The competencies, subtest by subtest

All ten competencies and 57 skills, from a syllabus that is part of a state rule.

The FTCE English Language Skills subtest (826)Subtest 826 is 30 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes. A scaled 200 passes, worth at most 63% correct, so about 19 right. Three competencies cover…
Competency 1: Knowledge of language structureCompetency 1 of the English Language Skills subtest has four skills: modifier placement, parallelism, effective sentence structures including fragment…
Subject-verb agreement on the FTCEAgreement between subject and verb is skill 3 under Competency 3 of subtest 826, one of twelve conventions skills. The exam almost never asks about a …
Verb forms and inappropriate shifts in tenseTwo separate skills in the rule cover verbs on subtest 826: "Determine and select standard verb forms" and "Determine and select inappropriate shifts …
Pronoun case, reference, shifts and antecedentsFour of the twelve conventions skills on subtest 826 are about pronouns: agreement with the antecedent, inappropriate pronoun shifts, clear reference,…
Misplaced and dangling modifiersThe rule states skill 1 of Competency 1 as "Evaluate correct placement of modifiers". Two errors are tested. A misplaced modifier sits next to the wro…
Parallel structure, and the pairs that demand itThe rule states it as "Apply knowledge of parallelism, including parallel expressions for parallel ideas". Three constructions demand it: items in a l…
Fragments, comma splices and run-on sentencesThe rule puts fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences and syntax errors in a single skill under Competency 1 of subtest 826. Three of the four are …
Competency 2: Knowledge of vocabulary applicationCompetency 2 has three skills: determining the meaning of unknown, multiple-meaning words and phrases in context; selecting the correct use of commonl…
Word choice, precision and misused phrasesThe rule says "commonly confused words, misused words, and phrases". The phrases half is the part candidates skip. It covers wrong idioms, redundant e…
Commonly confused word pairsSection 82 lists "commonly confused words, misused words, and phrases" as a skill on subtest 826. The list is finite, which makes this the highest-yie…
Diction and tone for a given audienceThe rule states it as "Determine diction and tone appropriate to a given audience". The stem names the audience and the purpose, and you pick the vers…
Context clues and multiple-meaning wordsThe rule expects you not to know some of the words. Skill 1 of Competency 2 is "Determine the meaning of unknown words, multiple-meaning words, and ph…
Competency 3: Knowledge of standard English conventionsTwelve of the 19 skills on subtest 826 sit under Competency 3, which on our split is about 19 of the 30 questions. It covers verb forms and tense shif…
The comma rules that are actually testedSkill 11 of Competency 3 is "Demonstrate command of standard punctuation", and commas carry most of it. Six rules cover almost every tested case: seri…
Semicolons, colons and dashesA semicolon joins two independent clauses. A colon introduces a list, an explanation or a quotation after a complete sentence. A dash sets off an inte…
Apostrophes and possessivesApostrophes do two jobs and no others: they mark possession on nouns and they mark missing letters in contractions. Pronouns never take one for posses…
CapitalizationSkill 12 reads "Demonstrate command of standard capitalization". It is a whole skill of twelve, which is more weight than it sounds. Almost every item…
Spelling patterns worth drillingSkill 10 reads "Demonstrate command of standard spelling conventions". Conventions, not words. Four patterns cover most of what a multiple-choice item…
Why conventions is most of the English Language Skills subtestTwelve of the 19 skills on subtest 826 sit under Knowledge of standard English conventions. Apportion the published 30 questions by skill count and th…
The FTCE Reading subtest (827)Subtest 827 is 30 multiple-choice questions in 55 minutes. A scaled 200 passes, worth at most 70% correct, which is about 21 right and the highest cut…
Competency 1: Key ideas and detailsEight of the 17 Reading skills sit under Competency 1, which on our split is about 14 of the 30 questions. It runs from identifying textual evidence a…
Main idea, central idea and themeThe rule asks you to "determine and analyze the development of central ideas or themes from one or more texts". The word doing the work is *developmen…
Supporting details and textual evidenceSkill 1 reads "Identify textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from text". These items hand you a conclusion and ask which line supports it, wh…
Explicit meaning against implied meaningThe rule separates them into two skills. Explicit meaning is stated in the text and the answer will be a paraphrase of a line. Implied meaning is not …
Drawing inferences, and telling them from assumptionsSkills 3 and 4 of Competency 1 cover inference. An inference follows from the text. An assumption is what the author needed to be true to argue at all…
Summarizing a passageSkill 6 reads "Summarize one or more texts using key supporting ideas and details". A summary covers the whole passage, keeps proportion, drops exampl…
Competency 2: Craft and structureCompetency 2 has five skills: interpreting words and phrases in text, analyzing how word choices shape meaning or tone, analyzing organization and tex…
Author's purpose and point of viewSkill 5 reads "Analyze how point of view and purpose shape the content and style of text". Purpose is what the author wants from you; point of view is…
How word choice shapes meaning and toneSkill 2 reads "Analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone". The item points at a word or phrase and asks what it does to the passage. Con…
Text structure and organizationSkill 3 reads "Analyze how the author uses organization and text structure(s) to convey meaning". Six patterns cover almost every passage: chronologic…
Vocabulary in context on the Reading subtestSkill 1 reads "Interpret the meaning of words and phrases as used in text (e.g., figurative language, connotative language, technical meanings)". Thre…
Competency 3: Integration of information and ideasCompetency 3 has four skills: evaluating and relating content in diverse formats, evaluating claims on relevancy, sufficiency and validity of reasonin…
