Competency Examination Study Guide March 2012

8/13/2019 Competency Examination Study Guide March 2012

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COMPETENCY

EXAMINATIONS

STUDY GUIDE

FORMAN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

(A CHARTERED UNIVERSITY)

LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Effective 7 March 2012


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COMPETENCY EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2

Contents

Overview 3

Written English ...................... 4

Spoken English .. 7

Written Urdu ..... 9

Information Technology .. 14

Quantitative Skills . 23


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OverviewAll students must pass the Competency Examinations to obtain their baccalaureate honors

degree. Students may take the examinations any time that they believe that they are prepared to

do so, but they must take the examinations no later than after completing two years (four

semesters). This Study Guide is designed to help students to prepare for the examinations.

Competency is assessed in five areas: Written English, Spoken English, Written Urdu,

Information Technology, and Quantitative Ski lls. Each area will be assessed separately. Exams

begin on time. Plan ahead so you are seated a few minutes before the exam begins. Bring two

ball point pens to the Written Urdu only. No calculators, mobile phones, books, notebooks, purses

will be permitted in the examination hall.

Preparing for the exam will require that students go over the texts and course materials from the

courses they have completed. To do well, plan to spend time each day studying. Avoid cramming

or studying all night without sleep just before the exam.

The examinations will be proctored. Complete academic honesty is expected. Cheating will resultin immediate dismissal from the examination hall, a zero recorded, and disciplinary action taken.

Be sure to read and follow directions stated on the exam. Read each question carefully.


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Written English Competency ExamThe exam is divided into two sections and is administered online in the ACCUPLACERSystem.Students will answer 20 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and write one essay in WritePlacer.Student must pass both the MCQs and the essay to demonstrate competency in written E nglish.

The ACCUPLACERLanguage Use grammar MCQs is a computer-adaptive exam that requires

students to answer 20 items. The exam measures a students proficiency in using correctgrammar in English sentences. There are five content areas measured on this exam:

(1) Nouns, Pronouns, Pronoun Case Structure

(2) Sentence Structure

(3) Subject-Verb Agreement

(4) Adverbs, Adjectives, Verbs

(5) Subordination/Coordination

Items on the exam come in two formats: (a) completing a sentence by fil ling in a blank with theword or phrase from the choices given, and (b) choosing a sentence that best combines twodiscrete sentences that are given. The skills covered are: subject-verb agreement, verb tenses,

irregular verb forms, appropriate verb forms in structures, noun-noun agreement, noun forms,pronouns, modifiers, comparatives, prepositions, connectives, parallelism, and sentencefragments/run-ons.

Sample Questions*(These questions wil l not appear on the exam)

Th e sentence below h as a blank space. Choose th e word or phr ase th at m akes the

sent ence meanin gful an d corr ect. The corr ect an swers are listed at t he end of th e

Study Guide.

1. _____ washing her sweater, Mary hung itup to dry.

A. After

B. BeforeC. ByD. Until

2. Some day men and women _____ to Mars.A. will travelB. will travelsC. will travelingD. will traveled

3. Water _____ at a temperature of zerodegrees Celsius.

A. having frozenB. freezingC. freezeD. freezes

4. _____ get a new haircut?A. Have youB. Does you

C. Are youD. Did you

5. J acques Cousteau will be remembered forhis inventions and for _____ to marinescience.

A. dedicationB. his dedicationC. being dedicatedD. his being dedicated

6. Since my parents always insist that I geta good nights sleep, they were _____ when Istayed out last night past my curfew.

A. very happyB. very relievedC. very tiredD. very angry


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Read the two sent ences below and choose t he best way of combi ni n g them.

7. Her puppy ran out into the street chasing a cat. The owner quickly went to retrieve it.A. The owner quickly went to retrieve it after a cat was chased into the street by her puppy.B. The owner quickly retrieved it after her puppy chased a cat into the street.C. When her puppy ran into the street after a cat, the owner quickly went to retrieve the

puppy.

