WIDA ACCESS Grades 6–8 Practice Tests

Part A: Earthquake Drill Day

A middle-school classroom with desks in rows, windows on the left wall, a tall bookshelf at the back, and a teacher standing at the front.

1. Which picture shows the first step?
2. Which picture shows what the student should do next?
3. Where will the class meet after the drill?

Part B: Inside Our Planet

A cut-away drawing of Earth showing four colored layers from the outside to the center, next to a peach cut in half.

1. According to Mr. Brooks, how is Earth’s crust like the skin of a peach? (A) Both are soft and wet. (B) Both are very thin outer layers. (C) Both are the hottest part. (D) Both are made of liquid metal.
2. According to Mr. Brooks, which layer is made of liquid metal? (A) the crust (B) the mantle (C) the inner core (D) the outer core
3. What causes the plates of Earth’s crust to move? (A) Slow currents of rising and sinking rock in the mantle (B) Liquid metal from the outer core pushing up through the crust (C) Wind and ocean waves pushing against the crust (D) The solid inner core spinning faster every year

Part C: How Fast Do Plates Move?

A math class. On the whiteboard, two blocks labeled Plate A and Plate B have arrows pointing away from each other. A student measures her fingernail with a small ruler.

1. How far will the plate move in 10 years? (A) 15 centimeters (B) 10 centimeters (C) 50 centimeters (D) 500 centimeters
2. Which statement about the two rates is correct? (A) The plate moves 1 centimeter more per year than the nails grow. (B) The nails grow 1 centimeter more per year than the plate moves. (C) The plate and the nails move at exactly the same rate. (D) The plate moves 9 centimeters more per year than the nails grow.
3. How many years would it take the plate to move 1 meter? (A) 5 years (B) 20 years (C) 50 years (D) 500 years

Part D: Living Near Volcanoes

A green valley with farms, orchards and a small town at the foot of a large, quiet volcano. A hot spring steams in the front, and a science station with an antenna sits on the volcano’s side.

1. According to Dr. Shah, why do many farmers live near volcanoes? (A) The weather near volcanoes is always warm. (B) Volcanoes give farmers free water for crops. (C) The land near volcanoes costs very little. (D) Old volcanic ash makes the soil rich.
2. What is the main idea of this part of the talk? (A) Iceland has more tourists than any other country. (B) Hot springs are too dangerous for most visitors. (C) Volcanoes can give communities energy and jobs. (D) Families should move away from volcanoes to find work.
3. Which statement would Dr. Shah most likely agree with? (A) Scientists can stop a volcano before it erupts. (B) Careful monitoring helps people live near volcanoes more safely. (C) Evacuation drills are not needed if scientists are watching. (D) Living near a volcano has no real benefits for families.

Part E: The Emergency Kit

A kitchen at home. A teenage boy and his younger sister stand next to an open backpack on the table. The girl is holding a large stuffed giraffe. A list is taped to the fridge.

1. How does Ethan feel about making the kit at the beginning of the story? (A) He thinks it is pointless and dull. (B) He is excited to go shopping for batteries. (C) He is worried that an earthquake will happen soon. (D) He is glad that Ava wants to help him pack.
2. Why does Ethan go to get Mr. Noodle? (A) He wants to use the giraffe as a pillow. (B) He needs something to prop up the flashlight. (C) Mom calls and tells him to put the toy away. (D) He sees it would comfort his upset sister.
3. Which sentence best states a theme of the story? (A) Younger brothers and sisters usually get their way in the end. (B) Storms are more dangerous than most people think. (C) Being prepared means caring for feelings, too. (D) It is important to follow a list exactly as written.

Part A: Field Trip to Earthquake Hall

A museum hall with a large seismograph machine drawing wiggly lines and a small glass-walled room where students hold rails.

