Study Guide
Mild/Moderate Middle/Secondary Multi-Content
Test Design and Framework
The test design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this test measures.
Test Design
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
|
| Time* |
|
| Passing Score | 220 per subtest; examinees must pass all four subtests |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Framework
Field 052: English Language Arts
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Test Score |
|
|---|---|---|
| 0011 | Reading, Vocabulary, and Analysis of Literary and Informational Texts | 35% |
| 0012 | Writing, Researching, and Language Conventions | 35% |
| 0013 | Speaking, Listening, and Presenting | 30% |
Competency 0011–Understand reading comprehension, vocabulary, and analysis and interpretation of literary and informational texts.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of phonics, syllabication patterns, English morphology (e.g., roots, affixes), and reading fluency and their role in word analysis, decoding, and reading comprehension.
- Demonstrate knowledge of factors that influence reading comprehension and research-based reading strategies to use for a particular text and purpose.
- Apply knowledge of a range of strategies for determining the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases.
- Apply understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings by interpreting figures of speech in context and analyzing denotative meanings of words.
- Apply knowledge of general academic (Tier Two) and domain-specific (Tier Three) words and phrases at the college- and career-readiness level.
- Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. and world literature, including seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance and literature written for adolescents and young adults, and literary nonfiction that represents a wide spectrum of cultural and historical traditions, genres, and experiences.
- Use textual evidence to support analysis of explicit and implicit meanings and themes and central ideas in literary and informational texts, and the development of character, setting, and plot in literary texts.
- Determine an author's viewpoint or purpose in an informational or persuasive text and analyze how the author uses rhetoric to advance that viewpoint or purpose.
- Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a persuasive text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient.
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a literary or informational text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings, and analyze the impact of an author's word choices on meaning and tone in a text.
Competency 0012–Understand strategies and techniques for writing and researching.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of strategies and techniques for writing arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and techniques for writing informative and explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and techniques for writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events, using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and techniques for producing clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and techniques for developing and strengthening writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to collaborate with others.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for generating a research question, narrowing or broadening inquiry, gathering relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively, and assessing the usefulness of each source in answering the research question.
- Apply knowledge of how to quote and paraphrase information and ideas from sources and how to follow a standard format for citations.
- Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
Competency 0013–Understand strategies for speaking and listening, engaging in collaborative discussions, and presenting knowledge and ideas.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for initiating and participating in collaborative, collegial discussions with diverse partners for the purpose of expressing ideas clearly and persuasively and for building on others' ideas.
- Apply knowledge of how to integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally), evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for evaluating a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
- Apply knowledge of how to organize and present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically in a way that supports listener comprehension and analysis and is appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance an audience's understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.
Field 053: Mathematics
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 0021 | Numbers and Operations | 30% |
| 0022 | Algebra and Functions | 30% |
| 0023 | Measurement, Geometry, Statistics, and Probability | 40% |
Competency 0021–Understand numbers and operations.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the relationships between the subsets of the real numbers.
- Translate between different representations of numbers.
- Apply the properties of numbers and operations in the base-10 system.
- Apply the principles of basic number theory (e.g., prime factorization, greatest common factor, least common multiple) to solve real-life and mathematical problems.
- Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving integers, fractions, decimals, and exponents.
- Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving ratios, proportions, and percent.
Competency 0022–Understand algebra and functions.
For example:
- Analyze patterns and relationships, including direct and inverse variation, and sequences and series.
- Analyze the properties of relations and functions using different representations (e.g., tables, graphs, equations, words).
- Manipulate (e.g., simplify, transform, factor) algebraic expressions, equations, and inequalities.
- Analyze the relationship between a linear or nonlinear equation and its representations (e.g., table, graph), and the effects of transformations on the graph of a function or relation.
- Create algebraic expressions or equations that model real-life and mathematical problems.
- Model and solve real-life and mathematical problems using systems of linear equations and inequalities.
