IREAD Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield IREAD facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which sentence is an example of problem and solution text structure? → Bears were disappearing, so the government created protected forests.
2. A teacher asks students to find the 'main idea' of a paragraph about dolphins. What should students look for? → The central point the paragraph is mostly about
3. Which group of students is MOST likely to be considered for a good cause exemption based on limited English proficiency? → English Language Learners enrolled in U.S. schools for fewer than two years
4. A book about insects has an index at the back. A student wants to find information about butterflies. How should the student use the index? → Look up 'butterfly' alphabetically and go to the listed page numbers
5. An author writes several paragraphs describing the size, color, habitat, and diet of a bald eagle. What text structure is MOST likely being used? → Description
6. Which pair of words are SYNONYMS? → begin / start
7. A character in a story gives away her only sandwich to a hungry classmate even though she is also hungry. What does this action show about the character? → She is kind and generous.
8. Which of the following is NOT a component of the IREAD-3 test? → Essay writing
9. At the end of a story, a character realizes that being honest is more important than being popular. Where does this lesson MOST LIKELY appear? → In the resolution and theme
10. How does IREAD-3 data primarily help Indiana school districts? → It identifies students needing additional reading intervention
11. Read the sentence: The enormous elephant lumbered slowly through the jungle. Which word is a synonym for enormous? → Huge
12. A school with a low IREAD-3 pass rate two years in a row would most likely trigger which state-level response? → Increased scrutiny, potential accountability measures, and required improvement planning
13. Which question would BEST be answered by a passage with compare and contrast text structure? → How are volcanoes and geysers alike and different?
14. A reader sees a Venn diagram in a nonfiction article. Which text structure does this graphic organizer BEST match? → Compare and contrast
15. The word 'bat' can mean a flying mammal or a piece of equipment used in baseball. What is the relationship between these two meanings? → They are homographs.
16. What is the CLIMAX of a story? → The most exciting or important moment in the story
17. A student visualizes a beach scene while reading a description. How does this strategy help comprehension? → It creates a mental image that aids understanding and memory
18. A theme of 'honesty is the best policy' is BEST shown by which story? → A story about a boy who lies and ends up losing his friends' trust
19. Puppy is to dog as kitten is to ___. → cat
20. A nonfiction book chapter is titled 'How Floods Damage Farmland.' What text structure would you MOST expect inside? → Cause and effect
21. What is the purpose of a topic sentence in a paragraph? → To introduce the main idea of the paragraph
22. A passage reads: 'During the drought, crops failed across the state. As a result, food prices rose sharply.' The BEST title for this passage would be — → How Droughts Affect Food Prices
23. How does the IREAD-3 impact the design of reading programs in schools? → It helps tailor reading interventions based on student performance.
24. During which school year grade level is IREAD-3 first administered to students? → Grade 3
25. Which word is an example of an open syllable that makes a long vowel sound? → go
26. Which word BEST describes the overall feeling or atmosphere of a story? → Mood
27. Which word has the long 'a' vowel sound spelled with a vowel team? → rain
28. A story's NARRATOR is best described as: → The person or voice that tells the story
29. Which word is a synonym for 'cheerful'? → happy
30. When a text states something directly, that information is called ___. When a reader figures something out from clues, it is called a(n) ___." → explicit information; inference