WIDA ACCESS Grades 9–12 Practice Tests

Part A: Field Trip to the Seed Bank

A botanical garden seen from above: a parked school bus at the main gate, a fountain in front of a large glass greenhouse, picnic tables under trees, and a low stone building labelled as the seed bank.

1. Which picture shows what students need to bring?
2. Which picture shows where the class will meet when they arrive?
3. Which picture shows what students will see at the seed bank?

Part B: Genes and Environment

Left: two hydrangea bushes, one with blue flowers and one with pink flowers. Right: two teenage twins who look alike but one is a little taller. Bottom: a white rabbit with dark ears, nose, feet and tail.

1. According to the teacher, why did the two hydrangea plants have different flower colors? (A) The two plants had different genes. (B) One plant got much more sunlight than the other. (C) The soil in the two gardens was different. (D) One plant was older than the other.
2. Why do scientists study identical twins? (A) to learn how much genes and environment each affect a trait (B) to prove that identical twins always grow to the same height (C) to find a way to change a person's DNA (D) to show that sleep matters more than food
3. What happens when fur on a Himalayan rabbit's back grows back under a cool pad? (A) The new fur grows in white because the gene is gone. (B) No fur grows back because the skin is too cold. (C) The rabbit's ears turn white because its body is warm. (D) The new fur grows in dark because the skin is cool.

Part C: Punnett Squares

A two-by-two Punnett square. The letters B and b are across the top and B and b down the left side. The four boxes show BB, Bb, Bb and bb. A black guinea pig and a white guinea pig are drawn beside it.

1. How many boxes in the Punnett square show a white guinea pig? (A) zero (B) one (C) two (D) three
2. What is the probability that a baby guinea pig from these parents will have black fur? (A) 1/4 (B) 1/2 (C) 2/3 (D) 3/4
3. If one parent is Bb and the other parent is bb, what fraction of the babies are expected to be white? (A) 1/2 (B) 1/4 (C) 3/4 (D) all of them

Part D: From Wild Grass to Corn

A timeline arrow from left to right. On the left, a thin teosinte stalk with a tiny ear of a few hard kernels, labelled 9,000 years ago. In the middle, a slightly bigger ear. On the right, a large modern ear of corn, labelled Today.

1. According to Dr. Evans, how did early farmers change teosinte into maize? (A) They studied the plant's genes with simple microscopes. (B) They crossed teosinte with grasses from other continents. (C) They replanted seeds from the plants with the most useful traits. (D) They cooked the hard kernels in hot water so that the seeds would soften.
2. Why did the change from teosinte to maize take thousands of years? (A) Farmers could plant seeds only once every ten years. (B) Each generation of plants changed only a little. (C) Teosinte seeds had to be carried far away to be planted. (D) The hard kernels took many years to grow on the cob.
3. Why did farmers most likely prefer plants whose kernels stayed on the cob? (A) They grew into taller plants the next year. (B) They had a sweeter taste than loose kernels. (C) They kept insects away from the other plants. (D) They were easier to collect at harvest time.

Part E: The Book Club

1. What does Rosa decide at the end of the novel? (A) She goes to college to study engineering. (B) She takes over her grandfather's clock shop. (C) She sells the old gears to pay for college. (D) She asks her grandfather to build a robot.
2. What do people in town mean when they say that Rosa has 'his hands'? (A) Her hands are the same size as his. (B) She wears his old work gloves. (C) She is skilled at fixing small things, like him. (D) She holds his hands when they walk in town.
3. Which evidence best supports Zara's claim that Rosa did not reject her family? (A) The whole family expects her to take over the shop. (B) "Every gear I turn, I turn the way he taught me." (C) She decides to study engineering instead. (D) Her grandfather has repaired clocks for fifty years.

Part A: Heredity Poster Project

A school hallway bulletin board with a sample tri-fold science poster showing a drawing of a rabbit family and a Punnett square grid.

