TSI practice test 2026: free TSIA2-style ELAR and math, scored by part

This free TSI-style practice test has 40 original questions in the two TSIA2 subject tests: 20 English Language Arts and Reading (literary and informational passages, essay revision and sentence editing) and 20 Mathematics (five in each of the four reporting categories), each on a 30-minute practice clock. You get a score for each part, because Texas colleges judge ELAR and math separately.

40
questions, 20 a part: 2
parts, scored one by one: 910-990
the real score range: 945 / 950
ELAR and math benchmarks

Last checked 22 October 2026 · Test facts from the Texas Education Agency and Texas college testing centers

40
questions
60 min
time limit
Free
instant score

Two timed parts, each on its own clock: English Language Arts and Reading, 20 questions in 30 minutes, then Mathematics, 20 questions in 30 minutes. A part's clock starts when you begin it, and you cannot go back to an earlier part.

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 22 October 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What is on this TSI practice test?

Forty original questions, twenty for each TSIA2 subject test, in the order most Texas testing centers give them: English Language Arts and Reading first, then Mathematics.

The ELAR part follows the four kinds of questions the real College Readiness Classification test uses. Four questions come from one literary passage, the way the TSIA2 groups questions on a story or memoir. Six are informational, including pairs of short texts you compare. Five ask you to revise a short student essay, and five ask you to fix or complete a single sentence. The math part has five questions in each of the four reporting categories: Quantitative Reasoning, Algebraic Reasoning, Geometric and Spatial Reasoning, and Probabilistic and Statistical Reasoning.

Each part runs from easier to harder, the way an adaptive test climbs when you keep answering correctly. Like the real TSIA2, you answer each question before the next one appears and cannot go back, so the habit this test builds is the one that matters on the day: work every question to an answer, then let it go.

The real TSIA2 has no time limit. We put a 30-minute practice clock on each part anyway, 90 seconds a question, because people who lose patience on an untimed test start guessing on the hardest questions, and those are the ones that decide whether you clear the benchmark. If the clock runs out, the part ends and the next one starts.

What this practice test copies, and what it does not
Parts	English Language Arts and Reading, then Mathematics, the two subject tests in that order
Questions	20 a part, 40 in all, four options each, easy to hard within each part
ELAR mix	4 on a literary passage, 6 informational and paired-text, 5 essay revision, 5 sentence editing
Math mix	5 in each of the four reporting categories
Clock	30 minutes a part as a practice pace (90 seconds a question). The real test has none
Adaptive?	No. Every taker sees the same questions in a mock, so scores compare from one mock to the next
Essay	Not scored here. The essay page has a plan and an original practice prompt
Your result	Percent right for each part and category, and a practice band. Never a 910-990 score

Can I practise just the TSI math, reading or writing?

Yes. Each part has free 12-question drills with every answer explained: the math page has one for each of the four categories, and reading and writing have one each.

TSI math practice test
4 free drills
Quantitative, algebraic, geometric and statistical reasoning: what each covers, worked examples and the formulas to know.
TSI reading practice test
1 free drill
Literary passages, informational and paired texts, and the habit that wins most reading points.
TSI writing practice test
1 free drill
Essay revision and sentence editing: the short list of grammar rules the test keeps returning to.
TSI essay
Plan and prompt
How the essay is scored from 1 to 8, why 5 matters, and a four-paragraph plan you can practise tonight.

Take the full test first, then drill the category with the lowest score. A college can place you in a developmental or corequisite math course while your ELAR is fine, or the other way round, so one weak category costs you on its own. Your result page names the weakest one and starts the plan there.

How does the real TSI test compare?

The real TSIA2 is two untimed, computer-adaptive subject tests: a 30-question ELAR College Readiness Classification test with an essay, and a 20-question math one, each scored from 910 to 990.

The real TSIA2, with where each fact comes from
Subject tests	English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) and Mathematics, taken and scored separatelyPublished by the ownerTexas Education Agency, "TSIA 2.0" summary (PDF)
College Readiness Classification (CRC) test	ELAR 30 multiple-choice questions plus an essay; Math 20 multiple-choice questionsPublished by the ownerTexas Education Agency, "TSIA 2.0" summary (PDF)
Format	Computer-adaptive: each answer sets the difficulty of the next questionPublished by the ownerTexas Education Agency, "TSIA 2.0" summary (PDF)
Time limit	None. The tests are untimed, though your testing center sets its hoursSourcedUniversity of Texas at El Paso, Texas Success Initiative general information
Score	910 to 990 on each CRC test; diagnostic results as levels 1 to 6Published by the ownerTexas Education Agency, "TSIA 2.0" summary (PDF)
College ready	Math 950+; ELAR 945+ with an essay of 5+ (or a lower CRC with a high diagnostic level)Published by the ownerTexas Education Agency, "TSIA 2.0" summary (PDF)
Essay	Scored 1 to 8; 5 or higher meets the ELAR benchmarkSourcedClarendon College, TSIA2: interpreting your scores (PDF)
Before you test	A Pre-Assessment Activity (PAA) that your college must see before you sit the TSIA2SourcedLee College, TSI assessment
Platform	Delivered by College Board on the ACCUPLACER platform, at a college testing center or approved remote setupSourcedDel Mar College, TSIA2 information

