How Does the ISEE Measure Reading Comprehension?

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How Does the ISEE Measure Reading Comprehension?

The ISEE measures your ability to read quickly and to understand what you read by asking you questions about passages that you must read. The 36 questions in the reading comprehension section are based on six reading passages. Six of the questions are unscored. Because the ISEE is interested in both your level of reading and your ability to comprehend material from the sciences and from social studies, some of the content of the reading passages is based on social studies and science. You may also see humanities passages covering the arts and literature, as well as passages on contemporary life.

The directions for the ISEE test of reading comprehension look similar to this:

Directions: Each passage is followed by questions based on its content. Answer the questions following each passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Here are samples of two ISEE reading passages, each followed by two questions. The first passage is a social studies passage and the second, a science-based passage. Read each passage and try to answer the questions on your own before you read the explanations.

A large proportion of the people who are behind bars are not convicted criminals, but are people who have been arrested and are being held until their trial in court. Experts have often pointed out that this detention system does not operate fairly. For instance, a person who can afford to pay bail usually will not get locked up. The theory of the bail system is that the person will make sure to show up in court when he is supposed to since he knows that otherwise he will forfeit his bail—he will lose the money he put up. Sometimes a person who can show that he is a stable citizen with a job and a family will be released on "personal recognizance" (without bail). The result is that the well-to-do, the employed, and those with families can often avoid the detention system. The people who do wind up in detention tend to be the poor, the unemployed, the single, and the young.

1. According to the preceding passage, people who are put behind bars

(A) are almost always dangerous criminals.

(B) include many innocent people who have been arrested by mistake.

(C) are often people who have been arrested but have not yet come to trial.

(D) are all poor people who tend to be young and single.

The correct answer is (C). The answer to this question is directly stated in the first sentence. Choice (B) might be possible, but it is neither stated nor implied by the passage. The word all in choice (D) makes it an incorrect statement.

2. Suppose that two men were booked on the same charge at the same time and that the same bail was set for both of them. One man was able to put up bail, and he was released. The second man was not able to put up bail, and he was held in detention. The writer of the passage would most likely feel that this result is

(A) unfair, because it does not have any relation to guilt or innocence.

(B) unfair, because the first man deserves severe punishment.

(C) fair, because the first man is obviously innocent.

(D) fair, because the law should be tougher on poor people than on the rich.

The correct answer is (A). You should have no difficulty inferring this attitude from the tone of the passage.

Fire often travels inside the partitions of a burning building. Many partitions contain wooden studs that support the partitions, and the studs leave a space for the fire to travel through. Flames may spread from the bottom to the upper floors through the partitions. Sparks from a fire in the upper part of a partition may fall and start a fire at the bottom. Some signs that a fire is spreading inside a partition are: (1) blistering paint, (2) discolored paint or wallpaper, or (3) partitions that feel hot to the touch. If any of these signs is present, the partition must be opened up to look for the fire. Finding cobwebs inside the partition is one sign that fire has not spread through the partition.

3. Fires can spread inside partitions because

(A) there are spaces between studs inside of partitions.

(B) fires can burn anywhere.

(C) partitions are made out of materials that burn easily.

(D) partitions are usually painted or wallpapered.

The correct answer is (A). This statement of fact is made in the second sentence.

4. If a firefighter sees the paint on a partition beginning to blister, he should first

(A) wet down the partition.

(B) check the partitions in other rooms.

(C) chop a hole in the partition.

(D) close windows and doors and leave the room.

The correct answer is (C). Blistering paint (line 6) is a sign that fire is spreading inside a partition. If this sign is present, the firefighter must open the partition to look for the fire (lines 7–8). The way to open the partition is to chop a hole in it.

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