SLE Reading Comprehension Test: Format and Sample Questions
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The SLE reading comprehension test (in French, the test de compréhension de l'écrit) is a multiple-choice test of how well you understand workplace texts in your second official language. The supervised version has 60 questions in 90 minutes, of which 50 are scored, and your score on those 50 decides whether you get an X, A, B, C or E.
Below: both formats, the score bands, pacing, four sample items in French with explanations in English, and the traps that cost the most points.
In short: supervised test, 60 questions (50 scored, 10 unidentified pilot items) in 90 minutes. Unsupervised test, 25 questions in 45 minutes.
Supervised: 28 out of 50 for B, 38 for C. Questions are in French, with no penalty for wrong answers.
SLE reading test format: supervised vs unsupervised
The Public Service Commission (PSC) offers the reading test in two formats, both taken online. Only the supervised one can give you an E.
Feature | Supervised test | Unsupervised test (UIT) |
|---|---|---|
Questions | 60 | 25 |
Scored out of | 50 (10 pilot items) | 25 |
Time | 90 minutes, plus 20 to 30 minutes of administration | 45 minutes |
Item types | Fill a blank in a text; question about a text | Short workplace text, one question |
Possible results | X, A, B, C, E | X, A, B, C |
E possible? | Yes | No |
The two official item types
- Fill the blank: choose the best word or group of words to complete a text. Read the whole text around the blank before you choose.
- Question about a text: read a text and answer a question about its content, purpose or meaning.
Texts are the kind you meet at work in a federal organization: emails, notes or memos, letters, information bulletins, excerpts from reports and research papers. Items run from the shortest and simplest to the longest and most complex.
The PSC's free self-assessment tests also include items that ask which statement "best describes" a sentence or text. These paraphrase items train the skill the harder questions demand, so practise them too. Their results are unofficial, and the PSC says they differ from the official tests in length and question types.
What A, B and C readers are expected to handle
The Treasury Board's Qualification Standards in Relation to Official Languages, rewritten in September 2026, describe each reading level. In plain terms:
- Level A: you can read simple texts on familiar, routine work topics.
- Level B: you grasp the overall meaning of most work texts, find specific information, and tell main ideas from secondary ones. Complex grammar and wide vocabulary can still trip you up.
- Level C: you understand texts on abstract, theoretical or unfamiliar topics, including their finest nuances. Rare expressions and very complex structures may still cause difficulty.
SLE reading score bands
Levels are cumulative, so a C means you also meet A and B. There is no pass mark: your result is compared with the reading letter of the position's linguistic profile, the first letter of a profile such as CBC.
Result | Supervised (out of 50) | Unsupervised (out of 25) |
|---|---|---|
X | 0 to 17 | 0 to 8 |
A | 18 to 27 | 9 to 13 |
B | 28 to 37 | 14 to 18 |
C | 38 to 44 | 19 to 25 |
E | 45 to 50 | Not possible |
Pacing: how to use 90 minutes
Ninety minutes for 60 items is 1.5 minutes per item, but items get longer and more complex as you go. Move briskly through the first third and bank that time for the end.
On the unsupervised test you have 45 minutes for 25 short items, about 1.8 minutes each. Wrong answers cost nothing, so never leave a blank.
Four sample questions in French
These items are original, written for this guide in the style of the official test. Texts and questions are in French, as on test day.
Sample 1: a short email, level A
Texte : « Bonjour à toutes et à tous. La réunion d'équipe prévue jeudi est reportée à vendredi, à la même heure (10 h), dans la salle 3B. Veuillez apporter la version imprimée de votre rapport mensuel. Merci et bonne journée. Julie Tremblay, gestionnaire »
Selon ce message, que doivent faire les membres de l'équipe?
- (1) Envoyer leur rapport mensuel à Julie Tremblay avant jeudi.
- (2) Se présenter vendredi à 10 h avec leur rapport mensuel imprimé.
- (3) Réserver la salle 3B pour la réunion de jeudi.
- (4) Choisir une nouvelle heure pour la réunion.
Answer: (2). The meeting moves to Friday at the same time (10 a.m.) and staff bring a printed copy of their report. Option 1 recycles "jeudi" and "rapport mensuel", but nobody is asked to send anything. Option 3 has the wrong day and asks for a booking nobody requested; option 4 contradicts "à la même heure".
Sample 2: a memo, level B
Texte : « Note de service. Destinataires : tout le personnel de la Direction des finances. Objet : nouvelle procédure de remboursement des frais de déplacement. À compter du 1er décembre, les demandes de remboursement des frais de déplacement devront être soumises au moyen du formulaire électronique accessible dans l'intranet. Les formulaires papier ne seront plus acceptés. Ce changement vise à réduire les délais de traitement, qui atteignent actuellement six semaines. Les employés qui n'ont pas encore assisté à la séance d'information sur le nouveau système sont priés de s'y inscrire auprès de leur gestionnaire d'ici la fin du mois. »
Quel est le but principal de cette note de service?