Adaptive means your next question depends on your last answer: right answers bring harder questions and wrong ones bring easier ones. That is why accuracy early on matters so much, and why a fixed practice test like this one scores you in percent rather than inventing a 910-990 score.

If your CRC score falls below the benchmark, the TSIA2 moves you to a diagnostic test in that subject, 48 questions that report a level from 1 to 6. A high enough diagnostic level can still make you college ready, and the levels help advisors choose the right support course. The full picture is in the TSI test guide.

What TSI score do I need?

To be college ready you need 950 or higher on the math CRC, and 945 or higher on the ELAR CRC together with an essay score of at least 5; a lower CRC score can still qualify with a high diagnostic level.

The TSIA2 college-readiness benchmarks, from the Texas Education Agency summary, checked 2026-10-22
Subject	CRC questions	College ready when
English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR)	30	CRC 945+ and essay 5+, or CRC below 945 with diagnostic level 5 or 6 and essay 5+
Mathematics	20	CRC 950+, or CRC below 950 with diagnostic level 6

These benchmarks are set for the state, so they are the same at every Texas public college. What changes from college to college is what happens below them: which developmental or corequisite course you take, and when you may retest. More on reading a score report is on TSI scores.

What do TSI questions look like?

Short literary and informational passages, revise-and-edit drafts, single sentences to fix, and math from percents to probability. Try the six below: two are worked step by step and the rest open when you tap.

TSI-style question 1 · Literary: character
The detail that Marisol puts her index cards in her pocket mainly suggests that she
1. Afeels ready to speak without reading
2. Bhas lost her place in the speech
3. Cis too nervous to look at her notes
4. Dplans to leave the stage quickly
Show the worked answer
A: feels ready to speak without reading. She has rehearsed for a week, puts the cards away, and waits calmly for quiet: every detail points to confidence, so she is ready to speak without notes.
1. Collect the details: a week of rehearsal, cards folded away, hands on the podium, waiting for quiet.
2. Ask what they have in common: control and calm.
3. The only option that fits all of them is that she feels ready to speak without reading.
The trap: "Too nervous to look at her notes" borrows the setting (a crowded gym) instead of the details. Nothing she does is nervous.
TSI-style question 2 · Sentence completion: agreement
The results of the survey, which took the students three months to collect, ______ surprising to the whole class. Which choice completes the sentence correctly?
1. Awere
2. Bwas
3. Cis
4. Dhas been
Worked answer
A: were. The subject is "results", which is plural, so the verb is "were". The phrases in between do not change the subject.
1. Cross out "of the survey" and the "which" clause.
2. What is left: "The results ___ surprising."
3. Plural subject, past tense to match "took": were.
The trap: "Was" agrees with "survey", the nearest noun. The verb agrees with the subject, however far away it sits.
TSI-style question 3 · Percent increase
A bus pass costs $45. Its price goes up by 12%. What is the new price of the pass?
1. A$50.40
2. B$57.00
3. C$45.12
4. D$5.40
Show the worked answer
A: $50.40. A 12% rise multiplies the price by 1.12: 45 × 1.12 = 50.40.
1. The new price is 100% + 12% = 112% of the old one.
2. 112% as a decimal is 1.12.
3. 45 × 1.12 = 50.40, so the new price is $50.40.
The trap: $5.40 is the increase, not the new price. Read whether the question asks for the change or the result.
TSI-style question 4 · Function notation
If f(x) = 3x² − 2x, what is f(−2)?
1. A16
2. B8
3. C−8
4. D10
Worked answer
A: 16. Replace every x with (−2): 3(−2)² − 2(−2) = 3(4) + 4 = 16.
1. Write the substitution with brackets: 3(−2)² − 2(−2).
2. Square first: (−2)² = 4, so the first term is 12.
3. −2 × −2 = +4, and 12 + 4 = 16.
The trap: Getting 8 by treating −2(−2) as −4. Two negatives multiply to a positive, so the second term adds 4.
TSI-style question 5 · Pythagorean theorem
A 13-foot ladder leans against a wall and touches it 12 feet above the ground. How far from the wall is the foot of the ladder?
1. A5 feet
2. B1 foot
3. C17.7 feet
4. D25 feet
Show the worked answer
A: 5 feet. The ladder is the hypotenuse: 12² + d² = 13², so d² = 169 − 144 = 25 and d = 5 feet.
1. Sketch it: the wall and the ground make a right angle, and the ladder is the longest side.
2. 12² + d² = 13², so 144 + d² = 169.
3. d² = 25, so d = 5 feet.
The trap: Adding the squares (144 + 169) treats the ladder as a leg. The longest side, opposite the right angle, is always c.
TSI-style question 6 · Conditional probability
In a class of 30 students, 18 play a sport, and 12 of those 18 also play an instrument. A student who plays a sport is chosen at random. What is the probability that the student plays an instrument?
1. A2/3
2. B2/5
3. C3/5
4. D1/3
Show the worked answer
A: 2/3. The choice is only among the 18 who play a sport, and 12 of them play an instrument: 12/18 = 2/3.
1. Name the whole: "a student who plays a sport", so the whole is 18, not 30.
2. The part: 12 of those 18 play an instrument.
3. 12/18 = 2/3.
The trap: 2/5 is 12/30, which divides by the whole class. The words after "chosen at random" tell you which group is the whole.

