Types of Reading Questions on Standardized Tests

I am sure many of you are familiar with the strategy of reading the questions first when you do the reading comprehension sections on standardized tests. I don't think it is a bad one, but when I work with students, I usually give them a choice of tactics. Be pragmatic.Try taking a few practice tests to see which one works best for you.

On standardized tests, the thing to remember is that the answer is right there in front of you in a multiple choice format. Remember to spend more time with the question stem and the choices ... because that is where the answer is!

I am going to confess that when I took the SAT's I tried to memorize every detail in each reading passage. What a lousy strategy!

A better plan is to read the passage very quickly. During this reading, you are trying to get the main idea and author's tone. You are also trying to get an idea of how the writer organized his or her writing. You are trying to get a sense of the piece as a whole so that when you come back to the passage you can find the answer quickly.

Then you need to read the question stem. Many of the questions will include the lines you need to re-read to obtain the answer. Then you re-read a section of the passage and form an answer in your words.

Then you find the choice that best matches the one you created. Easy. Right?

You have been taking standardized tests for your entire academic career. You probably have a good sense of the different types of questions asked and the strategies for answering them. But call me crazy, but I think it's a good idea to just go over the types of questions one more time. Time is such an important stressor on these tests, and a combination of planning, practice and strategy will help you increase your scores.

 

Types of Questions

Main Idea

As you quickly read the selection for the first time, you should be asking yourself the following questions. What is the author's main idea? What is the point the writer is trying to make?

Many high school students are taught the template of the five paragraph essay. When you write this type of essay, you reveal the main idea in the first paragraph and echo it in the concluding paragraph. Sometimes the reading passages follow this pattern.

Author's tone

Ask yourself, "What kind of words is the author using." The answer to this question will reveal the writer's tone. Also, look at what kind of metaphors he or she creates.

Specific Detail

The easiest question to answer. Usually the question hub contains the line numbers where the reader can find the answer. A word of advice--make sure you read two lines above and two lines below the listed line numbers

Vocabulary in Context

A valuable skill but a difficult one to teach. We learn most of our vocabulary in this fashion. The best way to fine tune this skill is to read more and to make predictions of an unknown word's meaning from the context in which it used.

I tell my clients preparing for a standardized tests to read the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific America, Nature, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist. (Not the Tennessean) In these periodicals whose articles are about the same length of a standardized test passage will be words where one must decode the meaning form the context.

The (Dreaded) Inference Question

The most challenging question on a standardized test. The question stem may reveal the line numbers, but the answer will not be written in black and white. In this type of question, the reader needs to use a variety of clues to decode the meaning. Again, the best strategy is to read challenging texts before the test and to grapple with inferences that good writers will force the reader to make.

The ACT has four reading passages: Fiction, Social Sciences, Natural History and Humanities. The goal of the fiction passage is to see if you can make sense of a piece of fiction.

The objective of the other three sections is to assess whether you can read a college textbook.

Tip: After the fiction passage, you will see more questions dealing with the author's tone and purpose. After the other three reading selections, you will observe more questions dealing with specific details.

While you prepare for your standardized tests, employ a variety of strategies. Here are a few:

1. Do your homework in your English class. Avoid the shortcuts that contemorary students sometimes adopt. Avoid Sparknotes and Cliffnotes. Read the text.

2. Read magazine articles written by excellent writers.

3. Read at least 30-40 minutes a night.

4. Do a plethora of practice tests so that you get a feel for the type of question and the answer the testmaker wants. Read the explanation in your practice book carefully so that you geet a feel for the logic the testmaker is using.

5. In most English classes, the teacher wants you to come up with your interpretation of the text. But let's be pragmatic. Standardized tests are about giving the answer the creator of the assessment wants. Get through this rite of passage and then go live your life. And keep reading.

6. If it helps to read the questions first, then do it.