Student Name: _____________________________________

Ohio
Achievement Tests
Grade

6
Reading
Student Test Booklet
Half-Length Practice Test
Large Print

Copyright 2005 by Ohio Department of Education. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgments
Reading
Selection 1: Something to Keep the Ears Warm
Something to Keep the Ears Warm from BE AN INVENTOR
by Barbara Taylor, copyright 1987 by Field Publications,
reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc. This material may
not be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
Selection 2: The Marble Champ
Excerpt from The Marble Champ in BASEBALL IN APRIL
AND OTHER STORIES, copyright 1990 by Gary Soto,
reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc. This material may
not be reproduced in any form or by any means without
prior written permission of the publisher.
Artwork: Illustrated by Kenneth J. Spengler.

The Ohio Department of Education does not discriminate on the basis

of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in
employment or the provision of services.

Reading
Directions:

Today you will be taking the Ohio Grade 6 Reading

Practice Test. Three different types of questions appear
on this test: multiple choice, short answer and
extended response.
There are several important things to remember:
1. Read each question carefully. Think about what is
being asked. Look carefully at graphs or
diagrams because they help you understand
the question.
2. For short-answer and extended-response
questions, write your answers neatly and clearly in
the space provided in the Student Test Booklet.
3. Short-answer questions are worth two points.
Extended-response questions are worth
four points. Point values are printed near each
question in your Student Test Booklet. The amount
of space provided for your answers is the same
for two- and four-point questions.
4. For multiple-choice questions, circle your choice
in the Student Test Booklet for the test question.
Mark only one choice for each question. If you
change an answer, make sure that you erase
your old answer completely.
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Reading

5. Do not spend too much time on one question.

Go on to the next question and return to the
question skipped after answering the
remaining questions.
6. Check over your work when you are finished.

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Reading
Something to Keep the Ears Warm
Barbara Taylor

Fifteen-year-old Chester Greenwood of

Farmington, Maine, had a problem with his ears.
They were very sensitive to the freezing cold of the
long Maine winters.

While other children

his age would race sleds
down slopes, build ice
forts, and skate on frozen
ponds, poor Chester
would rub his ears and
go home.

One December day

in 1873, Chester decided
he had to do something.
He tied a scarf around his
head, but it itched and
would not stay in place.
Then he hit upon the idea
of covering just his ears.
Chester bent a piece of
wire into loops, fitted the
loops over his ears, and
attached the loops to a
hat. Chester asked his
grandmother to cover
them with wool and fur.
5

This photograph
shows the inventor
of earmuffs proudly
promoting his
product. Chester
Greenwoods
imagination served
him well all of his
life. He is credited
with more than 100
other inventions.
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Reading

When the other kids saw Chester in his strange

headgear, they laughed. But the laughter stopped
when they realized that Chester was staying
outside in the cold longer than he ever had
before. Soon the other kids were asking Chester if
he would make them covers for their ears. Chester
Greenwood realized he was on to something big.

Orders from all over town started pouring

in. Chesters mom and grandmother were
busy helping him make more earmuffs, the
name people were calling Greenwoods
clever invention.

As word of Chesters earmuffs spread

throughout New England, the inventor found
ways to improve his invention. Instead of
attaching the ear covers to a hat, Chester
fastened them to the end of a strip of flat metal
that he fitted over his head. The band held the
ear covers firmly in place.

By the time he was 19, Chester had received a

patent for his invention and was well on his way to
becoming rich and successful.

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Reading
Use the selection to answer questions 1 5.
1. What was Chester
most interested
in when he
created the first set
of earmuffs?
A. creating jobs
for his mother
and grandmother
B. becoming wellknown as
an inventor
C. earning money
from his invention
D. using his
invention himself
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2.

Reading
Orders from
all over town
started pouring in.
Chesters mom and
grandmother were
busy helping him
make more
earmuffs, the
name people were
calling Greenwoods
clever invention.
Identify the opinion
in the sentences
above and explain
why it is an opinion.
(2 points)

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3.