1. Dear Grade 7 Families, On Friday, October 16, our class will visit the City Science Museum. We will spend the morning in Earthquake Hall. There, students will see a real seismograph. A seismograph is a machine that records how the ground shakes. Students will also stand in the Shake Room, a small room that moves like a gentle earthquake. Please sign the permission form and return it to Ms. Patel by Wednesday, October 14. Students without a signed form will stay at school and work in the library. When must the permission form be returned? (A) Friday, October 16 (B) Wednesday, October 14 (C) Monday, October 12
2. What to Bring Please pack a lunch in a bag that you can throw away. Also bring a water bottle and a pencil, because you will fill out a worksheet as you explore. Do not bring phones or cameras into the Shake Room, because they can fall and break while the room moves. You may bring a small amount of money for the gift shop, but this is not required. Wear comfortable shoes, since we will walk and stand for most of the morning. Why should students NOT bring phones into the Shake Room? (A) Phones could fall and break. (B) Phones are not allowed in any museum. (C) Students need their hands for the worksheet.
3. Look at the schedule in the table. After the tour of Earthquake Hall, students will go to the Shake Room in groups of five. While one group is in the Shake Room, the other groups will sit on benches nearby and work on their worksheets. The Shake Room visits will take a little more than an hour. When every group has had a turn, the whole class will meet at the museum doors and go outside together for the next part of the day. What will the class do after all the groups finish the Shake Room? (A) Take a tour of Earthquake Hall (B) Ride the bus back to school (C) Eat lunch in the picnic area

Part B: Where Plates Meet

Three side-by-side diagrams of plate boundaries: plates moving apart, plates pushing together, and plates sliding past each other.

1. Earth’s crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates. The plates fit together like pieces of a cracked eggshell, and they are always moving slowly. The places where two plates meet are called plate boundaries. Scientists group boundaries into three types, based on how the plates move. At a divergent boundary, two plates move apart. At a convergent boundary, two plates push toward each other. At a transform boundary, two plates slide past each other sideways. Most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes happen near plate boundaries, because that is where the crust is under the most stress. According to the text, why do most earthquakes and volcanoes happen near plate boundaries? (A) The plates there are thicker than other plates. (B) The oceans there are deeper than anywhere else. (C) The crust there is under the most stress. (D) The plates there have stopped moving.
2. When two plates move apart at a divergent boundary, hot melted rock called magma rises to fill the gap. The magma cools and hardens into new crust. Most divergent boundaries are hidden under the ocean. For example, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a long underwater mountain chain where the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate are slowly separating. In a few places, such as Iceland, a divergent boundary rises above the sea. There, visitors can walk through a valley between two plates, and the island grows slightly wider every year. What happens at a divergent boundary? (A) New crust forms as magma fills the gap. (B) One plate slides sideways past another. (C) Two plates crash and form tall mountains. (D) The ocean floor sinks into the mantle.
3. Convergent boundaries can build some of Earth’s most dramatic landforms. About 50 million years ago, the plate carrying India began pushing into the Eurasian Plate. Both plates were made of thick, light continental crust, so neither one sank below the other. Instead, the rock crumpled and folded upward, like a rug pushed against a wall. Over millions of years, this collision formed the Himalayas, the highest mountains on Earth. The collision has not ended. India is still pushing north, so the Himalayas continue to rise by a few millimeters each year. Why does the author compare the rock to "a rug pushed against a wall"? (A) To show that the Himalayas are soft and easy to climb (B) To explain that the plates are made of thin material (C) To show that the collision happened very quickly (D) To help readers picture how the rock folded upward

Part C: The Seismometer Club

Students in a science lab look at a laptop screen that shows a seismometer line with small spikes.

