Study Guide
Health
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) and online-proctored test |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time* | 2 hours |
| Passing Score | 220 |
Test Framework
| Content Domain | Range of Competencies | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | Healthy Growth and Development | 0001–0004 | 30% |
| II. | Social, Emotional, and Mental Health | 0005–0007 | 24% |
| III. | Safety and Risk Reduction | 0008–0010 | 23% |
| IV. | Health Education, Literacy, and Advocacy | 0011–0013 | 23% |
Domain I–Healthy Growth and Development
Competency 0001–Understand the functioning and interrelationships of body systems and major stages of growth and development.
For example:
- Recognize basic structures and functions of major body systems.
- Apply knowledge of anatomy and physiology in relation to health, fitness, growth, and development.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the role of major body systems in healthy functioning and disease prevention.
- Demonstrate knowledge of sequences, stages, and characteristics of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth and development during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.
- Analyze the influences of lifestyle behaviors, environmental factors, genetics, and family history on growth, development, and overall health.
- Apply knowledge of cognitive, social, emotional, and physiological changes that accompany the transition from childhood to young adulthood.
Competency 0002–Understand the nature of disease, factors and behaviors that increase and decrease susceptibility to disease, and benefits of personal health and wellness practices.
For example:
- Distinguish among types, causes, and characteristics of communicable and noncommunicable illnesses and diseases.
- Apply knowledge of the importance of regular preventive health care and how to manage and prevent illness and disease, including the three levels of disease prevention.
- Analyze various influences and behaviors that increase and decrease susceptibility to disease.
- Recognize common childhood and adolescent health problems and appropriate strategies for resolving or preventing such problems.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the dimensions of wellness and the benefits of personal health and wellness practices.
- Describe methods of health screening and early detection used by individuals, public schools, and medical professionals.
- Evaluate the effects of public policies, health-care resources, medical research, and technology on the prevention and control of diseases.
Competency 0003–Understand core principles of nutrition and the importance of establishing healthy eating patterns.
For example:
- Recognize the sources, functions, and effects of essential nutrients, including how the lack or excess of particular nutrients affects energy levels and body composition.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to access and use nutritional planning tools and guidelines to establish, monitor, and achieve personal nutrition goals.
- Apply knowledge of how to interpret nutritional facts and labels and how to use this information to make informed decisions about nutrition and eating.
- Analyze nutritional needs, concerns, and requirements for various age levels, fitness levels, health conditions, and purposes.
- Demonstrate knowledge of principles of weight management and the importance of weight management to overall health and wellness.
- Apply knowledge of principles, methods, and criteria for designing, implementing, and monitoring personal nutrition and weight management plans.
- Analyze various influences on eating behaviors and how they affect the functioning of the human body and overall health.
- Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to establishing and maintaining lifelong healthy eating patterns.
Competency 0004–Understand the benefits of physical activity and principles and components of health-related physical fitness.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of how body and energy systems adapt to short- and long-term physical activity.
- Examine the health-related benefits of physical activity, factors that affect fitness and activity levels, and health risks associated with inactivity and low fitness levels.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the components of health-related physical fitness and appropriate principles and activities for maintaining and improving fitness.
- Describe concepts, approaches, and techniques for establishing personal fitness and physical activity goals.
- Apply knowledge of principles, methods, and criteria for designing, implementing, and monitoring physical activity plans, including plans for individuals with disabilities.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to establishing and maintaining lifelong physical activity.
Domain II–Social, Emotional, and Mental Health
Competency 0005–Understand principles and skills related to managing stress and maintaining mental and emotional health.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of factors and conditions that affect mental and emotional well-being.
- Recognize types and sources of stress; effects of stress on mental, social, and emotional health; and strategies for coping with stress and life changes in health-enhancing ways.
- Apply knowledge of risk factors, protective factors, characteristics, and conditions that foster or hinder mental, social, and emotional health and well-being.
- Demonstrate knowledge of warning signs and symptoms of mental distress, depression, self-destructive behaviors, and suicidal tendencies, as well as strategies and resources for addressing, reporting, and obtaining help for these conditions.