- Solve a variety of real-life and mathematical problems using linear and nonlinear equations and inequalities.
Competency 0023–Understand measurement, geometry, statistics, and probability.
For example:
- Reason quantitatively and use units and unit conversions to solve problems.
- Solve measurement problems involving perimeter, area, volume, and scale, and proportional reasoning in two- and three-dimensional figures.
- Apply geometric concepts (e.g., symmetry, congruence, Pythagorean theorem) and the properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, and other polygons and circles to solve real-life and mathematical problems.
- Apply geometric concepts (e.g., distance, slope, transformations) to analyze and classify two- and three-dimensional figures and to solve problems in coordinate systems.
- Apply knowledge of central tendency and spread to describe and analyze data.
- Apply knowledge of methods for collecting, organizing, and displaying data in a variety of formats.
- Make inferences and justify conclusions from data presented in a variety of ways.
- Apply knowledge of basic concepts of probability, including the use of counting principles and visual representations, to determine the probabilities of simple and compound events.
Field 054: Science
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 0031 | Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts | 25% |
| 0032 | Biology | 25% |
| 0033 | Physical Science | 25% |
| 0034 | Earth and Space Science | 25% |
Competency 0031–Understand science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of the principles and procedures for designing and carrying out scientific investigations and maintaining safety in the classroom.
- Apply knowledge of the methods and criteria for collecting, recording, analyzing, modeling, and presenting scientific data and of the evidential basis of scientific claims.
- Apply knowledge of engineering design practices to solve a problem or address a need (e.g., defining problems, designing and evaluating solutions, optimizing solutions).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the materials and equipment used in the science classroom (e.g., microscopes, spring scales, stopwatches).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the crosscutting concepts that unite core ideas across the sciences and engineering (e.g., patterns, cause and effect, structure and function).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the development of major scientific discoveries and technological innovations, including contributions by men and women of diverse backgrounds.
- Analyze the relationships between science, technology, and society (e.g., how society affects scientific progress, the benefits and drawbacks of technological advances).
Competency 0032–Understand fundamental concepts of biology.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of the characteristics and life processes of plants, animals, and other living organisms (e.g., cell structure, respiration, photosynthesis).
- Identify ways in which organisms obtain, use, and store matter and energy and maintain homeostasis.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how systems in complex multicellular organisms, including humans, interact to carry out life processes and the causes, effects, and treatments of disease.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the multiple ways in which organisms are ordered and classified.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of biological evolution, including evidence used to explain how species change over time (e.g., the fossil record, adaptations).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the life cycles and reproductive patterns of common organisms.
- Apply knowledge of the basic principles of heredity governing the transmission of traits from one generation to the next.
- Analyze the flow of matter and energy through ecosystems and the interactions between organisms and their environment.
- Apply knowledge of the characteristics of and interactions between populations of organisms in an ecological community.
Competency 0033–Understand fundamental concepts of physical science.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic atomic structure and the composition, structure, and properties of elements, compounds, and mixtures, including solutions.
- Apply knowledge of the law of conservation of mass to the analysis of physical and chemical changes in matter, and analyze phase changes using the kinetic molecular theory.
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic chemical reactions and the characteristics of ionic, covalent, and metallic bonds.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the organization and use of the periodic table of elements.
- Recognize forms of energy, energy sources, and processes of energy transfer and transformations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of Newton's laws of motion and the effects of various types of forces on objects in given situations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of work and the properties and uses of simple machines and tools.
- Apply knowledge of the properties of light, sound, electricity, and magnetism.
Competency 0034–Understand fundamental concepts of Earth and space science.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the methods used to estimate geologic time and the evidence used to make inferences about the history of Earth.
- Apply knowledge of the composition, structure, and landforms of Earth's geosphere; the geologic processes that shape Earth's surface; and how the geosphere interacts with other Earth systems.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the processes involved in the rock cycle and the characteristics of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.
