Test Design and
Test Framework
Field 207: English Language Arts
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The test design below describes general test 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 | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time* | 3 hours, 15 minutes |
| Passing Score | 240 |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Framework
| Test Subarea | Number of Test Objectives | Number of Scorable Items | Number of Non-Scorable Items | subarea weight as percent of total test score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subarea 1—Reading Comprehension | 5 | 22 | 6 | 28 percent |
| Subarea 2—Reading Literary and Informational Texts | 4 | 18 | 4 | 22 percent |
| Subarea 3—Writing and Research | 7 | 31 | 8 | 39 percent |
| Subarea 4—Speaking, Listening, and Viewing | 2 | 9 | 2 | 11 percent |
| Totals | 18 | 80 | 20 | 100 percent |
Subarea 1—Reading Comprehension
Objective 0001—Apply knowledge of the nature, development, and relevancy of reading in all content areas.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how readers construct meaning through the interaction of existing knowledge and experiences, information suggested by the written language, and the context of the reading situation.
- Apply knowledge of the roles of language development, language acquisition, cognition, and learning in reading development.
- Apply knowledge of the roles of motivation and interest in reading and how to promote the development of a classroom environment that fosters interest and growth in all aspects of literacy.
- Apply knowledge of the relationship between reading development and cultural, linguistic, and ethnic diversity.
- Apply knowledge of the role played in reading development by various language components, including phonemes (sounds of language), morphemes (words and meaningful parts of words), semantics (meaning), syntax (sentence structure), as well as the pragmatic aspect of language (how language works in a social context).
- Apply knowledge of the relationships of reading to writing, listening, and speaking using strategies for integrating these through instruction.
- Apply knowledge of the home and school experiences that impact literacy development.
Objective 0002—Apply knowledge of the selection and use of various materials to plan reading instruction appropriate to students' knowledge and abilities.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of materials that can be used for reading instruction, including fiction and nonfiction trade books, basal readers, anthologies, magazines, and various forms of media.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to create, organize, and use a classroom library.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for analyzing and evaluating the quality and appropriateness of instructional materials in terms of readability, content, length, format, illustrations, and other pertinent factors.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for selecting materials (including technological tools) based on students' interests, motivation, knowledge and experiences, cultural backgrounds, and developmental levels.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for planning, organizing, and managing reading instruction to create a positive environment that encourages independent reading.
Objective 0003—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for teaching and assessing word identification skills and vocabulary development, including academic-language development.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching English spelling and word patterns (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, root words).
- Apply knowledge of English language structure, history, and conventions to facilitate students' comprehension and interpretation of texts.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' understanding of various relationships between words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, homonyms) and their ability to interpret and use various types of figurative language (e.g., common adages, proverbs, idioms) to enhance their language and vocabulary development and support their reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Apply knowledge of a wide variety of strategies for developing and expanding students' depth of understanding and retention of newly acquired vocabulary (e.g., using context and reference materials, wordplay, games, dramatization, and writing activities).
- Analyze the role of vocabulary and academic language (i.e., the vocabulary and language structures used in oral and written academic discourse) in supporting students' understanding of academic concepts, content, skills, and processes and their comprehension of academic texts.
- Apply knowledge of tiers of vocabulary (i.e., Tier One, everyday; Tier Two, general academic; and Tier Three, discipline specific) and criteria for selecting vocabulary for explicit word study (e.g., words central to a unit of study and/or the meaning of a text and likely to be unfamiliar to students, words with high utility across disciplines, words with various meanings in different disciplines).
- Apply knowledge of strategies that support students' ability to determine and/or verify the meaning of unfamiliar words in oral and written academic discourse, including the use of structural analysis, contextual analysis, and reference materials.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use technology to enhance and encourage vocabulary skills.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for differentiating instruction in academic-language and vocabulary development that is responsive to the strengths and needs of all students, including materials, pacing, and levels of text and language complexity to meet the diverse needs of learners.
- Apply knowledge of a wide range of developmentally appropriate assessment strategies in academic-language and vocabulary development, including how to monitor students' progress in meeting developmental benchmarks.
- Demonstrate ability in interpreting and using assessment data related to academic language and vocabulary to analyze students' performance and progress and make effective, data-based instructional decisions.
Objective 0004—Apply knowledge of reading fluency and appropriate strategies for using oral language to help students develop reading skills.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how students' use of dialects and language differences may affect their development of reading skills.
- Apply knowledge that oral reading fluency comprises accuracy, speed, and prosody (i.e., timing, phrasing, emphasis, and intonation) and of oral reading fluency's role in reading development.
- Apply knowledge of how to effectively use oral language activities (e.g., readers' theater, choral reading, shared reading, dramatization) to develop fluency.
- Apply knowledge of the relationship between oral and silent reading.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to assess students' reading fluency.