Reading
Fifteen-year-old
Chester Greenwood
of Farmington,
Maine, had a
problem with his ears.
They were very
sensitive to the
freezing cold of the
long Maine winters.

4. In the fourth
paragraph, how
does the attitude
of the other
kids change?
A. from mocking
to interested
B. from joyous
to sorrowful

What does the word

sensitive mean in
the second
sentence above?

C. from amused
to bored
D. from cruel
to nervous

A. easily affected
or hurt

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B. having good
sense
C. excited; agitated
D. cautious; careful
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5. How does the
author organize
the information in
this selection?
A. by creating
categories of
information and
then supplying
specific examples
B. by making
the main point
first and
then presenting
supporting details
C. by presenting
events in
chronological
order
D. by comparing
and contrasting
information
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Reading
The Marble Champ
Gary Soto

Lupe Medrano, a shy girl who spoke in

whispers, was the schools spelling bee champion,
winner of the reading contest at the public library
three summers in a row, blue ribbon awardee in
the science fair, the top student at her piano
recital, and the playground grand champion in
chess. She was a straight-A student andnot
counting kindergarten, when she had been stung
by a waspnever missed one day of elementary
school. She had received a small trophy for this
honor and had been congratulated by the mayor.

But though Lupe had a razor-sharp mind, she

could not make her body, no matter how much
she tried, run as fast as the other girls. She begged
her body to move faster, but could never beat
anyone in the fifty-yard dash.

The truth was that Lupe was no good in sports.

She could not catch a pop-up or figure out in
which direction to kick the soccer ball. One time
she kicked the ball at her own goal and scored a
point for the other team. She was no good at
baseball or basketball either, and even had a hard
time making a hula hoop stay on her hips.

It wasnt until last year, when she was eleven

years old, that she learned how to ride a bike. And
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even then she had to use training wheels. She

could walk in the swimming pool but couldnt
swim, and chanced roller skating only when her
father held her hand.

Ill never be good at sports, she fumed one

rainy day as she lay on her bed gazing at the shelf
her father had made to hold her awards. I wish I
could win something, anything, even marbles.

At the word marbles, she sat up. Thats it.

Maybe I could be good at playing marbles. She
hopped out of bed and rummaged through the
closet until she found a can full of her brothers
marbles. She poured the rich glass treasure on her
bed and picked five of the most beautiful marbles.

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Reading

She smoothed her bedspread and practiced

shooting, softly at first so that her aim would be
accurate. The marble rolled from her thumb and
clicked against the targeted marble. But the target
wouldnt budge. She tried again and again. Her
aim became accurate, but the power from her
thumb made the marble move only an inch or
two. Then she realized that the bedspread was
slowing the marbles. She also had to admit that
her thumb was weaker than the neck of a
newborn chick.

She looked out the window. The rain was

letting up, but the ground was too muddy to play.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, rolling her five
marbles between her palms. Yes, she thought, I
could play marbles, and marbles is a sport. At that
moment she realized that she had only two weeks
to practice. The playground championship, the
same one her brother had entered the previous
year, was coming up. She had a lot to do.

To strengthen her wrists, she decided to do

twenty push-ups on her fingertips, five at a time.
One, two, three . . . she groaned. By the end of
the first set she was breathing hard, and her
muscles burned from exhaustion. She did one more
set and decided that was enough push-ups for the
first day.

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She squeezed a rubber eraser one hundred

times, hoping it would strengthen her thumb. This
seemed to work because the next day her thumb
was sore. She could hardly hold a marble in her
hand, let alone send it flying with power. So Lupe
rested that day and listened to her brother, who
gave her tips on how to shoot: get low, aim with
one eye, and place one knuckle on the ground.

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Think eye and thumband let it rip!

he said.

12

After school the next day she left her

homework in her backpack and practiced three
hours straight, taking time only to eat a candy bar
for energy. With a popsicle stick, she drew an oddshaped circle and tossed in four marbles. She used
her shooter, a milky agate1 with hypnotic swirls, to
blast them. Her thumb had become stronger.

