GACE Basic Skills
The Basic Skills assessment, offered as part of the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, is divided into three distinct tests: reading, mathematics, and writing.
The reading test consists of 42 selected-response questions. The topics covered by the reading test are: understanding the main idea and supporting details in written material; identifying purpose and point of view; analyzing the relationship among ideas in written material; critical reasoning skills used to evaluate written material; reading strategies used to comprehend written materials; and strategies for determining the meaning of words and phrases.
The mathematics test consists of 48 selected-response questions. The topics covered by the mathematics test are: number properties; number operations; measurement concepts; principles of geometry; statistical concepts; data analysis and interpretation; and problem-solving principles and techniques.
The writing test consists of 42 selected-response questions (60% of the test score) and 1 constructed-response question (40% of the test score). The topics covered by the writing test are unity, focus, and development in writing; effective organization in writing; recognizing effective sentences; standard American English usage; and preparing a developed composition on a given topic using language and style appropriate to a given audience, purpose, and occasion.
The examination must be completed within four hours. The total test score is placed on a scale of 100 to 300, with 220 as the lowest passing score. Scores are based on the number of selected-response questions answered correctly and the scores assigned by judges to the constructed responses. Test-takers will also receive performance indices indicating their success in each subarea of the examination. Scores will be available approximately a month after the date of the examination; unofficial results are posted on the internet, and an official score report is mailed to the test-taker, the Professional Standards Commission, and the institution specified by the test-taker during registration.
GACE Basic Skills Practice Questions
Read the passage below; then answer the three questions that follow.
(1)The crisis precipitated by the Progressive uprising was not a sudden and unexpected one. (2)It had been long in preparation. (3)The revolt against corruption in politics which produced the Liberal Republican outbreak in the seventies and the Mugwump movement of the eighties was followed by continuous criticism of American political and economic development. (4)From 1880 until his death in 1892, George William Curtis, as president of the Civil Service Reform Association, kept up a running fire upon the abuses of the spoils system. (5)James Bryce, an observant English scholar and man of affairs, in his great work, The American Commonwealth, published in 1888, by picturing fearlessly the political rings and machines which dominated the cities, gave the whole country a fresh shock. (6)Six years later Henry D. Lloyd, in a powerful book entitled Wealth against Commonwealth, attacked in scathing language certain trusts which had destroyed their rivals and bribed public officials. (7)In 1903 Miss Ida Tarbell, an author of established reputation in the historical field, gave to the public an account of the Standard Oil Company, revealing the ruthless methods of that corporation in crushing competition. (8)About the same time Lincoln Steffens exposed the sordid character of politics in several municipalities in a series of articles bearing the painful heading: "The Shame of the Cities." (9)The critical spirit appeared in almost every form; in weekly and monthly magazines, in essays and pamphlets, in editorials and news stories, and in novels like Churchill's Coniston and Sinclair's The Jungle. (10)It became so savage and so wanton that the opening years of the twentieth century were well named "the age of the muckrakers."
1. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A: "The Crisis of the Progressives"
B: "Corruption and Vice"
C: "American Muck"
D: "The Age of the Muckrakers"
2. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the word sordid as it appears in sentence 8?
A: salacious
B: benign
C: incredible
D: corrupt
3. Which change would improve the grammar of sentence 9?
A: changing the semi-colon into a colon
B: capitalizing Spirit
C: reversing the order of almost every
D: removing the and before in novels
4. Which of the following expressions is equivalent to 7(3 + 4) - 8?
A: (7 x 3) + (7 x 4) - 8
B: 7 x 3 + 4 - 8
C: (7 x 4) + 3 - 8
D: 8 - 7(3 + 4)
5. Janice bought a pair of shoes on sale for $40. If the price of the shoes had been reduced by 20%, what was the original price?
A: $45
B: $50
C: $55
D: $60
Answer Key
1. D. The passage focuses on a period in which authors exposed the corrupt foundations of many American institutions.
2. D. The author here is referring to the criminal misconduct of politicians.
3. A. A colon is more appropriate for introducing a list.
4. A. This equivalency is an example of the distributive property.
5. B. The original price of the shoes can be calculated with the equation 40/x = 80/100.