1. The Seismometer Club at Riverside Middle School keeps a small seismometer in the science lab. It records tiny earthquakes that people usually cannot feel. Each month, club members count the earthquakes. They also write down the largest magnitude of the month. Magnitude is a number that tells how strong an earthquake is. Club president Lucas made the table to share the results with the school. First, he wants to know how many earthquakes the club recorded in all during the five months. How many small earthquakes did the club record in all from September to January? (A) 65 (B) 75 (C) 85 (D) 21
2. Next, Lucas wants to find the mean, or average, number of earthquakes per month. To find the mean, he adds the numbers for all five months. Then he divides the total by the number of months. He plans to print the mean in the club newsletter. That way, students can compare each new month to the average and decide if a month was unusually quiet or unusually busy. He checks his work twice before he sends the newsletter, because last year the club printed a number that was wrong. What is the mean number of small earthquakes per month? (A) 12 (B) 18 (C) 21 (D) 15
3. Club member Zara has an idea. She thinks that months with more earthquakes also have stronger earthquakes. "If the ground is busy, the shakes must be bigger," she says. Lucas is not sure. He reminds her that scientists do not make a claim until they check the evidence. The two students sit down with the table and compare the number of earthquakes with the largest magnitude for each month. They also look for patterns from month to month. Zara promises to change her idea if the numbers do not support it. Which statement is supported by the data in the table? (A) The month with the strongest earthquake did not have the most earthquakes. (B) The number of earthquakes went up every month. (C) November had the strongest earthquake of the five months. (D) January had fewer earthquakes than October.

Part D: The Ring of Fire

A map of the Pacific Ocean with a red horseshoe-shaped band along its edges, labeled with several countries.

1. The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped path around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. It stretches about 40,000 kilometers, from New Zealand up past Japan, across to Alaska, and down the western coasts of North and South America to Chile. About 75 percent of the world’s active volcanoes are found along this path, and about 90 percent of all earthquakes happen there. The reason is simple: the Pacific Plate and several smaller plates meet the plates around them along this ring. Millions of people live in the cities and farmlands of the Ring of Fire. According to the text, why do so many earthquakes and volcanoes happen along the Ring of Fire? (A) The Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean. (B) Many people live in the countries around it. (C) Several plates meet along the edges of the Pacific. (D) The path is about 40,000 kilometers long.
2. Countries along the Ring of Fire have learned to live with earthquakes. Japan is one example. After strong earthquakes in the past, Japan wrote strict building rules. New buildings must be designed to bend and sway instead of breaking. Some tall buildings sit on huge rubber pads that soak up shaking, a bit like the shock absorbers on a mountain bike. Japan also has an early-warning system. When sensors detect the first small waves of an earthquake, phones and TVs send an alert. Sometimes this gives people several seconds to take cover before strong shaking arrives. What is the main purpose of this paragraph? (A) To explain why Japan has more earthquakes than other places (B) To describe ways one country prepares for earthquakes (C) To persuade readers to visit tall buildings in Japan (D) To compare buildings in Japan with buildings in Chile
3. In 1960, Chile experienced the strongest earthquake ever recorded, with a magnitude of 9.5. Since then, Chile has made its building rules stricter. It has also trained citizens in safety drills. In 2010, another very strong earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.8, shook the country. Engineers traveled across Chile to study the damage. They compared older buildings with buildings that followed the newer rules. Most buildings built under the newer rules stayed standing. Today, many countries study Chile’s and Japan’s examples when they write their own building codes. Which sentence from the text best supports the claim that Chile’s newer building rules worked? (A) In 1960, Chile experienced the strongest earthquake ever recorded. (B) It has also trained citizens in safety drills. (C) Today, many countries study Chile’s and Japan’s examples. (D) Most buildings built under the newer rules stayed standing.

Part E: Mountain Neighbor

A boy sits on the porch of a small farmhouse at sunrise, looking at a large green volcano with a ribbon of cloud around it.

