Competencies 004–006 of the Core Subjects EC–6: English Language Arts and Reading (901). The competencies TEA lists, how they are tested and practice questions with explanations.
45 questions on the real 70-minute clock, with a score by competency group and an explanation for every answer.
Or start the free Comprehension, Vocabulary and Research drillSummarized from the TExES Core Subjects EC–6 (391) preparation manual, Section 3: exam framework, Competencies 004–006. The grouping of competencies into drill sets is ours.
Questions ask which strategy builds comprehension of a given text, which kind of question is inferential, how to teach a Tier Two word, or how to help students judge a website. TEA lists the competencies without weights, so our practice test spreads its questions evenly across them.
Answer each question, then open the explanation.
Question 1
Which word is the best choice for explicit Tier Two vocabulary instruction for third graders?
Answer: A: reluctant
Tier Two words, such as reluctant, appear across many texts and subjects and are useful for mature language users, so they are good targets for explicit instruction. Dog and the are Tier One everyday words, and photosynthesis is a Tier Three content-specific word.
Question 2
Which activity best supports comprehension during reading?
Answer: C: Pausing at key points to make and check predictions
Making and checking predictions while reading keeps students engaged and monitoring meaning. Quizzes before reading and book reports after reading are before- or after-reading activities.
Question 3
Which research question is most appropriate for a third grader’s short research project?
Answer: C: How do beavers build their dams?
A good research question is focused and answerable with available sources. "How do beavers build their dams?" is specific. The others are too broad, a matter of opinion, or not researchable.
Question 4
A fourth grader is researching the Alamo. Which source is a primary source?
Answer: B: A letter written by a defender during the siege
A primary source is created by someone who witnessed or took part in an event at the time, such as a letter written during the siege. Textbooks, encyclopedias and summaries are secondary sources.
Take the full test under the real clock
45 questions on the real 70-minute clock, with a score by competency group and an explanation for every answer.
Or start the free Comprehension, Vocabulary and Research drillTEA lists the competencies of the TExES 901 without weights or question counts. Our 45-question practice test spreads its questions evenly across the competencies, which gives Comprehension, Vocabulary and Research 13 questions.
Competency 004, reading comprehension: literal, inferential and evaluative comprehension, strategies before, during and after reading, and literary genres; Competency 005, vocabulary: explicit instruction, general and content vocabulary, context and word parts; Competency 006, inquiry and research: research questions, evaluating sources, interpreting graphics, primary and secondary sources.
Questions ask which strategy builds comprehension of a given text, which kind of question is inferential, how to teach a Tier Two word, or how to help students judge a website. TEA lists the competencies without weights, so our practice test spreads its questions evenly across them.
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