Free Printable TerraNova Practice Test for Grade 8

Scholar Tests · Set 3

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.
Which reason in the letter is irrelevant to the writer's claim?
1. AA delivery van sped through the crossing without slowing down.
2. BMore than 300 students cross Elm Street each morning.
3. CMany drivers treat Elm Street like a highway.
4. DLincoln's marching band won first place at the county fair.
2.
Which detail best supports the writer's point that drivers do not stop at the crossing?
1. AShe counted 14 cars that drove through the crosswalk in one hour.
2. BMore than 300 students cross there each morning.
3. CLincoln is the oldest middle school in the county.
4. DElm Street is wide and straight.
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.
3.
Which statement best expresses the central idea of the article?
1. AHenson was vital to Peary's expeditions, but credit for his work came late.
2. BHenson preferred working as a clerk to exploring the Arctic.
3. CThe North Pole had been reached many times before 1909.
4. DHenson proved beyond any doubt that he was the first person to reach the North Pole.
4.
How does the author handle the claim that the team reached the North Pole?
1. AThe author calls the claim a hoax invented by Henson.
2. BThe author states plainly that the claim is disputed and explains why.
3. CThe author avoids mentioning the claim at all.
4. DThe author says only the Inuit men believed it.
5.
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 the captain of his first ship.
3. CHe learned them on the surveying trip to Nicaragua.
4. DHe learned them while working at the customs office.
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."
6.
The poet says the garden was "coaxed out of hard ground." What does the word "coaxed" suggest about Lola?
1. AShe paid someone else to plant it.
2. BShe found the garden already growing when she moved in.
3. CShe forced the plants to grow overnight.
4. DShe grew it through patient, gentle effort.
7.
What does Lola's advice in the last stanza reveal about her?
1. AShe is impatient for her grandchild to grow up.
2. BShe regrets the places she has been.
3. CShe worries that her grandchild will get lost if they travel far from home.
4. DShe is patient and wants her grandchild to live a full life.
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.
8.
How does the narrator's understanding differ from the reader's?
1. AThe narrator thinks Jonah is angry, but the clues show Jonah is hurt and on his side.
2. BThe narrator understands Jonah's text, but the reader finds it confusing.
3. CThe narrator knows that Jonah is hurt, but the reader believes Jonah is angry.
4. DThe narrator suspects Coach, but the reader suspects that Jonah's parents are involved.
9.
What does Jonah most likely mean by his text, "Tell Coach you're ready"?
1. AHe is mocking the narrator for missing the free throws.
2. BHe wants the narrator to apologize to Coach.
3. CHe is asking the narrator for a ride to the doctor.
4. DHe wants the narrator to take his place in the lineup.
10.
Which detail best shows that Jonah was not avoiding the narrator on purpose?
1. AJonah skipped their usual lunch table on Monday.
2. BThe team lost the semifinal by a single point.
3. CCoach glanced at the narrator and nodded.
4. DCoach says Jonah's wrist will be in a cast for six weeks.

Vocabulary

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

1.
The irate customer demanded to speak to the manager.
What does the word irate mean in this sentence?
1. Acalm and pleased
2. Bshy and nervous
3. Cvery angry
4. Dsleepy and bored
2.
Flood is to damage as insomnia is to ______.
Which word completes the analogy?
1. Abed
2. Bnight
3. Cfatigue
4. Dpillow
3.
Which sentence uses a pun?
1. APut simply, the story is about a boy who finds a dragon egg.
2. BThe farmer won an award because he was outstanding in his field.
3. CWait! We can't open the presents until everyone is here.
4. DAfter the long dry spell, the flowers soaked up the rain.
4.
Each chromosome is made of tightly coiled DNA.
This sentence is from a science book. What does chromosome mean?
1. Aa kind of rock
2. Ba threadlike structure in a cell that holds many genes
3. Ca layer of the atmosphere
4. Da planet's path
5.
Coach Rivera was direct when she told us why we lost the game.
Which word could take the place of direct to make Coach Rivera sound better, without changing what the sentence means?
1. Ablunt
2. Bstraightforward
3. Cdiscerning
4. Dcutting-edge
6.
The car's acceleration pushed us back into our seats as it sped up.
This sentence is from a science book. What does acceleration mean?
1. Athe force that pulls objects down
2. Bthe amount of matter in an object
3. Cthe heat inside an object
4. Dthe rate at which speed changes
7.
Even the teacher laughed at the joke.
Which meaning of even is used in this sentence?
1. Aflat and smooth
2. Bused to show that something is surprising
3. Cequal, with neither side ahead
4. Dable to be divided by two with nothing left over
8.
board
1. n. a long, flat piece of wood
2. n. a group of people who run a company or school district
3. v. get on a bus, train, ship, or plane
4. n. meals provided for a person who pays to stay

