NES Early Childhood Education (Age 3–Age 8) (107) Practice Tests

Competencies 0001–0004 make up about 27% of the test. They ask you to understand child development from ages 3 to 8, including developmental, heritage-based, linguistic, and other differences among children, and factors that influence young children's development and learning; understand how to create positive learning environments that are welcoming, safe, and challenging and that support linguistic differences and acceptance of all students; understand how to design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences and instruction in order to promote all children's development and learning, and more.

• Competency 0001: Understand child development from ages 3 to 8, including developmental, heritage-based, linguistic, and other differences among children, and factors that influence young children's development and learning. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of theories of development and stages and processes of development in various domains (e.g., physical-motor, sensory, aesthetic, social-emotional, cognitive, language); Apply knowledge of the relationships between development in one domain and development in other domains (e.g., relationships between first- and second- language development and aspects of cognitive and social-emotional development; relationships between social-emotional development and learning); Demonstrate knowledge of individual differences in development, including similarities and differences between children who are developing typically and those with special needs or talents, and developmental patterns associated with developmental delays and specific disabilities; Demonstrate knowledge of factors related to young children's development of self-concept, self-discipline, motivation, and autonomy, including decision- making, self-assessment, and self-help skills; Demonstrate knowledge of the influence of stress and trauma, protective factors, and resilience; and supportive relationships on the cognitive and social- emotional development of young children. 10/17.
• Competency 0002: Understand how to create positive learning environments that are welcoming, safe, and challenging and that support linguistic differences and acceptance of all students. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of methods for creating and managing supportive and challenging learning environments that provide opportunities for individual children and collaborative groups to construct their own knowledge and engage in decision-making, problem-solving, and inquiry experiences (i.e., Developmentally Appropriate Practice [DAP]); Apply knowledge of practices for creating and adapting safe indoor and outdoor learning environments that encourage active involvement, initiative, responsibility, and a growing sense of autonomy; Apply knowledge of methods for creating a physical environment that is linguistically and culturally responsive and meets the needs of all young children, including those with exceptionalities (e.g., disabilities, gifts, talents); Demonstrate knowledge of effective, developmentally and culturally appropriate schedules and routines in early childhood education, and analyze ways in which physical settings, schedules, routines, and transitions affect children's development and learning; Apply knowledge of how to integrate technology and other instructional resources into the learning environment to provide opportunities for differentiation; increase meaningful access to the curriculum and instructional goals; and enhance the communicative, cognitive, academic, and social skills of young children, including those with disabilities, developmental delays, gifts and talents, and linguistic and cultural differences; Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate and effective individual and group management strategies, including best practices for meeting the needs of young children with challenging behaviors. 10/17.
• Competency 0003: Understand how to design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences and instruction in order to promote all children's development and learning. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of how to develop activities and instruction that build on children's individual interests, backgrounds, and prior knowledge; respond to children's strengths and needs; develop young children's self-confidence and self-esteem; and promote the development of prerequisite skills and positive dispositions toward learning in the content areas; Demonstrate knowledge of the continuum of teaching strategies—from child- initiated to teacher-guided learning—for promoting children's learning, including ways to capitalize on incidental and spontaneous learning opportunities for instruction and ways to use the environment, daily routines, and personal and social interactions to teach young children; Apply knowledge of developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate strategies for facilitating children's exploration and learning in varied contexts, including strategies for helping children reflect on their own thinking and learning; Apply knowledge of methods for selecting safe, nonbiased, and developmentally appropriate learning resources, materials, and technology to meet the needs of young children; Apply knowledge of the multiple functions and roles of play in young children's development and learning; Apply knowledge of effective strategies for evaluating, adjusting, and scaffolding learning experiences and instructional practices in response to feedback from young children. 10/17.
• Competency 0004: Understand the goals, benefits, types, and uses of assessment to support young children and families. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, uses, and limitations of formal and informal assessment tools and strategies (e.g., teacher observations, portfolios, peer assessments, parent/guardian interviews, checklists, rubrics, screening tools, standardized tests); and how to determine the appropriateness of specific assessment tools and strategies for given purposes (e.g., legal and ethical assessment issues, responsible assessment practices); Apply knowledge of methods and procedures of gathering assessment data from multiple sources in order to make educational decisions about children; and how to maintain records of children's development, behavior, and progress in ways that safeguard confidentiality and privacy; Demonstrate knowledge of the influence of cultural and linguistic differences, developmental levels of learning, and teacher practices and academic expectations on the assessment outcomes of diverse learners; Demonstrate knowledge of the role of families as active participants in the assessment process of young children; and ways to involve families and other team members, as appropriate, in assessing children's development, strengths, and needs; Demonstrate knowledge of practices for interpreting assessment results and using such results to plan and modify instruction and to guide educational decisions about young children. 10/17.