D. Quickly retrieving it, the owner went quickly after her puppy that ran out into the streetafter a cat.

8. Lisa plays the piano. Her sister Kelly plays the piano, too.A. L isa and her sister Kelly plays the piano.B. Both L isa and her sister Kelly play the piano.C. L isa plays the piano and Kelly plays the piano.D. L isa and Kelly too play the piano.

9. The road was slippery. We put chains on the tires.A. Although the road was slippery, we put chains on the tires.B. The road became slippery when we put chains on the tires.C. We put chains on the tires because the road was slippery.

D. Putting chains on the tires, the road we were on was slippery.

10. Kazuko took her dog for a walk. They went to the park.A. Kazuko, going to the park, took her dog for a walk.B. K azuko took her dog for a walk in the park.C. K azuko took her dog for a walk because they went to the park.D. Kazuko and her dog went to the park, where they walked.

Introduction to WritePlacer

A prompt consists of a short passage adapted from some authentic text. Following the passage isan assignment that requires the student to focus on the issue addressed in the passage. Promptswithin the ACCUPLACER System have been carefully designed so that the student canrespond quickly and in a variety of ways. Prompts are free of technical or specific literaryreferences and do not require specialized knowledge. The prompts are designed to stimulatecritical thinking and are relevant to any number of fields and interests. Students will be asked todraw on a broad range of experiences, learning and ideas to support their point of view on theissue in question. An essay that is too short to be evaluated, written on a topic other than the onepresented, or written in a language other than English will not be given credit.

Instructions to Students

The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express yourideas in writing. You will first read a short passage and an assignment question that are focusedon an important issue. You will then write a 300-400 word essay in which you develop your ownpoint of view on the issue. You should support your position with appropriate reasoning andexamples. The position you take wil l not influence your score.

Example Essay Assignment (This question will not appear on the exam. If you writ e an essayon this top ic, memorize it, and wri te it out fo r the exam, you will receive a zero.)

PassageAn actor, when his cue came, was unable to move onto the stage. He said, I cant get in, thechair is in the way. And the producer said, Use the difficulty. If its a drama, pick the chair upand smash it. If its comedy, fall over it. From this experience the actor concluded that in anysituation in life that is negative, there is something positive you can do with it.

Adapted from Lawrence Eisenberg, Caine Scrutiny.

AssignmentCan any obstacle or disadvantage be turned into something good?


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Your essay will be assessed on how clearly and effectively you expressed your position. Thefollowing six characteristics of writing will be considered:

Purpose and Focus The extent to which you present information in a unified and coherentmanner, clearly addressing the issue.

Organization and Structure The extent to which you order and connect ideas.

Development and Support The extent to which you develop and support ideas.

Sentence Variety and Style The extent to which you craft sentences and paragraphsdemonstrating control of vocabulary, voice and structure.

Mechanical Conventions The extent to which you express ideas using Standard WrittenEnglish.

Critical Thinking The extent to which you communicate a point of view and demonstratereasoned relationships among ideas.

WritePlacer: Dimension Descript ions

Purpose and FocusThe extent to which thewriter presentsinformation in a unifiedand coherent manner,clearly addressing theissue. Specific elements toconsider include Unity Consistency Coherence Relevance Audience

Organization and

StructureThe extent to which thewriter orders and connectsideas. Specific elements toconsider include Introduction Thesis Body paragraphs Transitions Conclusions

Development and SupportThe extent to which thewriter develops andsupports ideas. Specificelements to considerinclude Point of view Coherent arguments Evidence Elaboration

Sentence Variety and Style

The extent to which thewriter crafts sentences andparagraphs demonstratingcontrol of vocabulary,voice, and structure.Specific elements toconsider include Sentence length Sentence structure Usage Tone Vocabulary Voice

Mechanical ConventionsThe extent to which thewriter expresses ideasusing standard English.Specific elements toconsider include Spelling Grammar Punctuation

Critical Thinking

The extent to which thewriter communicates apoint of view anddemonstrates reasonedrelationships among ideas.Specific elements toconsider include: Clarity Depth Precision Logic Accuracy Fairness Breadth Relevance


