RICA Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: C

summative assessment: Summative assessment measures achievement at the end of a unit or period; it is not repeated every two weeks to adjust instruction.

entry-level (placement) assessment: Entry-level assessment is given before instruction to determine placement or starting points, not repeatedly during an intervention.

progress-monitoring assessment: Correct. Brief, repeated measures given during instruction to check whether students are making adequate progress are progress monitoring.

norm-referenced achievement testing: A norm-referenced achievement test compares students with a national sample and is typically given once a year, not every two weeks.

Entry-level = before instruction (placement); progress monitoring = frequent checks during instruction; summative = end-of-period achievement.

Answer: D

Students clap once for each syllable in 'butterfly.': Clapping syllables is phonological awareness at the syllable level, a larger unit than the phoneme.

Students match the letter m to a picture of a moon.: Matching a letter to a sound involves print, so it is a phonics/alphabetic-principle task, not purely phonemic awareness.

Students identify which two words in a set of three rhyme.: Rhyming works at the onset-rime level; it is phonological awareness but not manipulation of individual phonemes.

Students say 'mat' and then say it again without the /m/.: Correct. Deleting an individual sound from a spoken word ('at') is an oral task operating on single phonemes, the definition of phonemic awareness.

Phonological awareness is the broad umbrella (words, syllables, onset-rime); phonemic awareness is the subset dealing with individual phonemes, and it is oral, not print-based.

Answer: C

number of words read correctly during one minute of oral reading: Words correct per minute measures rate combined with accuracy, not prosody.

percentage of words read accurately in a grade-level passage: Percentage of words read correctly is accuracy, a separate component of fluency.

use of appropriate expression, phrasing and intonation when reading aloud: Correct. Prosody is the expressive, rhythmic aspect of oral reading that reflects understanding of the text.

ability to decode unfamiliar nonsense words quickly and accurately: Decoding pseudowords measures phonics skill, not prosody.

Fluency has three components: accuracy, rate (automaticity) and prosody (expression and phrasing).

Answer: D

photosynthesis: Photosynthesis is a domain-specific (Tier Three) term best taught within science content.

dog: Dog is a basic everyday (Tier One) word most students already know from conversation.

isotope: Isotope is a domain-specific (Tier Three) science term with limited use outside that field.

reluctant: Correct. Reluctant is a general academic word that appears in many kinds of texts and is rarely learned from conversation alone.

Prioritize Tier Two words: general academic words that are useful across many texts and less likely to be learned incidentally.

Answer: D

A Venn diagram: A Venn diagram fits compare-and-contrast structure; the paragraph does not compare two things.

A timeline with dates: The events do occur in order, but the signal words ('as a result,' 'consequently') show that the structure is causal, not just chronological.

A problem-solution chart: No solution to a problem is proposed; closing the road is presented as a consequence.

A cause-and-effect chain: Correct. Each event causes the next (rain → loose soil → mudslide → road closure), and the signal words mark causation.

Use signal words to identify expository structure: 'because/as a result/consequently' = cause-effect; 'first/then/finally' = sequence; 'similarly/however' = compare-contrast.

Answer: C

Literal: Literal questions ask for information stated directly in the text, such as what time schools currently start.

Inferential: Inferential questions ask readers to figure out unstated information from text clues; this question asks for a judgment instead.

Evaluative: Correct. Judging the quality and sufficiency of an author's evidence requires evaluative, or critical, comprehension.

Sequential recall: Recalling the order of events or ideas is a literal-level skill, not judging an argument.

Literal = stated in the text; inferential = reading between the lines; evaluative = judging the text against criteria or one's own knowledge.