How does Ayodele change from the beginning of the story to the end?
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 passage. Then answer the questions.
The Story of a Name
On the first day of seventh grade, Ayodele sat in the third row and waited for the part of the morning she dreaded every year: roll call.
When the teacher reached her name, he paused and frowned at the list. He tried it once, then again, and each time it came out as a sound her family would never have recognized. A few students giggled.
"Here," Ayodele said, sinking lower in her chair. She did not correct him. She never did. Correcting people meant everyone would stare at her even longer.
That afternoon, her language arts teacher, Mr. Delgado, gave the class its first assignment: write about the story behind your name.
At home, Ayodele asked her mother. Her mother set down the dish she was drying and smiled. "Your name means joy has come home," she said. "Your grandmother chose it. You were the first grandchild born after we moved to Houston, and she said you made this new place feel like home."
Ayodele wrote three pages that night. She wrote about her grandmother, who still called every Sunday from Lagos, and about how her name sounded when her mother said it, soft and round, like the start of a song.
The next week, Mr. Delgado asked for volunteers to read their work aloud. Ayodele's heart pounded, but her hand went up.
When she finished reading, she looked out at the class. "One more thing," she said. "This is how you say it." Then she said her name slowly, the way her mother did.
Mr. Delgado repeated it after her. This time, he got it exactly right.
The question
Choose the best answer.
How does Ayodele change from the beginning of the story to the end?
- She goes from liking her name to wishing it were different.
- She goes from loving school to wanting to stay home.
- She goes from shy around her family to shy at school.
- She goes from hiding her name to sharing it.Correct answer
Why “She goes from hiding her name to sharing it.” is correct
This asks about how a character changes. At the start she sinks in her chair and never corrects anyone; at the end she volunteers to read and teaches the class to say her name. Learning the story behind the name is what causes the change. Students must compare her actions in the first and last paragraphs.
Why the other answers are wrong
- She goes from liking her name to wishing it were different. — This is backward; she grows prouder of her name.
- She goes from loving school to wanting to stay home. — Nothing suggests she wants to stay home.
- She goes from shy around her family to shy at school. — She is comfortable with her family throughout the story.
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.