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Spoken English Competency ExamThe Spoken English Competency Exam is designed as follows:

5 minutes: presentation/speech by candidate

5 minutes: questions and answers in English

Each candidate will be given a topic on which he or she will speak for five minutes. The topic will be given 15minutes before the exam. Each candidate will be examined by two people. The candidate will be asked tospeak about the topic after which there will be questions and answers. The total time for the oral exam is 10minutes. Oral English proficiency will be assessed based on the following criteria (see following page fordetailed grading rubric):

Comprehension

Fluency

Vocabulary

Pronunciation

Grammar

Sample Topics for Presentation (These topics w ill not appear on the exam)

1. Choose three places of interest in L ahore which you would like to show a foreign visitor. Defend yourchoices.

2. Drugs in sport are a major threat. How would you penalize athletes who take drugs?

3. Do you believe that higher education should be provided free to Pakistani citizens? Why?

4. Should patients be allowed to take doctors to court in case of a serious injury?

5. English should no longer be an official language in Pakistan. Do you agree?

6. Pakistanis and Indians should be free to visit each others' countries. Do you agree?

7. What are the two most important economic or social problems facing Pakistan?

8. Television news is much better than newspapers. Do you agree?


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Spoken English Rubric1The following rubric is used to evaluate students oral English abili ty. Students must demonstrate at leastlevel 3 ability to achieve passing marks.

COMPREHENSION0 1 2 3 4

Cannot be said tounderstand even

simple conversation

Has great difficultyfollowing what is said.

Can comprehend onlysocial conversationspoken slowly and withfrequent repetitions

Understands most ofwhat is said at slower-

than-normal speedwith repetitions

Understands nearlyeverything at normal

speed, althoughoccasional repetitionmay be necessary

Understands everydayconversations and

normal classroomdiscussions

FLUENCY0 1 2 3 4

Speech so halting andfragmentary as tomake conversationvirtually impossible

Usually hesitant: oftenforced into silence bylanguage limitations

Speech in everydayconversation andclassroom discussionfrequently disrupted bythe students searchfor the correct mannerof expression

Speech in everydayconversation andclassroom discussionsgenerally fluent, withoccasional lapseswhile the studentsearches for thecorrect manner ofexpression

Speech in everydayconversation andclassroom discussionsfluent and effortless;approximating that ofnative speakers

VOCABULARY0 1 2 3 4

Vocabulary limitationsso extreme as to makeconversation virtuallyimpossible

Misuse of words andvery limitedvocabulary;comprehension quitedifficult

Student frequentlyuses wrong words;conversationsomewhat limitedbecause of inadequatevocabulary

Student occasionallyuses inappropriateterms and/or mustrephrase ideasbecause of lexicalinadequacies

Use of vocabulary andidioms approximatethat of a nativespeaker

PRONUNCIATION0 1 2 3 4

Pronunciationproblems so severe asto make speechvirtually unintelligible

Very hard tounderstand because ofpronunciationproblems. Mustfrequently repeat in

order to makehim/herself understood

Pronunciationproblems necessitateconcentration on thepart of the listener andoccasionally lead to

misunderstanding

Always intelligible,although the listener isconscious of a definiteaccent and occasionalinappropriate

intonation patterns

Pronunciation andintonation approximatethat of a nativespeaker

GRAMMAR0 1 2 3 4

Errors in grammar andword order so sever asto make speechvirtually unintelligible

Grammar and wordorder errors makecomprehensiondifficult. Must oftenrephrase and/or restricthim/herself to basicpatterns

Makes frequent errorsof grammar and wordorder that occasionallyobscure meaning

Occasionally makesgrammatical and/orword order errors thatdo not obscuremeaning

Grammar and wordorder approximate thatof a native speaker

1Student Oral Language Observation Matrix adapted from www.cal.org/twi/EvalToolkit/appendix/solom.pdf


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Written Urdu Competency ExamThe exam will be composed of (1) answering multiple choice questions (MCQs) about common Urdu errors andabout reading comprehension and (2) writing an essay in Urdu. The entire exam will last for one hour.Students are advised to spend about 35 minutes on the MCQs and 25 minutes on the essay. Student mustpass both the MCQs and the essay to demonstrate competency in written Urdu.

