Free Printable TerraNova Practice Test for Grade 8

Scholar Tests · Set 2

TerraNova practice test, Grade 8

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Reading

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 13 minutes.

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
1.
How does the writer respond to people who say lights and a guard cost too much?
1. AShe argues that a light costs far less than an injury would.
2. BShe says that the school band will pay for the lights.
3. CShe claims that crossing guards would be happy to work for free.
4. DShe agrees that the city should wait another year.
2.
Which detail best supports the writer's point that drivers do not stop at the crossing?
1. AElm Street is wide and straight.
2. BShe counted 14 cars that drove through the crosswalk in one hour.
3. CMore than 300 students cross there each morning.
4. DLincoln is the oldest middle school in the county.
Lola's Hands
My grandmother's hands are maps, and I am still learning to read them. Blue veins branch across their backs like rivers searching for the sea. Her knuckles rise in a ridge of small brown hills, worn soft by seventy-eight years of weather. Here, along her left thumb, runs the pale road of a scar from the summer she was seventeen, cleaning salmon in a cannery in Alaska, an ocean away from Manila. Here, on her wrist, is a shiny island where a pot of rice boiled over in a kitchen in Stockton, California, the first winter she had a kitchen of her own. Her palms are crossed with paths I cannot follow yet: night shifts at a sewing machine, three children carried on one hip and then the other, a garden of bitter melon and tomatoes coaxed out of hard ground. When I hold my hand beside hers, mine looks like a blank page, a country no one has explored. "Don't hurry," Lola says, folding my fingers into my palm the way you fold a map to keep it safe. "Go places. Do things. Your roads will come."
3.
Which theme does the poem express?
1. AA life's story can be read in the marks that work and time leave behind.
2. BYoung people should avoid difficult jobs.
3. CTraveling far away matters more than family.
4. DOld scars are best kept hidden from children.
4.
What does Lola's advice in the last stanza reveal about her?
1. AShe worries that her grandchild will get lost if they travel far from home.
2. BShe regrets the places she has been.
3. CShe is patient and wants her grandchild to live a full life.
4. DShe wants her grandchild to work in a cannery.
Jonah Is Avoiding Me
Jonah Pike is avoiding me, and I know exactly why.
On Saturday we lost the semifinal by a single point. With four seconds remaining, I stood at the free-throw line with two chances to win the game, and I missed them both. Jonah, who has been my best friend since second grade, didn't say a word on the bus ride home; he just sat with his wrist in a bag of ice and stared out the window, probably replaying my misses in his head.
On Monday the situation got worse. He skipped our usual lunch table, and somebody mentioned that he'd spent lunch in the nurse's office, which is the oldest trick there is for avoiding people. At practice he sat on the bench in his regular clothes and never touched a basketball. Twice I caught him whispering to Coach Delgado, and both times Coach glanced in my direction and nodded, as if they were agreeing on something important. I'm fairly certain I know what it was: how to break the news that I'm being removed from the starting lineup.
That night Jonah texted me: "Can't talk. At the doctor again. Tell Coach you're ready."
Ready for what? Ready to sit on the bench for the rest of the season? Classic Jonah, sarcastic even when he's furious.
Today after practice, Coach called me over. "Jonah's wrist will be in a cast for six weeks," he explained. "He tells me you've been his most dependable passer since second grade, and he thinks you should start at guard on Friday. I happen to agree with him."
I thanked him politely, but I could see what was really going on. Jonah felt sorry for me after those free throws, and Coach was going along with it to be nice. I'll start on Friday, I suppose. But I recognize pity when I see it.
5.
How does the narrator's understanding differ from the reader's?
1. AThe narrator knows that Jonah is hurt, but the reader believes Jonah is angry.
2. BThe narrator and the reader both believe that Coach is planning to cut the narrator.
3. CThe narrator suspects Coach, but the reader suspects that Jonah's parents are involved.
4. DThe narrator thinks Jonah is angry, but the clues show Jonah is hurt and on his side.
6.
What does Jonah most likely mean by his text, "Tell Coach you're ready"?
1. AHe wants the narrator to apologize to Coach.
2. BHe is asking the narrator for a ride to the doctor.
3. CHe is mocking the narrator for missing the free throws.
4. DHe wants the narrator to take his place in the lineup.
7.
Which detail best shows that Jonah was not avoiding the narrator on purpose?
1. AJonah has been the narrator's best friend since second grade.
2. BCoach says Jonah's wrist will be in a cast for six weeks.
3. CThe team lost the semifinal by a single point.
4. DCoach glanced at the narrator and nodded.
Matthew Henson's Long Road North
On April 6, 1909, a small team of men and dogs stood on the frozen Arctic Ocean. Their leader, the American naval officer Robert Peary, declared that they had reached the North Pole. With him were Matthew Henson, the African American explorer who had worked beside Peary for nearly two decades, and four Inuit men: Ootah, Seegloo, Egingwah, and Ooqueah.
Henson was born in Charles County, Maryland, in 1866. After losing both parents, he went to sea at about age twelve as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. The ship's captain taught him to read and to navigate, and by early adulthood Henson had sailed to ports in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
In 1887 he met Peary, who hired him as an assistant for a surveying trip to Nicaragua. Henson soon joined Peary's expeditions to the Arctic and became the most capable member of the team. He learned to speak the Inuit language, and from Inuit teachers he learned to drive dog sleds, build igloos, and hunt and dress for survival in extreme cold.
Whether the team truly reached the Pole is still disputed. Peary's navigation records were incomplete, and experts have questioned whether the team could have covered so much distance so quickly. The claim has never been proved, and it has never been completely disproved.
What is not disputed is how long Henson waited for credit. Peary received medals and fame, while Henson spent more than twenty years as a clerk in a federal customs office in New York. Honors came late, including a medal from Congress in 1944. Henson died in 1955, and in 1988 his remains were moved to Arlington National Cemetery and buried near Peary's.
8.
Which statement best expresses the central idea of the article?
1. APeary learned the Inuit language so that he could lead his own team.
2. BThe North Pole had been reached many times before 1909.
3. CHenson preferred working as a clerk to exploring the Arctic.
4. DHenson was vital to Peary's expeditions, but credit for his work came late.
9.
How does the author handle the claim that the team reached the North Pole?
1. AThe author accepts the claim as a proven fact.
2. BThe author calls the claim a hoax invented by Henson.
3. CThe author states plainly that the claim is disputed and explains why.
4. DThe author avoids mentioning the claim at all.
10.
According to the article, how did Henson learn the skills he needed to survive in the Arctic?
1. AHe learned them from Inuit teachers.
2. BHe learned them from Peary's naval training.
3. CHe learned them on the surveying trip to Nicaragua.
4. DHe learned them while working at the customs office.

