Elementary Education K–6
Competencies and Skills and Blueprint
The test design below describes general testing information. The blueprints that follow provide a detailed outline that explains the competencies and skills that this test measures.
Test Design
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
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| Time |
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| Passing Score | A scaled score of at least 200 per subtest; examinees must pass all 4 subtests to pass this test. |
Competencies, Skills, and Approximate Percentages of Questions
Subtest 1: Language Arts and Reading
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of the reading process | 44% |
| 2 | Knowledge of texts and text analysis | 16% |
| 3 | Knowledge of the writing process | 10% |
| 4 | Knowledge of literacy instruction and assessments | 20% |
| 5 | Knowledge of communication and media literacy | 10% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of the reading process
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Identify and apply evidence-based practices to develop emergent literacy (e.g., oral language development, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, phonics) and early literacy (e.g., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension).
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Identify appropriate stages of word recognition that lead to effective decoding (e.g., pre-alphabetic, partial-alphabetic, full-alphabetic, consolidated alphabetic, automatic stages).
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Select and apply evidence-based practices for the development of decoding skills (e.g., blending and segmenting phonemes, continuous blending of graphemes and phonemes, syllabication, morphology).
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Distinguish among the components of reading fluency (e.g., accuracy, automaticity, rate, prosody).
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Select and apply evidence-based practices for developing reading fluency (e.g., practice with high-frequency words, grade-level texts, and grade-level sight words).
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Identify and apply evidence-based practices for increasing vocabulary acquisition, reinforcing learned vocabulary, and integrating vocabulary across the content areas (e.g., word analysis, author's word choice, context clues, multiple exposures).
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Identify and apply evidence-based practices for facilitating students' comprehension of informational and literary texts (e.g., summarizing, self-monitoring, questioning, using graphic and semantic organizers, modeling think-alouds, recognizing text structure).
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Select and apply essential comprehension skills (e.g., recognizing central ideas and supporting details and facts, making inferences, drawing conclusions).
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Analyze information presented in a variety of formats for different purposes (e.g., charts, tables, graphs, pictures, print and nonprint media).
Competency 2—Knowledge of texts and text analysis
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Differentiate among characteristics and elements of a variety of texts (e.g., realistic fiction, fantasy, poetry, informational texts).
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Identify and analyze the use of literary devices (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole) and rhetorical appeals in literary and informational texts.
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Evaluate and select a variety of texts based on purpose, relevance, and appropriateness.
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Identify and apply evidence-based practices for facilitating students' analysis of, reflection on, and response to texts (e.g., think-pair-share, evidence-based discussion).
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Analyze informational and argumentative texts for the central ideas and authors' claims (e.g., by using purpose, evidence, and reasoning).
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Select and apply strategies for developing students' critical-reading skills (e.g., understand text features and text structures, explain author’s purpose or claims, identify supporting evidence, interpret figurative language, compare and contrast across texts).
Competency 3—Knowledge of the writing process
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Identify and evaluate the developmental stages of writing (e.g., drawing, dictating, writing).
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Differentiate the stages of the writing process (i.e., prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing).
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Distinguish among the modes of writing (e.g., narrative, expository, argumentative) and select the appropriate mode of writing for a variety of occasions, purposes, and audiences.
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Identify and apply instructional methods for teaching writing conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, word usage).
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Determine and apply evidence-based practices for teaching expository, narrative, and argumentative writing, including how to use precise language, figurative language, transitional words and phrases, dialogue, and sentence variety.
Competency 4—Knowledge of literacy instruction and assessments
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Analyze and distinguish among the purposes and characteristics of different types of assessments (e.g., norm referenced, criterion referenced, diagnostic, curriculum based).
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Select and apply oral and written methods for assessing student progress (e.g., informal reading inventories, fluency checks, rubrics, retellings, portfolios).
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Analyze assessment data (e.g., screening, progress monitoring, diagnostic) to guide instructional decisions and differentiate instruction.
