MCA Reading Test Tips

Suggestions for maximizing instruction and student practice for benchmark mastery:

Practice every day- There are many reading passages available at the websites such as
www.edinformatics.com and www.teachercreated.com. Read a short passage together as a class and answer questions, pair students up to read another short passage and answer questions, and have students
individually read another short passage and answer questions.


Practice several benchmarks with each passage- For example, students can complete a
graphic organizer or annotate while reading the passage to demonstrate practice of the
following benchmarks:
1) Making connections to the literature by scanning the bold print, pictures, diagrams,
headings, repeated words, and title to make a prediction about the passage before reading,
2) Summarizing after every long paragraph or after a group of short paragraphs (noting
what each paragraph or section is mostly about in the margins),
3) Using context clues to determine meanings of new and unfamiliar words
4) Determining the main idea by reviewing notes in margin, title, and first and last
paragraphs
5) Determining the author’s purpose by considering why the author wanted to write
about the main idea

Integrate instruction and practice with the literature benchmarks into the five main
comprehension skills when reading fiction. For example, use context clues to determine
the meanings of figurative language, summarize the plot, and identify the main theme.