Vocabulary

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 8 minutes.

1.
Dad gave pragmatic advice: pack snacks, charge your phone, and leave early.
What does the word pragmatic mean in this sentence?
1. Aangry and loud
2. Bdreamy and unrealistic
3. Cshy and quiet
4. Dfocused on what will actually work rather than on ideas
2.
Concur is to agree as exacerbate is to ______.
Which word completes the analogy?
1. Aworsen
2. Bcelebrate
3. Cimprove
4. Devacuate
3.
Jamal was as brave as a lion when he stood up to the bully.
What does the phrase in bold mean?
1. Aroaring loudly
2. Bvery brave
3. Cvery shy
4. Dhairy with a big mane
4.
Sparrow is to bird as hurricane is to ______.
Which word completes the analogy?
1. Ashelter
2. Bocean
3. Cseason
4. Dstorm
5.
These words are in order from mildest to strongest: distaste, ______, hatred.
Which word belongs in the blank?
1. Aterror
2. Bdisappointment
3. Cbeautiful
4. Ddislike
6.
Leaders of the suffrage movement marched for decades before women could cast ballots.
This sentence is from a social studies book. What does suffrage mean?
1. Athe right to own land
2. Bthe right to vote
3. Cthe right to speak freely
4. Dthe right to a fair trial
7.
The baker quit because he was tired of working for so little dough.
The words in bold are a pun. Which two meanings do they have in this sentence?
1. Aonly money
2. Bboth bread mix and money
3. Cboth flour and sugar
4. Donly bread mix
8.
What does the word readable mean?
1. Aread
2. Ba person who reads
3. Cable to be read
4. Dwithout reading
9.
Even the teacher laughed at the joke.
Which meaning of even is used in this sentence?
1. Aused to show that something is surprising
2. Bable to be divided by two with nothing left over
3. Cequal, with neither side ahead
4. Dflat and smooth
10.
in·val·id
1. adj. not accepted because it does not meet the requirements
2. n. someone who is weak and sick for a long time

The nurse visited the invalid every morning to bring his medicine.
Use the entry. Which part of speech is invalid in the sentence?
1. Anoun
2. Badverb
3. Cverb
4. Dadjective

Language

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 10 minutes.

