Sample Passages from
the CUNY/COMPASS Reading Exam
The COMPASS/ESL Reading Exam begins with
a tutorial section that shows students how
to take the exam. The figure below shows a
sample item similar to those in the Reading
Placement Exam, and illustrates how a reading
exam passage and items would appear on the
computer screen. Students use the "More" button
on the left half of the screen to move toward
the beginning or the end of the passage. The
numbered boxes in the lower right of the screen
correspond to the questions associated with
the current passage. The student can click
on the boxes in any sequence, but must be
sure to click on all boxes in order to respond
to all relevant exam questions. After the
student answers all questions, the "Go
On" button is enabled and the student
clicks on it to proceed to the next computer-selected
passage and its associated exam questions.
The sample items on the following pages illustrate
the types of passages and exam questions in
the reading placement and diagnostic exam
pools.
Sample
Humanities Screen Shot