- Recognize behaviors and characteristics associated with individuals with eating disorders, short- and long-term effects of eating disorders, and strategies and resources for helping individuals with eating disorders.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to managing stress and maintaining mental and emotional health.
Competency 0006–Understand factors, issues, and concepts related to sexual health and reproductive health, as well as how to foster students' ability to abstain from, avoid, and prevent sexual risk behaviors.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of factors, issues, and concepts related to puberty and the male and female reproductive systems.
- Analyze issues and external influences related to the development of gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, and sexual orientation.
- Demonstrate knowledge of types, characteristics, modes of transmission, signs and symptoms, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV infection.
- Apply knowledge of practices, resources, and strategies for protecting sexual health and for preventing and minimizing sexual health risks, including unintended pregnancy, HIV infection, and other STIs.
- Demonstrate knowledge of principles, approaches, and resources for fostering students' ability to abstain from sexual activity.
- Describe practices, principles, and strategies for preventing, resisting, and avoiding unwanted sexual attention, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to foster students' ability to assess the relative risks of various sexual behaviors, understand their susceptibility to potential negative outcomes of those behaviors, and use goal-setting and decision-making skills to avoid sexual risk behaviors.
- Recognize the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy dating relationships and how to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to practice and maintain healthy relationships.
Competency 0007–Understand types and characteristics of interpersonal communication and relationships, as well as how to foster students' ability to use interpersonal communication skills to avoid health risks and maintain healthy relationships.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, components, and functions of verbal, nonverbal, and electronic interpersonal communication.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use interpersonal communication skills to develop and maintain healthy interpersonal, social, and family relationships.
- Recognize factors that contribute to developing, strengthening, and maintaining friendships and social support systems.
- Recognize how emotions affect interpersonal communication and how to express individual needs, desires, and feelings appropriately.
- Evaluate causes and effects of positive and negative peer pressure and communication techniques for resisting negative peer pressure.
- Apply knowledge of appropriate strategies, skills, and policies for preventing and addressing bullying, harassment, exclusion, and intimidation, including electronic forms.
- Demonstrate knowledge of steps, strategies, and processes used in conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well as how to use conflict management skills in various situations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of family roles and responsibilities, strategies for improving family relationships, changes and problems that occur within families, and services and agencies that help families manage change and strife.
Domain III–Safety and Risk Reduction
Competency 0008–Understand principles and skills for maintaining safety; preventing accidents, injuries, and violence; and responding to emergencies.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of methods and criteria for recognizing hazards and unsafe conditions in the home, school, and community and principles and strategies for promoting safety.
- Apply knowledge of principles, rules, and precautions related to traffic and pedestrian safety, fire prevention, poison prevention, water safety, Internet safety, safety around strangers, and safety during recreation and play.
- Recognize common causes of accidents; behaviors and perceptions that lead to unintentional injuries; and strategies for reducing and preventing risk-taking behaviors, accidents, and injuries.
- Analyze factors and behaviors that cause and influence violence and practices and strategies for avoiding and preventing violence.
- Demonstrate knowledge of societal problems affecting children and teens and effective methods for minimizing and preventing such problems.
- Recognize types of emergencies in the home, school, and community and appropriate actions to take in emergency and crisis situations.
- Recognize principles and procedures (e.g., CPR) for responding to life-threatening respiratory and cardiac emergencies.
- Apply knowledge of principles and techniques of first aid, emergency medical care, and universal precautions.
Competency 0009–Understand health risks associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as how to foster students' ability to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of short- and long-term physiological and health effects of using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
- Analyze various factors that influence decisions to use or abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
- Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' ability to avoid, reduce, and prevent health risks associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
- Examine the links between risk-taking behaviors involving alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and the likelihood of engaging in other unhealthy behaviors.
- Evaluate the potential severity and effects of illness or injury that may result from engaging in unhealthy behaviors related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
- Analyze developmental, societal, and legal issues and consequences related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
- Demonstrate knowledge of types and characteristics of programs and methods for treating addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Competency 0010–Understand the role of decision making and goal setting in implementing, evaluating, and sustaining healthy behaviors, as well as how to foster students' ability to use decision-making and goal-setting skills to enhance personal and family health.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of principles, criteria, and techniques for evaluating lifestyle behaviors, current health and safety status, health risks, and short- and long-term consequences of positive and negative health choices.
