Reading Content Alignment
The tests in the SAT Suite of Assessments measure the same skills and knowledge in ways that make sense for different grade levels. The Reading Tests keep pace with student progress, matching the scope and difficulty of work in the classroom.
Increasing Text Complexity
Across the SAT Suite, Reading Tests contain increasingly complex passages. As text complexity increases, the student’s ability to draw on reading skills becomes more crucial, and the tasks become more challenging.
When students advance from test to test, they'll also see:
- More reading questions
- Longer passages
- More passages paired with informational graphics
| Element | PSAT 8/9 | PSAT 10 and PSAT/NMSQT |
SAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inference | Draw a fairly simple, one-step conclusion spelled out clearly in text. | Draw an inference to reach the right conclusion. | Complete several steps to draw the right conclusion. |
| Relationships | Identify relationships based on multiple, fairly straightforward pieces of information stated in the text. | Infer somewhat more complicated relationships based on more subtle pieces of information stated in the text. | Infer more complex relationships from the text by piecing facts or incidents together. |
| Graphics | Determine explicit meaning from the graphic or text. | Recognize trends in graphical data. | Synthesize information from a graphic and passage. |