Competencies 0005–0008 make up about 27% of the test. They ask you to understand oral language development in young children and how to provide learning experiences and instruction that encourage children's development of language and emergent literacy skills; understand the foundations of early literacy development and strategies for developing young children's proficiency in emergent literacy; understand instruction in reading and reading comprehension for young children, and more.

• Competency 0005: Understand oral language development in young children and how to provide learning experiences and instruction that encourage children's development of language and emergent literacy skills. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of stages and characteristics of young children's language acquisition and development as well as indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties or demonstrating advanced abilities in language development; Apply knowledge of developmentally appropriate strategies for promoting children's oral vocabulary, listening skills, and oral expression in varied contexts (e.g., interacting with peers and adults, exploring environments, responding to read-alouds and questioning); and creating a language-rich environment that encourages all children to learn to communicate effectively; Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between listening, speaking, and reading and strategies for building on the receptive and expressive language of all children (i.e., English speakers; English language learners; and children who use verbal, nonverbal, and alternative means of communication) to lay the foundations for formal reading instruction; Demonstrate knowledge of the influence of a home language other than standard English on oral language development and strategies for using English language learners' linguistic and cultural backgrounds to promote their listening and speaking skills; Apply knowledge of strategies and methods for integrating developmentally appropriate opportunities for meaningful language and communication into all areas of the early childhood curriculum. 10/17.
• Competency 0006: Understand the foundations of early literacy development and strategies for developing young children's proficiency in emergent literacy. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of literacy development, factors that affect the development of reading skills, and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties or demonstrating advanced abilities in reading; Apply knowledge of the role of phonological and phonemic awareness in early reading development, methods of assessing young children's phonological and phonemic awareness, and strategies for fostering the development of phonological and phonemic awareness; Demonstrate knowledge of concepts about print, ways to assess children's understanding of concepts about print, and strategies and resources for promoting understanding in this area; Demonstrate knowledge of the alphabetic principle and its significance for reading, ways to assess children's understanding of the alphabetic principle, and strategies for promoting skills and understanding in this area; Demonstrate knowledge of spelling development and its relationship to reading, stages of spelling development, ways to evaluate children's spelling development, and strategies and resources for promoting spelling skills; Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating literacy with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities; Demonstrate knowledge of rationales and strategies for involving families and other professionals in young children's literacy development. 10/17.
• Competency 0007: Understand instruction in reading and reading comprehension for young children. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of phonics and its role in decoding written language, ways to assess children's phonics skills, and strategies for promoting the development of phonics skills; Demonstrate knowledge of word-identification strategies other than phonics (e.g., syllabication, morphology, context cues), ways to assess children's use of word-identification strategies, and strategies for promoting word-identification skills; Demonstrate knowledge of the role of sight words in reading, ways to assess children's mastery of common irregular sight words, and strategies for promoting sight-word recognition; Demonstrate knowledge of the role of fluency in reading comprehension, ways to assess children's reading fluency, and strategies for promoting reading fluency; Demonstrate knowledge of the role of vocabulary development in reading, ways to assess children's vocabulary development, and strategies for promoting vocabulary development; Demonstrate knowledge of various reading comprehension strategies (e.g., previewing, questioning, self-monitoring, self-correcting, rereading), factors that affect reading comprehension, ways to assess children's use of reading comprehension strategies, and strategies and resources for promoting skills in this area; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting children's ability to locate, organize, and use information from various sources for purposes such as answering questions, solving problems, communicating ideas, and making logical connections; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for promoting children's literary response and analysis and for motivating children to read complex texts independently. 10/17.
• Competency 0008: Understand writing processes and strategies for developing children's writing competence. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the stages of children's writing development, factors that influence the development of writing skills (e.g., phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fine-motor skills), and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties in written language development or demonstrating advanced abilities in written language development; Apply knowledge of strategies and resources, including assistive technology, for promoting children's development and application of skills for communicating through writing; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for integrating writing instruction with the other language arts and other content areas; Demonstrate knowledge of how having a home language other than standard English may affect writing development and instruction and how to use children's linguistic and cultural backgrounds for promoting writing competence.

Competencies 0009–0013 make up about 33% of the test. They ask you to understand music, drama, creative movement, dance, and visual arts and how to facilitate arts learning for young children; understand health, safety, and physical activity and how to facilitate young children's learning about health and safety and participation in physical activities; understand mathematical concepts, processes, and skills and how to facilitate young children's mathematical learning, and more.