These were written for this page, so none of them is in a mock. There are more, each with its trap, on TSI sample questions.

After the free TSI-style test

One mock shows which category is weakest. Seven more, and four drills for every category, show it is fixed.

The TSI Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 24 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The TSI Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the TSI Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

8
timed mocks: 24
topic drills: 1
score predictor

How do I read my TSI practice result?

You get the percent you got right in ELAR and in math, a score for every category inside them, and a practice band for the whole test: Early practice, Building (45%+), Solid (60%+), Strong (75%+) or Excellent (90%+). These are our labels, not TSIA2 scores.

Read the parts, not the total. If ELAR is at 80% but Geometric and Spatial Reasoning is at 40%, your English placement is probably safe and math is the subject at risk, and within math you know exactly which formulas to review first. The result page names the weakest category and builds a seven-day plan around it.

A practice band cannot be turned into a 910-990 score. The real tests are adaptive, and neither College Board nor the state publishes a way to convert percent correct into the TSIA2 scale. What a strong practice score does tell you is that the content of that category is no longer what stands between you and a credit-bearing course.

Is it worth studying for the TSI test?

Yes. Missing a benchmark usually means a developmental or corequisite course alongside, or before, the college course you wanted, which costs tuition, time and sometimes a semester, so a week of review is some of the best-paid study you will do.

Many students walk in cold because they are told the TSI "just places you". It does, and the placement is the point. Below the math benchmark, a student aiming at College Algebra can find an extra support course in their first semester, and some programs will not let you start their gateway courses until you are college ready.

Most of the points are learnable. Percents and ratios, linear equations, a dozen geometry facts, a short list of grammar rules and one reading habit cover most of what costs people the benchmark. Retest rules and fees are set by each college, and some ask you to complete review before you test again, so the first attempt is the one to prepare for. The study plan is in how to pass the TSI.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the real TSI test?

No. It is a TSI-style practice test with original questions. The real TSIA2 is delivered by College Board for Texas public colleges and is taken at a college testing center or an approved remote setup.

How many questions are on the TSI test?

The ELAR College Readiness Classification test has 30 multiple-choice questions plus an essay, and the math one has 20. If you score below a benchmark, a 48-question diagnostic test in that subject follows.

Is the TSI test timed?

No. The TSIA2 is untimed, though testing centers have opening hours. Our practice test puts 30 minutes on each part so you practise a steady pace.

Can you fail the TSI?

Not in the pass-or-fail sense. You either meet the college-ready benchmark in a subject or you are placed in support for it. See TSI scores for what each result means.

Can I use a calculator on the TSI?

Only the one the test shows on some math questions; you cannot bring your own. Practise the arithmetic by hand, as our drills assume.

Do I have to take the TSI?

Most students entering a Texas public college or university do, unless they are exempt, for example with qualifying SAT or ACT scores. The exemptions are on the TSI test guide.

Do I have to pay for this practice test?

The full practice test and the six category drills are free with no sign-up. The Pass Pack, with every answer explained, seven more mocks and 24 drills, is a one-time payment.

Start in the courses that count

Eight full TSI-style mocks, four drills for each of the six categories and every answer explained, in one payment with no subscription.