Objective 0005—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for assessing students' reading comprehension.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of different types and purposes of standardized and informal reading assessments, including continuous monitoring of students' progress through observation and work samples, and understand the implications of cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences for interpretations of assessments.
- Apply knowledge of how to determine students' independent, instructional, and frustrational reading levels.
- Apply knowledge of how to interpret appropriately the results of standardized reading tests, including the state assessment.
- Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for assessing students' reading attitudes, motivations, and interest through observations and other informal means.
- Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for utilizing assessment data to plan instruction.
- Apply knowledge of strategies and approaches for encouraging and supporting students' evaluation of their own reading ability.
Subarea 2—Reading Literary and Informational Texts
Objective 0006—Apply knowledge of literature from a variety of eras, cultures, traditions, genres, and media.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of the defining characteristics, elements, and features of a variety of forms and genres of literary prose (e.g., short stories, novels, drama, fables, myths, folktales, legends, fiction, fantasy) and poetry (e.g., narrative poems, lyrical poems, free verse, spoken word, sonnets, odes, ballads, epics).
- Analyze the impact of an author's choices regarding the construction of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
- Analyze point of view in literary texts (e.g., distinguish between first person and third person), including distinguishing between what is explicitly stated in a text from what is implied (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, understatement).
- Apply knowledge of how authors use language structure, literary form, word choice, and format to convey a viewpoint and elicit an emotional response from the reader.
- Analyze the form, content, and purpose of diverse works of American literature across multiple eras, and how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.
- Analyze the form, content, and purpose in works of British literature (e.g., Shakespeare) across multiple eras.
- Analyze the form, content, and purpose in works of world literature that represent diverse cultural, social, and historical perspectives.
- Determine one or more themes or central ideas of a literary text and analyze development of a theme or themes over the course of a text.
- Analyze the use of a variety of literary techniques and devices (e.g., figurative language, allusion, foreshadowing, flashback, suspense, dialogue, description, dialect, images, characterization, narration, symbolism, stream of consciousness) in classic and contemporary literature from a variety of genres and media.
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a literary text, including figurative and connotative meanings; and analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings.
Objective 0007—Apply knowledge of literary nonfiction and other informational texts from a variety of eras, cultures, traditions, genres, and media.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of the characteristics, elements, and features of a range of works of literary nonfiction, including subgenres of exposition, argument, and functional text (e.g., essays, biographies, autobiographies, memoirs; historical, scientific, technical, or economic accounts written for a broad audience).
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in an informational text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; and analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms.
- Determine an author's point of view or purpose in an informational text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
- Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public advocacy (e.g., presidential addresses).
- Analyze foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
Objective 0008—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for developing comprehension and analysis of literary texts.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how different types of questions affect reading comprehension and how these questions can be used to promote comprehension of literary texts.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for enhancing comprehension of literary texts before, during, and after reading (e.g., previewing, setting a purpose for reading, predicting, visualizing, self-monitoring, summarizing).
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching students to identify, explain, compare, and contrast common literary themes across various societies, eras, and genres and to identify recurring themes across literary works.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching students to identify and analyze the form; content; purpose; major themes; and cultural, social, and historical perspectives in works of American, British, and world literature.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching students to identify and analyze the use of literary elements, techniques, and devices in a literary text.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching students to make inferences and draw conclusions about a literary text based on textual evidence.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for teaching students to draw on experiences, interactions with other readers and writers, word identification strategies, knowledge of word meaning, and their understanding of textual features to better understand literature.
- Apply knowledge of how to teach students to respond to and interpret literary texts by making comparisons from personal, creative, and critical points of view and by sharing responses in a constructive or transactional process in a variety of formats (e.g., writing, dramatization, art, discussion, multimedia presentations).
Objective 0009—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for developing comprehension and analysis of informational texts.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for clarifying and solidifying comprehension of informational texts (e.g., setting a purpose for reading, previewing, predicting, sequencing, connecting, visualizing, monitoring, questioning, taking notes, summarizing, synthesizing, identifying the main idea and supporting details, making inferences, evaluating) and for promoting students' successful use of comprehension strategies.
- Apply knowledge of organizational text structures (e.g., sequential, causal, comparative) and strategies for providing instruction in using knowledge of organizational text structures to improve understanding and recall of text, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of a text relate to each other and the whole.
- Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the organizational structure of a text, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
- Apply knowledge of text features (e.g., tables, charts, illustrations, captions, headings, indexes) and strategies for promoting students' ability to recognize and interpret text features that are common to specific disciplines and analyze their relationship to an informational text.
- Apply knowledge of literary elements and devices (e.g., figurative language) and rhetorical features (e.g., analogy, allusion) used in informational texts and strategies for teaching students to recognize literary elements and devices across forms of informational text.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' ability to trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguish claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are unsupported, and recognize and acknowledge counterclaims.
