What is the difference between skill-based questions and passage-specific questions in SOL?

• A. Skill-based questions rely on details from a given text; passage-specific questions target general reading abilities.
• B. Skill-based questions require memorization of facts from the text.
• C. Skill-based questions target general reading or language abilities, while passage-specific questions rely on details from a given text.
• D. Skill-based questions are only about vocabulary, while passage-specific questions cover all genres.

Answer: (C)

This question tests understanding of the difference between general reading skills and text-specific detail retrieval. Skill-based questions measure general reading or language abilities, like identifying the main idea, analyzing the author's purpose, inferring meaning, or understanding vocabulary in context. They aren’t tied to any one passage’s exact facts. Passage-specific questions require using information directly from the given passage—pulling out a fact, locating a detail, or quoting something exactly as it appears.

The correct statement captures that distinction: skill-based questions target general reading or language abilities, while passage-specific questions rely on details from a given text. Other options mix up the idea—skill-based questions aren’t just about memorizing facts from a text, and vocabulary-focused items aren’t the sole domain of one type nor do they cover all genres in a way that distinguishes the two.