropping coins into a jar
Read image description

Three students stand behind a folding table in a school hallway. Paper cups and a big jug of lemonade are on the table. One student is handing a full cup to a teacher. The teacher is dropping coins into a jar.

Question 1 of 3

Read the four sentences. Choose the one that best describes the picture.

Which sentence best describes the picture?

Look at the picture, then answer the questions.

Girl in garage kneeling fixing slipped bicycle chain on upside-down bike, man pointing at chain
Read image description

A girl kneels on the floor of a garage next to a bicycle that is turned upside down. The chain has come off the wheel. Her hands are dark with grease. A man stands behind her and points at the chain.

Question 2 of 3

Read the four sentences. Choose the one that best describes the picture.

Which sentence best describes the picture?

Look at the picture, then answer the questions.

Three children stepping off a stopped school bus onto sidewalk with crossing guard holding stop sign
Read image description

A school bus has stopped beside a park. Its door is open and its red lights are flashing. Three children step down from the door onto the sidewalk. A crossing guard stands in the road and holds up a stop sign.

Question 3 of 3

Read the four sentences. Choose the one that best describes the picture.

Which sentence best describes the picture?

3 questions in this set are still unanswered. You can move on without answering them.

Ready for the whole thing? Take the mixed practice test 1 for Grades 3–5.

Every answer, explained

Each question has its own page with the correct answer and why each other choice is wrong.

Read and Choose a Sentence

  1. Which sentence best describes the picture?
  2. Which sentence best describes the picture?
  3. Which sentence best describes the picture?

Read a Short Informational Passage

  1. Where should students put the books they are returning?
  2. According to the notice, what happens if a student keeps a book past the day it is due?
  3. A plant looks dry on Thursday. What should the Plant Helper do?
  4. According to the notice, what should a student do if the light on the station turns red?
  5. Where should a student fill a cup?

Read a Literary Passage

  1. Why does Yusuf take the long way home?
  2. What happens after Yusuf turns his back and counts to two hundred?
  3. Read this sentence from the passage: 'Behind that board, in a hollow under a stack of…
  4. How does Yusuf feel at the end of the passage, and how do you know?
  5. How does Farida feel on her first day at Rosewood Elementary?
  6. Read this sentence from the passage: "When the teacher spoke, the sentences rushed past…
  7. How does Tomás help Farida learn English words?
  8. Why does Farida draw a sun and write a word in Dari on Friday?

Read an Informational Passage

  1. What is this passage mainly about?
  2. According to the passage, how much of the water a redwood forest receives in a year can…
  3. In the last paragraph, what does the word damp mean?
  4. Why does the author end with the sentence 'Drier summers mean less fog, and less fog…
  5. What is the passage mainly about?
  6. Why does a desert tortoise dig a burrow?
  7. Read this sentence from the passage: "Rain is rare in the desert, so a tortoise must…
  8. Why does the author tell about lizards, snakes and burrowing owls in the last paragraph?

Read a Student Essay

  1. Which sentence has a verb that does not agree with its subject?
  2. Which sentence is missing a word?
  3. Which sentence uses the wrong verb tense?
  4. Which sentence has a noun that should be plural?

Vocabulary and Grammar in Context

  1. Every morning the school bus ______ at the corner near Leila's house.
  2. The library was so ______ that we could hear the clock ticking.
  3. Marcus ______ his gloves at the park last weekend, and he has not found them yet.
  4. The two maps looked almost the same, but Priya noticed one small ______ between them.

Read next

  • How to Prepare for the ELPAC: Effective ELPAC preparation is about steady daily language development rather than frantic test cramming. Here is a practical, domain-by-domain guide for parents and teachers.
  • ELPAC Scores Explained: A Summative ELPAC report gives an overall performance level from 1 to 4, plus separate results for oral language and written language. Here is what each part means, and what it does not mean.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.