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Exam Overview
Exam Overview
Component 1: Content Knowledge is one of four components of National Board Certification in Middle Childhood/Generalist, which covers teaching students ages 7–12. It is a timed, computer-based assessment that measures knowledge of the content taught across the middle-childhood curriculum and how to apply it in instruction.
The Four Components
| Component | Title | Covered Here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Content Knowledge | Yes |
| 2 | Differentiation in Instruction | No |
| 3 | Teaching Practice and Learning Environment (video) | No |
| 4 | Effective and Reflective Practitioner | No |
Component 1 Format
Quick Facts
- Selected response (SR): about 45 items in 60 minutes
- Answer choices: 4 per item, one best answer
- Scheduled break: 10 minutes after the SR section
- Constructed response (CR): 3 exercises, 30 minutes each
- Total appointment: about 3 hours, including a 5-minute nondisclosure agreement and a 15-minute tutorial
- Calculator: on-screen scientific calculator
- Where: computer-based, at Pearson test centers (Pearson VUE)
Test-Day Sequence
Nondisclosure agreement (5 min)
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Tutorial (15 min)
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Selected response: about 45 items (60 min)
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Scheduled break (10 min)
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Three constructed-response exercises (30 min each)
Selected-Response Content
Selected-Response Content
English Language Arts, the Arts, and Health and Wellness — 30%
Science and Mathematics — 35%
Social Studies — 35%
| Group | Weight | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts, the Arts, and Health and Wellness | About 30% | Literacy; choosing texts; analyzing texts; value and purposes of the visual and performing arts through cross-curricular contexts; health-enhancing skills |
| Science and Mathematics | About 35% | Number sense and algebraic thinking; geometry; data analysis; life, earth/space, and physical science; vocabulary of science; misconceptions and the evolution of scientific thinking; science tools, models, representations, and engineering design |
| Social Studies | About 35% | History, geography, civics/government, and economics; themes of social studies; primary and secondary sources and critical thinking |
SR items are short classroom scenarios ("A fourth-grade teacher…"), student work, primary-source excerpts, and data displays, often asking which choice would be most effective or best explains a situation.
The Three Constructed-Response Exercises
| Exercise | You Are Given | You Must Provide |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Supporting Reading Skills | Evidence of a student's reading, such as an oral-reading transcript or progress report | One strength and one need, plus research-based strategies with justification |
| 2. Analyzing Student Work in Mathematics | A student's work on a math problem | The major misconception or error, the concepts and skills needed to solve it correctly, and one instructional strategy with rationale |
| 3. Making Connections in Science | A real-world phenomenon (for example, a static shock from a doorknob) | The science concepts behind it, a developmentally appropriate hands-on learning experience with rationale, and a way to integrate the concept into another content area |
Constructed-Response Tip
Each exercise has several required parts. A response that skips one part cannot earn a high score, however strong the rest is. Label each part as you answer it.Scoring
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| CR rubric | Each exercise scored on a 4-level rubric |
| Score range | 0.75–4.25 |
| SR section | About 50% of the Component 1 score |
| Each CR exercise | About 16.7% of the Component 1 score |
| Component 1 in the total | 40% of the total weighted score |
| Certification | Total weighted scaled score of at least 110 across all four components |
Exam Tip
The three CR exercises together carry about the same weight as the entire SR section. Budget study time for written practice accordingly; content review alone is not enough.Fees and Retakes
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Each component | $475 |
| Annual registration | $75 |
| Component 1 retake | $125 per CR exercise and/or for the SR section |
Because a Component 1 retake is priced per exercise or SR section, you can retake only the parts where your score was weakest.
What This Means for Your Preparation
- Review content across all six sections, weighting time toward the two 35% groups and your weakest area.
- Practice SR items at the real pace: 45 items in 60 minutes, about 80 seconds per item.
- Practice each CR exercise under a strict 30-minute limit.
- Learn the on-screen scientific calculator's basic functions so it does not slow you down.
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