CommonErrors in Urdu

In this part of the question paper students will be asked to point out common errors usually made in everyday Urdu language usage. For this purpose twenty multiple choice questions will be given and every questionwil l carry one mark. For the preparation of this portion of the question paper, students should know thefollowing parts of speech/grammatical rules:

Ability to point out dictation errors

Correct use of prefixes and suffixes

Correct use of singular, plural; gender; synonyms and antonyms

Correct use of punctuation

Correct use of idioms, proverbs, colloquial, phrases, compound words, propositions, conjunctions,

superfluous and other rules of Urdu grammar

Urdu Reading Comprehension

In this part students' capability of reading and understanding (comprehension) of a given passage will beassessed. For this purpose a paragraph will be given and students wil l be required to read it carefully andanswer the questions that follow. Five multiple choice questions will be given in total and every question willcarry two marks.

Written Urdu Essay

In this part of the paper the students' understanding of Urdu grammar rules and their application in runningprose will be assessed. For this purpose three topics will be given out of which students will be required towrite an essay of 300-400 words on one of the topics. Essay will be double scored according to the rubric on

the following page.


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Sample Written Urdu Questions (These questions w ill not appear on the exam)


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Written Urdu Rubric2(Urdu version)

The following rubric is used to evaluate student written Urdu ability. Students must demonstrate at leastlevel 2 ability to achieve passing marks.

2Rubric adapted from Reid, J . (1993). Teachin g ESL wr it i ng. Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Regents/Prentice Hall.


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Written Urdu Rubric3(English version)

The following rubric is used to evaluate student written Urdu ability. Students must demonstrate at leastlevel 2 ability to achieve passing marks.

3Rubric adapted from Reid, J . (1993). Teachin g ESL wr it i ng. Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Regents/Prentice Hall.

0 1 2 3

CONTENT

does not showknowledge of subject; notmany details; not relevantto assigned topic OR not

enough to evaluate.

limited knowledge ofsubject; little substance;inadequate development

of topic

acceptable knowledge ofsubject; adequate range;

some development ofthesis; mostly relevant to

topic, but lacks detail;uses some examples

knowledgeable,substantive development

of thesis, relevant toassigned topic; effectively

uses examples

ORGANIZATION

does not communicate;no organization OR not

enough to evaluate

non-fluent; ideas areconfusing or

disconnected; lackslogical sequencing and

development

somewhat choppy;loosely organized, butmain ideas stand out;limited support; logical

but incompletesequencing

fluent expression; ideasclearly stated/supported;succinct, well-organized,

logical sequencing;cohesive

VOCABULARY AND LANGUAGE USEessentially translation;

little knowledge ofEnglish vocabulary,

idioms, word form OR notenough to evaluate

limited range; frequenterrors of word/idiom form,choice, usage; meaning

confusing or notunderstandable

adequate range;occasional errors of

word/idiom form, choice,usage but meaning

understandable

sophisticated range;effective word/idiom

choice and usage; wordform mastery

GRAMMAR USAGE

almost no mastery ofsentence construction

rules; many errors; ideasnot understood OR not

enough to evaluate

major problems in simpleand complex sentences;

many errors ofagreement, tense,

number, word order,

articles, pronouns,prepositions, fragments,

run-ons, deletions;meaning confusing or not

understandable

effective, but simplesentence construction;

minor problems incomplex constructions;

several errors of

agreement, tense,number, word

order/function, articles,pronouns, prepositions,

but meaningunderstandable

effective, complexsentences; few errors of

agreement, tense,number, word

order/function, articles,

pronouns, prepositions

MECHANICS

many errors of spelling,punctuation,capitalization,

paragraphing; poorhandwriting

frequent errors ofspelling, punctuation,

capitalization,paragraphing; poor

handwriting; meaningconfusing or notunderstandable

some errors of spelling,punctuation,

capitalization,paragraphing, but

meaning understandable

few errors of spelling,punctuation,

capitalization,paragraphing


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Information Technology Competency ExamIT Competency Exam will be a 2 hours practical exam with 3 questions: one from Word Processing, one fromPresentation Software and one from Spreadsheet Software. The IT Competency Exam wil l test the studentspractical skills in the following areas:

