NES Early Childhood (833) Practice Tests

Competencies 01–03 make up about 26% of the test. They ask you to understand the science, including neuroscience, of child development and learning and its application to provide and differentiate experiences that holistically promote early childhood development across all domains for all children; understand the foundations of language development and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based methods for supporting children's emergent literacy development; understand the foundations of writing development and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based strategies for promoting children's emergent writing skills and writing competence.

• Competency 0001: Understand the science, including neuroscience, of child development and learning and its application to provide and differentiate experiences that holistically promote early childhood development across all domains for all children. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of physical, sensory, social, emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development on learning; the distinction between variations in development and disabilities; and the implications of variations in development on instruction; Demonstrate knowledge of the importance of providing learning opportunities that are interdisciplinary and connected to children's life experiences across multiple contexts (e.g., home, school, community); Apply knowledge of the importance of play and exploration in the learning process, including the role of play in constructing knowledge, building relationships, and expanding problem-solving abilities, and in the development of cognitive, linguistic, executive function, social, and emotional skills; Demonstrate knowledge of how to create and adapt developmentally appropriate schedules, routines, and learning activities that are responsive to diverse social and cultural experiences and promote the development and learning of all children; Apply knowledge of criteria and procedures for selecting and modifying materials, equipment, and activities to plan, differentiate, and adjust instruction that addresses and accommodates individual strengths and needs; Analyze and adapt meaningful and challenging curricula for each child based on individual factors (e.g., family context, developmental characteristics, current knowledge and skills, assessment results, readiness to learn, language development) to promote development and learning; Apply knowledge of developmentally and culturally appropriate positive guidance strategies that promote social and emotional development, including self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, self-management, and responsible decision-making; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's developmental and learning strengths and needs (e.g., family input, observations, evidence-based screening tools, other assessments).
• Competency 0002: Understand the foundations of language development and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based methods for supporting children's emergent literacy development. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of language development, characteristics and uses of various modes of communication, and strategies for promoting children's expressive and receptive language and social communication skills (e.g., interpreting and using nonverbal cues, reciprocal communication, perspective taking) in various contexts and for a variety of purposes (e.g., group discussions, role-playing, storytelling); Demonstrate knowledge of methods for creating experiences that promote all children's listening skills, comprehension of language, vocabulary, oral expression, and ability to communicate with increasing proficiency and confidence; Recognize the reciprocal relationship among listening, speaking, reading, writing, and communicating; factors that may affect children's development of early literacy skills; and indicators that a child is experiencing challenges that may lead to difficulties in learning to read and write; Demonstrate knowledge of the influence of cultural, economic, and linguistic diversity on language development and learning, including processes and instructional practices that simultaneously support first- and second-language acquisition; Demonstrate knowledge of approaches for effectively selecting and integrating literary and informational texts across the curriculum to create meaningful, culturally diverse, inclusive, and literacy- and language-rich learning experiences and environments; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's understanding and acquisition of early literacy skills by using ongoing assessment to monitor progress and inform instruction.
• Competency 0003: Understand the foundations of writing development and developmentally appropriate, evidence-based strategies for promoting children's emergent writing skills and writing competence. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of developmental stages of writing (e.g., preliterate, pre-emergent, emergent); factors that affect the development of writing skills; and methods and tools that promote writing; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for integrating writing across content areas (e.g., history and social science, science, the arts, mathematics, English language arts); Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting children's writing abilities through interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational modes of communication and for promoting children's understanding of the varied purposes for writing (e.g., expressive, functional); Demonstrate an understanding of the influence of a first language other than English on the development of writing and of approaches for incorporating children's linguistic and cultural backgrounds to promote writing; Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies, such as using well-crafted texts, for promoting children's ability to produce clear and coherent writing, develop and strengthen writing, and use technology to produce and publish writing; Apply knowledge of instructional strategies for promoting children's ability to conduct research, gather and recall relevant information from literary and informational texts, and effectively present knowledge; Apply knowledge of instructional strategies, including exploration and representational play, for supporting children's ability to write for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's understanding and acquisition of literacy skills related to emergent writing by using ongoing assessment to monitor progress and inform instruction.

Competencies 04–05 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to understand concepts and processes of mathematics as they apply to early childhood education; demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate instruction to promote mathematics learning.

