TABE Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: B

It is always cheaper to fix things yourself than to pay for help.: The repair price matters in the plot, but "always" is too absolute and money is not the deeper message.

The lessons of people we love can stay with us and guide us later.: Correct. The father's card guides the narrator long after his death, and the narrator realizes his father "had been teaching me all along."

A person who is slow at a task will never become good at it.: The story shows the opposite: the narrator is still slow but keeps fixing things.

Neighbors should share their tools and skills with one another.: Neighbors appear as details (the lawn mower, the gate), but sharing is not the message the story develops.

A theme is a message about life that the whole story develops, often stated or hinted at near the end. It is not a single event or a rule with "always."

Answer: D

Mona Reyes needed a ladder to paint her kitchen ceiling.: This is the opening story that hooks the reader. It is one example, not what the whole article is about.

Garden tools are borrowed more often than any other kind of tool in the library.: This is a true detail from paragraph 4 and the graph, but it is too small to be the main idea.

People should never buy tools of their own at a store.: The article never says this. "Never" makes the statement too strong.

A tool library lets neighbors borrow tools, spend less, and gain skills.: Correct. Every paragraph adds to this idea: how borrowing works (2–3), what people borrow (4–5), the money saved (6) and the classes where people learn skills (7).

The main idea is what the whole article is about. Check that each paragraph supports your choice.

Answer: B

It tells the history of roofs in the order that materials were invented.: The second paragraph looks back briefly, but the article is not a timeline of roofing materials.

It describes a problem with hot roofs, then explains a solution and its limits.: Correct. The first paragraph gives the problem (heat from dark roofs), the middle paragraphs explain cool roofs, and the sixth paragraph tells their limits.

It compares the prices of several kinds of roofs, from lowest to highest.: The article gives no list of roof prices to compare.

It lists the steps a homeowner should follow to paint a roof white.: The article mentions white paint but gives no step-by-step directions.

To find the structure, notice what each part of the text does: tell a problem, give a solution, compare, list steps or tell events in order.

Answer: B

They disagree about whether City Hall is open on Fridays under the current schedule.: Both texts treat Friday closing as part of the new plan; neither disputes the current schedule.

They disagree about whether the new schedule would help the city keep its employees.: Correct. Text 1 says the schedule would help keep staff; Text 2 says it "may push others to quit."

They disagree about whether the needs of residents should matter to the city.: Both authors argue in the name of residents; they differ on what serves them.

They disagree about whether the plan calls for employees to work ten-hour days.: Both authors describe the plan as four ten-hour days.

To compare texts, line up each topic both authors address and check whether they agree on the facts but differ in their conclusions.

Answer: C

strengths: Strengths has only one vowel sound, so it has one syllable even though it is a long word.

breakfast: Break-fast has two syllables; the vowel team ea makes only one vowel sound.

computer: Correct. Com-pu-ter has three vowel sounds, so it has three syllables.

sandwich: Sand-wich has two syllables.

Count the vowel sounds you hear, not the letters. Each vowel sound is one syllable.

Answer: 14 blocks

1. Bus stop to grocery store: same y, so distance $=|5-(-3)|=8$ blocks.
2. Grocery store to clinic: same x, so distance $=|4-(-2)|=6$ blocks.
3. Total: $8+6=14$ blocks.

When two points share a coordinate, the distance is the absolute value of the difference of the other coordinates; across an axis, add the distances on each side. Common traps: 2 (5 − 3) and 2 (4 − 2), giving 4.

Answer: B

1. Count the equal spaces from 0 to 1: there are 6.
2. Each space is $\frac{1}{6}$ of a mile.
3. P is 1 space from 0, so P is at $\frac{1}{6}$.

$\frac{1}{7}$: This counts the 7 tick marks. Count the spaces between 0 and 1 instead: there are 6.

$\frac{1}{6}$: Correct. The line from 0 to 1 is split into 6 equal spaces, and P is at the end of the first space.

$\frac{1}{5}$: This counts only the 5 tick marks between 0 and 1. The parts are the spaces, and there are 6.

$\frac{6}{1}$: This switches the numbers. The number of equal parts (6) goes on the bottom, and $\frac{6}{1}$ is 6 whole miles.

On a number line, the denominator is the number of equal spaces between 0 and 1, not the number of tick marks.

Answer: B

Panel A: Panel A has 4 equal parts with 1 shaded, which shows $\frac{1}{4}$, not $\frac{1}{3}$.

Panel B: Correct. Panel B has 3 equal parts with 1 part shaded, which shows $\frac{1}{3}$.

Panel C: Panel C has 3 parts, but they are not equal; the shaded part is half of the pan.