1. Basic Windows operations2. Word processing software3. Spreadsheet software

4. Presentation softwareFor the Competency exam, the labs will be equipped with OpenOffice and IBM Lotus Symphony, which aresimilar to Microsoft Office suite. The students will be allowed to use the OFFLINE HELP of the software.

Topic The student should be able to

WINDOWS XP Start Windows XP Login and log off in a network environment

Launch the application Software

Create a folder Rename a folder

Copy files from one place to another Search for files and folders effectively Use Print Screen button

Use HelpWORDPROCESSINGSOFTWARE

Start word processing software

Open and close word processing document

Save document

Insert text in document Edit document by deleting and restoring text Cut, copy, paste text

Select text efficiently Apply and change text properties including

o Fontso Font sizeso Character effects to texto Text alignmento Hyperlinko Character spacing

Apply and change page properties includingo Orientation (landscape and portrait)o Marginso Columnso Page sizeo Insert header and footer

Apply and change paragraph properties includingo Alignmento Indentationo Spacing between lines and paragraphso Bullets and numbered listo Drop capso Create and update table of contents

Use format painter

Preview and print a document

Apply and customize styles Insert page break

Insert pictures from file and clip art

Create and manage tables (split cells, merge cells, table properties) Use spell checker and thesaurus


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PRESENTATIONSOFTWARE

Start presentation software

Create a presentation

Save a presentation Insert text in a slide

Insert slides from other presentations

Insert header and footer Insert table and chart

Create a new slide Change orientation of slides Select and apply design template

Select and change slide layouts Select and apply animations (custom animations and slide transitions)

Change format in master slide

Create and apply styles Change the view of software (normal, outline, slide sorter, notes and handouts, slide show)

Rearrange slides in slide sorter view

Preview a presentation Change the page setup Print slides in variant formats

Use drawing tool bar

Use good presentation propertiesSPREADSHEETSOFTWARE

Create a workbook

Name and save a workbook Open a workbook

Insert worksheet

Rename worksheet Delete worksheet

Preview and print a worksheet

Insert and delete rows and columns Adjust the size of rows and columns Select cells

Change and apply cell alignment includingo Text alignmento Text wrappingo Text indentationo Text orientation

Edit cell contents Find and replace cell content

Change cell appearance (border, background) Cut, copy, paste, and clear cells

Merge cells

Change format of numeric data Build and apply formulas

Use Functions (SUM, SUMIF, MAX, MIN, COUNT, COUNTIF, AVERAGE,MEDIAN, date functions, basic statistical functions, mathematical and logical

functions) Use function wizard Copy formula or functions Edit formula or functions

Use absolute and relative cell references

Use IF statement

Create and apply conditional formats Access data across worksheets in the same workbook

Create charts, make a right choice of charts, edit charts and their properties Split and freeze windows

Sort data


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PRESENTATION SOFTWARE (10 MARKS)HEADER/ FOOTER AND ORIENTATION

0 1 2

Student was unable to do any taskrelated to header/footer andorientation

Student showed some ability butwas unable to complete alloperations

Student was able to carry out alloperations

SLIDE LAYOUT

0 1Student was unable to apply slide layout on slides Student efficiently changed and applied desired slide

layouts for all slides

DESIGN TEMPLATES

0 1

Student was unable to select and apply designtemplate

Student selected and applied appropriate designtemplate with all required changes

