PERT Practice Test 2026 – Complete Guide for Exam Prep

The reading comprehension skills tested in the PERT emphasize the ability to interpret, analyze, and evaluate texts. This comprehensive approach requires test-takers to engage with various types of reading materials by understanding their meanings, drawing inferences, and critically assessing the information presented.

By focusing on interpretation, students must decipher the central ideas and themes of a text, while analysis involves breaking down the structure and elements of the writing to understand how they work together to convey meaning. Evaluation further extends this understanding by requiring students to judge the effectiveness of the arguments presented, the credibility of the sources, and the overall impact of the text on its audience.

In contrast, basic vocabulary skills are important but they are only one component of reading comprehension rather than a comprehensive measure of a student's ability. Summarization, while a valuable skill, does not encapsulate the depth of understanding required by the test. Similarly, memorizing facts from a text represents a surface-level engagement that lacks the critical thinking necessary for deeper comprehension, which is the focus of the PERT reading section.