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ERB CTP 5 Sample Questions
In order to familiarize yourself with what the test looks like and what types of things are asked, have a look at sample questions that are representative of the ones on the test in some of the key subjects:
Read the passage.
Antarctica is the earth's southernmost continent. On average, it is the coldest, driest, and windiest place on earth. The average temperature during the coldest part of the year there is −81 °F.
Antarctica was first sighted only in 1820 by a Russian expedition, and there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until then. In 1895, the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians. Nowadays, there are only 1000 to 5000 temporary residents in Antarctica throughout the year. These are mainly scientists and tourists.
What is most likely the reason there are only temporary residents in Antarctica throughout the year?
A. It is earth's southernmost continent.
B. Its weather is harsh and extremely cold.
C. It was first sighted by humans only in 1820.
D. Its climate does not allow people to survive there at all.
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (B).
According to the passage, Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest place on earth, which means it has very harsh and extreme weather conditions, as answer (B) describes them. This would certainly make it difficult and unpleasant to live there. You can therefore infer that this is a likely reason for the lack of permanent residents.
Answer (A) is incorrect because it does not provide the strongest reason why there are only temporary residents in Antarctica. While it is true that its location may contribute to the weather patterns and may separate it from other parts of the world, the continent's geographic location is not nearly as strong of a reason not to live than the harsh conditions themselves.
Answer (C) is incorrect because the fact that Antarctica was first sighted only in 1820 does not explain the reason why there are still no permanent residents there.
Answer (D) is incorrect because people do survive in Antarctica, as proven by the temporary residents, so this does not explain why no one lives there permanently.
Read the following sentence on the left and answer the corresponding question on the right:
Some members of my extended family were selected to speak at the party, including _____________.
Which of the following options completes the sentence on the left properly?
A. “me and my mom”
B. “my mom and me”
C. “I and my mom”
D. “my mom and I”
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (B). “my mom and me.”
“I” is always used as a subject, and “me” is always used as an object. Whenever there are nouns in relation to a verb, the subject is the noun that does the verb, and the object is the noun that the verb is done to.
In this sentence, the ones that did the selecting (even though they are not mentioned) would be the subject, and the ones that were selected are the object.
The narrator and his mother were selected, so the word “me” is used, not “I.” When referring to one’s own self along with another, whether as the subject or the object (“I” or “me”), the other is always listed first. These two factors leave us with B as the only option.
Use the graph to answer the question.
A parallelogram is formed by connecting the three points drawn to a missing fourth point.
What are the coordinates of the missing point?
A. (8, 2)
B. (2, 4)
C. (0, 4)
D. (2, 6)
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (C).
The question tells us that the shape formed must be a parallelogram. That means that the line formed from the top point (4, 8) to the point on the right (8, 6) must be parallel to the line formed from the bottom point (4, 2) to the unidentified point.
In other words, the points will be situated the same slope and distance away from one another. (The same is true for the other two lines as well, but let us use these ones since the points are closer together.) From the point on the right to the point at the top, we move four spots left along the x axis (8 – 4 = 4), and two spots up the y axis (6 + 2 = 8).
Following the same motion from the point on the bottom (4 – 4, 2 + 2), we arrive at (0, 4). Therefore, the correct answer is (C).
Julietta is told that due to a mild deficiency in iron, she should have a portion of red meat one meal a day. Julietta then discovers that her friend Raquel has a more serious deficiency in iron.
Based on the information provided, what would make the most sense for Julietta to advise Raquel?
A. Raquel should have two portions of red meat one meal a day.B. Raquel should have a portion of red meat at multiple meals a day.
C. Raquel should have a portion of red meat at a meal every other day.
D. Raquel should also have a portion of red meat one meal a day.
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (D).
While Raquel may have a greater deficiency in iron than Julietta, we do not know by how much, or even if a greater deficiency can be rectified by simply eating more meat. There could also be negative effects of eating more meat, especially if she is eating two normal portions within the same meal.
