ParaPro Assessment Study Guide Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key definitions, mathematical concepts, and grammatical rules from the ParaPro Assessment Study Guide.

ParaPro Assessment

A test for prospective and practicing paraprofessionals that measures skills and knowledge in reading, mathematics, and writing, and the ability to assist in classroom instruction.

No Child Left Behind

Federal legislation signed into law in January 2002 mandating that paraprofessionals have an associate degree, two years of college, or pass a formal assessment.

Pretest Questions

Fifteen questions in the ParaPro Assessment (five in each subject) that do not count toward the final score.

Main Idea

The central point of a passage that ties all sentences together; each sentence expresses, supports, or develops it.

Supporting Ideas

Facts, details, and definitions that elaborate on the main topic or main idea of a passage.

Inference

A statement clearly suggested or implied by an author based on information given, though not explicitly stated in the text.

Foundations of Reading

Knowledge and skills students need when learning basic features of words, such as sounding out words and breaking them into parts.

Prefixes

Groups of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning, such as anti- (against) or post- (after).

Suffixes

Groups of letters placed at the end of a word to change its meaning or form, such as -ly (forms an adverb) or -less (without).

Syllables

Distinct units of sound into which a word is broken down to assist in pronunciation and spelling.

Antonyms

Words that have opposite meanings, such as new and old.

Homonyms

Words that sound alike but have different meanings, such as eye and I.

Integers

Numbers that are not fractions or decimals, including positive whole numbers, their negatives, and zero ($0$).

Prime Number

An integer that can be divided only by $1$ and itself, such as $2, 3, 5, 7, 11,$ and $13$. ($1$ is not included.)

Factor

A divisor of an integer; for example, $1, 3, 5,$ and $15$ for the number $15$.

Multiple

The product of an integer and another integer; for example, multiples of $4$ include $-8, -4, 0, 4, 8, 12,$ and $16$.

Exponents

Symbols used to indicate repeated multiplication, such as $3^4 = 3 \times 3 \times 3 \times 3 = 81$.

Linear Equations

Equations used to solve for an unknown quantity, called a variable, represented by a letter such as $x$.

Polygon

A closed plane formed by three or more line segments, such as triangles and quadrilaterals.

Circumference

The distance around a circle (its perimeter), calculated using the formula $C = 2\times \text{π} \times r$.

Volume

The amount of space enclosed by a three-dimensional figure; for a cube, it is calculated as $\text{Volume} = (s)^3$.

Mean

The average of a list of numbers, calculated by adding all numbers and dividing the sum by the count of numbers.

Median

The middle number in a list when ordered from least to greatest, or the average of the two middle values if the list has an even count.

Mode

The number that appears most frequently in a list of numbers.

Noun

A part of speech that names a person, place, thing, or concept.

Verb

A part of speech that tells what a subject does or is, often showing time through its tense.

Adjective

A word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or a clause, often ending in -ly.

Preposition

A word used before a noun or pronoun to identify a relationship such as time or space, like 'before' or 'to'.

Subject

The part of a sentence consisting of the person, place, or thing performing an action.

Predicate

The part of a sentence that expresses the action the subject performs or an assertion about that subject.

Run-on Sentence

Two complete sentences fused together without any punctuation or without a comma and coordinating conjunction.

Sentence Fragment

A phrase punctuated as a sentence that is missing a key element, such as a subject or a predicate.

Freewriting

A prewriting activity where a person writes whatever comes to mind about a topic for a set amount of time without stopping.