Finding Central Idea

Often, students are not capable of performing within a designated range of expectations in school. Those students who hover below the normative range due to physical or cognitive impairments must be evaluated to determine if special services or accommodations are needed. High schools are required to offer a wide array of special services to those students who are evaluated as incapable of staying within the normative range of performance standards in the classroom. The special services offered can help these students reach their maximum potential, but before they can be administered, a teacher has to identify that there is a problem.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

• High schools are required to help students with special needs achieve their maximum potential.

• High schools are required to help students who have been identified by a teacher as having special needs, achieve their maximum potential.

• High schools serve the needs of various types of students, including those who have been identified as having special needs.

• High schools serve the needs of various types of students, but only offer special services to those who have been identified as having cognitive impairments.

Recently, a $114 million bond was approved which will be used in the upcoming year to renovate existing schools and build new schools in the North Point school district. Additions will also be built onto the three high schools, three new elementary schools will be built, and a Career Center will also be constructed for high school students on the campus of North Point Community College. In addition, technology in the district will be brought up to date, teacher's will receive bonuses denied last year, and two new vice principals will be hired for Smithson Middle School and Harry P. Shulte Middle School.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

• North Point School District is going to be going through major changes in the upcoming year.

• North Point School District has received bond money to build new schools and update technology in the upcoming year.

• North Point School District is going to be going through changes which will take place in the spring of next year.

• North Point School District has received bond money which will be used to upgrade the entire school district in many ways this upcoming year.

A child with Asperger's Syndrome may move into the personal space of others, failing to recognize body language and even verbal cues that he or she has transgressed. Friends and new acquaintances alike may be acknowledged with tight and enthusiastic hugs. Bypassing typical greetings like "Hi, how are you?" an older child with Asperger's may launch into discourse on the latest topic of concern. This narrow special interest (e.g., Civil War maritime strategies, accuracy of train schedules) may be age-inappropriate (e.g., "Power Rangers" cartoons at age 16) or boring, but a child with this disorder will often continue to clarify, oblivious to disinterest, "looks," or snickers from the people close by.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder that affects an afflicted child's social interactions.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder that affects many different aspects of an afflicted child's life.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder causing an afflicted child to have narrow special interests that are often age-inappropriate.

• Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder causing an afflicted child to act especially reserved around new experiences and people.

Almost everyone would agree that cleaning up the environment and keeping it that way is a good thing. The obvious negative impacts on human health and the ecosystems on Earth are well understood. Yet, there are underlying consequences to compliance to this most basic need that need to be studied, as well. The government of the U.S. has requested voluntary action from citizens and industry, and it has also legislated action in order to start the clean-up process. An example of this is the Clean Air Act. The good news is that this law requires that emissions into the air meet certain standards that will help clean up the environment. Under this act, cars have to reduce emissions of nitrous oxides by 60%, and "clean coal" technologies have to reduce harmful emissions by 20%. Industry is required to reduce emissions of over 200 compounds that are known to cause health problems. The bad news is the cost of compliance. Estimates of consumer costs for a cleaner environment go as high as $50 billion a year, and that study does not even take into account the loss of jobs from reshaping industries to meet the new standards.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

• Industries in nations across the United States need to unite to maintain the standards created by the Clean Air Act despite the costs to the country.

• Industries are doing their part to reduce emissions that are known to have ill effects on the environment and human health.

• Although legislation that supports cleaning up the environment is a good idea, the costs of such efforts need to be evaluated.

• Cleaning up the environment is best accomplished through both legislation like the Clean Air Act and volunteerism from humans impacted by emissions.

What's that humming sound? Could it be hummingbird, the only bird capable of backward flight? Hummingbirds have many unique flight habits that distinguish them from other birds. Most birds flap their wings up and down to fly, but the hummingbird moves its wings forward and backward very rapidly in a figure eight pattern. This allows the hummingbird to hover in position, fly upside down, and move about very rapidly. And while other birds have to push off with their feet to begin flying, and work their ways up to their top speeds, the hummingbird can both start flying at maximum speed and stop flying instantaneously. After you've seen a hummingbird in flight, it's unlikely that you'll mistake them for another bird.

Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the paragraph?

• Birds and hummingbirds are very different.

• Hummingbirds make a humming sound.

• Hummingbirds wings fly in figure eight patterns.

• The hummingbird flies in a totally unique and unusual way.