Free printable CAASPP practice test for Grade 7

English Language Arts

Circle the letter of the best answer. No time limit.

1. Where the Owl Went

   The morning of the Cedar Hollow Middle School art show, my best friend, Dev Kapoor, called me at ten minutes to seven. He didn't even say hello before he told me, "Mina, my owl is gone."

   Dev's owl was the best piece in the show, and I'm not just saying that because he's my best friend. He had spent six weeks on it: a gray owl as tall as a cereal box, every feather pressed in with the tip of a paper clip. The school kiln was broken this year, so he had used air-dry clay, the kind that never gets fired. "Keep it away from water," he warned anyone who came near it, "or it turns back into mud." Ms. Abernathy, our art teacher, had given it the place of honor: a white pedestal standing by itself in the middle of the library, right under the big round skylight.

   When I got to school, Dev was standing beside the empty pedestal with his hands jammed in his pockets. Ms. Abernathy had gone to find the principal, and along the library's back wall, the rest of the show stood exactly as we had left it the afternoon before: thirty paintings, a quilt, and eleven other sculptures.

   "Somebody took it," Dev said. "And I bet I know who."

   I knew who he meant. On Tuesday, Carter Briggs had walked past the owl and announced that it looked like a potato with eyebrows. Carter's own sculpture, a clay dragon with a crooked tail, sat on the back table. And Carter came to school early every Wednesday for jazz band, which practiced in the room right next door.

   It all fit together perfectly, and that was exactly what bothered me.

   My grandmother says that when a story fits too neatly, you should treat it like a recipe from a stranger and check every ingredient. So I made myself slow down and look.

   The carpet around the pedestal squished under my sneakers, dark and damp in a wide circle whose center was directly below the skylight. A yellow mop bucket stood in the corner by the dictionaries; it hadn't been there yesterday. Above us, the last of the night's rain was still ticking on the glass.

   Then I studied the top of the pedestal. A fine layer of dust covered it everywhere except for one clean, perfectly round circle where the owl's base had been. The edges of the circle were sharp and unsmudged, and there wasn't a single crumb of clay on the pedestal or on the carpet beneath it.

   "Dev," I said, "if you were stealing something and you were scared of getting caught, would you lift it straight up like a birthday cake?"

   He frowned at the circle. "I guess not."

   "And look at the back wall. Everything over there is dry, and nothing's been touched. Only your owl was under the skylight."

   Just then the library door swung open and Carter walked in with his trumpet case, and Dev's shoulders went stiff. I grabbed his sleeve before he could say anything he'd regret.

   "Carter," I said, "when you got here for band this morning, was the library open?"

   Carter looked from the empty pedestal to Dev's face, and his eyebrows went up. "Whoa. Where's your owl?" Then he thought about my question. "The door was propped open with a cart. Mr. Delacroix was in here mopping when I walked by. Why?"

   I let out a long breath, because the wet carpet, the bucket and the clean, careful circle all pointed the same way. Someone had come in early, found rain dripping through the skylight onto a sculpture that turns back into mud, and lifted it very gently out of the way.

   We caught Mr. Delacroix, the night custodian, in the front hall, zipping up his jacket to go home.

   "The owl?" he said. "It's safe in the art room, on the drying rack. That skylight's leaked for years. When I came through at five, water was dripping right on its head." He frowned. "I left a note for Ms. Abernathy on the pedestal."

   We found the note later, on the floor behind the pedestal, where it had slipped off.

   Dev turned to Carter. "Sorry," he said. "I kind of decided it was you."

   Carter shrugged, but he was grinning. "For the record," he said, "it's a really good potato."

   1.

   How does the story's first-person point of view affect the mystery?

   1. AReaders hear Carter's private thoughts, so they know at once that he is innocent.
   2. BReaders see the events through Dev's eyes, so they share his anger at Carter.
   3. CReaders see only the clues Mina notices, so they can try to solve the case with her.
   4. DReaders know from the start that Mr. Delacroix moved the owl, so there is no suspense at all.
2. 2.

   What does Mina's behavior when Carter walks in reveal about her?

   1. AShe is still angry at Carter for mocking the owl.
   2. BShe is too shy to speak in front of other students.
   3. CShe wants the facts before anyone is accused.
   4. DShe is secretly trying to keep Carter out of trouble.
3. 3.

   Why does the author have Dev explain early in the story that air-dry clay "turns back into mud" when it gets wet?

   1. AIt proves that Ms. Abernathy was the one who broke the kiln.
   2. BIt suggests that the owl melted away overnight in the rain.
   3. CIt plants a clue that explains why someone would rush to move the owl.
   4. DIt explains why Carter thought the owl looked like a potato.
4. 4.

   Carter walked past the owl and "announced" that it looked like a potato with eyebrows. What does the word "announced" suggest?