- Apply knowledge of principles for providing instruction and opportunities for students to analyze how the content, style, and tone of a text are used to indicate point of view, perspective, purpose, fact, opinion, speculation, and audience.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for guiding students' reading of multiple texts and promoting students' ability to comparatively analyze and evaluate information and to synthesize information from multiple texts into a coherent understanding of a topic.
- Apply knowledge of how different types of questions, such as high-level and text-dependent questions, affect reading comprehension and how these questions can be used to promote comprehension and learning in different subject areas.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for encouraging students to respond personally in a variety of formats (e.g., writing, dramatization, art, discussion, multimedia presentations) to informational texts.
Subarea 3—Writing and Research
Objective 0010—Apply knowledge of writing processes and of principles, skills, and approaches for successfully engaging students in writing processes.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of write-to-discover strategies (e.g., journaling, log writing, 60-second writing, freewriting).
- Apply knowledge of a variety of prewriting strategies for generating and organizing ideas (e.g., mapping, listing, outlining, creating graphic organizers).
- Apply knowledge of how to compose clear and effective writing prompts that challenge students to practice a variety of prewriting and drafting strategies for a range of rhetorical situations.
- Apply principles for providing feedback and using teacher/peer conference techniques that motivate and scaffold students' development throughout writing processes.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for using technology to facilitate drafting of written text.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for differentiating instruction in writing development and writing processes that are responsive to the prior language experience, strengths, and needs of all students, including employing various strategies, materials, pacing, and levels of text and language complexity to meet the diverse needs of learners.
- Apply knowledge of a wide range of developmentally appropriate assessment strategies in writing development and writing processes, including how to monitor students' performance and progress in meeting developmental benchmarks.
- Demonstrate ability in interpreting and using assessment data to analyze students' performance and make effective, data-based instructional decisions.
Objective 0011—Apply knowledge of elements of effective composition and of principles, skills, and approaches for teaching students to use elements of composition effectively.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how to use elements of composition (e.g., thesis development, focus, organization, support and elaboration, paragraph unity, coherence) in a variety of rhetorical situations.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for providing effective instruction in producing clear, coherent writing with organization, development, substance, and style that are appropriate to a given task, purpose, and audience.
- Apply knowledge of how to use modifiers to expand ideas, transitions to produce an effective control of language and ideas, and effective paragraph organization.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' ability to write multi-paragraph documents that convey ideas and information in a clear and concise style.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' ability to discover and enhance a distinct voice in their writing.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting students' ability to use technology to facilitate recursive drafting.
Objective 0012—Apply knowledge of strategies for writing arguments.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how to write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning, and relevant and sufficient evidence.
- Apply knowledge of how to introduce a precise, knowledgeable claim, establish its significance, and distinguish it from alternate or opposing claims.
- Apply knowledge of how to thoroughly develop claims and counterclaims, supplying the most relevant evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level, concerns, values, and possible biases.
- Apply knowledge of how to use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of a text, create cohesion, and clarify relationships between claims and reasons, reasons and evidence, and claims and counterclaims.
- Apply knowledge of how to establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which one is writing.
- Apply knowledge of how to provide a concluding statement or section that follows and supports the argument presented.
Objective 0013—Apply knowledge of strategies for writing informative and explanatory texts.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how to introduce a topic and develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
- Apply knowledge of how to organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole.
- Apply knowledge of how to use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques (e.g., figurative language) to manage the complexity of a topic.
- Apply knowledge of how to establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which one is writing.
- Apply knowledge of how to provide a concluding statement or section that follows and supports the information or explanation presented in an informative text.
Objective 0014—Apply knowledge of strategies for locating, analyzing, evaluating, and organizing information from multiple sources that represent multiple perspectives.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for generating a research question and for narrowing and broadening the scope of inquiry as appropriate.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for locating a variety of authoritative print and digital sources and for conducting online searches.
- Apply knowledge of criteria (e.g., purpose, credibility, reliability, validity, quality) and methods for critically evaluating primary and secondary sources.
- Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for providing effective instruction in strategies for conducting research projects using evidence drawn from multiple sources.
- Apply knowledge of planning and organizational strategies (e.g., taking notes, creating graphic organizers, prioritizing, outlining) in print and electronic formats for a variety of research projects.
- Apply knowledge of techniques for paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting from, and accurately citing sources using standard citation formats (e.g., works cited, bibliography).
Objective 0015—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for writing narratives.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of how to engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation and its significance; establishing one or more multiple point(s) of view; and introducing a narrator and/or characters.
- Apply knowledge of how to use narrative techniques (e.g., dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, multiple plot lines) to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- Apply knowledge of techniques for sequencing events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole and build toward a particular tone or outcome (e.g., suspense, growth, resolution).
- Apply knowledge of how to use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid impression of experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
- Apply knowledge of how to provide a conclusion that follows and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of a narrative.
