ABLE Adult Basic Learning Examination
The University Of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost
College * Criminal Justice Institute * 956/ 982-0155
The ABLE consists of six subtests: Vocabulary, Spelling, Language, Number Operations,
Problem Solving, and Reading Comprehension. A description
of each subtest is provided below, with a couple of sample items.
(You may click on your selection and check the answers at
the bottom of the page for practice.)
Vocabulary
The Vocabulary subtest is designed to assess the knowledge and understanding
of words that are frequently encountered by adults in their work or daily
activities. This subtest consists of 32 multiple-choice items. For
each item, the examinee is asked to read a sentence where three alternatives are given
for the last word in that sentence. This subtest includes words sampled from general or applied
vocabulary, from vocabulary associated with the physical and natural sciences,
and from vocabulary of the social sciences.
Sample Vocabulary Items:
1. When something is in motion, it _________________
2. A reduced load is _________________
Spelling
Spelling ability is measured by a 30-item
subtest. In each item, the examinee chooses the incorrectly spelled word
from among four options. The spelling words were chosen with two important
criteria in mind. First, the words were selected to be representative of
the types of words that adults need in written communication; and second, the
words sample the most common phonetic and structural principles of
spelling. Six of the 30 items in this subtest measure the examinee's
ability to recognize the correct use of words that sound the same but differ in
spelling and meaning as they are used in context.
Sample Spelling Items:
3.
4.
Language
The Language subtest is organized into two parts: capitalization and
punctuation conventions, and applied grammar. Capitalization and
punctuation conventions are measured by 18 multiple-choice items that sample the
correct use of capital letters and the correct use of periods, comas, question
marks, apostrophes, and colons. For each item, the examinee is asked to
read a sentence where a word or group of words has been underlined. The
examinee is then required to determine if the underlined word or group of words
contains an error in capitalization or punctuation.
Applied grammar is measured by 12 multiple-choice items that sample the correct
use of adjectives, verbs, pronouns, adverbs, and agreement of subjects and
verbs. For each item, the examinee is asked to read a sentence, where four
alternatives are given for a blank in that sentence.
Sample Language Items:
5. My friend lives on Oak Street.
Number Operations
Concepts of number and computation are measured by a
40-item subtest. In each problem, the examinee chooses a response from
among five answer choices. "Not given" (NG) is an answer option
for many of the problems in this subtest.
The objectives measured by this subtest include reading and writing numerals;
interpreting fractions; factorization; ratio, proportion, and percent;
equations; and using zero as an operator. The examinee is also asked to
use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with whole numbers,
fractions, and decimals to computer answers to number problems an adult is
likely to encounter. The subtest also includes computation using
scientific notation, computation with integers, and powers and roots.
Sample Number Operations Items:
7. 4 --- 2 =
8. 42 + 23 =
Problem Solving
The Problem Solving subtest requires the examinee to solve 40 problems. The types of problems represent those that an adult is likely to encounter and assess the examinee's ability to determine an outcome, to record and retrieve information, to measure, and to use geometric concepts. The subtest also measures the examinee's ability to predict or to verify statistics and to estimate outcomes.
Sample Problem Solving Items:
9. A roll of film has 24 exposures. Two get ruined. How many good exposures will be left?
10. How many squads are in a force of 200 people, if there are 20 people
in each squad?
Reading Comprehension
The Reading Comprehension subtest is designed to measure the examinee's comprehension of written material. This subtest consists of 48 multiple-choice questions. The reading passages include material of a functional nature (signs, advertisements, letters, etc.) and material of an educational nature. Each passage is followed by a series of questions designed to test the examinee's ability, not only to comprehend what is explicit in the material, but also to make inferences and to draw conclusions from what is given.
No sample passages.
Here are the ANSWERS to the sample items given
above:
1. a
2. b.
3. c.
4. c.
5. a.
6. c.
7. d
8. e.
9. b.
10. e.