- Recognize the distinguishing properties of minerals and the methods used to classify them.
- Apply knowledge of the composition, structure, and processes of Earth's hydrologic and atmospheric systems, including weather and climate, and how these systems interact with each other.
- Identify types and characteristics of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources, their uses, and the effect of human activity on their availability and quality.
- Recognize types and characteristics of objects in the solar system (e.g., sun, planets, asteroids, comets, planetary satellites).
- Analyze the effects of the relative positions and motions of the sun, Earth, and moon (e.g., seasons, tides, eclipses).
Field 055: Social Science
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 0041 | History | 34% |
| 0042 | Geography | 33% |
| 0043 | Government and Economics | 33% |
Competency 0041–Understand basic historical concepts and major developments in Missouri, U.S., and world history.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of basic historical terms and concepts, such as nation-state, feudalism, modernization, and chronology.
- Demonstrate knowledge of major eras, themes, cultures, and chronological relationships in U.S., Missouri, and world history from precolonial times to the present.
- Recognize change and continuity in historical eras and examine the significance and lasting influence of events, issues, people, and developments in U.S., Missouri, and world history.
- Analyze cause-and-effect relationships between historical events and developments and assess the influence of geographic, social, economic, and cultural factors on the perspectives of people and major developments in different historical eras.
- Apply skills and procedures used in historical research, such as formulating research questions, distinguishing between primary and secondary sources, and assessing the appropriateness of various sources for specific inquiries.
- Demonstrate historical literacy, including identifying purpose and main ideas, distinguishing between fact and opinion, interpreting information represented in diverse visual formats, and recognizing assumptions in historical texts.
Competency 0042–Understand the fundamental principles and concepts of geography.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of basic geographic terms, the five fundamental geographic themes (i.e., location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region), and the six essential elements of geography (i.e., the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, and the uses of geography).
- Recognize the basic characteristics of maps and globes and the advantages and disadvantages of standard map projections.
- Demonstrate knowledge of physical systems, including the characteristics and locations of major landforms and bodies of water, the principal elements of climate, and ways in which physical processes shape the physical features of the earth.
- Demonstrate knowledge of human systems, including distinguishing characteristics of diverse cultures, major settlement and demographic patterns, and factors that influence conflict and cooperation within and among countries.
- Examine the interaction between the environment and human societies, including ways in which human societies modify the physical environment and adapt to environmental change, the effects of physical factors on the development of societies, and the causes and effects of current environmental problems.
- Apply skills and procedures used in geographic research, such as formulating research questions and assessing the appropriateness of various geographic reference sources, tools, and technologies for specific inquiries.
- Demonstrate geographic literacy, including identifying purpose and main ideas, distinguishing between fact and opinion, interpreting information represented in diverse visual formats, and recognizing assumptions in geographic texts.
Competency 0043–Understand the fundamental principles and concepts of government and economics.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of basic political science concepts and the foundations of government, including ideas contained in key historical documents; developments related to the emergence of democratic government; and ways in which societies enact civic virtues, promote the common good, and protect the rights of citizens.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental principles and key articles of the U.S. and Missouri constitutions; the operation of the U.S. political system; and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, including the skills needed for effective participation in public affairs.
- Recognize the functions, structure, and operation of government in the United States and Missouri, including ways in which federal, state, and local governments divide and share power and responsibility.
- Demonstrate knowledge of basic economic concepts and the operation of the U.S. and international economies, including the organization and characteristics of market economies, the role of government in the U.S. economy, and the principles of international economics.
- Apply knowledge of the basic principles of consumer economics and personal finance, including strategies for personal and family resource management.
- Apply skills and procedures used in political science and economic research, such as formulating research questions and assessing the appropriateness of various sources and research tools for specific inquiries.
- Demonstrate political science and economic literacy, including identifying purpose and main ideas, distinguishing between fact and opinion, interpreting information represented in diverse visual formats, and recognizing assumptions in political science and economic texts.