Therefore, we cannot conclude that Raquel should have twice as much meat as Julietta or more, as suggested in options (A) and (B). It certainly does not make sense to advise Raquel to have less meat than Julietta when she has a greater deficiency, so option (C) is clearly incorrect as well.
The only thing Julietta can advise confidently is that Raquel can benefit from eating as much meat as she herself was told to. Therefore, option (D) is the correct answer.
Raquel carried four bags of groceries home from the local supermarket, each weighing about the same, and she just barely made it home before she had to put them down and rest her arms. She began lifting weights to make her task easier, and after some time, noticed that she could lift things more easily.
Which of the following is a logical assumption for Raquel to make?
A. Raquel could now carry five equivalent bags home from the grocery before needing to rest her arms.B. Raquel could now carry those four bags of groceries to her friend’s house who lived farther from the grocery than she did.
C. Raquel would need to take a break now while carrying her groceries home.
D. Raquel would need to take a break now while carrying her groceries home.
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (D).
While we know that Raquel is now stronger than she was before, we do not know by how much. Therefore, we cannot conclude how much more or longer she could carry her groceries, so options (A) and (B) are incorrect.
The only thing we can be sure of is that since she was able to carry four bags home without stopping, she will certainly be able to do that now. Therefore, option (C) is clearly incorrect, and option (D) is the correct answer.
Six friends are lined up from left to right in order of tallest to shortest. They are measured to the nearest whole inch and none of them share the same height. Justin is the tallest, Monica is 5’9”, Raj is to the right of Katie, Julio is next to Justin, Raheem is next to Monica, and Katie is three inches shorter than Raheem.
A. Raheem's height
B. 6 feet
Which statement is true?
A is greater than B.
B. B is greater than A.
C. A and B are equal.
D. There is not enough information to tell which is greater.
Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is (B).
We are told that Justin is the tallest of the friends, and we know that Julio must be the second tallest because he is next to Justin. We know that Raj is shorter than Katie because he is standing to her right, and we are told that Katie is three inches shorter than Raheem.
We know that Monica is next to Raheem in order of height, but we do not know if she is taller or shorter. So the order must be (1) Justin, (2) Julio, (3&4) Raheem and Monica, (5) Katie, (6) Raj. If Raheem is shorter than Monica, who we are told is 5’9”, then his height is obviously less that 6 feet. If Raheem is taller than Monica, this puts him two spots away from Katie.
With Katie being three inches shorter than Raheem, and Monica standing between them at 5’9”, the only options are that Katie is 5’7” and Raheem is 5’10”, or that Katie is 5’8” and Raheem is 5’11”. Either way, Raheem is shorter than 6 feet even if he’s taller than Monica, so the correct answer is (B).
What Is the ERB CTP 5 Testing?
CTP vs Milestones
The ERB (Educational Records Bureau) aims to provide meaningful and actionable assessments that allow schools to better their curricula, teachers to optimize their focus, and students to improve their individual education. In such, it offers two
main testing programs that are designed to complement each other, yet can also be utilized individually:
- The CTP is a comprehensive and detailed program that aims to assess curricular performance over the course of a year and dives deep into knowledge and reasoning in several different subjects and subtopics.
- The Milestones Assessments are briefer and more generalized tests in mathematics and reading comprehension (for grades 3-8) that are taken periodically across the school year in order to provide formative assessment and interim results to assist both the students and educators in their learning and teaching.
What topics are tested in the CTP?
Language arts and mathematics are the main areas tested on the CTP, with these topics (especially language) broken into many specialized subtopics, including reasoning skills assessments beginning in grade 3. Here is a list of the individual tests and in which grades they are administered:
- Reading Comprehension (Grades 1-11)
- Writing Mechanics (Grades 2-11)
- Writing Concepts and Skills (Grades 3-11)
- Verbal Reasoning (Grades 3-11)
- Vocabulary (Grades 4-11)
- Mathematics (Grades 1-11)
- Quantitative Reasoning (Grades 3-11)
- Science (Grades 3-9 only online)
There are also a few tests taken only in select grades:
- Word Analysis (Grades 1-2)
- Auditory Comprehension (Grades 1-3)
- Algebra 1 (Grades 7-9)
What’s new on the CTP 5?