- (1) Inviter le personnel à une séance d'information obligatoire.
- (2) Annoncer que les demandes de remboursement des frais de déplacement se feront désormais par voie électronique.
- (3) Expliquer pourquoi le traitement des demandes prend actuellement six semaines.
- (4) Demander aux employés de remettre leurs formulaires papier à leur gestionnaire.
Answer: (2). The subject line and first two sentences announce the switch to an electronic form; the rest supports that change. Option 1 is a secondary detail, and the session is never called mandatory. Option 3 fails because the memo states the delay, not its cause. Option 4 is never mentioned.
Sample 3: fill the blank with a connector
Texte : « La Direction a obtenu un budget supplémentaire pour l'exercice en cours. ________, elle pourra embaucher deux employés temporaires pendant la période de pointe. »
Choisissez l'expression qui complète le mieux le texte.
- (1) Toutefois
- (2) Par conséquent
- (3) En revanche
- (4) Pourtant
Answer: (2). Hiring two temporary employees results from the extra budget, so you need a connector of consequence: "par conséquent" (as a result). Options 1, 3 and 4 signal contrast (however, on the other hand, yet), and nothing here is contrasted.
Sample 4: a report excerpt, level C
Texte : « L'évaluation montre que le passage au travail hybride n'a pas entraîné de baisse mesurable de la productivité dans les unités examinées. Les gestionnaires interrogés signalent toutefois que l'intégration des nouveaux employés est devenue plus laborieuse : en l'absence d'échanges informels, les recrues mettent davantage de temps à comprendre le fonctionnement de leur équipe et hésitent à poser des questions. Certaines unités ont compensé cette difficulté en jumelant chaque nouvel employé à un collègue expérimenté et en réservant des journées de présence commune au bureau. Ces mesures semblent prometteuses, mais leur incidence n'a pas encore été évaluée de façon rigoureuse. Le Comité recommande donc de les mettre à l'essai dans l'ensemble de l'organisation pendant un an avant d'envisager de les rendre obligatoires. »
Selon cet extrait, quel énoncé décrit le mieux la position du Comité?
- (1) Le travail hybride n'a eu aucune incidence sur les équipes, de sorte qu'aucune mesure particulière n'est nécessaire.
- (2) Le jumelage et les journées communes au bureau ont réglé les difficultés d'intégration et devraient devenir obligatoires.
- (3) Les mesures adoptées par certaines unités méritent d'être essayées à plus grande échelle, mais leur efficacité reste à démontrer.
- (4) Les nouveaux employés devraient travailler au bureau à temps plein jusqu'à la fin de leur intégration.
Answer: (3). The Committee wants a one-year trial because the measures look promising but are not yet rigorously evaluated. Option 2 is the close paraphrase trap: it claims the measures solved the problem and should become mandatory, which the text defers until after a trial. Option 1 ignores the onboarding difficulty. Option 4 is never proposed.
Common traps on the SLE reading test
- Word matching instead of meaning. The wrong options often repeat words from the text, as in samples 1 and 4. Pick the option that matches the meaning. At level C, watch for options that are almost right but too strong.
- Faux amis. "Actuellement" means currently, not actually. "Éventuellement" means possibly or if needed, not eventually. A "librairie" is a bookstore; a library is a "bibliothèque".
- Negation with "ne ... que". "Les demandes ne seront acceptées qu'en ligne" means requests will be accepted only online. It restricts; it does not negate.
- The "none of these" option. If an item offers a choice such as "(Aucune de ces réponses)", treat it like any other option: choose it only after you have ruled out each of the others against the text.
Vocabulary of federal workplace texts
These administrative terms come up again and again in memos, bulletins and reports:
French term | English meaning |
|---|---|
échéance | deadline, due date |
ministère | department (federal) |
gestionnaire | manager |
note de service | memo |
mise en œuvre | implementation |
reddition de comptes | accountability, reporting |
intervenant | stakeholder, party involved |
exercice (financier) | fiscal year |
dotation | staffing |
à compter du | as of, effective |
Practise the SLE reading test on Mocko
Mocko's SLE French practice puts the instructions, explanations and report in English and the questions in French. A free account, no credit card needed, includes two quick tests (reading comprehension or written expression) and one full mock exam of all three tests.
The reading quick test follows the unsupervised format: 25 questions in 45 minutes, with a top level of C. The full mock includes the 60-question, 90-minute reading test with the official item types, scored on the 50-point scale with the published bands. Create your free account to start.
FAQ
The supervised test has 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, of which 50 are scored; the other 10 are unidentified pilot items. The unsupervised version has 25 questions in 45 minutes.