• Competency 0004: Understand concepts and processes of mathematics as they apply to early childhood education. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of developmental foundations and progressions related to counting and cardinality (e.g., counting, recognition of numerals, one-to-one correspondence, comparing qualitative values, addition and subtraction, subitizing); Demonstrate knowledge of developmental foundations and progressions related to operations and algebraic thinking (e.g., conservation of number, modeling mathematical operations, addition and subtraction equations); Demonstrate knowledge of developmental foundations and progressions related to number and operations in base ten (e.g., place value, understanding place value to add and subtract); Demonstrate knowledge of developmental foundations and progressions related to measurement and data (e.g., collecting, interpreting, and representing data; time and money; measurement systems); Demonstrate knowledge of developmental foundations and progressions related to geometry (e.g., recognizing geometric shapes by attribute, exploring and comparing geometric shapes); Demonstrate knowledge of the progression of children's understanding of multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals and recognize the foundational skills necessary for analyzing and performing operations using fractions and decimals; Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts that may affect children's mathematical learning and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties in mathematics (e.g., limited understanding of foundations of number structures, limited procedural fluency to perform basic computations, limited access to opportunities that build knowledge in fundamental mathematics concepts); Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics and progressions in children's development of mathematical understanding, including processes and skills related to using mathematical language to represent, communicate, and connect mathematical concepts and procedures; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for integrating mathematical content into children's exploration and play (including representational play), into everyday activities, and across other content areas.
• Competency 0005: Demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate instruction to promote mathematics learning. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of instructional strategies, models, tools, and resources for developing and expanding children's ability to engage in the Standards for Mathematical Practice to make sense of and persevere in solving problems; reason abstractly and quantitatively; construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others; model with mathematics; use appropriate tools strategically; attend to precision; look for and make use of structure; and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning; Describe methods for planning and delivering mathematical instruction to promote understanding of concepts, skills, and applications related to mathematics by all children; Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's development of counting and cardinality; Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's ability to understand operations and develop algebraic thinking to support problem solving and abstract and quantitative reasoning (e.g., properties of operations, number and shape patterns); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's ability to apply and understand place value and properties of operations to round, add, and subtract, including attention to the vertical progression of key mathematical concepts (e.g., forward and backward number sequences, place value, composition and decomposition of numbers); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's ability to understand measurable attributes of objects, make measurements using various systems and standard and nonstandard units, solve problems using measurement, and represent and interpret measurement data; Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's ability to identify, compose/decompose, describe, analyze, compare, and reason using shapes and shape attributes; draw and identify lines and angles; and classify shapes by properties of lines and angles; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's understanding and acquisition of mathematics concepts and skills by using ongoing assessment to monitor progress and inform instruction.

Competencies 06–07 make up about 17% of the test. They ask you to understand principles and concepts of history and social science as they apply to early childhood education; demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate, content-specific instruction to promote history and social science learning.

• Competency 0006: Understand principles and concepts of history and social science as they apply to early childhood education. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of how to advance social and emotional learning through history and social science by encouraging students to collaborate respectfully with diverse peers, fostering children's ability to understand the fundamental needs and rights of others, and helping children understand how their own unique experiences and ideas influence their perceptions and feelings about history and current situations; Demonstrate knowledge of effective instructional strategies that encourage honest and informed academic discussions about prejudice, racism, and bigotry in the past and present; Identify problematic narratives and instructional strategies that conflict with current historical scholarship and pedagogy and that uphold prejudice, racism, and bigotry; Demonstrate knowledge of inquiry-based learning experiences, materials, and resources for fostering children's understanding of foundational concepts relating to history, geography, civics, and economics; Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts in history (e.g., chronology and the passage of time, unity and diversity in the United States, shared traditions, migrations, cultures); Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts in geography (e.g., cardinal directions, physical and political features of maps); Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts in civics and the challenges and inherent dilemmas of democracy (e.g., leadership and citizenship, fairness and justice, diversity and membership in a community, elections, government); Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts in economics (e.g., exchange of goods and services; relationship between industry, resources, and employment; earning income and saving).
• Competency 0007: Demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate, content-specific instruction to promote history and social science learning. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of the Standards for History and Social Science Practice for developing and expanding children's ability to demonstrate civic knowledge skills and dispositions; develop questions and conduct inquiries; organize information from various sources; analyze point of view; evaluate credibility; make conclusions; and take informed action; Apply knowledge of instructional practices that engage children with history and social science, and identify strategies for integrating history and social science content into children's play (including representational play), into their everyday lives, and across content areas; Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's understanding of significant concepts, eras, events, and themes in local, state, national, and global history (e.g., unity and diversity, the American Revolution, migration); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to support children's understanding of geographic concepts and the interconnections between geography, society, and culture (e.g., map characteristics and landforms, world cultures, conflict); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional practices to promote children's understanding of economic and civic principles (e.g., work and commerce, leadership, elections); Apply knowledge of instructional strategies for supporting children's understanding of the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens and members of a community (e.g., school community, kindness and citizenship, fairness); Apply knowledge of strategies for creating learning experiences that promote appreciation and understanding of and respect for all people and social groups using culturally diverse and inclusive materials, activities, resources, and instruction; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for integrating core content, practice, and literacy standards across the various domains of history and social science; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's understanding of history and social science concepts and skills by using ongoing assessment to monitor progress and inform instruction.

