If you are a high school student in Florida and are looking to get into college, but haven’t completed the PERT Test and want to know how to prepare for the undertaking, then this is the tips and advice article for you!
If you are worried about “passing” the PERT Reading Test and needing to take a remedial course in reading, we are here to show you how to prepare for the PERT Reading Test, overcome its trials, and cobble together the perfect study schedule and methods to ace the test!
What is on the PERT Reading Test?
What is on the PERT Reading Test?The Postsecondary Education Readiness Test, commonly known as the PERT Test, is Florida’s custom placement test, designed to examine an up-and-coming college student’s readiness for college material. Your performance on this test will determine where exactly you will place on your courses and what kind of college experience you will go through (in the specific fields of study: namely Math, Reading, and Writing English). Completing this test is a requirement for many colleges and universities in Florida, so you do not want to miss out.
While there are three sections of the PERT Test, we will only talk about how to study for the reading subtest or the exam section that focuses specifically on reading literature or articles.
The test is a “computer adaptive test,” as it is 1) it is done entirely online and 2) adapts to your academic and ability level. You do not have to worry about being handed material far beyond your league (and even if it was a worry, well, this is what this article is for!). You are given a selection of thirty questions to answer. The test is not timed, but you do have to complete it on the same day you begin.
You cannot “pass” or “fail” the PERT Test—the score ranges from as low as 50 to as high as 150 for each subtest. If you complete your PERT Reading Test with flying colors, then you can immediately start your college courses. However, if you score too low on your computer adapted PERT Reading Test, then you will need to take a basic or remedial course in their stead.
What Kind of Reading is on the PERT Test?
The PERT Reading Test is a general readiness exam, so it primarily tests your ability to read and understand the higher-level English language and literature, skills fit for a college freshman—a student who needs to complete a few core classes but is not necessarily a reading major.
The PERT Reading Test examines the student’s reading capability in the following ways:
- Determining which details of a passage is important,
- Comparing and contrasting the tone, perspective, and morals of two different passages,
- Using context clues found in the passage to define its specific vocabulary (namely, how the passage uses said vocabulary),
- Interpreting the emotions, actions, and personality of a character in a work,
- As an extension of the above point, interpreting the main message and intent of the passage,
- Identifying the relationships between different sentences and parts of the passage.
In summary, the PERT Reading Test is designed to examine your ability to understand literature and reading, both the material you are given and the questions themselves—an important skillset for college-level classes and the world beyond postsecondary education.
How Many Questions are on the Reading PERT Test?
The PERT Reading Test, like each subtest, consists of thirty multiple-choice questions. During the test, you will read a short passage, after which you must then answer the related questions. The questions themselves are often formatted like “The passage implies that:” followed by a set of four answers, one of which are the correct answer.
Two or more answers can be correct from a certain point of view: it is important that you understand what the question is asking of you before you choose an answer if you want to attain a high enough score.
How Many Points Do You Need to Pass the PERT Reading Test?
A score of 114 is the bare minimum to avoid remedial classes. Scoring between 114 and 122 puts you comfortably in the Intermediate Algebra class. Any higher than that, and you open up a robust variety of courses.
As stated before, you do not “pass” or “fail” the PERT Reading Test. Even if you make the worst possible score (which is highly unlikely, so do not panic yet!), your labor will bear fruit in some way. Getting a score of 114 or lower on the test, however, is not ideal. Basic and remedial courses are designed for students who, for various reasons, are believed not to be prepared for college-level work and have to brush up on their academic skills in secondary education (i.e., high school) before moving to postsecondary education.
Taking a remedial course or two is not the end of the world, and it is undoubtedly a better option than being barred from college entirely. However, to put it in one way, it does mean that your bus to college has hit the brakes, and you have to wait a while before you can drive forward again. To ensure that it does not have to come to that, you would want to prepare and study as much as possible.
