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GACECode: 720🍑 Georgia GaPSC100 Questions · 3 Testlets · 2h 30minGrades 6–12

GACE® Geography (6–12) (720)
Practice Test

Comprehensive preparation for prospective Georgia geography teachers in grades 6–12. Three testlets: 239 Physical and Environmental Geography (40 questions, 60 min), 240 Cultural and Political Geography (30 questions, 45 min), and 241 Population and Economic Geography (30 questions, 45 min). Taken together in 2 hours 30 minutes for $169, or individually at $56.50 each. Administered by Evaluation Systems of Pearson for GaPSC. Passing score: 220.

100
Questions
2h 30m
Time limit
220
Pass score
3
Domains
3
Testlets
$169
Combined fee
$56.50
Per testlet
4.9 · 12,400

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Three testlets — take together or separately. Testlet 239, 240, and 241 can each be scheduled individually for $56.50, or taken in a single 2h 30min appointment for $169. If you fail only one testlet, you retake and pay for that testlet alone. Register through your GaPSC MyPSC account at gace.es.pearson.com.

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Source: Testlet codes, question counts, timing, and fees verified directly from the official GACE Geography test page at gace.es.pearson.com/test/720. Content objectives drawn from the GACE Geography Assessment Study Companion (ETS for GaPSC, December 2023). The GACE program transitioned to Evaluation Systems of Pearson on July 1, 2025. Verify current requirements at gapsc.georgia.gov.

Geography (6–12) (720): Test at a Glance

Key facts confirmed from official GACE/GaPSC documentation. The GACE program transitioned from ETS to Evaluation Systems of Pearson on July 1, 2025.

ASSESSMENT CODE
720
GACE Geography (6–12)
TOTAL QUESTIONS
100
All three testlets combined
COMBINED TIME
2h 30m
All three in one appointment
PASSING SCORE
220
Scaled 100–300
COMBINED FEE
$169
All three testlets together
PER-TESTLET FEE
$56.50
Each taken individually
TESTLET 239
Physical & Environmental Geography
40 questions · 60 min
TESTLET 240
Cultural & Political Geography
30 questions · 45 min
TESTLET 241
Population & Economic Geography
30 questions · 45 min

About the GACE Geography (6–12) (720)

What the 720 tests, who takes it, and how the three-testlet structure works in practice.

The GACE Geography (6–12) (720) measures the professional knowledge of prospective teachers of Geography for grades 6–12 in Georgia. It is administered by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) through Evaluation Systems of Pearson, which replaced ETS as the GACE test provider effective July 1, 2025.

The exam is divided into three testlets: Testlet 239 Physical and Environmental Geography (40 questions, 60 min, $56.50), Testlet 240 Cultural and Political Geography (30 questions, 45 min, $56.50), and Testlet 241 Population and Economic Geography (30 questions, 45 min, $56.50). All three can be taken in a single 2-hour-30-minute appointment for $169, or individually for $56.50 each. If you fail only one testlet, you retake and pay for that testlet alone.

Testlet 239 is the largest at 40 questions and 60 minutes, covering geographic tools (maps, GIS, remote sensing), physical systems (weather, climate, landforms, biomes), and environment-society relationships (resources, hazards, climate change). Testlets 240 and 241 cover the human dimensions of geography — culture, language, religion, political geography, population dynamics, agriculture, and economic development — with Georgia-specific geography woven throughout all three testlets.

The passing score is 220 on a scaled score range of 100–300. There is no penalty for wrong answers — always answer every question. Registration is through the GaPSC MyPSC account at gace.es.pearson.com — not through ETS or praxis.ets.org.

Three Testlets at a Glance

Each testlet is a standalone assessment. Take all three in one 2h 30min session for $169, or individually for $56.50 each.

Testlet 239
Physical and Environmental Geography
Geographic tools (maps, GIS, remote sensing), weather and climate zones, landforms and tectonic processes, biomes, human-environment interaction, natural hazards, resource use, climate change, and Georgia physical geography.
40 questions · 60 min$56.50 individual
Testlet 240
Cultural and Political Geography
Language, religion, ethnicity, cultural diffusion, cultural landscapes, political geography (states, boundaries, sovereignty), supranational organizations, regional identity, world regions, and Georgia cultural geography.
30 questions · 45 min$56.50 individual
Testlet 241
Population and Economic Geography
Population dynamics, demographic transition model, migration, urbanization, agriculture (subsistence vs. commercial), economic development, globalization, world and U.S. regional geography, and Georgia population and economic geography.
30 questions · 45 min$56.50 individual

Official Exam Blueprint: 3 Testlets

Testlet codes, question counts, and fees from gace.es.pearson.com/test/720. Content objectives from the GACE Geography Assessment Study Companion.

