The English Language Arts and Reading portion of the exam is going to focus on the best practices to help students learn to read and write. Concepts, such as oral language,reading comprehension, written communication, and viewing and representing media, will be covered on the exam. Not only will a test-taker have to be familiar with the concepts, but also know the best practices for implementing instruction in the classroom.
The English Language Arts questions on the CORE Subjects EC-6 will be mainly pedagogical- the questions will ask how best to teach the concepts to students. That means a test-taker must be familiar with the concepts and also the best way to implement the concepts in a classroom setting. The foundation of good preparation will be an understanding of English Language Arts terminology and the best practices of English Language Arts instruction.
With the implementation of the Science of Teaching Reading exam, the CORE English Language Arts subtest will mostly focus on areas NOT covered by the STR. The majority of early reading questions covering concepts such as phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle have been moved to the STR.
One concept the test-taker should be familiar with is “scaffolding”. Scaffolding refers to supporting student learning by building new concepts upon familiar concepts- similar to how scaffolding helps support structure that is being built. Students learn better when the new information they process is conceptualized and taught through concepts they already know.
On the Reading and Language Arts subtest, knowing how to best scaffold instruction when teaching the concepts (such as oral language, reading comprehension, written communication, and viewing and representing media) is essential to passing the exam. A helpful source to learn the best practices in Reading and Language Arts is the Put Reading First pamphlet.
The mathematics subtest can be the most intimidating for many test-takers. The reason is many test-takers do not feel comfortable with math, yet alone answering forty math questions that range from solving for “x” to calculating a probability of a die roll to how best to teach fractions to fifth-graders. Th
e good news is that the mathematics tested on the CORE Subjects EC-6 is, for the most part, basic mathematical skills that are used fairly often. When test-takers start to review for the mathematics questions they often find they remember much more than they thought. Math often seems easier now than when they were in school!
The numbers, operations, and algebraic thinking questions will be about patterns, whole numbers, rational numbers, basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), variables, and how best to apply formulas. Understanding how and when to use formulas is essential for success on the mathematics subtest.
The geometry and measurement questions (covering concepts such as transformations-rotations, reflections, length, time, and mass) will require the test-taker to interpret data presented graphically, and basic questions regarding statistics will require test-takers to determine mean, median, mode, and range. To be successful on these questions the test-taker should have a broad understanding of how the mathematical concepts are used in a variety of contexts. A broad review consisting of content and practice questions is highly recommended. Proper preparation for the mathematics exam requires working many practice questions to ensure understanding of how to best implement the concepts.
Math builds upon itself more so than any other area. Addition must be learned before multiplication; multiplication must be learned before anyone can be expected to multiply fractions. Because of this, the test-taker should have a comprehensive mathematics review. Many times, if a test-taker is confused in one area of mathematics, then that confusion will lead to trouble in many different areas. Being up-to-date on a wide spectrum of knowledge is critical to passing the mathematics subtest successfully.
The classroom-based questions on the math subtest will put these math concepts through an instructional lens. You may have to determine the concept the teacher is teaching based on details from the lesson. It’s also important to be familiar with types of assessment and how to use assessment to guide classroom instruction.
All math questions on the CORE Subjects EC-6 are multiple-choice. A multiple-choice math exam is the easiest way to take a math exam. A great strategy to use on a multiple choice mathematics exam is “Guess and Check”. When applicable, don’t be afraid to plug all answer options into a problem to see which answer works best. Use all the advantages you can on the math subtest.
The United States history and government questions will focus primarily on how the United States began and how those beginnings influenced the nation and its leaders up until the present day. Key events such as the Mayflower Compact, the Revolutionary War, and the Gettysburg Address will be tested, as well as the ideology reflected in the events. The better understanding you have of the cause and effect relationship on political ideology and important historical events of the United States, the better you will be able to answer history and government questions.
The world history questions will focus on the contributions of classical civilizations to modern western civilization. The broad political, social, and military influences of Greece and Rome will appear on the test. The test-taker needs to understand how important ideas and events from these civilizations influenced leaders of western countries.
The geography questions will focus on the interaction between humans and their environment. Understanding how humans change the environment and how the environment influences human adaptation is essential to correctly answering questions in this category. While you don’t need to memorize the globe to be successful on this portion on the exam, it is helpful to have a general sense of where important features are located. Also, it is very helpful to have a broad knowledge and understanding of influential cultures (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, etc.) and their impact on western civilization.
Economic questions will largely center around basic economic concepts such as supply and demand, scarcity and choice, and the influence of government in the market.
Government questions focus on the structure and function of government, including concepts such as checks and balances and powers allowed by governing documents, like the Constitution. There are also questions about how citizens participate in the government.
Questions about Texas will appear on the Social Studies portion of the CORE Exam. Knowing key points in Texas’ history (including key people) and key information about its economic development, government, culture, and geography will help you prepare for these.
Some questions will appear in the framework of classroom instruction. On the Social Studies subtest, this typically requires knowing what resource to use to teach a certain concept. You may also be presented with details from a lesson and asked to identify the concept being taught, or reversely, be presented with a broad concept and asked which lesson details would apply.
Social Science is primarily a study of cause and effect. History can be seen as one event leading and shaping another event. This is one reason studying timelines is so important. The study of geography is important because it examines how humans interact with their environment. Geography seeks to understand how environmental causes affect human behavior. The same is true of economics and government. How does human interaction cause events and behavior? How does human interaction affect events and behavior? Studying the Social Sciences through this perspective is a helpful strategy because it provides a context for the concepts. More pragmatically, the more a test-taker understands historical events, the easier it is to eliminate answer options on the CORE Subjects EC-6
The earth science questions will be about the structure, properties, and processes of the earth. Geological structures and formations, properties of solid Earth, and the water cycle are all aspects of earth science that will be tested. Earth science encompasses concepts such as: the formation of the earth, how to understand the age and structure of the earth, various cycles essential to life on the earth, and the impact of humans on the earth. Understanding how all these different concepts affect one another is important to having a full understanding of earth science.
The life science questions will be about adaptations in living organisms, the role of genetics, the effect of ecosystems on life, the effect of substances on life (i.e. nutrition, disease, drugs). Life science is comprised of the field of biology and the study of life on earth. Having a broad understanding of basic life processes, such as the function and structure of a plant and animal cell, is essential to successfully answering life science questions.
The physical science questions will be about the physical and chemical aspects of life and forces found in the universe. Understanding the laws of motion, the types of forces (applied force, electrical force, magnetic force, etc.), and how they are revealed in nature is essential in correctly answering the physical science questions.
The information tested by the Science subtest is on the level of concepts taught in an elementary classroom- so the information is not very technical or detailed. However, there is a lot of information taught in an elementary classroom so the test-taker should be familiar with a variety of scientific concepts. The classroom-based questions require test-takers to apply scientific concepts to teaching scenarios, such as identifying an appropriate assessment for a particular concept. It’s also essential to have knowledge about inquiry-based instruction
