United States
Hong KongThe FTCE General Knowledge Test, start to finish
Four subtests registered and passed separately, three published pass marks that differ, and an alternative-score route most candidates never hear about.
Overview
- Questions
- 95 multiple choice
- Time
- 195 minutes
- Pass mark
- A scaled score of 200
- Format
- Four subtests, registered and passed separately: an essay, English Language Skills, Reading and Mathematics. Delivered at a Pearson test center.
- Languages
- English
- Fee
- USD 130 for all four subtests - USD 32.50 each
- Sittings
- On demand. Register with the FTCE/FELE testing site, then book any open Pearson appointment. A candidate has one year from registering to book.
- Syllabus
- Competencies and Skills Required for Teacher Certification in Florida, Twenty-Eighth Edition, Section 82, in force from 1 September 2025
- Topics
- 3
The 3 topics
| Topic | Syllabus headings | Questions on the paper |
|---|---|---|
| 1. English Language Skills | 3 | 30 |
| 2. Reading | 3 | 30 |
| 3. Mathematics | 4 | 35 |
Every section of the guide
The exam, start to finish
Four subtests, four registrations, four separate passes - and what a scaled 200 is worth in each.
20 articlesDifficulty and preparation time
Why the published pass rates flatter this test, and where the time actually goes.
15 articlesThe competencies, subtest by subtest
All ten competencies and 57 skills, from a syllabus that is part of a state rule.
66 articlesStudy plans and method
How to plan four separately passed subtests, and which order to sit them in.
14 articlesPractice and exam technique
How these questions are built, and where the pacing differs by an entire minute a question.
16 articlesCertification and the alternatives
What the test is for, and the SAT, ACT, GRE and CLT scores that can replace it.
22 articlesTeaching in Florida
Where this test sits in the route to a Florida certificate.
12 articlesChoosing materials
What the study options cost, what they cover, and where each one stops.
15 articlesShort answers
One question, one answer, no preamble.
20 articlesIf you only read a few
- "Maximum percent correct", explained
- Retaking a failed subtest
- The thirty-day retake wait
- Why there is no single FTCE pass percentage
- Failing one subtest is the normal outcome
- FTCE General Knowledge pass rates, subtest by subtest
- Roughly a quarter of candidates pass all four subtests at the first attempt
- Why people fail the FTCE General Knowledge Test
- Conventions in the FTCE essay
- Drawing inferences, and telling them from assumptions
- Evaluating an argument: relevancy, sufficiency, validity
- Order of operations and number properties