Testlet 239
Physical and Environmental Geography
40q
60 minutes · Largest testlet
$56.50 individual
Geographic tools and map skills: types of maps (choropleth: area shading; isoline/isopleth: equal-value lines such as isobars for air pressure, isotherms for temperature; dot-density; proportional symbol; flow maps); map projections and their distortions (Mercator preserves direction but distorts area at high latitudes; only a globe accurately shows all four properties); mental maps; GIS (overlaying spatial data layers for analysis); remote sensing via satellite and aerial imagery; GPS; absolute vs. relative location; formal, functional, and perceptual/vernacular regions; Christaller’s central place theory; hierarchical diffusion of urban services.

Physical geography: weather factors and extreme events; climate zones (tropical A, dry B, temperate C, continental D, polar E, highland) and their controls — latitude, altitude, proximity to water, ocean currents, prevailing winds, continentality; the Gulf Stream warming Great Britain; the Alpine corridor enabling marine climate in Germany and Poland; the hydrologic cycle; tectonic processes (convergent: subduction → volcanic arcs and trenches; continent-continent: mountain building; divergent: rift valleys and mid-ocean ridges; transform: earthquakes); the Pacific Ring of Fire — Chile, Japan, Philippines, and New Zealand are in it; Brazil, Australia, and India are not; major landform types and geomorphic processes; Earth’s biomes and climatic controls; ecoregions of the United States.

Environment and society: human modifications of the environment; limitations of the physical landscape on settlement and how technology overcomes them; renewable vs. nonrenewable resources; alternative energy; population-resource relationships; climatic and seismic hazards and their geographic distribution; groundwater depletion (Ogallala Aquifer) and pollution; global climate change and its geographic consequences; Georgia: five physiographic regions (Appalachian Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Coastal Plain), Fall Line, Eastern Continental Divide, Tri-State Water Wars (ACF basin), Okefenokee Swamp, barrier islands (Golden Isles).
Testlet 240
Cultural and Political Geography
30q
45 minutes · Standard testlet
$56.50 individual
Cultural geography: components of culture — language families, lingua franca, official and endangered languages; world religions and their distribution; sacred sites and pilgrimage (Varanasi for Hindus, Mecca for Muslims); culture hearths — Eastern Mediterranean as the hearth for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; South Asia for Hinduism and Buddhism; the Huang He valley for Chinese civilization; cultural diffusion types — hierarchical (innovations spread first to large cities then down to smaller ones; global fashion is the canonical example), contagious (wave-like spread from a source), relocation (migrants carry culture), stimulus (concept spreads but is locally adapted); cultural landscapes (Spanish colonial landscape in California: mission-named cities, Camino Real, Mission San Juan Capistrano); formal, functional, and perceptual/vernacular regions; why perceptual regions are hard to define (criteria are subjective and vary among researchers).

Political geography:the state and sovereignty; boundary types — physical (rivers, mountain crests), cultural (language/religion), geometric (straight-line — common in Africa and the American West); antecedent, subsequent, and superimposed boundaries; colonialism’s geographic legacy; boundary disputes and geopolitical conflicts; supranational organizations (UN, NATO, EU, ASEAN, African Union); centripetal forces (national unity) vs. centrifugal forces (separatism, inequality); world regions — major and minor regions and their cultural/political characteristics; Georgia cultural geography: gentrification of Savannah’s historic district, Georgia’s demographic patterns, major cities and their geographic significance.
Testlet 241
Population and Economic Geography
30q
45 minutes · Standard testlet
$56.50 individual
Population geography: birth rate, death rate, natural increase rate, total fertility rate, infant mortality, population density; the demographic transition model (DTM) — Stage 1 (both high, slow growth), Stage 2 (death rate falls, rapid growth), Stage 3 (birth rate declines, growth slows), Stage 4 (both low, near-zero growth); reading population pyramids; push-pull factors in migration; contemporary U.S. immigration primarily from Asia and Latin America since the 1965 Hart-Celler Act; urbanization, suburbanization, deindustrialization (Detroit/Rust Belt), and gentrification.