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Analyze and interpret students' formal and informal assessment results to inform students and stakeholders.
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Select appropriate classroom organizational formats (e.g., literature circles, small groups, conferences, workshops, reading centers, multiage groups) for specific instructional objectives.
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Identify and apply evidence-based practices for the diagnosis, prevention, and intervention of common literacy difficulties.
Competency 5—Knowledge of communication and media literacy
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Identify a variety of listening and speaking strategies (e.g., questioning, paraphrasing, vocal qualities, nonverbal cues).
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Identify and apply instructional methods for developing students' abilities to use collaborative techniques and active-listening and speaking skills (e.g., discussing claims and justifying reasoning, building on ideas, propelling the conversation, using appropriate voice and tone).
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Determine and apply instructional methods for teaching students how to conduct research by using a variety of reliable and valid sources (e.g., Internet, printed materials, artifacts, visual media, primary sources).
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Determine and apply ethical processes (e.g., citation, paraphrasing) for collecting and presenting authentic information and avoiding plagiarism.
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Select and apply strategies for guiding students in selecting multimedia elements to emphasize and enhance oral and written tasks.
Subtest 2: Social Science
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of effective instructional practice and assessment of the social sciences | 19% |
| 2 | Knowledge of time, continuity, and change (i.e., history) | 26% |
| 3 | Knowledge of people, places, and environment (i.e., geography) | 18% |
| 4 | Knowledge of government and the citizen (i.e., government and civics) | 20% |
| 5 | Knowledge of production, distribution, and consumption (i.e., economics) | 17% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of effective instructional practice and assessment of the social sciences
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Select appropriate resources for instructional delivery of social science concepts, including complex informational text.
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Identify appropriate resources for planning for instruction of social science concepts.
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Choose appropriate methods for assessing social science concepts.
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Determine appropriate learning environments for social science lessons.
Competency 2—Knowledge of time, continuity, and change (i.e., history)
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Identify and analyze historical events that are related by cause and effect.
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Analyze the sequential nature of historical events using timelines.
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Analyze examples of primary and secondary source documents for historical perspective.
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Analyze the impacts of the cultural contributions and technological developments of Africa; the Americas; Asia, including the Middle East; and Europe.
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Identify the significant historical leaders and events that have influenced Eastern and Western civilizations.
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Determine the causes and consequences of exploration, settlement, and growth on various cultures.
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Interpret the ways that individuals and events have influenced economic, social, and political institutions in the world, nation, or state.
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Analyze immigration and settlement patterns that have shaped the history of the United States.
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Identify how various cultures contributed to the unique social, cultural, economic, and political features of Florida.
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Identify the significant contributions of the early and classical civilizations.
Competency 3—Knowledge of people, places, and environment (i.e., geography)
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Identify and apply the six essential elements of geography (i.e., the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, uses of geography), including the specific terms for each element.
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Analyze and interpret maps and other graphic representations of physical and human systems.
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Identify and evaluate tools and technologies (e.g., maps, globe, GPS, satellite imagery) used to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
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Interpret statistics that show how places differ in their human and physical characteristics.
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Analyze ways in which people adapt to an environment through the production and use of clothing, food, and shelter.
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Determine the ways tools and technological advances affect the environment.
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Identify and analyze physical, cultural, economic, and political reasons for the movement of people in the world, nation, or state.
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Evaluate the impact of transportation and communication networks on the economic development in different regions.
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Compare and contrast major regions of the world, nation, or state.
Competency 4—Knowledge of government and the citizen (i.e., government and civics)
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Distinguish between the structure, functions, and purposes of federal, state, and local government.
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Compare and contrast the rights and responsibilities of a citizen in the world, nation, state, and community.
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Identify and interpret major concepts of the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents.
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Compare and contrast the ways the legislative, executive, and judicial branches share powers and responsibility.
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Analyze the U.S. electoral system and the election process.