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After practice, she squeezed the eraser for an

hour. She ate dinner with her left hand to spare her
shooting hand and said nothing to her parents
about her dreams of athletic glory.

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Practice, practice, practice. Squeeze,

squeeze, squeeze. Lupe got better and beat her
brother and Alfonso, a neighbor kid who was
supposed to be a champ.

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1agate: a type of marble

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Reading
Use the selection to answer questions 6 15.
6. The selection is best
described as which
type of work?

7.

A. a piece of
historical fiction
B. a contemporary
short story
C. an informational
article about how to
play marbles
D. an autobiographical
account of the
authors childhood
experiences

Lupe Medrano, a
shy girl who spoke in
whispers, was the
schools spelling bee
champion, winner of
the reading contest at
the public library three
summers in a row, blue
ribbon awardee in the
science fair, the top
student at her piano
recital, and the
playground grand
champion in chess.
In the sentence above,
what does the word
formed by the root
word award and the
suffix -ee mean?

6R0074LTFXX0021B

A. the highest award

B. an award in science
C. one who gives
an award
D. one who receives
an award
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8.

Reading
It wasnt until
last year, when she
was eleven years
old, that she
learned how to ride
a bike. And even
then she had to use
training wheels.

9. Why does Lupe

become interested
in marbles?

What is the purpose

of the second
sentence above?

B. She wants to be
like her brother
and enter the
playground
championship.

A. She thinks marbles

is a sport that she
might actually be
able to master.

A. It highlights the
pressure placed
on Lupe by
her parents.

C. She enjoys the

idea of a sport
that can be
played indoors
and away from
the rain or mud.

B. It shows
Lupes preference
for doing
things differently.

D. She believes
that marbles
are beautiful
objects and
that a collection
is a rich
glass treasure.

C. It demonstrates
how strict Lupes
father really is.
D. It reinforces
Lupes lack of
athletic ability.

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10. She hopped out of

bed and rummaged
through the closet
until she found a
can full of her
brothers marbles.

11. She also had to

admit that her
thumb was weaker
than the neck of a
newborn chick.
Identify the
comparison in the
sentence above
and explain what it
means. (2 points)

What does the word

rummaged suggest
about Lupe in the
sentence above?

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A. She did not really

care whether or
not she found
the marbles.
B. She and her
brother kept the
closet neat and
well-organized.
C. She had to move
a lot of things
around in order to
find the marbles.
D. She probably
used the marbles
often, since she
knew where to
find them.
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12. Where is there a

major contrast in
the selection?

13. Describe Lupes

problem in the
selection and
explain how she
solves it. Then state a
way that Lupe works
toward her specific
goal and identify a
plot event that
demonstrates a
sign of progress.
(4 points)

A. Lupes academic
ability and her
athletic ability
B. Lupes shy
behavior and
her classmates
confident actions
at school
C. Lupes
inexperience at
marbles and
her brothers
accomplishments
in athletics

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D. Lupes ability to
do many hand
exercises and her
fatigue after
shooting marbles
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14.

Reading
Practice,
practice, practice.
Squeeze, squeeze,
squeeze. Lupe got
better and beat her
brother and Alfonso,
a neighbor kid who
was supposed to be
a champ.

15. Why is Alfonso

mentioned at
the end of
the selection?
A. He highlights
Lupes
improvement
when she wins
their match.

What does
the paragraph
above suggest?

B. He understands
why Lupes brother
is annoyed
with her.

A. that the other kids

are letting Lupe
win so she will
feel better

C. He makes Lupe
feel useful because
he needs her help.

B. that Lupes
persistence is
helping her meet
her goal

D. He criticizes
Lupe the same
way everyone
else does.

C. that Lupe is
growing tired of
her repetitive
exercises

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D. that Lupes
brother is
her toughest
opponent
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STOP
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