Agricultural geography: origin and diffusion of agriculture; subsistence types — slash-and-burn (swidden) in the Amazon Basin, nomadic herding, intensive subsistence rice farming; commercial agriculture — Mediterranean (vineyards/orchards), Swiss Alps (dairy), Argentine Pampas (ranching/feedlots, all commercial); von Thünen’s agricultural land use model; the Green Revolution; industrialization of agriculture.

Economic geography:primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors; GDP per capita, HDI, GNI; Rostow’s stages; world-systems theory (core, semi-periphery, periphery); globalization; deindustrialization and the Rust Belt; resource export dependency (Venezuela/petroleum, Ivory Coast/cacao, Guatemala/coffee); world and U.S. regions; Georgia: Metro Atlanta as a logistics and financial hub, Coastal Plain agriculture, ACF basin water resource economics.

High-Priority Topics by Testlet

The most consistently tested concepts at the depth appropriate for a beginning Georgia secondary geography teacher.

Testlet 239

Physical and Environmental Geography — Top Topics

40q · 60 min
Map type selection: choropleth maps use area shading (darker = higher value); isoline maps connect equal values (isobar = air pressure, isotherm = temperature — not elevation; contour lines show elevation); dot-density uses one dot per unit; proportional symbol uses symbol size; flow maps show movement and direction. Exam pattern: “Which map type would BEST display X data?” An isobar map shows atmospheric pressure, not elevation
Climate controls beyond latitude: Gulf Stream raises temperatures for Great Britain; Alpine east-west orientation channels marine air into Germany and Poland; continentality causes Siberia’s extreme temperature ranges (largest in the world); rain shadow creates deserts on the leeward side of mountain ranges; altitude decreases temperature at ~3.5°F per 1,000 feet
Ring of Fire and tectonic boundaries: Chile, Japan, Philippines, and New Zealand are IN the Ring of Fire (convergent/subduction zones). Brazil, Australia, and India are NOT (stable continental interiors). Convergent (oceanic-continental) = subduction + volcanic arc + ocean trench. Divergent = rift valleys + mid-ocean ridges. Transform = earthquakes, no volcanoes (San Andreas Fault)
Georgia’s five physiographic regions NW to SE: Appalachian Plateau (tiny NW corner, coal), Ridge and Valley (parallel ridges/valleys, fertile soils), Blue Ridge (Brasstown Bald 4,784 ft, granite, river headwaters), Piedmont (red clay, Atlanta, most populous, Fall Line on south edge), Coastal Plain (flat, sandy, Golden Isles, Okefenokee). Fall Line cities: Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Milledgeville
Testlet 240

Cultural and Political Geography — Top Topics

30q · 45 min
Four diffusion types: hierarchical (large cities to small cities — global fashion trends); contagious (wave-like from a source — disease outbreaks); relocation (migrants carry culture to new places); stimulus (concept spreads but is locally modified — McDonald’s adapting menus). Know both the name and a real-world example for each type
Three region types: formal/uniform (shared characteristics throughout — Corn Belt); functional/nodal (activity around a central node — airline hub, metropolitan commuter zone); perceptual/vernacular (defined by cultural perception — “the South,” “Appalachia”). Perceptual regions are hard to define because their criteria are SUBJECTIVE, not because borders constantly change
Culture hearths: Eastern Mediterranean is the hearth for ALL THREE Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). South Asia is the hearth for Hinduism and Buddhism. The Spanish colonial cultural landscape in California (mission-named cities, Camino Real, Mission San Juan Capistrano) is evidence of Spanish colonialism, NOT Mexican military conquest or Victorian nostalgia
Political boundaries: geometric (straight-line) boundaries are common in Africa and the American West — many were superimposed by colonial powers without regard to ethnic groups, creating post-independence conflicts. The 1884 Berlin Conference divided Africa among European powers, creating superimposed boundaries that underlie many modern ethnic and political conflicts
Testlet 241

