• 48 questions

GACE Reading Practice Test

Unofficial questions on phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and assessment, set out like the three subareas of GACE test 418.

A teacher draws Elkonin sound boxes for the word "sheep". How many boxes does the word need?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 48 questions, 72 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Pearson. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

Next step GACE Elementary Education practiceGACE Middle Grades Language Arts

All 48 questions

Oral language, early literacy and phonics 16

  • A first-grade teacher pauses a story about a lost kitten to ask, "How do you think Mia will find her kitten, and what makes you think so?" Which kind of language is the teacher drawing out? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 1 and Glossary, "inferential language". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0001.
  • A kindergarten teacher has children clap once for each word in a spoken sentence, and later once for each syllable in a classmate's name. Which broad skill do both activities build? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "phonological awareness". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0001.
  • A second grader stalls on the word "replanting". In the word-analysis strategy of the IES foundational skills guide, what is the first step? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 3, Example 3.6. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
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Oral language, early literacy and phonics, continued

  • A student reads "hop" correctly but also reads "hope" as "hop". Which sound–spelling pattern should the teacher reteach? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "silent-e pattern"; Recommendation 3, Example 3.3. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
  • A teacher asks, "What word is left when you say train without the /t/?" Which phonemic awareness task is this? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonemic Awareness Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0002.
  • A teacher draws Elkonin sound boxes for the word "sheep". How many boxes does the word need? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "Elkonin sound boxes" and "digraph". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0002.
  • A teacher says, "Which word does not belong: sun, sock, mat?" and the children answer that mat does not start with /s/. Which phonemic awareness task is this? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonemic Awareness Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0002.
  • According to Put Reading First, which phonemic awareness lesson is likely to help reading and spelling most? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonemic Awareness Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0002.
  • Children say /s/, /u/, /n/ for the letters s, u, n and then blend the sounds into "sun". Which approach to phonics is this? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonics Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
  • In the spoken word "stamp", what are the onset and the rime? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "onset–rime pairs". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0001.
  • In what order does the IES foundational skills guide suggest building phonological awareness? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 2, step 1. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0001.
  • Using the syllable patterns in the IES foundational skills guide, which of these is a closed syllable? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 3, Example 3.3. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
  • What is the hallmark of a systematic phonics program, according to Put Reading First? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonics Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
  • Which of these high-frequency words does the IES foundational skills guide list as irregular, an exception to the usual sound–spelling patterns? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 3, Example 3.8; Glossary, "irregular words". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0003.
  • Which set of words fits the IES description of academic vocabulary: words common in school texts and directions but rare in everyday talk? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "academic vocabulary". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0001.
  • Which statement defines the alphabetic principle? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "alphabetic principle". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea I, objective 0002.

Fluency, vocabulary and comprehension 16

  • A question can be answered only by putting together information from two different sentences of the text. In the question–answer relationships of Put Reading First, what is that information called? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Text Comprehension Instruction, answering questions. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • A reader stops, notices that a paragraph did not make sense, and rereads it more slowly. Which comprehension strategy is the reader using? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Text Comprehension Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • A science passage uses the words first, next, after and finally to explain how a storm forms. Which structure of informational text do these clue words signal? IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), Recommendation 2, Table 6. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • A student meets the word "unbreakable" and works out its meaning from un-, break and -able. Which word-learning strategy from Put Reading First is this? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Vocabulary Instruction, word-learning strategies. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0005.
  • A student misreads 12 of the 100 words in a passage. By the text levels in Put Reading First, what is this passage for that student? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Fluency Instruction, text levels. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0004.
  • A student reads "The horse ran into the barn" as "The house ran into the barn" and keeps going. Which response follows the IES guide's advice on teaching self-monitoring? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 4, step 2. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0004.
  • A student reads every word of a passage correctly, but slowly and in a flat voice, stopping after each word. Which parts of oral reading fluency are missing? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "oral reading fluency". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0004.
  • A teacher explains the strategy of predicting, models it aloud, uses it together with the class, and over time has students apply it on their own. What does the IES comprehension guide call this way of teaching? IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), Recommendation 1, step 3 and Figure 1. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • A text reads: "The arboretum, a garden planted with many kinds of trees, opens at nine." Which kind of context clue does the sentence give for "arboretum"? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Vocabulary Instruction, using context clues. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0005.
  • According to Put Reading First, how do children learn the meanings of most words? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Vocabulary Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0005.
  • According to the IES comprehension guide, which texts should a teacher choose for comprehension lessons? IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), Recommendation 4. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • Before a class reads an article on volcanoes, the teacher teaches the words magma, erupt and crater. What does Put Reading First say about this practice? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Vocabulary Instruction, specific word instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0005.
  • In a one-minute reading of a grade-level passage, a student reads 87 words and makes 6 errors. What is the score in words correct per minute? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Fluency Instruction, procedure for calculating words correct per minute. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0004.
  • In the IES comprehension guide's elements of a narrative text, which element is "how the problem was solved and how the story ended"? IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), Recommendation 2, Table 5. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0006.
  • In the words transport, portable and export, what is "port"? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "root" and "morphology". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0005.
  • Which practice does Put Reading First say research supports for building reading fluency? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Fluency Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea II, objective 0004.