Competencies 08–09 make up about 17% of the test. They ask you to understand principles and concepts of science and technology/engineering as they apply to early childhood education; demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate, content-specific instruction to promote science and technology/engineering learning.

• Competency 0008: Understand principles and concepts of science and technology/engineering as they apply to early childhood education. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts and processes of Earth and space science (e.g., observing weather patterns and changing seasons, identifying where water is found on Earth, exploring the impact of human activity on the environment); Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts and processes of life science (e.g., comparing physical traits of plants and animals, investigating the interdependence between plants and animals, observing living things in different ecosystems); Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts and processes of physical science (e.g., investigating physical properties of various materials, examining the effects of friction on object speed and temperature, exploring sounds made by vibrating materials); Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts and processes of technology/engineering (e.g., defining a simple design problem, gathering information about situations that need to be changed, comparing solutions to a design problem).
• Competency 0009: Demonstrate the ability to provide developmentally appropriate, content-specific instruction to promote science and technology/engineering learning. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of the Science and Engineering Practices for developing and expanding children's ability to engage in asking questions; defining problems/needs; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; using mathematical and computational thinking; constructing explanations and designing solutions; using evidence to engage in scientific argument; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information to learn science and engineering content (e.g., using a model to compare how plants and animals depend on their surroundings, analyzing data to identify weather patterns, using observations to construct an explanation, conducting an investigation of light and shadows); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies, including play and experiential learning, for promoting children's understanding and application of concepts of Earth and space science (e.g., locating bodies of water; identifying the movement patterns of the Sun, Moon, and stars; exploring solutions to reduce the use of natural resources); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies, including play and experiential learning, for promoting children's understanding and application of concepts of life science (e.g., identifying the structure and function of plant parts, observing the interaction between plants and animals in the environment, exploring the diversity of insects in different habitats); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies, including play and experiential learning, for promoting children's understanding and application of concepts of physical science (e.g., observing reversible chemical reactions, classifying different kinds of materials, designing a device to send a signal using sound); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies, including play and experiential learning, for promoting children's understanding and application of concepts of engineering (e.g., using physical and visual models to represent solutions, generating multiple solutions to design problems, comparing the strengths and weaknesses of design solutions); Demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies for integrating core disciplinary content and the Science and Engineering Practices across content areas; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for effectively assessing children's understanding of science and engineering concepts and practices by using ongoing assessment to monitor progress and inform instruction; Demonstrate knowledge of foundational concepts that may affect children's science learning and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties in science and engineering (e.g., limited access to learning opportunities that build knowledge in fundamental science concepts).

Competencies 10, 11 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to prepare an organized, well-developed analysis on a topic related to the development of concepts and processes related to history and social science or science and technology/engineering; prepare an organized, well-developed analysis on a topic related to the development of concepts and processes related to mathematics. History/Social Science or Science/Technology/Engineering Concepts and Processes 10%; Mathematics Concepts and Processes 10%.

• Competency 0010: Prepare an organized, well-developed analysis on a topic related to the development of concepts and processes related to history and social science or science and technology/engineering. Skills tested: Analyze, interpret, and discuss an individual child's work sample in history and social science or science and technology/engineering; Select appropriate examples from the child's work sample that indicate strengths and needs related to history and social science or science and technology/engineering content and/or practices; Select and describe developmentally appropriate strategies, activities, and instruction to promote the child's identified strengths and address the child's identified needs in history and social science or science and technology/engineering.
• Competency 0011: Prepare an organized, well-developed analysis on a topic related to the development of concepts and processes related to mathematics. Skills tested: Analyze, interpret, and discuss an individual child's work sample in mathematics; Select appropriate examples from the child's work sample that indicate strengths and needs related to mathematics; Select and describe developmentally appropriate strategies, activities, and instruction to promote the child's identified strengths and address the child's identified needs in mathematics.