The summer camp fee covers board, so campers never pay for food.
Which meaning of board is used in the sentence?
1. AMeaning 1
2. BMeaning 2
3. CMeaning 3
4. DMeaning 4
9.
The guide words on a dictionary page are terrified and thaw.
Which word would you find on that page?
1. Atemporary
2. Bthrilled
3. Ctemple
4. Dterritory
10.
What does the root sequ mean in the word sequence?
1. Asend
2. Bcarry
3. Cfollow
4. Dstep or go

Language

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

1.
Which sentence is written correctly?
1. AWritten in 1787, many Americans still study the United States Constitution today.
2. BThe astronomer pointed out a comet to the students with a long, glowing tail.
3. CAs Ethan stepped onto the stage, the bright lights blinded him for a moment.
4. DMia gave the puppy to her neighbor with brown spots.
2.
Students should have physical education every day because exercise improves concentration.
Which piece of evidence best supports this claim?
1. AResearchers at a state university found that students who exercised for twenty minutes scored higher on a reading test taken right afterward.
2. BThe school parking lot was repaved in July.
3. CIn a study at another school, students who had gym class every day did no better on focus tests than students who had it twice a week.
4. DOur gym has two basketball hoops and a climbing rope.
3.
Nia read this sentence by historian Daniel Wu in a book about the transcontinental railroad:
"Thousands of Chinese workers laid track through the Sierra Nevada, blasting tunnels through solid granite during harsh winters."
Which sentence uses the source correctly in a report?
1. ABuilding the railroad was hard work, with crews "blasting tunnels through solid granite during harsh winters."
2. BHistorian Daniel Wu writes that Chinese workers built the line through the mountains, "blasting tunnels through solid granite during harsh winters."
3. CHistorian Daniel Wu says that thousands of Chinese workers laid track through the Sierra Nevada, blasting tunnels through solid granite.
4. DHistorian Daniel Wu writes that Chinese workers built the line through the mountains, "blasting tunnels through soft sand during mild winters."
4.
We are ______ bring our permission slips to homeroom by Friday.
Which word best completes the sentence?
1. Asupposing to
2. Bsupose to
3. Csupposed to
4. Dsuppose to
5.
Middle schools should teach students how to judge whether the information they find online is reliable. 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. Students who know how to check a source's author, date, and evidence make better choices about what to believe and share. 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.
What is the writer's main purpose in this paragraph?
1. Ato tell a story about something that happened
2. Bto give facts about a topic
3. Cto argue for a claim and support it with reasons and evidence
4. Dto explain how to do something, step by step
6.
Which group of words is a complete sentence?
1. ARaced down the soccer field and scored the winning goal in the final minute of the game.
2. BTrying to finish the last three math problems before the end of class.
3. CEvery student in the class read a biography of a famous inventor.
4. DWhen the last bell of the day rang and the students rushed out to the buses.
7.
______ According to the US Bureau of Reclamation, which runs the dam, the curved concrete wall is more than 700 feet tall. As water from the lake rushes through the dam, it spins giant turbines that generate electricity. Consequently, the dam's power plant can supply electricity to homes and businesses in Nevada, Arizona, and California. In these ways, the Hoover Dam both controls a mighty river and powers towns and cities across the Southwest.
Which sentence would be the best topic sentence for this paragraph?
1. AFinished in 1936, the Hoover Dam tamed the Colorado River and became a major source of power for the Southwest.
2. BMy cousin just adopted a parrot that can whistle the first notes of a famous song.
3. CWater held back by the dam formed Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States when it is full.
4. DOur English class is reading a mystery novel set at a ski lodge in Vermont.
8.
Which sentence is a simple sentence?
1. AAlthough Ethan studied hard for the history test, he mixed up two dates, and his score was lower than he expected.
2. BEvery spring, monarch butterflies leave their winter homes in Mexico and begin the long journey north to the United States and Canada.
3. CThe students who finished the reading early helped the younger kids at the library with their book reports.
4. DA bald eagle landed on a branch high above the river, and the photographers on the shore quickly raised their cameras.
9.
It is essential that the experiment be repeated three times.
What is the mood of the verb in this sentence?
1. Asubjunctive
2. Bindicative
3. Cinterrogative
4. Dimperative
10.
1. In the first round, Malik forgot one of his main points, but Hannah smoothly covered for him.
2. On the morning of the tournament, they rehearsed their opening speeches one last time in the hallway.
3. By the final round, the partners were answering their opponents' questions with calm confidence.
4. First, they spent three weeks reading articles and building arguments for both sides of the question.
In what order should these sentences go?
1. A3, 2, 1, 4
2. B4, 1, 2, 3
3. C4, 2, 1, 3
4. D4, 3, 1, 2

