Reading comprehension practice tests – Year 1 to Year 9

Free reading comprehension practice for Years 1 to 9.

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The tests

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About these tests

Free reading comprehension practice for Years 1 to 9. Every test has one or two short texts written for Classfern – stories, poems, information texts, letters, diaries and a play scene – followed by 10 to 15 questions. The questions practise finding information, working out what a character thinks or feels, the meaning of words in context, putting events in order, and (from Year 5) telling fact from opinion and saying why the writer made a choice. All questions are marked automatically, so explanation questions are written as multiple choice with one best answer. The text stays on screen, and every answer comes with a short explanation and the words in the text that show it. In Years 1 and 2, read the text together first if that helps. Lengths and vocabulary grow year by year; Years 7 to 9 follow the key stage 3 programme of study.

Key facts

In Years 1 and 2, pupils should be taught to understand books by making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done, and by predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far. Source: GOV.UK
In Years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to retrieve and record information from non-fiction, and to draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions. Source: GOV.UK
In Years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to distinguish between statements of fact and opinion. Source: GOV.UK
At key stage 3, pupils should be taught to understand increasingly challenging texts by making inferences and referring to evidence in the text. Source: GOV.UK
The key stage 1 English reading tests are optional; schools are encouraged to use them but do not have to. Source: GOV.UK

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Plan the teaching

Use these tests for practice at home or in class. Plan lessons with the free Lesson Plan Maker.

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Official sources

Practice only. Not an official test. Not affiliated with the Standards and Testing Agency or the Department for Education.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Curriculum statements from: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, © Crown copyright 2013. Reading content domain codes from: Standards and Testing Agency, English reading test frameworks, © Crown copyright.