   1. AHe whispered it so that Dev would not hear.
   2. BHe said it as the official judge of the show.
   3. CHe took it back and apologized to Dev right away.
   4. DHe said it loudly, as if he wanted an audience.

5. Read this aloud to your child.

   A Safer Crossing on Elm Street

   To the Editor:

   Every school morning, more than 300 students cross Elm Street at Fifth Avenue to reach Lincoln Middle School, and the only thing protecting us is a set of faded white stripes painted on the pavement. I am asking the city to add flashing warning lights and a crossing guard at that corner before someone gets hurt.

   The most serious problem is that drivers do not stop. Elm Street is wide and straight, and many drivers treat it like a highway, even though the speed limit near the school is 20 miles per hour. Last Tuesday, my dad and I stood at the corner from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and counted the cars that drove through the crosswalk while someone was waiting at it or crossing, and in that single hour there were 14. Last spring, a sixth grader had to jump back onto the curb when a delivery van sped through the crosswalk without slowing down.

   Lincoln is also the oldest middle school in the county, and our marching band won first place at the county fair this summer. A school like ours deserves a street that looks as good as we do.

   Some people will say that warning lights and a crossing guard cost too much. But a flashing light costs far less than a trip to the emergency room, and no one can put a price on a student's safety.

   Please do not wait for a serious accident before making this dangerous corner safe.

   Sincerely,
   Hana Sato, seventh grade, Lincoln Middle School

   5.

   How does the speaker respond to people who say lights and a guard cost too much?

   1. AShe agrees that the city should wait another year.
   2. BShe says that the school band will pay for the lights.
   3. CShe argues that a light costs far less than an injury would.
   4. DShe claims that crossing guards would be happy to work for free.

6. Read this aloud to your child.

   Why Your Ears Pop

   You are on a plane as it begins to descend for landing, or in a car winding up a mountain road, when suddenly your ears feel stuffed with cotton. Sounds go muffled. Then you swallow, and with a small pop, everything becomes clear again. What just happened inside your head?

   The answer has to do with air pressure, because the air around us is constantly pressing on everything it touches, including your body. At sea level, that pressure is fairly high, because a tall column of air is pressing down from above. At higher elevations, there is less air above you, so the pressure decreases.

   Inside each ear, just behind the eardrum, is a small, air-filled space called the middle ear. The eardrum is a thin sheet of skin stretched like the top of a drum. Normally, the air pressure in the middle ear matches the pressure outside, so the eardrum sits flat and vibrates freely when sound waves strike it.

   When the outside pressure changes quickly, however, the pressure in the middle ear cannot keep up. On the way up a mountain, the outside pressure drops, and the air trapped in your middle ear pushes the eardrum outward. On the way down, the outside pressure rises and pushes the eardrum inward. Either way, a stretched eardrum can't vibrate well, so sounds seem dull, and your ears may even hurt.

   The fix is a narrow passage called the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear to the back of the throat. It usually stays closed, but swallowing, yawning or chewing opens it briefly. Air rushes in or out until the pressure on both sides of the eardrum is equal again, and the eardrum snaps back into place. That snap is the pop you hear. It also explains why flying with a cold can be so uncomfortable: a cold can swell the Eustachian tubes shut, trapping the pressure inside.

   6.

   In the talk, what does "muffled" mean in "Sounds go muffled"?

   1. Asofter and less clear
   2. Bhigher in pitch
   3. Cfaster than usual
   4. Dfull of echoes
7. 7.

   Jordan and ______ built a robot that sorts recycling.

   Which word best completes the sentence?

   1. Ame
   2. Bmy
   3. CI
   4. Dmyself
8. 8.

   Which sentence uses commas correctly?

   1. ACrater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, formed inside the top of an old volcano.
   2. BCrater Lake the deepest lake in the United States, formed inside, the top of an old volcano.
   3. CCrater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, formed, inside the top of an old volcano.
   4. DCrater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States formed inside the top of an old volcano.
9. 9.

   You ______ seen the look on Coach Davis's face when we won.

   Which word best completes the sentence?

   1. Ashuold have
   2. Bshould had
   3. Cshould have
   4. Dshould of
10. 10.

    Glaciers are slow-moving masses of ice that can reshape the land over thousands of years. As they creep forward, glaciers can carve deep valleys and scoop out huge basins in the land. For example, the Great Lakes formed in basins that glaciers dug out during the last ice age. When glaciers melt, they leave behind long ridges of rock, gravel, and sand. ______

    Which sentence would be the best concluding sentence for this paragraph?

    1. AAccording to the National Park Service, glaciers helped carve the steep granite walls of Yosemite Valley in California.
    2. BMy cousin opened a small bakery that sells cherry pies and cinnamon rolls.
    3. COur band teacher bought three new tubas for the marching band this fall.
    4. DThrough their slow but steady movement, glaciers have shaped many of the landscapes we see today.