ELPAC Practice

ELPAC reading practice questions for grades 6–8

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 5. 0 of 32 questions answered.

Read a Short Informational Passage

A brief factual text — a notice, a label, a set of instructions — followed by questions.

Read the notice. Then answer the questions.

Notice: Changes to After-School Tutoring

Beginning February 2, the after-school tutoring center will move from Room 12 to the library annex. Tutoring runs from 3:15 until 4:45, Monday through Thursday. Students who want help with math or science no longer need to reserve a place; they may simply come in. Writing conferences are the exception and must still be booked through the online form at least one day in advance. The late bus leaves the north lot at 5:00. Any student still on campus after 4:45 without a supervising teacher should wait in the front office until the bus arrives.

Question 1 of 5

Choose the best answer.

According to the notice, what must a student do to get help with a writing assignment?

Question 2 of 5

Choose the best answer.

A student is still at school at 4:50 and plans to take the late bus. According to the notice, where should he wait?

Read the instructions. Then answer the question.

Lab Procedure: Testing Soil Drainage

Work in pairs. Label three clear cups A, B and C, and punch four holes of equal size in the bottom of each. Fill cup A with sand, cup B with potting soil and cup C with clay, using the same volume of material in every cup. Hold each cup over the collection jar and pour in exactly 100 milliliters of water. Start the timer the moment the water touches the surface, and stop it when the dripping stops. Record both the time and the volume collected. Do not press the material down, because packing it changes how quickly water moves through.

Question 3 of 5

Choose the best answer.

One pair of students fills cup A to the rim and fills cup B only halfway. Which instruction have they failed to follow?

Read the notice. Then answer the questions.

Science Fair Entry Rules

Projects for the school science fair may be entered by individual students or by teams of no more than three. Every project must include a display board and a lab notebook with a dated entry for each step of the investigation. Projects that involve live animals must be approved by the science department before any testing begins; projects that use plants, soil or water samples do not need approval. Entry forms are due in Room 21 two weeks before the fair. A late form will be accepted only if a teacher has signed it, and projects with late forms are placed on a waiting list and given a table only if one is still open.

Question 4 of 5

Choose the best answer.

Which of these projects would need approval from the science department before testing begins?

Question 5 of 5

Choose the best answer.

A team turns in its entry form three days late, and a teacher has signed it. According to the notice, what happens?

5 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 6–8.

Every answer, explained

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

Read a Short Informational Passage

  1. According to the notice, what must a student do to get help with a writing assignment?
  2. A student is still at school at 4:50 and plans to take the late bus. According to the…
  3. One pair of students fills cup A to the rim and fills cup B only halfway. Which…
  4. Which of these projects would need approval from the science department before testing…
  5. A team turns in its entry form three days late, and a teacher has signed it. According…

Read a Literary Passage

  1. Why does Amira get the solo?
  2. Read this sentence from the passage: 'At the first rehearsal her hands shook so badly…
  3. The passage says the moment 'arrived secondhand, like a jacket someone else had already…
  4. Why does Amira practice the two ordinary bars before the solo instead of practicing the…
  5. What does Lan do when she first translates Ms. Delgado's words for her father?
  6. Read this sentence from the passage: "It was a translation with the sharp corners sanded…
  7. Why is this conference different from the other translating Lan has done?
  8. Which theme does the passage best support?

Read an Informational Passage

  1. What is this passage mainly about?
  2. According to the passage, what happens to water that slows down behind a beaver dam?
  3. The passage says the old conclusion about beavers 'turned out to rest on thin evidence.'…
  4. The last paragraph begins, 'None of this makes beavers easy to live with.' Why does the…
  5. Which statement best expresses the central idea of the passage?
  6. According to the passage, why did the idea that wind alone moved the rocks seem unlikely?
  7. Which of these events happened FIRST when the researchers finally saw the rocks move?
  8. Read this phrase from paragraph 3: "slid slowly through the mud beneath the water and…

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 a comparison incorrectly?
  4. Which sentence uses the wrong form of a verb?

Vocabulary and Grammar in Context

  1. The list of approved fundraising activities ______ posted outside the main office.
  2. Mr. Whitfield asked each group to support its conclusion with ______ from the experiment…
  3. Since the community garden opened in March, volunteers ______ more than four hundred…
  4. Engineers warned that repairing the levee later rather than now would carry a serious…
  5. While three students paint the wall, the fourth ______ the wall with the drawing of the…
  6. The red cable ______ the batteries of the two cars, so one car can help start the other.
  7. At the community center, volunteers are ______ boxes of food to the people waiting in…

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.