Grade 10 English Language Arts/Literacy Practice Test - Section 1 - Directions

Oct 4, 2026

Grade 10 English Language Arts/Literacy Practice Test Section 1 provides instructions for reading passages and answering the accompanying questions. Students are told to mark responses in an answer document by completely filling in circles, avoid pencil marks outside the circles, and fully erase changes. The directions clarify pacing: move on if an answer is unknown, review within Section 1 only after finishing early, and do not go past the stop sign.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages68

Reading Time2 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Section 1

Directions

Read the passage and answer the questions

| Student Name | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | |

Grade 10
English Language Arts/Literacy Test Book
| | | | | Practice Test | | | | TEST BOOKLET SECURITY BARCODE
| | | | Copyright © 2025 by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) . Any other use or reproduction of this document, in whole or in part, requires written permission from the MSDE. 2 Section 1 Directions: Today, you will take Section 1 of the Grade 10 English Language Arts/Literacy Practice Test. Read each passage and question. Then, follow the directions to answer each question. Mark your answers by completely filling in the circles in your answer document. Do not make any pencil marks outside of the circles. If you need to change an answer, be sure to erase your first answer completely. If you do not know the answer to a question, you may go on to the next question. If you finish early, you may review your answers and any questions you did not answer in this Section ONLY. Do not go past the stop sign. Section 1 3 Section 1 Read the passage from “The Chrysanthemums.” Then answer the questions. from “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck 1 A squeak of wheels and plod of hoofs came from the road. Elisa looked up. The country road ran along the dense bank of willows and cottonwoods that bordered the river, and up this road came a curious vehicle, curiously drawn. It was an old spring-wagon, with a round canvas top on it like the cover of a prairie schooner. It was drawn by an old bay horse and a little grey-and-white burro. A big stubble-bearded man sat between the cover flaps and drove the crawling team. Underneath the wagon, between the hind wheels, a lean and rangy mongrel dog walked sedately. Words were painted on the canvas in clumsy, crooked letters.“Pots, pans, knives, sisors, lawn mores, Fixed.” Two rows of articles, and the triumphantly definitive “Fixed” below. The black paint had run down in little sharp points beneath each letter. 2 Elisa, squatting on the ground, watched to see the crazy, loose-jointed wagon pass by. But it didn’t pass. It turned into the farm road in front of her house, crooked old wheels skirling and squeaking. The rangy dog darted from between the wheels and ran ahead. Instantly the two ranch shepherds flew out at him. Then all three stopped, and with stiff and quivering tails, with taut straight legs, with ambassadorial dignity, they slowly circled, sniffing daintily. The caravan pulled up to Elisa’s wire fence and stopped. Now the newcomer dog, feeling outnumbered, lowered his tail and retired under the wagon with raised hacklesand bared teeth. 3 The man on the wagon seat called out,“That’s a bad dog in a fight when he gets started.” 4 Elisa laughed.“I see he is. How soon does he generally get started?” 5 The man caught up her laughter and echoed it heartily.“Sometimes not for weeks and weeks,” he said. He climbed stiffly down, over the wheel. The horse and the donkey drooped like unwatered flowers. 6 Elisa saw that he was a very big man. Although his hair and beard were graying, he did not look old. His worn black suit was wrinkled and spotted with grease. The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark, and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors. The calloused hands he rested on the wire fence were cracked, and every crack was a black line. He took off his battered hat. 4 7 “I’m off my general road, ma’am,” he said.“Does this dirt road cut over across the river to the Los Angeles highway?” 8 Elisa stood up and shoved the thick scissors in her apron pocket.“Well, yes, it does, but it winds around and then fords the river. I don’t think your team could pull through the sand.” 9 He replied with some asperity,“It might surprise you what them beasts can pull through.” 10 “When they get started?” she asked. 11 He smiled for a sec

FAQs

How should students record their answers in Section 1?

Completely fill in the circles in the answer document. Do not make pencil marks outside the circles.

What should a student do if they need to change an answer?

Erase the first answer completely before marking a new one.

If a student does not know an answer, what guidance is given?

Go on to the next question. If finished early, review answers and questions you did not answer in this Section only.

Oct 4, 2026

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