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Identify and analyze the relationships between social, economic, and political rights and the historical documents that secure these rights in the United States.
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Identify and analyze the processes of the U.S. legal system.
Competency 5—Knowledge of production, distribution, and consumption (i.e., economics)
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Determine ways that scarcity affects the choices made by governments and individuals.
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Compare and contrast the characteristics and importance of currency.
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Identify and analyze the role of markets from production through distribution to consumption.
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Identify and analyze factors to consider when making consumer decisions.
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Analyze the economic interdependence between nations (e.g., trade, finance, movement of labor).
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Identify human, natural, and capital resources and evaluate how these resources are used in the production of goods and services.
Subtest 3: Science
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of effective science instruction | 20% |
| 2 | Knowledge of the nature of science | 18% |
| 3 | Knowledge of physical sciences | 20% |
| 4 | Knowledge of Earth and space | 19% |
| 5 | Knowledge of life science | 23% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of effective science instruction
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Analyze and apply developmentally appropriate researched-based strategies for teaching science practices.
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Select and apply safe and effective instructional strategies to utilize manipulatives, models, scientific equipment, real-world examples, and print and digital representations to support and enhance science instruction.
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Identify and analyze strategies for formal and informal learning experiences to provide a science curriculum that promotes students’ innate curiosity and active inquiry (e.g., hands-on experiences, active engagement in the natural world, student interaction).
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Select and analyze collaborative strategies to help students explain concepts, to introduce and clarify formal science terms, and to identify misconceptions.
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Identify and apply appropriate reading strategies, mathematical practices, and science-content materials to enhance science instruction for learners at all levels.
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Apply differentiated strategies in science instruction and assessments based on student needs.
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Identify and apply ways to organize and manage a classroom for safe, effective science teaching that reflect state safety procedures and restrictions (e.g., procedures, equipment, disposal of chemicals, classroom layout, use of living organisms).
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Select and apply appropriate technology, science tools and measurement units for students’ use in data collection and the pursuit of science.
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Select and analyze developmentally appropriate diagnostic, formative and summative assessments to evaluate prior knowledge, guide instruction, and evaluate student achievement.
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Choose scientifically and professionally responsible content and activities that are socially and culturally sensitive.
Competency 2—Knowledge of the nature of science
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Analyze the dynamic nature of science models, laws, mechanisms, and theories that explain natural phenomena (e.g., durability, tentativeness, replication, reliance on evidence).
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Identify and apply science and engineering practices through integrated process skills (e.g., observing, classifying, predicting, hypothesizing, designing and carrying out investigations, developing and using models, constructing and communicating explanations).
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Differentiate between the characteristics of experiments (e.g., multiple trials, control groups, variables) and other types of scientific investigations (e.g., observations, surveys).
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Identify and analyze attitudes and dispositions underlying scientific thinking (e.g., curiosity, openness to new ideas, appropriate skepticism, cooperation).
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Identify and select appropriate tools, including digital technologies, and units of measurement for various science tasks.
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Evaluate and interpret pictorial representations, charts, tables, and graphs of authentic data from scientific investigations to make predictions, construct explanations, and support conclusions.
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Identify and analyze ways in which science is an interdisciplinary process and interconnected to STEM disciplines (i.e., science, technology, engineering, mathematics).
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Analyze the interactions of science and technology with society including cultural, ethical, economic, political, and global factors.
Competency 3—Knowledge of physical sciences
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Identify and differentiate among the physical properties of matter (e.g., mass, volume, texture, hardness, freezing point).
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Identify and differentiate between physical and chemical changes (e.g., tearing, burning, rusting).
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Compare the properties of matter during phase changes through the addition and/or removal of energy (e.g., boiling, condensation, evaporation).
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Differentiate between the properties of homogeneous mixtures (i.e., solutions) and heterogeneous mixtures.
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Identify examples of and relationships among atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds.
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Identify and compare potential and kinetic energy.
