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A reading assessment has 20 multiple-choice questions and takes about 14 to 16 minutes. Candidates read short texts and longer passages and answer questions on each.
Reading is available in English and German, and always uses Evalingo’s own questions. It cannot draw from a question library of your own.

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The two parts

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Part 1: Short texts (5 minutes)

Eight short texts, such as a notice, a message or a short paragraph, with one question each. Everyone gets the same level of material here, pitched between A2 and B2.

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Part 2: Passages (8 to 10 minutes)

Three longer passages with four questions each. Which passages a candidate gets depends on how Part 1 went: easier, middle or harder material. That keeps a strong reader from sitting through easy texts, and a weaker one from guessing through passages far above their level. Part 2’s clock starts when the candidate presses Continue on its introduction, not when Part 1 ends, so reading the introduction does not cost answering time. Every answer from both parts counts towards the result.

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On a computer and on a phone

On a computer, the passage sits beside its questions. On a phone, the passage is above and the questions below, one at a time, with an Expand button to read the passage full screen. On either, the − and + buttons above a passage change its text size.
A reading passage on the left with its questions on the right, a highlighted phrase in the passage and a 9:56 countdown

A Part 2 passage on a computer. Questions about a particular phrase highlight it in the text.

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Things worth knowing

  • Each part has a countdown. When it runs out, the part ends and unanswered questions count as wrong.
  • Next locks a screen. Once a candidate moves on, they cannot go back and change answers.
  • Results are instant. Every question has one correct answer, so there is no wait for scoring.
  • Random clicking is caught. Answers that cannot be told apart from guessing, or screens answered faster than the text could be read, are reported as Not assessable rather than given a level.
  • Extra time stretches both parts’ clocks. See inviting candidates.

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Reviewing the answers

The Responses tab on the assessment shows every text, each question, what the candidate chose and what was correct. This is only in the dashboard: the API and webhooks report the level and how many were right in each part, not the questions themselves. Ordering reading with listening gives one assessment covering both, about half an hour in total. See what’s in a listening assessment.