Why does Coach Parker tell the runners to plan to arrive by 6:30?
Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 6–7 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.
Saturday Meet: Change of Plans
From: Coach Parker
To: Lone Oak Middle School Cross-Country Team
Subject: Saturday meet: change of plans
Runners,
Because of the heavy rain this week, Saturday's meet will no longer be held at Cedar Creek Park. The trails there are flooded. The meet will now take place at Medina Valley High School, on the track and the grass fields behind it.
The bus will leave from our school's front parking lot at 6:45 a.m., fifteen minutes earlier than planned, because the drive is longer. If you are not on the bus by 6:45, it will leave without you, so plan to get here by 6:30.
Bring your uniform, running shoes, a water bottle, and a change of dry clothes. The forecast says more rain is possible.
Coach Parker
The question
Choose the best answer.
Why does Coach Parker tell the runners to plan to arrive by 6:30?
- So they will not miss the bus if they are a little lateCorrect answer
- So they will have time to load the bus
- Because the meet itself begins at 6:30
- Because the rain is supposed to start at exactly 6:45 that morning
Why “So they will not miss the bus if they are a little late” is correct
This asks the student to infer the reason behind an instruction. The bus leaves at 6:45 and will not wait, so arriving fifteen minutes early gives runners a cushion. The coach does not say this directly, so the student has to connect the two times.
Why the other answers are wrong
- So they will have time to load the bus — Loading the bus is never mentioned as a job for the runners.
- Because the meet itself begins at 6:30 — 6:30 is the arrival time at Lone Oak; the meet is at another school after a long drive.
- Because the rain is supposed to start at exactly 6:45 that morning — The email says more rain is possible but gives no time for it.
Practice more of this
More reading practice for Grades 6–7, or see the TELPAS practice test for 6th and 7th 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.