SLIDE TRANSITION AND CUSTOM ANIMATION

0 1 2

Student was unable to apply

neither slide transition nor customanimation

Student showed some ability to

apply of one of the features butnot the other

Student efficiently applied slide

transitions and custom animationsas per stated requirements

TABLES, PICTURES AND CHARTS

0 1 2

Student was unable to carry outany given task in the category

Student showed a some ability toperform some of the features

Student efficiently performedoperations related to tables,pictures and charts

MASTER SLIDE

0 1 2

Student did not apply changes tomaster slide

Student showed some ability toapply changes to master slide

Student efficiently performed allchanges to master slide

SPREADSHEET SOFTWARE (20 MARKS)BASICS OF WORKSHEETS, ROWS AND COLUMNS ADJUSTMENT

0 1 2Student was unable to do any taskrelated to category

Student showed some knowledgebut was unable to complete alloperations

Student was able to carry out alloperations

CELL APPEARANCE

0 1Student did not change cell appearance correctly Student correctly changed cell appearance

TEXT ALIGNMENT

0 1Student did not change text alignment propertiescorrectly

Students was able to do tasks related to text alignment

FORMAT NUMERIC DATA

0 1

Student was unable to do task related to category Student correctly completed the operations related tochanging format of numeric data


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CONDITIONAL FORMATTING

0 1 2Student was unable to do taskrelated to category

Student showed some knowledgebut was unable to complete allsteps

Student was able to correctly carryout all operations on all requiredcells

PICTURES AND CHARTS

0 1 2 3

Student did not createcharts or insert picturescorrectly

Student showed someknowledge of charts andpictures but was mostlyineffective inediting/making charts orinserting pictures

Student completed mostof the procedure, but wasunable to get the rightpicture and/or chart asper specification

Student efficientlyinserted pictures andcreated charts with thespecified data and ofspecified type

FUNCTION AND FORMULAS

0 1 2 3 4 5Student did notattempt to useformulas andfunctions

Studentattempted to useformulas andfunctions but

without success

Studentidentifiedcorrect formulasand functions

but appliedthem withincorrect syntax

Student usedformulas andfunctions withcorrect syntax

but due tominor errors gotincorrect result

Students usedcorrectfunctions andformulas but

are not correctlyapplied to allrelevant cells

Student usedformulas andfunctionsperfectly

IF STATEMENT

0 1 2 3 4 5Student did notattempt to useIF statement

Studentattempted touse IF statementbut withoutsuccess andwith incorrectsyntax

Student used IFstatementincorrectly butstill had someminor correctelements

Student used IFstatement butwith minorsyntax errors

Student used IFstatement withcorrect syntaxbut was unableto get thecorrect result

Student used IFstatementperfectly


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Presentation

Your slides should have the following: Consider Windows XP as Operating System and formalizea presentation comprising of 5 slides describing properties of Window XP using its help. Saveyour file with your-roll-number

Choose an appropriate design template Place your Roll Number in Master slide at top right corner and some picture as logo at

top left corner Place your Roll Number in Header of Notes and Handouts Place your name in footer of slides and footer of Notes and Handouts Add following table on one of the slides

Press this key To do thisRight Shift for eight seconds Turn Filter Keys on and offLeft Alt+Left Shift+PrtScn (or PrtScn) Turn High Contrast on or offLeft Alt+Left Shift+Num Lock Turn Mouse Keys on or offShift five times Turn Sticky Keys on or offNum Lock for five seconds Turn Toggle Keys on or off

Slide 1: Layout: Title Slide Custom Animation: Flip Slide Transition: Wipe Left

Slide 2: Layout: Title, Text Custom Animation: Fly I n for Title and Dissolve In for Content Slide Transition: Box In

Slide 3: Layout: Title, two text blocks Custom Animation: should be different for both contents (of your choice) Slide Transition: Box Out

Slide 4: Layout: Title, Text Custom Animation: Spiral In for Title and Thread for Content Slide Transition: Wedge

Slide 5: Layout: of your choice Custom Animation: Random Bars Slide Transition: Comb Horizontal