In general, you shouldn’t worry about your PERT Reading test scores. The test is not about your score or how high the points are—it’s about whether you’re ready to take up college courses. The only way to show your preparedness is to develop a decent study regimen and truly become a college student. All of this being said, however: if you are not prepared for what college gives you, then we have a just few critical tips in helping build the right kind of study regiment to help you get prepared.
3 Preparation Tips for the PERT Reading Test
How do you pass the PERT Reading test? Much like with any test, it requires an intense amount of study. If you are taking this test, you are already on the warpath to a future in secondary education. Commonly, this means that you may be finishing or are fresh out of high school. If so, you will have a comfortable time studying since you have already done so for the past four years. Reading text should come naturally to most students, barring those who have English as a second language, but examining a passage critically is more than just glancing over the words.
Thankfully, we have just a few crucial tips to help you get right back into the studying mood, as well as how to study again.
Develop Your Reading Capability
The first tip to studying for the PERT Reading Test is to gain a collection of reading and study materials, including notebooks, pencils, pens, scratch paper, and of course, textbooks. Additionally, you should check the mountainous stash of old homework and test results to see what you have already done in reading. Colleges in Florida have libraries of PERT Reading study guides, such as Valencia College.
The biggest hurdle in a test is often trying to figure out what the test question is asking of you in the first place. Recognize keywords and instructions to go into a particular question knowing what it is you have to do before you do it.
However, don’t just memorize details and instructions, but truly understand the given material and what exactly goes into answering a question.
Reading and reviewing classical literature, for this type of exam, is more valuable than simply reading a textbook. Additionally, there are specific study guides for the PERT Reading Test. They provide specific details on the test and develop a study regiment, including sample questions and their accompanying answers.
You must take into account that studying for the PERT Reading Test will take a significant amount of time, effort, and attention. It is best to first know how exactly you are meant to study before you craft your final study schedule.
Create a Study Schedule
What is as important as reading and studying the material is forming a coherent schedule that will allow you to understand and use it. Cramming is an ineffectual way to study and cramming mere days before the test is a recipe for a disaster cake decorated with half-remembered details and panic attacks.
As a test taker and future college student, you need to know how to manage your time, whether you have it or not, in such a way that studying is both feasible and productive. It would be best if you chose a time and what material you will focus on in that time. However, you should also remember to take breaks and space your study time out evenly.
We recommend studying for two hours every day, including weekends, with ten-minute breaks to break up the studying flow. Do not prioritize studying over necessities like food, water, sleep, and emergencies like family matters! Studying is more about the consistency than the sheer workload and content.
Understand the PERT Reading Test
There are many different PERT Test Preps and practice tests available on the internet, designed to give you a clear idea of what the ultimate test would be like. Understanding the fundamental material is very important, but applying that knowledge where it matters is even more critical. It is the difference between knowing how to drive and putting yourself into the driver’s seat.
The PERT Reading Test, unlike the Math subtest of PERT, is not about finding an objectively correct answer, nor are the methods with which you find that answer are any more or less valid than other methods.
We recommend making taking practice tests a regular exercise and trying out the questions and examples on those tests in your free time. It is unlikely that the same questions would appear on the final test, so don’t treat practice tests as if you found some hidden cheat code. Completing the actual PERT Reading Test would have to take you all of your knowledge, effort, and attention.
Printable PERT Reading practice tests are the ideal choice over digital / online-only tests, since the final PERT Test will evaluate your ability to read text directly: for some people, reading the physical ink-and-paper is easier to them than reading words off of a computer screen.
Wrapping Things Up: How to Prepare for PERT Reading Test?
The PERT Reading Test is designed to measure your readiness for college, and there is nothing more says “I am ready for another four years in school” than strapping yourself to a strict study regimen to ace your future tests. By being prepared, you are already on your way to becoming a college student! Once you fully dedicate yourself to your studies, you will make it into high-level college reading classes with no problem.
If you found this post helpful, you’re definitely going to like our other entrance exam resource guides here.