1.
The bones of the human skeleton do several important jobs that keep the body working. According to the National Institutes of Health, the skeleton supports the body and stores minerals such as calcium. Bones protect soft organs, such as the brain inside the skull and the heart behind the ribs. Furthermore, many bones make new blood cells in the soft marrow at their centers. ______
Which sentence would be the best concluding sentence for this paragraph?
1. AIn all of these ways, bones do far more than simply hold the body up.
2. BThe mighty Mississippi River begins as a small, shallow stream in northern Minnesota.
3. CMy neighbor plays the saxophone on his front porch on summer evenings.
4. DMuscles pull on bones, which act like levers that let the body walk, run, and lift.
2.
In which sentence is the pronoun in bold an intensive pronoun?
1. AThe cat stretched itself out in a patch of warm sunlight.
2. BSofia talked herself out of quitting the track team.
3. CDiego treated himself to a frozen yogurt after the final exam.
4. DWe ourselves planted every tree along the front walk of the school.
3.
In your research paper, you must ______ every source you used.
Which word best completes the sentence?
1. Acitte
2. Bcite
3. Csite
4. Dsight
4.
Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
1. ALightning struck the old oak tree near the barn.
2. BThe newspaper staff interviewed the new principal.
3. CThe spring dance was planned by the student council.
4. DStudents in the photography club took these pictures.
5.
The eighth graders visited the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial honors the sixteenth president.
Which sentence best combines the two sentences without changing what they mean?
1. AThe eighth graders visited the Lincoln Memorial, it honors the sixteenth president.
2. BThe eighth graders visited the Lincoln Memorial, which honor the sixteenth president.
3. CThe eighth graders visited the Lincoln Memorial, who honors the sixteenth president.
4. DThe eighth graders visited the Lincoln Memorial, which honors the sixteenth president.
6.
1. Next, plan a test that changes only one variable while keeping every other condition the same.
2. To design a fair science experiment, follow a careful sequence of steps from your first question to your final results.
3. Start by writing a clear question that you can answer by measuring something.
4. After you write the question, form a hypothesis, which is your best prediction of the answer.
In what order should these sentences go?
1. A2, 3, 1, 4
2. B2, 4, 3, 1
3. C2, 3, 4, 1
4. D1, 3, 4, 2
7.
Marcus read this sentence by wildlife biologist Teresa Moore in a report about bald eagles:
"By the 1960s, only about 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states, but the birds have since made a remarkable comeback."
Which sentence uses the source correctly in a report?
1. ABald eagles almost vanished, and in the 1960s "only about 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states."
2. BWildlife biologist Teresa Moore reports that in the 1960s, "only about 4,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states."
3. CWildlife biologist Teresa Moore says that by the 1960s, only about 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states.
4. DWildlife biologist Teresa Moore reports that in the 1960s, "only about 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles remained in the lower 48 states."
8.
______ A quiz given by our school librarian last spring found that more than half of the eighth graders could not tell a paid advertisement from a news article. Some people argue that students already know how to use the internet because they have grown up with it. However, knowing how to use a device is not the same as knowing whether its information can be trusted. Teaching students to judge online information would help them become careful, independent thinkers.
Which sentence would best state the writer's claim at the start of this paragraph?
1. AMy grandmother grows huge prize-winning pumpkins on her farm in rural Ohio.
2. BGeologists say the Appalachian Mountains are much older than the Rocky Mountains.
3. CStudents who know how to check a source's author, date, and evidence make better choices about what to believe and share.
4. DMiddle schools should teach students how to judge whether the information they find online is reliable.
9.
The bus was twenty minutes late Omar missed the start of the spelling bee.
This is a run-on sentence. Which choice fixes it correctly?
1. AThe bus was twenty minutes late Omar missed the start of the spelling bee.
2. BThe bus was twenty minutes late so, Omar missed the start of the spelling bee.
3. CThe bus was twenty minutes late. Omar missed the start of the spelling bee.
4. DThe bus was twenty minutes late, Omar missed the start of the spelling bee.
10.
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was a disaster caused by drought and poor farming, and it changed how Americans care for their soil. In the years before the disaster, farmers had plowed up millions of acres of prairie grass whose deep roots held the soil in place. When a severe drought struck the Great Plains in the early 1930s, crops died and the bare soil dried out. ______, strong winds lifted the loose dirt into enormous dust storms that darkened the sky for hours. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the government created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 to teach farmers how to protect their land. The hard lessons of the Dust Bowl taught the nation that protecting its soil is essential to protecting its farms.
Which word or phrase best fills the blank?
1. AIn contrast
2. BHowever
3. CFinally
4. DAs a result

Language Mechanics

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 8 minutes.