Assessment and instruction 16

  • A school plans tier 2 reading intervention for students below the screening benchmark. Which schedule matches the IES guide? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 3. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • A screening score flags a first grader for extra help, but she would have done fine without it. What does the IES guide call this result? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Overview and Recommendation 1. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • A teacher gives prompts and hints while students practise a new skill, and withdraws them as the students succeed alone. What is this temporary support called? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "scaffolding". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • A third grader understands stories very well when they are read aloud to her, but scores low when she reads the same kind of story herself. What should her teacher look at first? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Glossary, "reading comprehension" and "listening comprehension". Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • According to Put Reading First, about how long is phonics instruction needed for most students? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Phonics Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • For fluency practice that students do on their own, which level of text does the IES foundational skills guide call for? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 4, step 3. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • In explicit strategy instruction as Put Reading First describes it, what comes right after the teacher's direct explanation of a strategy? Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read, third edition (National Institute for Literacy), Text Comprehension Instruction. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • In the IES guide on response to intervention, how often should the progress of students in tier 2 be monitored? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 4. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • In the IES guide's three-tier model, which students move to tier 3? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 5 and Overview. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • In the order the IES foundational skills guide suggests for teaching letter–sound relations, which group comes first? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 2, step 2. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • Screening shows that six students in a class have not yet mastered letter–sound relationships. What does the IES guide on response to intervention call for in tier 1? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 2. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • What does the IES guide on response to intervention say about using at least two screening measures? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 1. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • What is universal screening in reading meant to do, in the IES guide on response to intervention? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 1. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • When does the IES foundational skills guide say students should begin to practise reading words in connected text? IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Introduction, overarching themes. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.
  • Which informal check does the IES guide on response to intervention suggest for seeing how well a student comprehends? IES practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), Recommendation 2. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0007.
  • Which practice is part of the IES comprehension guide's recommendation to set up an engaging and motivating context for reading? IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), Recommendation 5. Outline: GACE 418, Subarea III, objective 0008.

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the framework of the GACE Application of the Science of Reading assessment (418) on the GACE website of the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson, https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/studyguide/framework/418 and https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/test/418, read 2026-10-09: 90 selected-response questions in three subareas of a third each (Essential Components of Reading: Oral Language Development, Early Literacy Skills, and Phonics; Essential Components of Reading: Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension; Assessment and Instruction), eight objectives. This bank holds 16 for each subarea, split 5/5/6, 5/5/6 and 8/8. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission names test 418 as the content assessment for the fields of Reading (P–12) and Middle Grades Reading (https://www.gapsc.com/Certification/CertificationLicensureAssessments/literacyAssessment.aspx, read 2026-10-09). Every fact was read in the federal publication named under its question, each opened 2026-10-09: three practice guides of the Institute of Education Sciences (NCEE 2016-4008, 2010-4038 and 2009-4045) and Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This GACE reading practice test follows Application of the Science of Reading (418), the content assessment for Georgia's Reading fields. It is unofficial, with 48 questions of our own, and not affiliated with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Pearson.

Read the full guide

Which GACE reading test

On October 9, 2026 the GACE list had no test named Reading. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission says the content assessment for Reading (P–12) and Middle Grades Reading is Application of the Science of Reading, test 418, with no separate content test for those fields.

Three subareas

Test 418 has three equal subareas: oral language, early literacy and phonics; fluency, vocabulary and comprehension; assessment and instruction. The bank here holds 16 questions for each.

Clock and exam mode

Ninety questions share 2 hours 15 minutes on the real test, a minute and a half each, so exam mode gives these 48 questions 72 minutes.

  • The Commission notes that passing a literacy assessment does not add Reading as a field to an initial teaching certificate.
  • Many other teaching fields are aligned to a different literacy test, Fundamentals of the Science of Reading (350). Check which one your field needs.

Questions and answers

Is there a GACE reading study guide?

Yes. The GACE website has a study guide for Application of the Science of Reading, test 418, with the framework this page follows. The facts behind the questions here come from federal reading guides, and each question names its own.

How many questions are on the GACE reading test?

Test 418 has 90 selected-response questions. The record on the GACE site gives 2 hours 30 minutes: 15 minutes for a tutorial and nondisclosure agreement and 2 hours 15 minutes of testing time.

What is a passing score on the GACE reading test?

The GACE site gives a scaled score of 220 or higher for test 418, on a scale of 100 to 300. This page shows the number right and no verdict, since a count of right answers does not convert to that scale.

Is this the reading part of the GACE Program Admission test?

No. The GACE site says the Program Admission Assessment is no longer a requirement for entry into an educator preparation program, and it lists no such test. This page follows test 418.

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