Population and Economic Geography — Top Topics

30q · 45 min
Demographic transition model (DTM): Stage 1 (both birth/death high, slow growth); Stage 2 (death rate drops, birth stays high, rapid growth — the “population explosion”); Stage 3 (birth rate begins falling, growth slows); Stage 4 (both low, near-zero growth — Japan, Germany, Italy). Reading population pyramids: wide base = Stage 2–3 (young, growing); narrow/inverted base = Stage 4 (aging). Japan’s pyramid shows a narrowing base reflecting low fertility
Subsistence vs. commercial agriculture: Amazon Basin slash-and-burn (swidden) = SUBSISTENCE (farmers grow only for household food needs). Swiss Alps dairy/cattle, Mediterranean vineyards/orchards, Argentine Pampas ranching/feedlots = ALL COMMERCIAL (production for market sale). Von Thünen’s model: most intensive perishable production (market gardening, dairy) nearest the market; extensive ranching or forestry farthest away
Deindustrialization and Detroit: deindustrialization = manufacturing jobs leave a region as production moves to lower-wage areas. Detroit lost its automotive manufacturing base from the 1960s onward, leaving abandoned factories and population decline. Detroit’s proposed response — demolishing abandoned neighborhoods and selling land to farmers — illustrates urban de-growth. The broader Rust Belt (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo) experienced the same manufacturing loss
Contemporary U.S. immigration since 1965: primary source regions for U.S. immigration since 1980 are Asia and Latin America — NOT Europe (which dominated before the 1965 Hart-Celler Act). The 1965 act abolished national-origin quotas favoring Europeans. Georgia has seen dramatic growth in its Latino population since the 1990s, particularly in poultry processing and construction sectors

Registration, Test Day & Scoring

Register through gace.es.pearson.com via your GaPSC MyPSC account. Not through ETS or praxis.ets.org.

Registration & Fees

Where to registergace.es.pearson.com (via MyPSC)
All three testlets$169.00
Testlet 239 alone$56.50
Testlet 240 alone$56.50
Testlet 241 alone$56.50
Program administratorEvaluation Systems of Pearson
Registration deadline2 full days before test date

Scoring

Score scale100–300 (scaled)
Passing score220
Wrong answer penaltyNone — answer every question
Unscored pretest itemsEmbedded; not identified
Unofficial scoreShown immediately after exam
Official score release~3 weeks after window closes

Test Day

Combined questions100 (3 testlets)
Combined testing time2 hours 30 minutes
Testlet 23940 questions · 60 min
Testlet 24030 questions · 45 min
Testlet 24130 questions · 45 min
Arrive30 min before scheduled time
ID requiredGovernment photo ID (original)

Standards Alignment

Geography standardsGeography for Life, 2nd ed. (2012)
Social studies standardsNCSS Curriculum Standards (2010)
State standardsGeorgia Standards of Excellence
Key journalsJournal of Geography; Social Education
Professional orgsNCGE, AAG, National Geographic

Who Needs the GACE Geography (6–12) (720)?

Certification requirements for Georgia geography teachers.

Georgia Requirement: The GACE Geography (6–12) (720) is required for candidates seeking a Georgia teaching certificate in Geography at the 6th–12th grade level. All three testlets (239, 240, and 241) must be passed to earn the full certification.

Registration: Candidates in a GaPSC-approved prep program need provider approval first. Post-program candidates register through their GaPSC MyPSC account at mypsc.gapsc.georgia.gov, then schedule at gace.es.pearson.com. The GACE transitioned from ETS to Evaluation Systems of Pearson on July 1, 2025.

No penalty for wrong answers. If you fail one testlet, retake only that testlet ($56.50). Always verify requirements at gapsc.georgia.gov.

How to Prepare for the GACE Geography (6–12) (720)

Strategies for a 100-question, three-testlet assessment covering the full breadth of secondary geography.

  • Testlet 239 is the largest (40 questions, 60 minutes) and warrants the most preparation time of the three. It spans geographic tools, physical geography, and environment-society relationships — the widest content range of any single testlet. Prioritize map type selection and climate controls, which are the two most frequently tested topic clusters within Testlet 239.
  • For Testlet 239 map skills: master which map type best displays which data type. Choropleth = shading by area (election results, GDP per capita); isoline = equal-value lines (isobars for pressure, isotherms for temperature); dot-density = dots per unit; flow maps = movement. Know the Mercator projection distorts area at high latitudes but preserves direction — and that only a globe is accurate in all four geographic properties.
  • For Testlet 240 (Cultural and Political Geography), the four diffusion types and three region types are the two highest-yield clusters. Know hierarchical (city to city, top-down), contagious (wave-like outward), relocation (with migrating people), and stimulus (adapted locally) diffusion with real examples. Know that a functional region is defined by activity around a node (airline hub), while a perceptual region is defined by subjective cultural identity (“the South”).
  • For Testlet 241 (Population and Economic Geography), master the demographic transition model deeply enough to apply it to unfamiliar countries. Practice reading population pyramids and linking their shape to a DTM stage. For agriculture, drill the subsistence vs. commercial distinction: Amazon Basin slash-and-burn = subsistence; Swiss Alps dairy, Argentine Pampas ranching, Mediterranean vineyards = commercial. The von Thünen model predicts intensity decreases with distance from market.
  • Georgia-specific content spans all three testlets and is unique to the GACE. Know Georgia’s five physiographic regions in sequence NW to SE; the Fall Line and its historic mill cities; the Eastern Continental Divide; the Tri-State Water Wars (ACF basin dispute between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida); and the gentrification of Savannah’s historic district. Official Study Companion Practice Questions 25 (Eastern Continental Divide) and 26 (Savannah gentrification) both test Georgia content directly.
  • Download the free official GACE Geography Assessment Study Companion from gace.es.pearson.com and work through all 26 practice questions with their rationales. The Study Companion is the closest publicly available representation of real exam content. The answer rationales explain the geographic reasoning that the exam rewards — studying them is often more valuable than simply checking whether your answer was right.

