Current format
SHSAT reading comprehension is part of the 50-question ELA section.
The fall 2026 ELA section includes 50 questions across Reading Comprehension and Revising/Editing. The official New York City Public Schools guide does not specify a separate fixed total for Reading Comprehension questions, so students should prepare for both skill areas instead of relying on the older paper-test breakdown.
Students may return to questions within the active passage set. Once the set is submitted, they cannot return to those questions.
Source: NYC Guide to the SHSAT for 2027 Admissions, pages 6 through 8.
Text types
Practice across genres, not one favorite kind of passage.
Official guidance says the section may include literary and informational genres. Students should be ready to adjust how they read based on the text's purpose and structure.
Explanatory and argumentative
Follow claims, evidence, examples, explanations, and relationships between ideas.
Essays, speeches, and accounts
Work with biography, memoir, journalism, and historical, scientific, technical, or economic writing.
Fiction and creative nonfiction
Track character, conflict, setting, point of view, development, and theme.
Speaker, imagery, and structure
Consider word choice, line arrangement, figurative language, tone, and shifts.
A reading process
Understand first. Then evaluate the choices.
- 01
Read carefully
Build an accurate understanding of the central ideas and important details. Do not replace comprehension with a hurried skim.
- 02
Track purpose and structure
Use brief notes or highlights to record what each paragraph or section contributes.
- 03
Read the question precisely
Identify whether it asks about one sentence, a paragraph, multiple sections, or the entire text.
- 04
Form an answer before comparing choices
Use the passage to predict the answer, then eliminate options that do not match the evidence.
An answer must be supported by the text and any associated graphic. A true fact can still be the wrong answer if the passage does not support it.
Question families
Know what kind of evidence each task requires.
Central idea
Choose the statement broad enough to cover the text without becoming vague or overstated.
Supporting evidence
Locate the sentence or detail that directly proves the idea named in the question.
Inference
Combine clues from the passage without going beyond what those clues justify.
Purpose and structure
Explain what a paragraph, sentence, example, or organizational choice contributes.
Vocabulary in context
Use the surrounding sentence and passage to determine the meaning and effect of a word.
Tone and language
Connect word choice and figurative language to the speaker's or author's attitude.
Digital tools
Choose tools that support comprehension without slowing it down.
- Highlighter: mark claims, turning points, repeated ideas, and important evidence.
- Answer eliminator: cross out options contradicted by the text or outside the question's scope.
- Notepad: save brief notes that remain available across the ELA section.
- Line reader mask: isolate lines when visual focus is useful.
- Bookmark: mark an item to revisit within the active passage set.
- Glossed words: open definitions provided for underlined terms.
Use the official Student Readiness Tool before test day to decide which features help and which add friction.
Original practice example
Choose the answer the sentence actually supports.
After three failed attempts, Mina changed the angle of the small solar panel. The motor finally hummed, and the model car rolled across the table. She recorded the new angle before celebrating.
Which statement is best supported by the excerpt?
Mina changes one feature, observes the result, and records the successful angle. Those details support careful experimentation.