- Demonstrate knowledge of techniques and skills for establishing, prioritizing, and monitoring progress toward health-related goals that address individual strengths, needs, and areas for improvement.
- Analyze ways in which personal and family health goals can vary with changing abilities, priorities, and responsibilities.
- Apply knowledge of steps and strategies for using decision-making skills and processes to enhance health and for making, implementing, and evaluating both independent and collaborative health-related decisions.
- Examine strategies and activities designed to promote self-management skills and the ability to make informed choices about personal and family health and to monitor, evaluate, and adjust behavior to enhance health and safety.
- Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' application of critical-thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills and techniques to health issues and problems.
Domain IV–Health Education, Literacy, and Advocacy
Competency 0011–Understand principles and techniques for locating, evaluating, and accessing valid health information, products, and services and the role of advocacy skills and resources in promoting personal, family, and community health.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of skills for researching, locating, and accessing valid health-related information.
- Analyze the accuracy, validity, reliability, and usefulness of health-related information.
- Apply knowledge of criteria and procedures for evaluating and selecting health-related technology, equipment, products, and services.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of government, private, and community agencies in providing health promotion and disease prevention services and information.
- Describe how to access and use government, private, and community resources to enhance health.
- Recognize characteristics and roles of health-care providers and criteria and methods for evaluating and selecting health-care providers.
- Recognize laws, regulations, policies, and agencies that support personal, family, and community health and protect consumers of health-related products and services.
- Apply knowledge of how to foster students' ability to develop advocacy strategies for self, family, and community; support others in making positive health choices; and create and deliver accurate health promotion messages.
- Recognize career opportunities in health-related professions and how roles and responsibilities associated with these careers help meet the needs of health consumers.
Competency 0012–Understand the influence of family, peers, society, culture, media, technology, and the environment on personal, family, and community health.
For example:
- Analyze how attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors related to health are influenced by family, peers, society, and culture.
- Examine ways in which social norms influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
- Analyze ways in which media communicate different types of messages to children and adolescents about topics such as nutrition, sexual activity, alcohol and tobacco use, and violence.
- Evaluate the role the media plays in influencing students' self-concept and body image and ways in which health claims made by various forms of media influence students' physical, mental, social, and emotional health.
- Apply knowledge of persuasive methods and techniques used in health-related marketing and advertising, as well as principles and strategies for resisting unhealthy messages.
- Analyze the effects of technology on personal, family, and community health.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how community issues such as blight, poverty, and crime influence the lives of students and the culture and climate of a school, as well as strategies and programs for addressing these factors.
- Apply knowledge of principles and approaches for promoting students' understanding of the influences on health behaviors, as well as methods and strategies for addressing sensitive health topics with students.
- Recognize factors and conditions in the natural and human environment that affect the health and safety of individuals and communities.
- Recognize principles and strategies for conserving natural resources and protecting the environment.
Competency 0013–Understand instructional, assessment, and professional practices associated with a coordinated school health program (CSHP) and a comprehensive health education curriculum.
For example:
- Analyze current theories, initiatives, philosophies, laws, policies, and ethical considerations related to comprehensive health education programs.
- Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, goals, best practices, and components of a coordinated school health program.
- Analyze the use of professional resources and youth risk behavioral data to inform health education programs.
- Apply knowledge of principles, techniques, and resources for designing, implementing, and evaluating a health education curriculum.
- Apply knowledge of how to facilitate students' acquisition of developmentally appropriate health skills and behaviors.
- Recognize techniques, strategies, and activities involved in planning, delivering, and evaluating health education instruction that addresses students' diverse learning styles, language abilities, cultural values, and special educational needs.
- Apply knowledge of how to use of a variety of assessment methods and strategies to evaluate student knowledge and performance of health education skills, to monitor student progress, and to communicate effectively with students and families.
- Analyze the role of the health education teacher as a resource for health information and principles and methods for collaborating with students, families, colleagues, and health agency staff to disseminate health information and support health education goals.