Reading
What the Reading subtest asks
The TACHS Reading section presents passages followed by multiple-choice questions. It measures literal comprehension (stated details, sequence), inferential comprehension (what a passage suggests but never states outright), vocabulary in context, and analysis of purpose, tone, and structure. Every question is passage-based: the right answer must be defensible from the text, not from outside knowledge.
Core rules
- Read once for the shape of the passage: who or what, the key claim, and the shift or turning point.
- Treat each question as an evidence hunt. Locate the deciding lines before you read the choices.
- Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; a detail that is true but narrow is a trap.
- For vocabulary, substitute each choice into the sentence and test the surrounding sentence, not the dictionary's first meaning.
- Tone words must match the author's attitude, not the seriousness of the topic.
Worked example
Passage: "When the city turned the vacant lot on Ninth Street into a community garden, few neighbors expected much. The soil was compacted and littered with glass. Yet within two seasons volunteers had hauled in compost, built raised beds, and planted tomatoes and collards. The garden now supplies a weekly produce table-and a Saturday crowd that lingers longer than the shopping requires."
Question: The last sentence suggests that the garden has become... A) a source of income for volunteers B) a neighborhood gathering place C) too small for demand D) a model for other cities.
Evidence: "lingers longer than the shopping requires" points to social use, not sales. B fits. A misreads "supplies," while C and D have no support in the text.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing a true statement that does not answer the question asked.
- Extreme wording (always, never, proves) when the passage hedges.
- Confusing the author with a person quoted inside the passage.
- Answering from prior knowledge instead of the printed text.