The reading comprehension items in the COMPASS assessment fall into two general categories: (1) referring items: which are questions that focus on information that is explicitly stated (obvious) and determine the meaning of words based on the information clearly presented in the passage and (2) reasoning items: which are questions that focus on the implicit (not obviously stated) meaning of the passages and requires you to draw conclusions, comparisons, and generalizations about the information you've read. The reasoning questions also ask you to determine the specific meaning of difficult, unfamiliar, or ambiguous words based on the surrounding information.
For example, read the passage below. Examples of both types of questions are included. Once you've read the information use the active reading strategies we've discussed to determine how you would answer each question below. Click the 'next page' button at the bottom of the page to begin the practice quiz for this passage.
Regular tune-ups of your heating system
will cut heating costs and will most likely increase the lifetime and safety of the system. When a service technician performs a tune-up, he or she should test the efficiency of your heating system. The technician should measure the efficiency of your system both before and after servicing it and provide you with a copy of the results. Combustion efficiency is determined indirectly, based on some of the following tests:
1) temperature of the flue (or chimney); 2) percent carbon dioxide or percent oxygen in the atmosphere; 3) presence of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere; and 4) draft. Incomplete combustion of fuel is the main contributor to low efficiency. If the technician cannot raise the combustion efficiency up to at least 75% after tuning your heating system, you should consider installing a new system or at least modifying your present system to increase its efficiency.
(Adapted from Alex Wilson and John Morrill, Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. ©1993 by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.)
Reasoning Item
1. The passage suggests that the presence of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere:
A. can provide information regarding combustion efficiency.
B. is found in 75% of heating systems tested.
C. can be reduced by decreasing heating system draft.
D. is the main cause of low efficiency in heating systems.
E. is more reliable than flue temperature as an indicator of combustion efficiency.
Referring Item
2. According to the passage, when performing a tune-up of a heating system, the service technician should:
A. ensure that the combustion efficiency is at least 25%.
B. modify the heating system before initially measuring efficiency.
C. measure combustion efficiency both before and after servicing the system.
D. provide his or her supervisor with a written report of the system's efficiency.
E. ignore the age of the heating system.
Created by Renee Wright for Triton College 2010.