Panel D: Panel D has 3 equal parts with 2 shaded, which shows $\frac{2}{3}$.

A unit fraction $\frac{1}{b}$ needs the whole cut into b equal parts with 1 part shaded. Check that the parts are the same size before you count.

Answer: A

The predicted price drops by about $1,500 for each added year of age.: Correct. The slope −1.5 is the change in price (thousands of dollars) per year, so the price falls about $1,500 per year.

The predicted price of a car that is 0 years old is $24,000.: This describes the y-intercept (24), not the slope.

The predicted price drops by about $1.50 for each added year of age.: This ignores the units: y is in thousands of dollars, so 1.5 means $1,500.

The predicted age rises by about 1.5 years for each $1,000 drop in price.: This switches the variables; the slope is change in y (price) per unit change in x (age).

Slope = change in y per 1-unit change in x, stated with both units; the intercept is the predicted y when x = 0. Always check the axis units (here, thousands of dollars).

Answer: C

1. Find which scale starts at 0 on the first edge: the outer scale.
2. Follow the second edge to that same scale: it crosses at 120.
3. Check: the angle opens wider than a square corner (90°), so 120° makes sense and 60° does not.

30°: This counts from the 90° mark (120 − 90). Count from the 0 that the first edge lines up with.

60°: This reads the inner scale. The first edge is on 0 of the outer scale, so read the outer scale.

120°: Correct. The first edge is on 0 of the outer scale, and the second edge crosses the outer scale at 120, so the angle is 120°. It is wider than a right angle, which also fits.

150°: This reads the next labeled mark past the edge. The edge crosses exactly at 120.

Read a protractor on the scale that shows 0 on one side of the angle, then check whether the angle is acute (less than 90°) or obtuse (more than 90°).

Answer: C

after Sentence 1: Sentence 1 is the introduction. No cable has been attached yet, so "the other end of the red cable" would not make sense here.

after Sentence 2: At this point the red cable has not been attached to anything, so there is no "other end" yet.

after Sentence 3: Correct. Sentence 3 attaches one end of the red cable; the new sentence attaches "the other end" of that same cable. Finishing the red (positive) cable before starting the black cable keeps the procedure in its safe order, and "Next" in Sentence 4 then moves on to the black cable.

after Sentence 4: Sentence 4 has already started the black cable with "Next." Placing the red-cable step here would split the black-cable steps and break the order of positive connections first.

In a procedure, a sentence that refers to "the other end" or "that same" item must come right after the step that introduces it. Look for these reference words.

Answer: B

after Sentence 1: Sentence 1 only says who can get a card. The reader has not yet been told to bring an ID, so "also bring" has nothing to add to.

after Sentence 2: Correct. Sentence 2 tells the reader to bring a photo ID, and the new sentence adds what else to bring, so it belongs right after it. Keep steps in time order: what to bring comes before what the clerk does.

after Sentence 3: By Sentence 3 the clerk is already typing your information, so a reminder about what to bring would come too late.

after Sentence 4: Sentence 4 says the card is already printed; a reminder about what to bring does not fit after the card is made.

To place a sentence, find the sentence it adds to or depends on. A detail about what to bring belongs next to the step that tells you what to bring.

Answer: C

New employees must complete safety training, reading the employee handbook, and sign up for direct deposit.: Reading is an -ing form, while complete and sign up are base verbs, so the series is not parallel.

New employees must complete safety training, the employee handbook, and signing up for direct deposit.: This says employees must "complete" the handbook and mixes a noun with an -ing phrase, so the series is not parallel and the meaning changes.

New employees must complete safety training, read the employee handbook, and sign up for direct deposit.: Correct. All three tasks use the same verb form after must: complete, read, and sign up. That is parallel structure.

New employees must complete safety training, to read the employee handbook, and signing up for direct deposit.: This mixes three forms (complete, to read, signing), so the items are not parallel.

Items in a series should share the same grammatical form: complete, read, and sign up (not complete, reading, and to sign up).

Answer: C

Dana spoke quiet so she would not disturb the meeting.: Quiet is an adjective. To describe how Dana spoke, use the adverb: spoke quietly.

The new cashier counts change very careful.: Careful is an adjective. To describe how she counts, use the adverb: counts change very carefully.

The mechanic fixed the brakes quickly and well.: Correct. Quickly and well are adverbs, and they tell how the mechanic fixed the brakes. Use an adverb to describe a verb.

Our team worked real hard to finish the order.: Real is an adjective. To describe hard, use the adverb: worked really hard.

Adjectives describe nouns (a careful worker); adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (works carefully, really hard). Good is an adjective; well is the adverb.