Why does Ms. Valdez ask Daniel to reply by Thursday?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 10–12 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.
Read the email. Then answer the questions.
A Message to a New Employee
From: Ms. Teresa Valdez, Front-End Manager, Rio Grande Market
To: Daniel Evans
Subject: Your first week
Hi Daniel,
Welcome to the team. Your first shift is Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please come to the customer service desk at 3:45, not to the registers, so I can give you your name badge and your login for the time clock.
Your first two shifts will be training. On Monday you will shadow Kimberly at register 3, which means you will watch and help but will not handle money by yourself. On Wednesday you will run the register yourself with Kimberly beside you.
Please wear black pants and closed-toe shoes. We will give you two store shirts on Monday. Also bring a photo ID and your Social Security card or another document from the list I attached, because Human Resources must see one before you can be paid.
Your schedule for the following week depends on your school activities, so please reply by Thursday with any days you cannot work.
See you Monday,
Ms. Valdez
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Ms. Valdez ask Daniel to reply by Thursday?
- She wants to know whether he passed his training on Wednesday.
- She needs to plan his next schedule around school activities.Correct answer
- She has to tell Human Resources which documents he will bring.
- She needs his shirt size so she can order his store shirts.
Why “She needs to plan his next schedule around school activities.” is correct
This asks the reader to connect a request to its reason. The sentence itself explains that next week's schedule 'depends on your school activities', so the reply lets her plan around them. Students sometimes choose an answer that matches a different part of the email, so reading the whole sentence matters.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She wants to know whether he passed his training on Wednesday. — Training is not something Daniel would report on; she will be at the store to see it herself.
- She has to tell Human Resources which documents he will bring. — The documents are mentioned in a different paragraph and are not connected to the Thursday reply.
- She needs his shirt size so she can order his store shirts. — The shirts will be given to him on Monday, and nothing in the email asks for a size.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 10–12, or see the TELPAS practice test for 10th–12th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.