Free printable PSAT practice test for Grade 8

Reading and Writing

Circle the letter of the best answer. About 12 minutes.

1. Hawaiian Islands

   The Hawaiian Islands formed as the Pacific Plate moved slowly over a hot spot in Earth's mantle. Each island was built by lava that ______ from the seafloor over hundreds of thousands of years, piling higher until it rose above the waves.

   1.

   Which choice gives the most logical and precise word or phrase for the blank?

   1. Avanished
   2. Berupted
   3. Cdrained
   4. Dretreated

2. Flying buttresses

   Builders of Gothic cathedrals wanted tall walls filled with large stained-glass windows, but thin walls with many openings could not hold up a heavy stone roof on their own. Flying buttresses, stone arms that brace the walls from outside, offered a ______ solution: they carried the roof's weight outward and down, so the walls themselves could remain slender.

   2.

   Which choice gives the most logical and precise word or phrase for the blank?

   1. Atemporary
   2. Breluctant
   3. Cdecorative
   4. Dpractical

3. The piano tuner

   The piano tuner worked in silence for an hour, striking one key at a time and turning a small wrench. Malik, who had been told to stay out of the way, watched from the doorway. When the tuner finally played a full chord, the old piano sounded like a different instrument. Malik decided then that he would learn to play it.

   3.

   Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

   1. AIt suggests that the tuner made the piano sound worse.
   2. BIt reveals that the tuner had trouble finishing the job.
   3. CIt describes the moment that leads Malik to make a decision.
   4. DIt explains why Malik was told to stay out of the way.

4. Grandmother's violin

   When Theo opened the case, he saw that his grandmother's violin was covered in tiny scratches, and the varnish near the chin rest had worn down to bare wood. The repair shop offered to refinish it so it would look new. Theo ran his thumb over the pale patch where her chin had rested for fifty years of practice. "Just fix the strings," he said. "Leave everything else the way she left it."

   4.

   Based on the text, why does Theo decline to have the violin refinished?

   1. AHe cannot afford the price the repair shop is asking.
   2. BHe worries that a fresh coat of varnish would change the instrument's sound.
   3. CHe plans to sell the violin and wants it to look old.
   4. DHe values the worn marks as a record of his grandmother's playing.

5. Bean sprouting

   A student tested whether temperature affects how many bean seeds sprout. She placed 20 seeds in each of three containers, kept each container at a different temperature, and counted the sprouted seeds after five days. She concluded that, within the range she tested, warmer conditions helped the seeds sprout. As evidence, she pointed out that ______

   5.

   Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

   1. A6 seeds sprouted at 60°F, the coolest of the three containers.
   2. B18 seeds sprouted at 80°F, compared with only 6 at 60°F.
   3. Cthe same number of seeds sprouted in each of the three containers.
   4. D13 seeds sprouted at 70°F, which was more than sprouted at 80°F.

6. Moths and bats

   Bats hunt many night-flying insects by echolocation, sending out high-pitched calls and listening for echoes. Some moths have ears that are especially sensitive to these calls, and when they detect one, they abruptly dive or loop. In a study, researchers covered the ears of some moths and released them alongside moths whose ears were uncovered. Bats caught the moths with covered ears far more often, which suggests that ______

   6.

   Which choice most logically completes the text?

   1. Athese moths make high-pitched calls of their own.
   2. Bhearing bat calls helps these moths escape.
   3. Cbats locate moths mainly by watching them.
   4. Dmoths with covered ears flew faster than others.

7. Canopy research plan

   A team of ecologists hoped to study the insects that live in the top layer of a tropical rain forest. Their plan had one serious ______ canopy walkway they needed was still being built.

   7.

   Which choice completes the text so that it follows the conventions of Standard English?

   1. Aflaw the
   2. Bflaw, the
   3. Cflaw. That the
   4. Dflaw: the

8. Sourdough starter

   Sourdough bread rises because of a living mixture of wild yeast and bacteria called a starter. Some bakers have ______ the same starter alive for years, feeding it fresh flour and water every day.

   8.

   Which choice completes the text so that it follows the conventions of Standard English?

   1. Akeeping
   2. Bkeep
   3. Ckeeps
   4. Dkept

9. Hummingbird hearts

   A hummingbird's heart can beat more than 1,000 times per minute while the bird is flying. This rapid heartbeat helps deliver oxygen to the bird's hard-working flight muscles. ______, a resting human heart beats only about 60 to 100 times per minute.

   9.

   Which choice gives the most logical transition for the blank?

   1. AFor example
   2. BSimilarly
   3. CTherefore
   4. DBy contrast

10. Bamboo and oak

    While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
    • Bamboo is a type of grass.
    • Some bamboo species can grow about 35 inches in a single day.
    • Bamboo is used for flooring and scaffolding in some countries.
    • White oak trees often grow only 1 to 2 feet per year.
    • White oak wood is valued for its strength.

    10.

    The student wants to contrast how fast bamboo and white oak grow. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

    1. ABamboo, a type of grass, is used for flooring and scaffolding in some countries.
    2. BBamboo is a type of grass, while the white oak is a tree whose wood is valued for its great strength.
    3. CWhite oak trees grow 1 to 2 feet per year, and their wood is valued for its strength.
    4. DSome bamboo can grow about 35 inches in a day, while white oaks often grow only 1 to 2 feet a year.