1. Ninth-Grade Biology: Heredity Poster Project. This spring, every ninth-grade biology student will make a poster about one inherited trait in plants, animals, or people. You may work alone or with one partner. Posters must be made on a standard tri-fold board. The science office will give each team one board for free, so you do not need to buy one. To choose your topic, sign up with Mr. Brooks in Room 214 before Friday, March 6. A list of possible topics is posted on his door. Each topic can be chosen by only two teams, so sign up early if you have a favorite. If you want to study a trait that is not on the list, talk to Mr. Brooks first. Where should students sign up for a poster topic? (A) in the science office (B) in the school cafeteria (C) in Room 214
2. Poster Sections. Every poster must include these five sections: 1) a title; 2) a research question, such as 'How is fur color passed on in rabbits?'; 3) background information about the trait; 4) 'How It Is Passed On,' with at least one Punnett square that shows a possible cross; and 5) a list of at least three sources. Please remember that posters about human traits need extra care. Do not use real family names, and do not use photos of family members unless they have given you permission. Live plants and animals are not allowed in the display area, but you may use drawings, diagrams, and printed pictures. What must every poster include? (A) a Punnett square (B) a family photograph (C) a live plant or animal
3. Project Schedule. Week 1: Choose a topic and a partner. Week 2: Research your trait and make a rough draft of your poster on paper. Week 3: Mr. Brooks will check every draft on Tuesday, March 24. He will write comments and suggestions on a feedback sheet, and you will have one week to make changes. Final posters will be displayed in the cafeteria on Thursday, April 2. Families are invited to visit between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. that evening. Three teachers will act as judges, and they will give ribbons for the clearest explanation, the best visuals, and the best research. Every team that finishes a poster will earn a certificate. Why should students have their drafts ready by March 24? (A) so families can see the drafts in the cafeteria from 6 to 8 p.m. (B) so the teacher can give feedback before the final display (C) so the judges can give out ribbons that day

Part B: The Album

A teenage girl and her grandmother sit at a kitchen table looking at an old green photo album. A small black-and-white photo shows a smiling girl holding a violin.

1. Hana had been dreading the family tree assignment for a week. It was not that she disliked history. It was that she knew almost nothing about her family beyond her grandparents, and she imagined her poster covered with more blanks than names. On Saturday she finally took the bus across town to Grandma June's apartment. Her grandmother was waiting at the kitchen table with a pot of tea and a thick photo album. Its cover was faded green, and its corners were soft from years of handling. 'I thought you might need this,' Grandma June said, sliding it across the table. Hana opened it carefully. The first page smelled like dust and old paper, and it was full of faces she had never seen. What does the word 'dreading' mean in this passage? (A) feeling excited about a new idea (B) feeling worried about something that is coming (C) forgetting something important (D) feeling proud of schoolwork that is already finished
2. Most of the photos showed serious adults in stiff clothes, and Hana turned the pages quickly. Then she stopped. In one small black-and-white picture, a girl of about sixteen stood on a porch holding a violin. The girl was smiling, and one side of her mouth went up higher than the other. Hana's breath caught. It was the same crooked smile Hana saw in the mirror every morning, the one her friends always teased her about. She leaned closer, almost touching the page with her nose. 'Grandma, who is this?' she asked. Grandma June smiled. 'That is my mother, Alice. Your great-grandmother. I always wondered when you would notice.' How does Hana most likely feel when she sees the photo of Alice? (A) bored and impatient (B) embarrassed and upset (C) worried and afraid (D) surprised and curious
3. Grandma June told Hana that Alice had played violin at every wedding in town. 'Nobody else in the family played music after her,' she said, 'not until you started cello.' Hana sat back in her chair. She had always thought her love of music came from nowhere. 'So maybe I inherited it,' she said slowly. 'Maybe it is in my genes.' Grandma June tapped the photo. 'Maybe some of it is,' she said. 'But I remember my mother practicing in the kitchen every single evening, even when her fingers were sore. Nobody inherits that part. You have to choose it.' Hana thought about her own cello, standing in the corner of her room at home. That night, she practiced for an extra hour. Which statement best expresses a theme of the story? (A) Talent may run in a family, but effort matters too. (B) Old photographs are more valuable than new ones. (C) Young people should always follow family traditions. (D) Grandparents know more about music than parents do.

Part C: Why Siblings Look Different

A simple diagram: a mother and a father each shown with a pair of chromosomes of two colors, arrows to four egg and sperm cells with different single chromosomes, and two children below with different mixes.