Objective 0016—Apply knowledge of principles, skills, and approaches for revising, editing, proofreading, and publishing documents and for guiding students through these stages of writing processes.
For example:
- Apply principles for providing feedback and using teacher conference techniques to guide students' revisions of written work.
- Apply knowledge of language structure and Standard American English conventions, including sentence construction, usage (e.g., diction, capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech), grammar, semantics, syntax, morphology, and phonology, in the critiquing and editing of written documents.
- Apply knowledge of revision strategies that are appropriate for a variety of writing genres and rhetorical situations and strategies for providing opportunities for students to practice revising and editing techniques.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for self-editing and peer response within writing processes and providing opportunities for students to practice self-editing and peer response.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to make publishing an integral component of writing processes and specific formats for publishing a variety of written documents for different rhetorical situations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use technology to facilitate revising, editing, proofreading, and publishing of student work, including updating individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback.
Subarea 4—Speaking, Listening, and Viewing
Objective 0017—Apply knowledge of principles and approaches for developing skills for speaking, presenting, and participating in academic discussions.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for engaging students in a variety of oral language activities (e.g., participating in whole- and small-group collaborative discussions, asking questions, reporting information, recounting experiences).
- Apply knowledge of large- and small-group dynamics and factors that influence group communication (e.g., group composition, member roles).
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting civil, democratic discussions; setting clear goals and deadlines; managing conflicts; solving problems; and making decisions in large and small groups (e.g., compromising, collaborating).
- Understand the importance of freedom of speech and ethical communication in a democratic society and of the ethical responsibility to challenge stereotypical or prejudicial communication and to use inclusive language when addressing others.
- Demonstrate knowledge of different types of speech delivery (e.g., scripted, memorized, extemporaneous, impromptu) and their uses and effects.
- Apply knowledge of criteria for selecting content and for selecting, using, and citing accurate and relevant supporting materials for presentations.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use electronic media for effective communication.
- Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of organizational formats that are appropriate for different communication contexts and strategies for adapting formats to suit the audience, context, setting, and purpose of communication.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for analyzing, communicating with, and demonstrating sensitivity to diverse audiences.
- Recognize the difference between supportive and unsupportive audiences and apply knowledge of appropriate strategies for addressing both types of audiences.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for recognizing when a message is not understood and for making adjustments to presentations to clarify and promote understanding.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between nonverbal and verbal communication and how vocal qualities (e.g., pitch, rate, tone, volume) and verbal and nonverbal cues can help create and clarify meaning.
- Apply knowledge of principles for providing effective instruction in using vocal qualities (e.g., pitch, rate, tone, volume) and nonverbal cues to create meaning.
- Demonstrate knowledge of factors that may lead to communication anxiety and strategies to help minimize and/or manage communication anxiety.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for differentiating instruction in speaking, presenting, and participating in academic discussions that are responsive to the prior language experience, strengths, and needs of all students, including employing various strategies, materials, pacing, and levels of text and language complexity to meet the diverse needs of learners.
- Apply knowledge of a wide range of developmentally appropriate assessment strategies in speaking, presenting, and participating in academic discussions, including how to monitor students' performance and progress in meeting developmental benchmarks.
- Demonstrate ability in interpreting and using assessment data to analyze students' performance and make effective, data-based instructional decisions.
Objective 0018—Apply knowledge of principles and approaches for developing listening and viewing skills.
For example:
- Apply knowledge of types and purposes of listening (e.g., active, critical, selective) and the skills unique to each type or purpose.
- Apply knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the listener and appropriate listening responses across a variety of communication situations.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for analyzing spoken messages (e.g., questioning, perception checking, summarizing, paraphrasing) to understand and evaluate stated and implied meanings.
- Apply knowledge of the role of critical-thinking skills (e.g., selecting and evaluating data, evaluating a speaker's point of view, distinguishing fact from opinion, recognizing bias) in listening and viewing.
- Apply knowledge of criteria (e.g., topic, context, goals) for evaluating the content, organization, and support of spoken and visual messages on the basis of their purpose, quality, and appropriateness.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for engaging students in critical analysis of different media and communication technologies.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of physical and physiological conditions on listening.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of listening barriers such as bias, close-mindedness, preconceived attitudes, indifference, and emotional involvement in communication situations.
- Apply knowledge of how adolescents and adults interpret visual texts and make meaning through interaction with media environments.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for differentiating instruction in listening and viewing that are responsive to the prior language experience, strengths, and needs of all students, including employing various strategies, materials, pacing, and levels of text and language complexity to meet the diverse needs of learners.
- Apply knowledge of a wide range of developmentally appropriate assessment strategies in listening and viewing, including how to monitor students' performance and progress in meeting developmental benchmarks.
- Demonstrate ability in interpreting and using assessment data to analyze students' performance and make effective, data-based instructional decisions.