The main difference between the CTP 5 and the previous versions of the tests is an increased emphasis on reasoning and critical thinking skills. In the past, CTP tests have focused on accumulation of knowledge and academic growth, with
specific tests designed to test reasoning skills. In the CTP 5, different levels of cognitive skills are assessed throughout the tests, as they are embedded into the questions in each subject.Instead of simply demonstrating acquired knowledge of the material, you will be asked to apply this knowledge and recognize how to utilize it in different contexts.
The test categorizes the questions based on the degree and sophistication of reasoning required to solve them in a series of numbered levels called DOK, which stands for depth of knowledge.
How Do I Study for the ERB CTP 5?
The best way to prepare for the CTP 5 is to review what you’ve learned in school in each of the relevant subjects, study the material that is touched upon in the tests, and most importantly, practice answering questions that resemble the ones that appear on the test.
Your time in school is supposed to prepare you for the tests on an informational level, as the tests are designed to complement the curriculum, so the main task that remains is simply familiarizing yourself with test taking in the CTP format.
Taking practice tests will help you review the material while simultaneously improving your test-taking skills; it will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of the material effectively as you will be familiar with the format and how the CTP aims to assess your understanding.
ERB CTP Scores
What is a good CTP 5 score?
The ERB expresses your results in a number of different ways, and each one can be helpful for a different context in facilitating the students’ growth, the school’s teaching, the district’s curricula, and much more.
Therefore, the quality of a given student’s score can be subjective, as it depends on what you are looking for and what it is being compared to. Here is a quick breakdown of how the scoring works:
ERB CTP 5 Score Breakdown
For every test you are given a raw score that is simply the number of questions you answered correctly.The closer this number is to the number of questions on the test, the better the score. The raw score is then weighted for difficulty of question on a scale that equalizes it across the various tests between subjects and previous attempts.
Each question answered correctly will give you a certain amount of points in relation to the level of difficulty such that the more challenging the correctly answered questions were, the higher the score will be. This score is called the scale score, and it is a three-digit number whose purpose is to be compared with others’ equivalent results in order to determine its value.
your score report will then proceed to compare these results for each subject with other results in the same age group within a class, grade, district, country, type of school or schools within the same association, For each of these comparisons, you will be given both a percentile (0-100%) and stanine (1-9) score that indicate how well you preformed compared to the others who took the test within that group.
So, for example, you may be given a raw score of 32 indicating the number of questions you got right on the Verbal Reasoning test, a scale score of 673 based on the difficulty of those questions and on a universal scale between the different tests, and then a series of percentiles and stanines comparing that grade to different groups, such as GN (grade norm) 86% or NN (national norm) Stanine 6—each great scores indicating a high percentage of your peers whom you outperformed.
How to Understand my CTP 5 Score Report
The ERB has one of the most convenient and comprehensive score reports called ERB 360 Access. It is an interactive website that can be accessed through your ERB account, and it allows users to view results from each test, individually and compositely, including easy to understand explanations of what the reports mean.
ERB 360 Access incorporates both CTP and Milestones results when applicable, and you can view the results individually, collectively, or as compared to other students and norm groups divided by class, grade, district, country, and more.
It also offers tracking progress over the years or within the year, the ability to highlight specific skillsets and weaknesses based on norms and subcategories, as well as other helpful features, and the scores appear in the forms of raw score, scale score, percentile rank, and stanine.
What Is the CTP 5 Test Format?
The CTP 5 assessments are offered in an online format or paper and pencil, and they can be administered in school or even taken at home. On the test, you will encounter varying questions offering multiple choice answers from A-D.
The number of questions and allotted time differs between the tests, but in general, students are given more than enough time to complete all the questions—each test taking usually between 30-60 minutes. Students can move freely within and review all of their questions within a section, but once the section is completed, it is finalized, and a new section is begun.