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Differentiate among forms of energy, transformations of energy, and their real-world applications (e.g., chemical, electrical, mechanical, heat, light, sound).
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Distinguish among temperature, heat, and forms of heat transfer (e.g., conduction, convection, radiation).
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Analyze the functionality of an electrical circuit based on its conductors, insulators, and components.
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Identify and apply the characteristics of contact forces (e.g., push, pull, friction), at-a-distance forces (e.g., magnetic, gravitational, electrostatic), and their effects on matter (e.g., motion, speed).
Competency 4—Knowledge of Earth and space
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Identify characteristics of geologic formations (e.g., volcanoes, canyons, mountains) and the mechanisms by which they are changed (e.g., physical and chemical weathering, erosion, deposition).
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Identify and distinguish among major groups and properties of rocks and minerals and the processes of their formations.
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Identify and analyze the characteristics of soil, its components and profile, and the process of soil formation.
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Identify and analyze processes by which energy from the Sun is transferred (e.g., radiation, conduction, convection) through Earth’s systems (e.g., biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere).
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Identify and analyze the causes and effects of atmospheric processes and conditions (e.g., water cycle, weather, climate).
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Identify and analyze various conservation methods and their effectiveness in relation to renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.
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Analyze the Sun-Earth-Moon system in order to explain repeated patterns such as day and night, phases of the Moon, tides, and seasons.
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Compare and differentiate the composition and various relationships among the objects of our Solar System (e.g., Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, comets).
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Identify major events in the history of space exploration and their effects on society.
Competency 5—Knowledge of life science
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Identify and compare the characteristics of living and nonliving things.
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Analyze the cell theory as it relates to the functional and structural hierarchy of all living things.
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Identify and compare the structures and functions of plant and animal cells.
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Classify living things into major groups (i.e., Linnaean system) and compare according to characteristics (e.g., physical features, behaviors, development).
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Compare and contrast the structures, functions, and interactions of human and other animal organ systems (e.g., respiration, reproduction, digestion).
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Distinguish among infectious agents (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites), their transmission, and their effects on the human body.
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Identify and analyze the processes of heredity and natural selection and the scientific theory of evolution.
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Analyze the interdependence of living things with each other and with their environment (e.g., food webs, ecosystems, pollution).
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Identify and analyze plant structures and the processes of photosynthesis, transpiration, and reproduction (i.e., sexual, asexual).
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Predict the responses of plants to various stimuli (e.g., heat, light, gravity).
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Identify and compare the life cycles and predictable ways plants and animals change as they grow, develop, and age.
Subtest 4: Mathematics
An on-screen four-function calculator and an on-screen reference sheet will be provided.
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Total Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of integers, decimals, and fractions in base-10 | 29% |
| 2 | Knowledge of algebraic reasoning | 15% |
| 3 | Knowledge of measurement, data analysis, and statistics | 14% |
| 4 | Knowledge of geometric concepts | 15% |
| 5 | Knowledge of student reasoning and instructional practices | 27% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of integers, decimals, and fractions in base-10
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Apply concepts of prime and composite numbers, multiples, and factors in performing arithmetic operations with integers and fractions.
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Identify and apply arithmetic strategies based on place value (e.g., composing, decomposing, regrouping, compensating) to perform multidigit operations.
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Compare integers, decimals, and fractions (e.g., integers and positive fractions with positive exponents, rounding) and identify their positions on a number line.
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Apply the four arithmetic operations to solve problems involving integers, decimals, fractions, and percentages, represented by visual models, equations, and algorithms.
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Identify and apply strategies for building fluency with addition, subtraction, and multiplication of multidigit whole numbers (e.g., visual models, partial sums and products, arrays and area models, compensation, inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and between multiplication and division).
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Select appropriate representations (e.g., number line, area, set model) for problems or solutions involving fractions.
Competency 2—Knowledge of algebraic reasoning
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Interpret and extend multiple representations of numerical patterns and linear relationships represented by tables, graphs, equations, expressions, and verbal descriptions.
