TELPAS Practice

According to Valeria, why is the library closed after 3:45?

Basic Understanding of a Variety of Texts · TELPAS Grades 8–9 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 2: find the main idea and key details, and follow what happens in stories and informational texts.

Read the article from a school newspaper. Then answer the questions.

Open the Library After School

Every afternoon at 3:45, the doors of the Eastwood Middle School library are locked, and every afternoon a few dozen students end up sitting on the floor of the front hallway, waiting for rides. Some of them are trying to finish homework on their phones. Some are not doing anything at all.

I am one of those students. My mother works until 5:30, and the city bus does not stop near my neighborhood. I am not asking for special treatment. I am asking for a quiet place to work during the hour and a half that I am already at school.

The library has the tables, the computers, and the books. What it does not have is staff after 3:45. Our librarian, Ms. Nwosu, already works a full day, and it would not be fair to ask her to stay later for free. But other schools in our district have solved this problem. At one, teachers take turns watching the library one afternoon a month and earn a small extra payment. At another, parent volunteers sign up for afternoon shifts.

Opening the library after school would not only help students who are waiting for rides. Students without a computer at home could type their essays. Students who need a quiet place to study could find one. Even students who just want to read would have somewhere better to go than a hallway floor.

I hope the principal and the PTA will agree to a one-semester trial. If nobody uses the library, the school can lock the doors at 3:45 again. I think they will be surprised.

Valeria Ramírez, Grade 8

The question

Choose the best answer.

According to Valeria, why is the library closed after 3:45?

  • No staff member is there to watch it.Correct answer
  • There are not enough computers.
  • Students are too noisy in the afternoon.
  • The school wants to save money on books.

Why “No staff member is there to watch it.” is correct

This is a detail question from paragraph 3. Valeria lists what the library has and then says, "What it does not have is staff after 3:45." Students should notice the contrast between what the library has and what it lacks.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • There are not enough computers. — She says the library already has the computers.
  • Students are too noisy in the afternoon. — Noise is not mentioned as a reason.
  • The school wants to save money on books. — Books are not the problem; she says the library has them.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th 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.