ELA Practice Test 4th Grade + How to Ace the NYS ELA Exam
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New York public school students in grades 3-8 take English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics standardized exams annually. Students in 4th grade and 8th grade also take a Science exam. These assessments are linked to the rigorous Common Core standards.
The Common Core standards are a national set of skills and knowledge that students should master at each grade level.
In this article, we’ll focus exclusively on the 4th grade English Language Arts (ELA) exam. We’ll provide information, tips, sample questions, and ELA practice tests 4th grade to help put you and your child on the path to success.
So let’s get started! First, click the button below to get a NYS ELA practice test for your 4th grader. Along with this test, you will also receive a bonus PDF "5 Top Tips to Use Practice Tests Effectively" to help your child study for the test.
NYS ELA Basics
The NYS ELA exams focus entirely on the Common Core Literacy Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy.
These include standards related to Reading, Writing, and Language. These skills are assessed using close reading of literary, informational, and paired texts.
Question types include multiple choice, short response, and extended response.
Multiple choice questions will assess Reading and Language standards, short response questions primarily assess Reading but also require writing and language skills, and extended response questions assess Writing from Sources. Students must communicate a clear and coherent analysis of one or two provided texts.
As of the NYS ELA test 2016, students were allowed to complete the assessment untimed. This change will continue into the upcoming school year.
NYS ELA 4th Grade
For fourth grade students, the NYS ELA assessment consists of three test sessions administered over three days.
There is no time limit, but students generally need about 60-70 minutes to complete each session. The test design for NYS ELA 2017 is unchanged from the design for NYS ELA 2016. Test structure is as follows:
In total, the test will contain 3-7 literary passages and 3-7 informational passages. For 4th grade students, passages are typically 600-700 words in length.
Question Types
We’ve already mentioned that there are three question types on NYS ELA:
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Supporting Details sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Characterization sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Plot Development sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Theme sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Vocab sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Text Structure sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Author’s purpose sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Figurative Language sample
Students will also be expected to make inferences based on the information provided in the text(s) and provide evidence to support their responses.
Short response questions assess Reading and Language standards. These questions require students to make an inference based on his or her analysis of the passage, and then provide two pieces of evidence from the text to support their analysis. Below are two examples of 4th grade short response questions.
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Short Response 1 sample
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Short Response 2sample
No more than three complete sentences should be required to answer these questions. While students are expected to include information from the text, they must also generate their own inference/claim to receive full points.
Lastly, extended response questions assess Writing from Sources. Students will analyze either one text or paired texts related by theme, genre, time period, tone, or other characteristics. These responses are evaluated based on Common Core Writing standards (purpose, focus, organization, conventions, etc.) and a student’s ability to defend his or her point with evidence from the text(s).
ELA Practice Test 4th Grade - Extended Response sample
The NYS ELA is a challenging exam, but remember that you can help your child feel confident and prepared by working with ELA practice tests 4th grade.
How to Ace the NYS ELA Exam
There are several ways you can help your child prepare for this challenging exam. First, remember that these assessments are linked to the Common Core standards, which are also the basis of the curriculum your child is studying in school.
For this reason, it’s especially important for your child to pay attention and work hard in English Language Arts class this year. Encourage her to take notes, complete all classwork and homework, and ask for help or clarification when needed.
It’s also a great idea to set a daily or weekly reading goal. Your child’s goal can be to read a certain number of pages or minutes each day or week. Reading frequently will improve your child’s reading comprehension, vocabulary, and language usage.
One of the most effective test prep strategies for any assessment is to complete sample questions and practice tests. Working on NYS ELA practice tests 4th grade can help your child build confidence and familiarity with test content.
When your child answers questions correctly, take the time to reinforce logical thinking skills. When your child answers incorrectly, correct misconceptions and discuss how to better approach similar questions in the future.
If you notice an area of weakness for your child, you may want to focus future practice sessions on this skill. In general, practice sessions should be brief, engaging, and encouraging to prevent your child from becoming overly anxious about the test.
By effectively utilizing ELA practice test 4th grade and following the tips described here, you’ll put your child on the path to a stress-free and successful performance on the exam.