1. Diego woke before sunrise in his aunt’s small house on the hillside. Through the window, the volcano stood against the pink sky like a sleeping giant, a thin ribbon of cloud wrapped around its shoulders. Diego had only seen volcanoes in textbooks, where they were red and angry and always exploding. This one looked calm, almost gentle. "Does it ever wake up?" he asked Aunt Rosa as she poured him a cup of hot chocolate. She laughed. "It snores sometimes," she said. "But we listen carefully." What does the phrase "like a sleeping giant" suggest about the volcano? (A) It is small and easy to climb. (B) It is huge and quiet but could become active. (C) It is covered in snow and ice. (D) It erupted recently and is still very dangerous.
2. After breakfast, Aunt Rosa took Diego to a small building at the edge of the coffee farm. Inside, a screen showed wiggly lines moving across a graph. "This is how we listen," she explained. "These lines show every tiny movement inside the mountain. If the lines start jumping more than usual, the scientists call the town, and we follow the plan." She pointed to a map on the wall with a road marked in green. Diego studied the green line for a long time. He realized that Aunt Rosa was not brave because she ignored the volcano. She was brave because she understood it. What does Diego realize about Aunt Rosa? (A) Her courage comes from understanding the volcano. (B) She ignores the volcano because it never erupts. (C) She plans to sell the farm and move into town soon. (D) She thinks the scientists do not help the town.
3. On his last evening, Diego sat on the porch writing in his journal. Below him, the valley glowed with the lights of the town, and the coffee plants shone dark green in the rich soil. He wrote: "Before this trip, I thought a volcano was only something to be scared of. Now I know it is also something that gives: soil for the farms, warm springs for visitors, and a reason for neighbors to look out for each other." He closed the journal and looked up at the mountain. For the first time, it felt less like a stranger and more like a neighbor. How does Diego’s view of the volcano change over the story? (A) He goes from feeling calm to feeling afraid of it. (B) He goes from liking it to wanting to leave it. (C) He goes from fearing it to respecting it. (D) He goes from studying it to ignoring it.

Part 1 — Our Classroom Emergency Kit

Hello! I’m Ms. Carter. Today we are going to talk about emergency kits. Every classroom in our school has one. The kit has things we might need if we have to stay in the classroom for a long time, or if the power goes out. Look at the picture. It shows everything that is in our class kit.

1. P1 — Now it’s your turn. What are two other things you see in the kit?
2. P3 — Now it’s your turn. Choose a different item from the kit. Tell how the class could use it and why it is important.

Part 2 — When the Ground Turns Soft

Mr. Brooks’s science class did an investigation. They wanted to find out what happens to buildings on wet, sandy ground during an earthquake. Look at the first picture. It shows how they set up the investigation.

Now look at the second picture. It shows what the students did next and what happened to the house.

The students want to try one more test. Look at the third picture. This time, they put a flat rock on the bottom of the tub. The rock reaches all the way up to the top of the wet sand. Then they put the model house on top of the rock.

1. P3 — Now it’s your turn. Look at the second picture. Tell what the students did next and what happened to the house.
2. P5 — Now it’s your turn. Look at the third picture. Predict what will happen to the house this time when the students tap the tub. Explain why. Then tell how engineers could use this idea.

Part 3 — Where Should the Community Center Go?

The town of Brookside wants to build a new community center. People will use it for sports, classes and meetings. It could also be a shelter after an emergency. The town is choosing between two sites. Look at the map.

Site 1 is next to the river. It is close to downtown and a bus stop, and the land is flat. But the ground is soft and sandy, and it gets wet when the river is high. Site 2 is on a rocky hill at the edge of town. The ground is solid rock. But it is far from downtown, and the town would need to build a new road to reach it.

1. P3 — Now it’s your turn. Tell one advantage and one disadvantage of Site 2, the hill site.
2. P5 — Now it’s your turn. Which site do you think is the better choice for the community center? You can agree or disagree with Leo. Give reasons and explain why your reasons matter.

Part A: Kofi’s Floating Rock

Part B: The Shake Table Test

Part C: Should Old Brick Buildings Be Made Earthquake-Safe?