1. Why do brothers and sisters look alike in some ways but different in others? The answer begins with chromosomes. Almost every cell in your body contains 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs. In each pair, one chromosome came from your mother and the other came from your father. Chromosomes are made of DNA, and they carry thousands of genes. A gene is a section of DNA that holds instructions for a trait, such as blood type or the shape of your earlobes. Because chromosomes come in pairs, you have two copies of most genes. The two copies are not always the same. Different versions of the same gene are called alleles. For example, one allele might lead to curly hair, while another might lead to straight hair. According to the article, why does each person have two copies of most genes? (A) Genes copy themselves as a person grows older. (B) One copy is used in cells and one is a spare. (C) One copy comes from each parent. (D) The second copy is made when a person is born.
2. Parents do not pass on all 46 of their chromosomes. When the body makes sex cells, eggs or sperm, it uses a special kind of cell division called meiosis. During meiosis, the chromosome pairs separate, and each sex cell receives only one chromosome from each pair, for a total of 23. Which chromosome from each pair goes into a particular sex cell is a matter of chance. It is a bit like flipping a coin 23 times. Because there are 23 pairs, one parent can produce about 8 million different combinations of chromosomes in their sex cells. In addition, pairs of chromosomes often swap small pieces during meiosis. This process, called crossing over, mixes the alleles even more. What does the number 'about 8 million' describe in the article? (A) the possible chromosome combinations in one parent's sex cells (B) the number of genes carried on each chromosome (C) the number of cells in a newborn baby's body (D) the number of alleles found in the human body
3. When an egg and a sperm join, the new cell again has 46 chromosomes, half from each parent. Now think about two sisters. Each one came from a different egg and a different sperm. Since each egg and each sperm holds its own random mix of chromosomes, the two sisters receive different combinations of their parents' alleles. They will share about half of the same alleles on average, which explains why they may have the same eye color but different hair. The only exception is identical twins. Identical twins form when one fertilized egg splits into two, so they begin with the same DNA. For every other pair of siblings, the random sorting of chromosomes makes each child a new and unique combination. Which sentence best states the main idea of the whole article? (A) Identical twins are the only siblings who share any of their genes. (B) Chromosomes are made of DNA and carry thousands of genes. (C) Meiosis is a type of cell division that makes sex cells. (D) Each sibling gets a different random mix of the parents' genes.

Part D: Counting Corn Kernels

Four ears of corn laid side by side, each with mostly purple kernels and some yellow kernels mixed in; a student with a clipboard counts them.

1. Omar's biology class studied a cross between two corn plants. Both parent plants had purple kernels, but both carried one allele for yellow kernels. Their genotype was Pp, where P (purple) is dominant and p (yellow) is recessive. A Punnett square for this cross predicts that about 3 out of every 4 kernels will be purple and about 1 out of every 4 will be yellow. This is a ratio of 3 purple to 1 yellow. Each kernel on an ear of corn is a separate seed, so one ear gives hundreds of results at once. The class counted every kernel on four ears and recorded the numbers in the table. They found that the ears did not match the prediction perfectly, but one ear matched it exactly. Which ear of corn had a purple-to-yellow ratio of exactly 3 to 1? (A) Ear 1 (B) Ear 2 (C) Ear 3 (D) Ear 4
2. Next, the class combined the results from all four ears. Mr. Brooks explained that a larger sample usually gives results that are closer to the prediction, because chance differences on one ear are balanced by chance differences on another. To find a percent, the students had to divide the number of yellow kernels by the total number of kernels, not by the number of purple kernels. Then they multiplied by 100. Sofia made a common mistake at first. She divided 412 by 1,242 and got an answer that was much too high. After she checked the total row of the table and divided by the correct number, her answer was very close to what the Punnett square predicted. About what percent of all the kernels were yellow? (A) 22% (B) 25% (C) 33% (D) 75%
3. In his lab report, Omar wrote this claim: 'The results support the idea that both parent plants carried one purple allele and one yellow allele.' Mr. Brooks asked him to choose his strongest piece of evidence. Omar knew that if one parent had been PP, none of the kernels would have been yellow, because every kernel would have received at least one P allele. He also knew that a Pp parent crossed with a pp parent would give about half purple and half yellow kernels. Only a cross between two Pp parents predicts a 3 to 1 ratio. So Omar needed evidence that showed not just that yellow kernels appeared, but how often they appeared compared with the total. Which evidence from the table best supports Omar's claim? (A) About one in every four kernels was yellow. (B) Ear 2 had more kernels than any other ear. (C) Every ear had more purple kernels than yellow ones. (D) Ear 4 had the most yellow kernels of the four ears.