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Select an algebraic expression, equation, or inequality that represents a real-world situation.
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Apply operations (e.g., associative, commutative, distributive properties) and the properties of equality to solve single-variable equations and inequalities, and determine whether two algebraic expressions are equivalent.
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Apply the concept of substitution to evaluate algebraic expressions with integer coefficients (e.g., expressions with exponents, expressions with nested parentheses).
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Analyze and apply methods (e.g., models, estimation, reasonableness of solutions) to solve mathematical and real-world multistep problems (e.g., fractions, decimals, interpreting remainders within context) involving any of the four arithmetic operations.
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Solve mathematical and real-world problems involving comparisons, mixtures, measurement conversions, percentages, rates and unit rates, using ratios to represent relationships between numerical quantities.
Competency 3—Knowledge of measurement, data analysis, and statistics
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Calculate and evaluate the appropriateness of statistical measures of central tendency and variability based on real-world context and the shape of the data distribution.
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Analyze and interpret rational number data presented in various ways (i.e., stem-and-leaf plots, box plots, line plots, histograms, tables, bar graphs, circle graphs).
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Convert standard measurement units within the same measurement system (e.g., metric, U.S. customary) to solve single- and multi-step, mathematical, and real-world problems.
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Select appropriate units to solve problems involving measurement and estimation of time, money, distance, volume, mass/weight, and temperature.
Competency 4—Knowledge of geometric concepts
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Apply geometric properties and relationships to solve real-world problems involving perimeter and area of triangles and quadrilaterals (e.g., figures that can be decomposed into triangles and quadrilaterals; figures with decimal, fractional, or unknown side lengths).
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Apply geometric properties and relationships to solve real-world problems involving volume and surface area of right rectangular prisms and right rectangular pyramids using nets and volume of right rectangular prisms (e.g., figures with decimal, fractional, or unknown side lengths, decomposing figures into right rectangular prisms and pyramids).
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Select ordered pairs of rational numbers, and determine the perimeter and area of rectangles plotted on the coordinate plane by calculating distances between two points with a common coordinate.
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Classify attributes (e.g., number of sides, lengths of sides, right angles, lines of symmetry) of 2D figures in a hierarchy based on mathematical properties (e.g., a rectangle is also a trapezoid).
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Classify attributes (e.g., number of faces, lengths of edges, straight or curved edges) of 3D figures (e.g., prisms, pyramids, cylinders, spheres), using mathematical terms (e.g., faces, edges, vertices).
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Identify and evaluate angles (e.g., the use of the additive property of angle measure to determine unknown angle measures) and relationships between lines, using mathematical terminology (e.g., acute, obtuse, straight, reflex, parallel, perpendicular).
Competency 5—Knowledge of student reasoning and instructional practices
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Identify and apply appropriate mathematical concepts, procedures, skills, and professional vocabulary to evaluate student work.
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Analyze and interpret individual student mathematics assessment data (e.g., diagnostic, formative, progress monitoring, summative) to guide instructional decisions and differentiate instruction.
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Select and analyze instructional methods and tools, including technology (e.g., interactive whiteboards, computers), for small and large groups of students according to the cognitive complexity of a task and students’ needs.
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Analyze learning progressions to demonstrate how students’ mathematical knowledge and skills develop over time among concrete, representational, and abstract modes of understanding.
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Distinguish among the stages of students’ mathematical fluency (i.e., exploration, procedural reliability, procedural fluency) and recognize the role played by automaticity in each of those stages.
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Identify and apply the use of mathematical thinking (e.g., use of patterns, structures, real-world contexts, and multiple representations; assessing the reasonableness of solutions).
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Identify and apply instructional methods to reinforce connections between mathematical topics within a grade level, across subject areas within a grade level, and the progression of mathematical topics from one grade level to the next.
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Identify and apply appropriate instructional strategies for problem solving (e.g., drawing a picture, making a table, acting it out, writing an expression or equation).