Test Content Specifications The SAT Reading Test Test Content Specifications

Overview Time Allotted: 65 minutes Passage Word Count: 3,250 words total from four single passages and one pair; 500-700 words per passage which gives you 15 minutes per passage. Total Questions: 52 Questions All questions are multiple choice and passage based.

Contribution of Items to Subscores and Scores Words in Context: 10 questions Command of Evidence: 10 questions Analysis of History/Social Studies: 21 questions Analysis in Science: 21 questions

Passage Contents U.S. and World Literature: 1 passage, 10 questions History/Social Studies: 2 passages, or 1 passage and 1 pair; 10-11 questions each Science: 2 passages, or 1 passage and 1 pair; 10-11 questions each Graphics: 1-2 in 1 History/Social Studies and in 1 Science passage The text complexity is a specified range from grades 9-10 to postsecondary entry across 4 passages and 1 pair. The graphical data representations are somewhat challenging.

Information and Ideas Reading Closely Determining Explicit Meanings: explicitly stated in text Determining Implicit Meanings: inferences and logical conclusions from textUsing Analogical Reasoning: student will extrapolate in a reasonable way from the information and ideas in a text or apply information and ideas in a text to a new, analogous situation Citing Textual Evidence Determining Central Ideas and Themes Summarizing Understanding Relationships Interpreting Words and Phrases in Context

Rhetoric Questions Analyzing Word Choice Analyzing Purpose Analyzing Text Structure Analyzing Overall Text Structure Analyzing Part-Whole Relationships Analyzing Point of View Analyzing Arguments Analyzing Claims and Counterclaims Assessing Reasoning Analyzing Evidence

Synthesis Questions Analyzing multiple texts Analyzing quantitative information