NES Early Childhood (801) Practice Tests

Competencies 0001–0002 make up about 25% of the test. They ask you to understand child development from prenatal through the early elementary years; understand child development and learning in students with disabling conditions or exceptionalities.

• Competency 0001: Understand child development from prenatal through the early elementary years. Skills tested: For example: major theories of child development and learning (e.g., Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg, Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky, brain research); characteristics and processes of cognitive, language, physical, social, emotional, and moral development within the cultural context of the family from prenatal through the early elementary years; developmental progressions and ranges of individual variation in cognitive, language, physical, social, emotional, and moral development within the cultural context of the family; factors that may facilitate or impede a child's development in various domains; how children use play to develop understanding and acquire knowledge; and interrelationships between cognitive development and other developmental domains.
• Competency 0002: Understand child development and learning in students with disabling conditions or exceptionalities. Skills tested: For example: types of disabilities, developmental delays, and exceptionalities; effects of disabling conditions on cognitive, physical, language, social, and emotional development and functioning; significance of disabling conditions and exceptionalities for aspects of development and learning; identification and evaluation of students with exceptional learning needs, including academically advanced or artistically talented students; criteria and procedures for selecting, creating, and modifying materials and equipment to provide differentiated instruction that addresses and accommodates individual students' strengths and challenges; legal requirements and responsibilities for providing education to students with special needs; purposes and procedures for developing and implementing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504s, and Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs); role and influence of family in development and learning; community resources to assist families; and child protection laws (e.g., mandated reporting).

Competencies 0003–0004 make up about 15% of the test. They ask you to understand children's literature, including genres, literary elements, and literary techniques; understand principles and concepts of writing for various purposes.

• Competency 0003: Understand children's literature, including genres, literary elements, and literary techniques. Skills tested: For example: major works and authors of nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature for young children; genres of children's literature and the characteristics of different genres; major themes associated with literature for young children; analysis of rhetorical and literary devices (e.g., analogies, metaphors, symbolism, repetition) in literature for young children; comparison of different styles and communicative purposes in children's literature; criteria for evaluating children's literature (e.g., reading level, literary quality, cultural diversity, interesting information, vocabulary richness, appealing plot, gender preferences, variety in settings and character types); analysis of excerpts of literature for young children in relation to style, theme, or point of view; and uses of literature for young children (e.g., providing exposure to high quality literary prose, enhancing other areas of the curriculum, promoting children's understanding of themselves and others).
• Competency 0004: Understand principles and concepts of writing for various purposes. Skills tested: For example: the developmental continuum of writing; knowledge and use of prewriting and drafting strategies, including techniques for generating topics and developing ideas (e.g., brainstorming, semantic mapping, outlining, reading and research); formal elements of good writing (e.g., paragraphing, topic sentences, cohesive transitions); revising written texts to improve unity, coherence, and logical organization; editing written work according to the conventions of edited American English; factors to consider in writing for various audiences and purposes (e.g., narration, expression, information, persuasion); formats and genres of writing (e.g., letter, poem, story, play); and use of various techniques to convey meaning (e.g., precise vocabulary, figurative language).

Competencies 0005–0007 make up about 40% of the test. They ask you to understand principles and concepts of mathematics; understand principles and concepts of history and social science; understand principles and concepts of science and technology/engineering.

• Competency 0005: Understand principles and concepts of mathematics. Skills tested: For example: mathematical terminology, symbols, and representations; number properties and number representations (e.g., cardinal and ordinal numbers; properties of real numbers; the base ten number system; fractions, decimals, and percents); standard arithmetical operations; number operations and computational techniques; patterns, relations, and functions (e.g., recognizing and analyzing patterns in numbers, shapes, and data, the translation of problem-solving situations into expressions and equations involving variables and unknowns); types and properties of geometric figures; basic geometric concepts (e.g., symmetry); relationship between standard algorithms and fundamental concepts of algebra and geometry; measurement instruments, units, and procedures for problems involving length, area, angles, volume, mass, and temperature; collection, organization, and analysis of data; and the application of mathematical reasoning to analyze and solve problems.
• Competency 0006: Understand principles and concepts of history and social science. Skills tested: For example: basic knowledge of major developments in the history of the United States and the world; origins, fundamental concepts, and historical development of western civilization (e.g., the political, philosophic, religious, intellectual, and aesthetic values of ancient Israel, Greece, and Rome; their political and historical influence; the development and influence of science and technology in western societies); basic concepts of geography; global features (e.g., continents, hemispheres, latitude and longitude, poles); major physical features and regions of the United States and world areas; basic economic and political concepts (e.g., representative government, popular sovereignty, supply and demand, market economy); purposes of government; functions of federal, state, and local government in the United States; how laws are enacted and enforced; democratic principles and values contained in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution (e.g., the rule of law, due process, equal protection of the laws, majority rule, protection of minority rights); and the responsibilities of U.S. citizens (e.g., respecting others' rights, obeying laws and rules, paying taxes, jury duty, voting).
• Competency 0007: Understand principles and concepts of science and technology/engineering. Skills tested: For example: foundations of scientific thought (e.g., reliance on verifiable evidence, reasoning, and logical arguments; avoidance of bias); major scientific discoveries and technological innovations; the relationship between science and technology; basic concepts and principles of life science (e.g., as related to cells, the human body, heredity, ecosystems); basic concepts and principles of the physical and earth sciences (e.g., as related to matter and energy, the motion of objects, the forces that shape the earth, the water cycle, the atmosphere and weather, the solar system); the role of science and technology in addressing ecological issues and problems; and principles and procedures of scientific inquiry and experimentation.

Competencies 0008–0008 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to prepare an organized, developed analysis that relates child development to two or more of the following: language arts, mathematics, history and social science, and science.

• Competency 0008: Prepare an organized, developed analysis that relates child development to two or more of the following: language arts, mathematics, history and social science, and science. Skills tested: For example: children's literature; mathematical concepts, reasoning, and problem solving; major developments in U.S. and world history; government and citizenship in the United States; basic principles of economics; geographic concepts, phenomena, and processes; basic concepts of science and technology; principles and procedures of scientific inquiry and experimentation; and child development during the early childhood years.