GACE: Paraprofessional

The Paraprofessional assessment, offered as part of the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, consists of one test. The test is composed of 100 selected-response questions in reading, writing, mathematics, and instructional support. The topics covered by the reading subarea are: definitions of common vocabulary words; strategies for determining the meaning of unfamiliar words; strategies for interpreting and analyzing a wide range of texts; and interpreting graphic information. The topics covered by the writing subarea are: parts of speech, parts of sentences, and proper usage in standard American English; basic principles of good writing; and proper use of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in standard American English. The topics covered by the mathematics subarea are: number sense and basic algebra; basic concepts of geometry and measurement; and data analysis. The topic covered by the instructional support subarea is the application of reading, writing, and mathematical skills to classroom instruction.

The examination must be completed within three 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.

Practice Questions

1. In which of the following sentences is the underlined word used correctly?

A: George had never known such sheer terror.
B: There, standing in the middle of the trail, was a gigantic bull mousse.
C: David refused to take the money, saying it was a matter of principal.
D: The mother hen watched carefully over her brewed.

2. Which of the following sentences demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

A: Jason and Helen takes the shirt back to the cleaners.
B: The postman run to the front door.
C: Ms. Robinson teached as best she could.
D: Mr. Sanchez accustomed himself to disappointment.

3. What is the median of the data set {2, 2, 5, 9, 12}?

A: 2
B: 3
C: 5
D: 6

Read the passage below; then answer the two questions that follow.

The Saxons were spending their summer holidays at a farm near the seaside, and for the first time in four long years the whole family was reunited. Mr. Saxon, Egbert, and Athelstane had only just been demobilized, and had hardly yet settled down to civilian life. They had joined the rest of the party at Lynstones before returning to their native town of Grovebury. The six weeks by the sea seemed a kind of oasis between the anxious period of the war that was past and gone, and the new epoch that stretched ahead in the future. To Ingred they were halcyon days. To have her father and brothers safely back, and for the family to be together in the midst of such beautiful scenery, was sufficient for utter enjoyment. She did not wish her mind to venture outside the charmed circle of the holidays. Beyond, when she thought about it all, lay a nebulous prospect, in the center of which school loomed large.

On this particular hot August afternoon, Ingred welcomed an excursion in the sidecar. She had not felt inclined to walk down the white path under the blazing sun to the glaring beach, but it was another matter to spin along the high road till, as the fairy tales put it, her hair whistled in the wind. Egbert was anxious to set off, so Harold took his place on the luggage-carrier, and, after some back-firing, the three started forth. It was a glorious run over moorland country, with glimpses of the sea on the one hand, and craggy tors on the other, and round them billowy masses of heather, broken here and there by runnels of peat-stained water. If Egbert exceeded the speed-limit, he certainly had the excuse of a clear road before him; there were no hedges to hide advancing cars, neither was there any possibility of whisking round a corner to find a hay-cart blocking the way. In the course of an hour they had covered a considerable number of miles, and found themselves whirling down the tremendous hill that led to the seaside town of Chatcombe.

4. Which is the most likely setting for this passage?

A: England, 1946
B: Scotland, 1860
C: California, 1922
D: Massachusetts, 1985

5. Which word best describes Ingred's feelings about the future?

A: terrified
B: certain
C: anxious
D: pleased

Answer Key

1. A. The correct forms in the other three sentences are moose, principle, and brood, respectively.
2. D. The other sentences contain either non-existent verb forms or are incorrect in number.
3. C. In a set of data, the median is the middle value when the members of the set are arranged least to greatest.
4. A. The story appears to be set immediately after a war, and the place names sound like those that appear in the British isles.
5. C. Ingred is nervous because she is unsure what will happen after the holidays.