California Proficiency Program (CPP)

Detailedcontentreview · Section1

Comprehension, inference, analysis, and synthesis across literary and informational passages of about 400 to 600 words: main idea and details, text structure, author's purpose and tone, vocabulary in context, figurative language, character, theme, point of view, and argument evaluation.

The Reading subtest contains 50 multiple-choice questions in 65 minutes, about 1.3 minutes per question including the time spent reading the passages. Each question has four answer choices (A–D). About 40% of the questions are based on literary texts (fiction, poetry, drama, and literary nonfiction such as memoir) and about 60% on informational texts (articles, essays, speeches, reports, and documents). Most passages run about 400– 600 words, and each is followed by several questions. The questions fall into four process categories: comprehension (what the text says), inference and interpretation (what it suggests and what its language means), analysis (how it is built and why the author made those choices), and synthesis and generalization (combining ideas within or across texts and applying them).

Comprehension

Understand what is directly stated; restate or

According to the passage…; The passage

summarize it

states that…

Analysis

Explain structure, purpose, point of view, tone, and

The author includes the second paragraph

the effect of an author’s choices

mainly to…; The tone is best described as…

Informational texts present facts, explanations, and arguments about real subjects. They make up the larger share of the Reading subtest, so recognizing their types, structures, and purposes is essential.

Common Types of Informational Texts

Expository Articles and Textbooks Explain a topic in science, history, or social studies. Usually objective, organized with clear topic sentences.	News Reports and Feature Articles Report events (who, what, when, where, why, how). Feature articles add background, quotations, and human interest.
Editorials, Essays, and Speeches Argue a position. Look for a claim, supporting evidence, and appeals to the audience.	Biographies and Memoirs Tell the story of a real life. A memoir is told by the person who lived it; a biography is written by someone else.
Technical and Procedural Texts Manuals, instructions, and guides that explain how to do something, usually in numbered steps.	1 Workplace and Public Documents Letters, memos, policies, notices, and legal or government documents that inform or direct readers.

Text Structures and Signal Words

Authors organize information in recognizable patterns. Identifying the structure tells you how ideas relate and answers questions such as How is the passage organized?

Chronological /

Presents events or steps in time order

first, next, then, before, after, during, finally,

sequence

meanwhile

Compare and contrast

Shows similarities and differences

similarly, likewise, both, however, unlike, whereas, in contrast, on the other hand

Description

Lists features, characteristics, or examples of a

for example, such as, including, in addition,

topic

characteristics

Main Idea and Supporting Details

The main idea is the central point the author makes about the topic; it answers What is this passage mostly about? The topic is only the subject (for example, honeybees); the main idea is what the author says about it (honeybees communicate through movement). Supporting details are the facts, examples, statistics, quotations, and explanations that develop the main idea. The main idea may be stated in a topic or thesis sentence, often the first or last sentence, or it may be implied, so that you must form it from the details.

Author’s Purpose

To inform

Presents facts objectively, without taking sides

News reports, encyclopedias, textbooks

To persuade

Tries to change the reader’s opinion or prompt action

Editorials, advertisements, speeches, reviews

To describe

Creates a vivid picture of a person, place, or event

Travel writing, profiles, memoir

Questions also ask about the purpose of a part of a text: why the author includes a quotation, an anecdote, a statistic, or a particular paragraph. Typical answers are to provide an example, to introduce a counterargument, to support a claim with evidence, to shift from the problem to a solution, or to create interest in the topic.

Fact and Opinion

Public libraries are the most valuable service a city offers.

Water boils at 100 °C at sea level.

(A judgment; it cannot be proven, and people may reasonably

(Can be verified by measurement or reliable sources.)

disagree.)

Opinion signals include believe, think, feel, should, must, best, worst, beautiful, unfair, and in my view. A fact can be false and still be a statement of fact: The city has four libraries is factual in form because it can be checked. Many sentences mix the two: The new library, which cost $3 million, is a waste of money contains a verifiable cost and an opinion.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Reading Graphics in Informational Texts

Informational passages may include a table, bar graph, line graph, map, diagram, or timeline. Read the title, labels, units, and key before the data. Questions usually ask what the graphic shows, whether it supports a claim in the text, or what information it adds.

Match the claim to the data: A graphic supports a statement only if its numbers actually show it. Watch for words like most, all, doubled, and more than half.

Check the scale and units: Percent is not the same as number of people; a line graph shows change over time, and a bar graph compares categories.

Do not over-read: A graphic shows what happened, not necessarily why. Causes must come from the text.

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For main idea questions, test each choice against every paragraph. If a choice fits only one paragraph, it is too narrow; if it mentions ideas the passage never develops, it is too broad.

The main idea covers the whole passage; supporting details

Facts can be checked; opinions express judgments and often

develop it.

use evaluative words.

Signal words reveal structure: because/therefore (cause–

Primary sources are firsthand; secondary sources interpret

effect), however/unlike (contrast), first/then (sequence).

primary sources.

Know the purpose of the whole text and of individual parts

With graphics, read titles, labels, and units first, and accept

such as a quotation or statistic.

only claims the data actually show.

Literary Texts

Literary texts, which make up about 40% of the Reading subtest, include short stories, excerpts from novels, poems, scenes from plays, and literary nonfiction such as memoir. Questions focus on how characters, events, language, and structure work together to create meaning.