Comparing two passagesTwo skills put multiple texts in front of you: contrasting the point of view of two or more authors, and synthesizing information from a range of text…
Fact against opinion, and what the rule actually saysThe phrase "fact and opinion" does not appear anywhere in the Reading competencies. What the rule does say is evaluate specific claims for relevancy, …
Evaluating an argument: relevancy, sufficiency, validitySkill 2 of Competency 3 reads "Evaluate specific claims in text based on relevancy, sufficiency, and validity of reasoning". Three separate tests. Rel…
Reading graphics and data alongside a passageSkill 1 of Competency 3 is "Evaluate and relate content presented in diverse formats". That is the rule's phrase for a table, chart or diagram sitting…
Why key ideas carries the Reading subtestEight of the 17 Reading skills sit under Knowledge of key ideas and details. Apportion the published 30 questions by skill count and that competency t…
The FTCE Mathematics subtest (828)Subtest 828 is 35 multiple-choice questions in 100 minutes, with an on-screen calculator and a mathematics reference sheet supplied. A scaled 200 pass…
Competency 1: Number sense, concepts and operationsCompetency 1 is the smallest on the Mathematics subtest: three skills, about five of the 35 questions on our split. Compare real numbers and locate th…
Fractions, decimals and percentsThe rule folds these into "the four operations with rational numbers", so they are one skill rather than a topic. They turn up everywhere else too: ra…
Ratio, proportion and rateSkill 2 of Competency 2 reads "Solve problems involving ratio and proportion (e.g., scaled drawings, models, real-world scenarios)". It sits under geo…
Order of operations and number propertiesSkill 3 of Competency 1 is "Evaluate expressions involving order of operations", one of only three skills in that competency. Multiplication and divis…
Competency 2: Geometry and measurementCompetency 2 has four skills: classifying two- and three-dimensional figures by their properties, solving ratio and proportion problems, determining a…
Perimeter, area and volumeNo skill in the rule says "calculate area". Skill 3 of Competency 2 asks for an appropriate measurement unit and form for problems involving length, a…
Classifying figures and angle relationshipsSkill 1 reads "Identify and classify simple two- and three-dimensional figures according to their mathematical properties". Classification is by prope…
Unit conversion and measurement problemsSkill 4 reads "Solve real-world measurement problems including fundamental units (e.g., length, mass, time), derived units (e.g., miles per hour, doll…
Scale drawings and similar figuresThe rule names scaled drawings and models explicitly as examples under the ratio and proportion skill. Similar figures have corresponding sides in pro…
Competency 3: Algebraic thinking and the coordinate planeCompetency 3 has seven skills, the joint most of any competency on the Mathematics subtest, and about 12 of the 35 questions on our split. Equivalence…
Solving linear equationsUndo the operations in reverse order: addition and subtraction first, then multiplication and division. Whatever you do to one side you do to the othe…
Inequalities and their solution setsSolve an inequality exactly as you would an equation, with one addition: multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative flips the direction of the s…
Slope and linear relationshipsSlope is the change in y divided by the change in x, and in a real-world problem it is the rate. The rule asks you to explain slope and the y-intercep…
Graphing on the coordinate planeSkill 5 of Competency 3 reads "Graph and interpret a linear equation in real-world problems (e.g., use data to plot points, explain slope and y-interc…
Systems of equations, and whether they are even testedNo skill in Section 82 uses the phrase "system of equations". The closest are solving equations graphically or algebraically, and comparing two linear…
Functions, and what the rule says about patternsSkill 6 reads "Identify relations that satisfy the definition of a function". A relation is a function when every input has exactly one output. Sequen…
Competency 4: Probability, statistics and data interpretationCompetency 4 has seven skills and about 11 of the 35 questions on our split. Only one is about probability. Three are about how the presentation or se…
Mean, median, mode and rangeThe rule splits this into two skills: calculate range, mean, median and mode, and interpret central tendency and dispersion in context. The calculatio…
Reading tables, charts and graphsSkill 1 lists the forms by name: histograms, bar graphs, circle graphs, pictographs, line plots and tables. Skill 2 asks how presentation can mislead.…
Simple and compound probabilitySkill 6 reads "Solve and interpret real-world problems involving probability using counting procedures, tables, and tree diagrams". Three named tools …
Why algebra is the largest block in Mathematics, and only justAlgebra and the data competency both have seven of the 21 Mathematics skills. Apportion the published 35 questions by skill count and algebra takes ab…
The FTCE Essay subtest (825)Subtest 825 is one written response in 50 minutes. At least two independent qualified raters score it holistically at standardized scoring sessions, e…
The eleven essay skills, as the rule states themThe essay has one competency, Knowledge of formal college-level writing, and eleven skills under it. They cover purpose and audience, introduction, th…
What the FTCE essay prompt looks like, and what we can sourceThe Test Structure document lists one written performance item in 50 minutes. The eleven skills say the response should cite textual evidence and may …
Structuring a fifty-minute essayFifty minutes, one response, eleven skills to make visible. Plan for about eight minutes, write for about 35, and leave the rest for a conventions pas…
Conventions in the FTCE essayTwo of the eleven skills cover conventions: apply the conventions of standard English, with slang, jargon and clichés named as things to avoid, and de…
What two raters are summingAt least two independent qualified raters score your response holistically at standardized scoring sessions, each on a scale of 1 to 4. The scores are…