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers sourced from the official GACE Geography test page at gace.es.pearson.com/test/720 and the GACE Geography Assessment Study Companion.

How many questions are on the GACE Geography (6–12) (720)?
The GACE Geography (720) has 100 selected-response questions across three testlets: Testlet 239 Physical and Environmental Geography (40q, 60 min), Testlet 240 Cultural and Political Geography (30q, 45 min), and Testlet 241 Population and Economic Geography (30q, 45 min). Combined testing time is 2 hours 30 minutes.
How much does the GACE Geography (720) cost?
All three testlets in one appointment cost $169.00. Each testlet can be taken individually for $56.50. If you fail only one testlet, you register and pay $56.50 to retake that one testlet alone. Register at gace.es.pearson.com.
Can I take individual testlets separately?
Yes. Each testlet can be scheduled individually on separate dates for $56.50 each, or all three in a single 2h 30min appointment for $169. If you fail only one testlet, retake only that testlet without re-sitting the others.
What are the three testlets and what does each cover?
239 — Physical and Environmental Geography (40q, 60 min): geographic tools and map skills, weather and climate, landforms and tectonic processes, biomes, human-environment interaction, natural hazards, resource use, climate change, Georgia physical geography.

240 — Cultural and Political Geography (30q, 45 min): language, religion, ethnicity, cultural diffusion, cultural landscapes, political geography, boundaries, world regions, Georgia cultural geography.

241 — Population and Economic Geography (30q, 45 min): demographic transition model, migration, agriculture, economic development, globalization, world regions, Georgia population and economic geography.
What is the passing score for the GACE Geography (720)?
The passing score is 220 on a scaled range of 100–300. No penalty for wrong answers — always answer every question. Unofficial scores are shown immediately after the exam; official scores are released approximately 3 weeks after the testing window closes.
Where do I register for the GACE Geography (720)?
Register through your GaPSC MyPSC account at mypsc.gapsc.georgia.gov, then schedule at gace.es.pearson.com. The GACE transitioned from ETS to Evaluation Systems of Pearson on July 1, 2025 — registration is no longer through praxis.ets.org.
Does the GACE Geography (720) include Georgia-specific content?
Yes — Georgia geography appears across all three testlets. Key content: Georgia’s five physiographic regions (Appalachian Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Coastal Plain), the Fall Line and historic cities on it (Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Milledgeville), the Eastern Continental Divide in NE Georgia, the Tri-State Water Wars (ACF basin dispute between GA, AL, and FL), and gentrification of Savannah’s historic district. This content is unique to the GACE — no other teacher certification exam tests it.

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Adaptive practice questions covering all three testlets — Physical and Environmental Geography (239), Cultural and Political Geography (240), and Population and Economic Geography (241) — aligned to the official GACE 720 blueprint. Testlet-level analytics so you know exactly where to focus.

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Sources: GACE Geography (6–12) (720) official test page at gace.es.pearson.com/test/720 (Evaluation Systems of Pearson, 2025–26); GACE Geography Assessment Study Companion (ETS for GaPSC, December 2023); GaPSC Georgia Professional Standards Commission (gapsc.georgia.gov); NCGE — National Geography Standards: Geography for Life, 2nd ed. (2012); NCSS Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (2010); Association of American Geographers (AAG). GACE® is a registered trademark of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Evaluation Systems is a division of Pearson. Not affiliated with or endorsed by GaPSC or Pearson.
Last Updated: July 24, 2026