Language Mechanics

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

1.
Ethan is ______ for feeding the class hamster this week.
Which word is spelled correctly and completes the sentence?
1. Aresponsable
2. Brisponsible
3. Cresponsible
4. Dresponsibel
2.
In which sentence should the words in bold be set off with commas?
1. AThe dog that lives next door barks every time the mail carrier walks by.
2. BThe song that the choir sang at the end was my favorite part of the concert.
3. CThe only student who solved the bonus question was Amara.
4. DClara Barton a nurse during the Civil War founded the American Red Cross.
3.
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
1. AWe ate Italian food at a restaurant near Lake erie last fall.
2. BWe ate Italian food at a Restaurant near Lake Erie last fall.
3. Cwe ate Italian food at a restaurant near Lake Erie last fall.
4. DWe ate Italian food at a restaurant near Lake Erie last fall.
4.
A student is quoting this sentence from a biography of Benjamin Franklin:
"Benjamin Franklin, who signed the Declaration of Independence, never served as president of the United States."
Which shortened quotation uses an ellipsis correctly to show that words were left out?
1. ABenjamin Franklin, who signed the Declaration of Independence, ... served as president of the United States.
2. BBenjamin Franklin ... never served as president of the United States.
3. CBenjamin Franklin, who signed the Declaration of Independence, never served ... as president of the United States.
4. DBenjamin Franklin never served as president of the United States.
5.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
1. ABenjamin Franklin, a printer and inventor helped write, the Declaration of Independence.
2. BBenjamin Franklin, a printer and inventor, helped write, the Declaration of Independence.
3. CBenjamin Franklin a printer and inventor, helped write the Declaration of Independence.
4. DBenjamin Franklin, a printer and inventor, helped write the Declaration of Independence.
6.
Which sentence uses parentheses correctly?
1. AAva's grandmother taught her to make tamales (a traditional Mexican dish.)
2. BAva's grandmother (taught her to make tamales a traditional Mexican dish).
3. CAva's grandmother taught her to make tamales a traditional Mexican dish).
4. DAva's grandmother taught her to make tamales (a traditional Mexican dish).
7.
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
1. AOn Thanksgiving, Grandpa joe always tells the story of his first job in Chicago.
2. Bon Thanksgiving, Grandpa Joe always tells the story of his first job in Chicago.
3. COn Thanksgiving, Grandpa Joe always tells the story of his first job in Chicago.
4. DOn Thanksgiving, Grandpa Joe always tells the Story of his first job in Chicago.
8.
Which word is spelled correctly?
1. Acountrefeit
2. Bcounterfit
3. Ccounterfiet
4. Dcounterfeit
9.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
1. AThe campers told stories on a dark stormy night in a small, wooden cabin.
2. BThe campers told stories on a dark, stormy night in a small wooden cabin.
3. CThe campers, told stories on a dark, stormy night in a small wooden cabin.
4. DThe campers told stories on a dark stormy night in a small wooden cabin.
10.
Which sentence uses an ellipsis correctly to show that the speaker pauses?
1. A"The longest river in the United States is the Missouri, I think," ... Amara said.
2. B"The longest river in the United States is.. the Missouri, I think," Amara said.
3. C"The lon ... gest river in the United States is the Missouri, I think," Amara said.
4. D"The longest river in the United States is ... the Missouri, I think," Amara said.

Mathematics

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

1.
The school cafeteria wants to know which new lunch to add to the menu. Which sample is most likely to represent all the students in the school?
1. A40 students picked at random from the school's list of students
2. BThe 40 students who buy a cafeteria lunch every day
3. C40 students on the football team
4. DThe first 40 students in the lunch line on Monday
2.
The formula A = (1/2)bh gives the area of a triangle. A triangle has an area of 30 square inches and a base of 10 inches. What is its height, in inches?
1. A6
2. B20
3. C3
4. D1.5
3.
The table shows a proportional relationship between minutes read and pages read. What is the constant of proportionality, the value of y ÷ x?
1. A5
2. B10
3. C0.2
4. D6
4.
Two lines cross. One angle measures 82°. What is the measure of the angle marked with a question mark?
1. A8°
2. B82°
3. C278°
4. D98°
5.
There are 8 teams in a league. Each team plays every other team once. How many games are there in all?
1. A56
2. B64
3. C16
4. D28
6.
On a made-up planet, 7 glims equal 1 dorn, and 2 dorns equal 1 skell. How many glims equal 2 skells?
1. A28
2. B18
3. C14
4. D4
7.
Triangle ABC is rotated 180° about the origin. Which statement about its image, triangle A′B′C′, is true?
1. AIts sides are the same lengths as triangle ABC's, but its angles are different.
2. BIts angles match triangle ABC's, but it is not similar to it.
3. CIt is similar to triangle ABC, but not congruent.
4. DIt is congruent to triangle ABC.
8.
The graph shows y, the height of a plant in inches, x weeks after it is planted. What is the rate of change, in inches per week?
1. A−3
2. B3
3. C1/3
4. D6
9.
Which set of ordered pairs is a function?
1. A{(−1, −3), (−2, 2), (2, −4), (−2, 7)}
2. B{(3, 7), (−2, −4), (5, 9), (3, 1)}
3. C{(1, 4), (0, −4), (6, −1), (3, 4)}
4. D{(−1, 4), (2, 9), (6, −1), (−1, 9)}
10.
After a 20% increase, a music lesson costs $72. What did it cost before the increase?
1. A$60.00
2. B$57.60
3. C$52.00
4. D$86.40

Mathematics Computation