1.
Which word is spelled correctly?
1. Acontrolled
2. Bconntrolled
3. Ccontrolld
4. Dcontroled
2.
Which sentence uses parentheses correctly?
1. ADiego's family drove to Yellowstone National Park (in the northwest corner of Wyoming.
2. BDiego's family (drove to Yellowstone National Park in the northwest corner of Wyoming).
3. CDiego's family drove to Yellowstone National Park (in the northwest corner of Wyoming.)
4. DDiego's family drove to Yellowstone National Park (in the northwest corner of Wyoming).
3.
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
1. AThe Appalachian Trail passes through fourteen states between georgia and Maine.
2. BThe Appalachian Trail passes through fourteen states between Georgia and Maine.
3. CThe Appalachian trail passes through fourteen states between Georgia and Maine.
4. Dthe Appalachian Trail passes through fourteen states between Georgia and Maine.
4.
The trail was steep, but we ______ reached the top before noon.
Which word is spelled correctly and completes the sentence?
1. Aneverthless
2. Bnevertheles
3. Cnevertheless
4. Dneverthelass
5.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
1. AThe museum has a bright, cheerful mural painted by local students.
2. BThe museum has a bright cheerful mural painted, by local students.
3. CThe museum has a bright cheerful mural painted by local students.
4. DThe museum has a bright, cheerful, mural painted by local students.
6.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
1. AThe kitten curled up on a soft, warm pillow by the fire.
2. BThe kitten curled, up on a soft, warm pillow by the fire.
3. CThe kitten curled up on a soft warm pillow by the fire.
4. DThe kitten curled, up on a soft warm pillow by the fire.
7.
In which sentence should the words in bold be set off with commas?
1. AThomas Jefferson the third president of the United States designed his own home in Virginia.
2. BThe dog that lives next door barks every time the mail carrier walks by.
3. CKids who ride their bikes to school must wear helmets.
4. DEvery student who turns in a permission slip can go on the field trip.
8.
A student is quoting this sentence from a park brochure about Crater Lake:
"Crater Lake, which fills the top of an old volcano, has no rivers or streams flowing into it."
Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly to show that words were left out?
1. ACrater Lake, which fills the top of an old volcano, has no rivers or streams ... flowing into it.
2. BCrater Lake, which fills the top of an old volcano, has ... streams flowing into it.
3. CCrater Lake ... has no rivers or streams flowing into it.
4. DCrater Lake has no rivers or streams flowing into it.
9.
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
1. AMy mom makes the best Mexican food in our whole neighborhood.
2. BMy mom makes the best mexican food in our whole neighborhood.
3. CMy Mom makes the best Mexican food in our whole neighborhood.
4. Dmy mom makes the best Mexican food in our whole neighborhood.
10.
Which sentence uses an ellipsis correctly to show that the speaker pauses?
1. A"We could ta ... ke the bus, or" Nia said, looking at the rain.
2. B"We could take the bus, or.." Nia said, looking at the rain.
3. C"We could take the bus, or ..." Nia said, looking at the rain.
4. D"We could take the bus, or" ... Nia said, looking at the rain.

Mathematics

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 12 minutes.

1.
As a decimal, 1/7 = 0.142857142857..., where the digits 142857 repeat forever. What is the 47th digit after the decimal point?
1. A7
2. B1
3. C8
4. D5
2.
The mean height of the players on Team Red is 69 inches, and of the players on Team Blue it is 75 inches. Both groups have a mean absolute deviation of 3 inches. The difference between the means is how many times the mean absolute deviation?
1. A3
2. B2
3. C6
4. D0.5
3.
A school lunch is one main dish, one side and one drink. There are 2 main dishes, 6 sides and 6 drinks to choose from. How many different lunches are possible?
1. A12
2. B14
3. C18
4. D72
4.
The formula P = 2l + 2w gives the perimeter of a rectangle. A garden has a perimeter of 22 feet and a length of 8 feet. What is its width, in feet?
1. A6
2. B7
3. C5.5
4. D3
5.
A cube has a volume of 64 cubic meters. What is its surface area?
1. A16 square meters
2. B96 square meters
3. C64 square meters
4. D24 square meters
6.
What is the slope of the line through (7, 2) and (8, 7)?
1. A3/5
2. B5
3. C1/5
4. D−5
7.
The price of a bus pass went from $50 to $70. By what percent did the price increase?
1. A40%
2. B20%
3. C400%
4. D140%
8.
What is the length of the dashed line from a bottom corner of the box to the opposite top corner?
1. A21 meters
2. B441 meters
3. C33 meters
4. D√117 meters
9.
The graph shows a system of two linear equations. What is the solution of the system?
1. A(0, 2)
2. B(0, −4)
3. C(2, 0)
4. D(0, 1)
10.
Which expression has a rational value?
1. A√5 × √20
2. B√5 + √5
3. C√5 × √6
4. D2 × π

Mathematics Computation