Overview

• The Online Qualifying Round (OQR) test takes place completely online using a Google Form.

• The OQR test will be open to teams at various days and times throughout the testing week, tentatively set for March 14-March 28, 2024.  Because it’s sometimes difficult to get high school students together, teams may choose before, during, and after school on different days to accommodate readers’ busy schedules.

• Each team will take this TOGETHER on ONE device at their local site (classroom, school library, public library, etc.) under the proxy of their coach.  In order to maintain the integrity of the qualifying test, we trust team coaches to monitor their teams, being sure no readers engage in academic dishonesty.

• Multiple teams should not test together in one room. Each team should test separately. (We know that schdedules can be tricky, so let us know if you have a concern about this.)

• A student should enter the team's answers and submit them when the team's done with the test. The coach may only touch the device the students are using to troubleshoot a technical issue.

• Teams should only have out in front of them the device they are using for the qualifying test.  The only website that readers should have open on the computer during testing is the link to the qualifying test.  Teams should close all other tabs in their browser while they answer test questions.  

• Readers should turn off ALL other electronic devices (cell phones, smart watches, tablets, etc.) and set them away from the testing area.

• Readers should remove all books, notes, and study materials from the testing area as well during the multiple choice portion of the qualifying round. Students may NOT use electronic book notes or notes sites for assistance while they test.

• Teams should allow 60 minutes for the Online Qualifying Test but should consider scheduling a bit beyond that hour and thirty minutes with their team.  This will allow ample time to gather and be sure they can access the test. 

• The test won't close during the day since some teams will test at the same time or shortly after another team; however, we will be able to check to be sure the test was completed during the time allotted for each team.

• The top sixteen teams will advance to the Grand Battle competition in Marshalltown on April 24, 2024.

CONTENT

• The Online Qualifying Test will consist of 48 multiple-choice questions (two per book, except for the in-common read from our guest author) over the content of the twenty-five books the team read, and an additional tiebreaker question that will be a short writing prompt.

• The multiple-choice questions will cover important parts of the text that would be essential for a reader to know in order to understand the book, such as plot, theme, characterization, figures of speech, text structure, or point of view.

• The tiebreaker question will be a short writing prompt about the guest author's book. This year, that text is The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart. Teams will work together to write 3-5 sentences in response to a question regarding plot, theme, characterization, figures of speech, text structure, or point of view. Teams may take out this book to refer to as they write their response. They may feel free to quote directly from the text if they choose; however, cited textual evidence is not required.

Sample Qualifying Test questions

1.  In the book A Heart in a Body in the World, Annabelle comes across something while she's running that she sees as a metaphor for her current situation. What is it?

A.   A crossroads.

B.   A yield sign.

C.   A dead end.

D.   A construction sign.

2.  In the book They Went Left, what type of narrator did the author use to tell the story?

A.  unreliable narrator

B.  omniscient narrator

C.  third-person narrator

D.  multiple narrators

3.  In which book does a character use the phrase "throw butter at the ceiling" as a metaphor for having plenty of money?

Answer:  Furia