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Spreadsheet

Course X has 10 students and during one semester, their teacher takes 2 quizzes, a midtermand a final exam along with 2 lab quizzes. Quizzes are 25% of the grade, Lab Quizzes are also25% of the grade, Midterm is 20% and final is 30%

Save your spreadsheet as your-rol l -number.For the information provided above, do the following:1. Adjust the rows and columns where necessary2. Display the border around used cells3. Calculate 25% of total for quizzes4. Calculate 25% of total for lab quizzes5. Calculate 30% for final6. Calculate the total score for each student7. Highlight all those students who have scored more than 60% marks using conditional

formatting8. Calculate grade of student on the basis of following criteria for the Grading Key:

If total marks obtained are greater than or equal to 80, award an A grade.If total marks are greater than 60 and less than 80, award a B grade.Otherwise, award an F grade,

9. Calculate the average.10.Create a bar chart of the overall result.11.For the Grading Key given above (in #8), make a pie chart.

SrNo

Student Q 1

(10)

Q 2 (10) LQ1

(10)

LQ2

(10)

Mid

(20)

Final

(20)

1 A 5 6 5 6 15 13

2 B 6 6 10 6 10 15

3 C 8 5 7 7 17 14

4 D 9 5 9 5 18 15

5 E 10 8 10 9 18 16

6 F 4 5 6 5 15 12

7 G 6 5 9 9 10 11

8 H 4 4 7 7 16 18

9 I 8 4 10 7 14 19

10 J 9 7 9 7 13 13


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Quanti tative Skil ls Competency ExamQuantitative Skills competency is assessed using the Arithmetic Diagnostic exam inACCUPLACER. This is a 40 question online MCQ exam of students ability to perform basicarithmetic operations and to solve problems that involve fundamental arithmetic concepts. Thereare five content areas measured on the exam:

Computation with Integers and Fractions

Computation with Decimal Numbers

Problems Involving Percent

Estimation, Ordering, and Number Sense

Word Problems and Applications

The exam will measure the students abili ty in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division,in recognizing equivalent fractions and mixed numbers, and in estimating. Students will alsodemonstrate skill in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with decimals. Percentproblems, recognition of decimals, fraction and percent equivalencies, and estimating problemswill also be given. Word problem and applications will include rate, percent, and measurementproblems, simple geometry problems, and distribution of a quantity into its fractional parts.


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Sample Questions(These questions w ill not appear on the exam)

Solve the following problems and select your answer from the choices given. You may use thepaper you have been given for scratch paper.

1. 2.75 + .003 + .158 =

A. 4.36

B. 2.911C. 0.436D. 2.938

2. 7.86 4.6 =

A. 36.156B. 36.216C. 351.56D. 361.56

3. 7/20 =

A. 0.035B. 0.858C. 0.35

D. 3.54. Which of the following is the least?

A. 0.105

B. 0.501C. 0.015D. 0.15

5. All of the following are ways to write 25

percent of N EXCEPT

A. 0.25 N

B. 25N/100

C. N

D. 25 N

6. Which of the following is closest to 27.8 9.6?

A. 280B. 300C. 2,800D. 3,000

7. A football team played 160 games and won65 percent of them. How many games did

it win?A. 94

B. 104C. 114D. 124

8. Three people who work full-time are towork together on a project, but their total timeon the project is to be equivalent to that ofonly one person working full-time. If one of

the people is budgeted for one-half of his timeto the project and a second person for one-third of her time, what part of the third

workers time should be budgeted to this

project?A. 1/3

B. 3/5

C. 1/6

D. 1/8

9. 32 is 40 percent of what number?

A. 12.8

B. 128C. 80D. 800

10. 31/3 22/5 =

A. 11/2

B. 11/5

C. 14/15

D. 11/15

*Written English sample MCQs correct answers: 1 A 2 A 3 D 4 D 5 B 6 D 7 C 8 B 9 C 10 B

Quantitative Skills sample MCQs correct answers: 1 B 2 A 3 C 4 C 5 D 6 A 7 B 8 C 9 C 10 C

Competency Examination Study Guide March 2012

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