Part E: Mendel's Lost Discovery

A monastery garden in the 1800s with rows of pea plants on wooden supports and a man in a dark robe taking notes in a notebook.

1. Why was Mendel's discovery ignored for so long? Historians point to several reasons. First, his paper appeared in the journal of a small local society. Copies were sent to libraries in other countries, but few important scientists read it. Second, Mendel used mathematics to explain his results, counting plants and calculating ratios. Most biologists of the 1860s described living things with words, not numbers, so his methods seemed strange. Third, and perhaps most important, the popular idea at the time was 'blending inheritance.' Most scientists believed that a child's traits were a smooth mix of the parents' traits, like mixing blue and yellow paint to make green. Mendel's idea that traits are passed on as separate units did not fit what they expected to see. According to the text, what was one reason scientists paid little attention to Mendel's work? (A) Mendel refused to share his results with other people. (B) His experiments used far too few pea plants to be trusted by experts. (C) His paper was destroyed before anyone could read it. (D) Most scientists believed that parents' traits blended together.
2. The story of Mendel's work has a surprising ending. In the spring of 1900, three botanists working in different countries were studying how traits are passed on in plants. Each of them had done his own experiments and found patterns that looked like simple ratios. As they searched through older scientific writing, each one came across Mendel's forgotten paper in the society's journal. They realized that a monk working in a small garden had described the same patterns decades earlier, and in greater detail. Their papers brought Mendel's work to the attention of other scientists, and within a few years, scientists across Europe and North America were testing his ideas on other plants and on animals. Use the timeline to see how long his paper waited to be discovered. According to the timeline, how many years passed between the publication of Mendel's paper and its rediscovery? (A) 16 years (B) 34 years (C) 44 years (D) 78 years
3. Today, Gregor Mendel is often called 'the father of genetics,' and his laws are taught in almost every biology classroom. Yet during his lifetime he received little credit. His story suggests that good science is not enough on its own. Mendel collected careful evidence from thousands of plants, and his reasoning was correct. However, his ideas reached very few readers, and the readers he did reach were not ready to accept them. A discovery also needs an audience that can understand it and test it. When the right scientists finally read his paper in 1900, his ideas spread quickly. Modern researchers can learn from this. Sharing results clearly, and with the right people, can be just as important as doing the experiment. What is the author's main purpose in this final paragraph? (A) to describe exactly how Mendel planted his pea seeds each spring (B) to compare Mendel's life with the lives of the three botanists (C) to argue that good ideas need an audience as well as evidence (D) to persuade students to become monks and work in gardens

Part 1 — Family History Project

Hello, I'm Ms. Carter. In social studies class, students are making family history projects. They are learning where their families come from and how family stories are passed down. Look at this picture of the materials one student is using.

Here, a student named Zara is interviewing her grandfather. She is asking him questions about his life and recording his answers.

1. P1 — Now it's your turn. What are two other things you see on the table?
2. P3 — Now it's your turn. Zara is interviewing her grandfather. What questions would you ask an older family member, and why?

Part 2 — Fruit Fly Wing Investigation

In biology class, students did an investigation with fruit flies. Some fruit flies have normal wings. Others have small, crumpled wings. The students put one fly with normal wings and one fly with small wings together in a vial, so the flies could reproduce.

After about two weeks, the babies hatched and grew into adult flies. The students counted them. Look at the results for the first generation.

Next, the students took two flies from the first generation. Both had normal wings. They put these two flies together and waited for a new generation. Look at the results for the second generation.

1. P3 — Now it's your turn. Look at the results for the first generation. What did the students find?
2. P5 — Now it's your turn. The students crossed two first-generation flies. Look at the second generation. Explain why some flies had small wings again, even though both parents had normal wings.

Part 3 — Choosing a Club Project

The school biology club has money for one spring project. Option 1 is a heritage tomato garden. Club members would grow ten different kinds of tomatoes and compare their traits, like size, color, and taste. Option 2 is a Family Science Night. Club members would set up hands-on genetics activities for younger students and their families. The club can only choose one.

1. P3 — Now it's your turn. What is one advantage of the Family Science Night?
2. P5 — Now it's your turn. Which project do you think the club should choose? Give reasons for your choice and explain why it is better than the other option.

Part A: The Family Reunion Photo

Part B: How Bacteria Become Resistant

Part C: Saving the Mountain Frog