• Competency 0009: Understand music, drama, creative movement, dance, and visual arts and how to facilitate arts learning for young children. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of music and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant music experiences; Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of drama, creative movement, and dance; and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant drama, creative movement, and dance experiences; Demonstrate knowledge of the elements, principles, characteristics, tools, technologies, and materials of the visual arts and approaches for creating developmentally meaningful and culturally relevant art experiences; Recognize connections between the arts and effective approaches for integrating the arts with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities. 10/17.
• Competency 0010: Understand health, safety, and physical activity and how to facilitate young children's learning about health and safety and participation in physical activities. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles and practices of personal, interpersonal, and community health and safety relevant to children; Apply knowledge of strategies and procedures for promoting children's health and safety in the learning environment and strategies for promoting children's understanding and application of health and safety principles and practices; Demonstrate knowledge of various types of age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate motor skills and physical activities; indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties in motor skills development; and skills, techniques, and safety practices for engaging children in a variety of physical activities; Apply knowledge of how to plan activities for children, including integrating health and safety principles and physical activities with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities; strategies for modifying activities to address individual needs; and strategies for promoting young children's social skills, self-confidence, and enjoyment of movement and physical activities.
• Competency 0011: Understand mathematical concepts, processes, and skills and how to facilitate young children's mathematical learning. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts, processes, and skills related to the various areas of mathematics (e.g., number sense, operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, data analysis, probability); Identify characteristics of and processes in children's mathematical development and indicators that a child may be experiencing difficulties or demonstrating advanced abilities in mathematics; Apply knowledge of approaches for determining children's current mathematical knowledge and vocabulary; identifying their individual needs; and providing differentiated instruction that follows a logical progression, builds on previous learning, challenges children appropriately, and is well integrated across grades and developmental levels; Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources, including technology, for promoting children's understanding of foundational concepts and acquisition of mathematical skills, knowledge, and vocabulary; Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating mathematical content with other areas of the curriculum and with everyday activities; Demonstrate knowledge of rationales and strategies for involving families and other professionals in young children's mathematical development. 10/17.
• Competency 0012: Understand social studies concepts and skills and how to facilitate young children's learning in social studies. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of culture, geography, U.S. and world history, economics, and civics for children and the relationships between the areas of social studies; Demonstrate knowledge of processes, skills, technologies, and resources used in exploring and understanding social studies content and phenomena; Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources for promoting children's understanding of basic social studies concepts and acquisition of social studies skills, knowledge, and vocabulary; Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating social studies content with other areas of the early childhood curriculum and with everyday activities; Demonstrate knowledge of human diversity and strategies for promoting children's appreciation and understanding of and respect for all people.
• Competency 0013: Understand science concepts and skills and how to facilitate young children's learning in science. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of the life sciences, physical sciences, and Earth and space sciences for children; Demonstrate knowledge of processes, skills, technologies, and resources used in exploring and understanding science content and phenomena; Demonstrate knowledge of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and resources for promoting children's understanding of basic concepts and acquisition of science skills, knowledge, and vocabulary; Apply knowledge of approaches for integrating science content with other areas of the early childhood curriculum and with everyday activities. 10/17.

Competencies 0014–0015 make up about 13% of the test. They ask you to understand strategies for building positive, collaborative relationships with children's families, other professionals, and community agencies and organizations; understand the roles and responsibilities of early childhood educators.

• Competency 0014: Understand strategies for building positive, collaborative relationships with children's families, other professionals, and community agencies and organizations. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of family dynamics and its implications for building positive and supportive relationships with children and their families; Apply knowledge of strategies for initiating and sustaining communication with families to promote children's development and learning and for providing families with information, support, and resources; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for creating meaningful, respectful, and reciprocal relationships with all families and for engaging families' and communities' active participation in promoting children's development and learning; Demonstrate knowledge of the roles of other professionals, community agencies, and organizations that provide services to young children and their families and strategies for working effectively with such entities; Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for building collaborative partnerships with colleagues, supervisors, support staff, and administrators.
• Competency 0015: Understand the roles and responsibilities of early childhood educators. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and philosophical foundations of early childhood education and their influence on practices in the field; Recognize the roles and responsibilities of early childhood teachers (e.g., promoting children's learning; advocating for children, families, and early childhood programs; reporting suspected abuse and/or neglect); Demonstrate awareness of current issues and trends in programs and services for young children and their significance for early childhood professionals; Demonstrate knowledge of major laws, regulations, guidelines, and ethical standards related to early childhood education; Demonstrate knowledge of the responsibilities and requirements of early childhood teachers regarding the development of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs); Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for engaging in ongoing professional development and personal reflection, including developing, implementing, and evaluating professional development plans; Demonstrate knowledge of organizations, publications, and other resources relevant to the field of early childhood education; Demonstrate knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of early childhood teachers in regard to organizational skills (e.g., time management; record keeping; developing, implementing, and evaluating lesson plans). 10/17.