TExES Early Childhood: PK-3 (292)

1. Question 1 · Child Development

   A prekindergarten teacher lines up two rows of six plastic bears so that each bear in the first row is directly across from a bear in the second row. Four-year-old Camila agrees the rows have the same number. The teacher then spreads out the bears in the second row so the row is longer. Camila points to the longer row and says, "Now this one has more bears."

   Camila's response most likely indicates which of the following?
   • A.She needs direct correction so that she will not form a lasting misconception
   • B.She is not yet conserving number and is focusing on the length of the row
   • C.She is using reversibility to reason about how the bears were rearranged
   • D.She has not yet developed object permanence for objects that are moved
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. She is not yet conserving number and is focusing on the length of the row

   Judging quantity by the length of a row is a classic sign that a preoperational child has not yet acquired number conservation and is centering on one visible feature. Object permanence develops in infancy, and reversibility is a concrete operational skill that would lead to the correct answer. Direct correction is less effective than hands-on matching experiences at this stage.

2. Question 2 · Child Development

   A prekindergarten teacher wants families to support children's vocabulary development at home. Families in the class speak English, Spanish, Somali and Urdu.

   Which of the following suggestions is most appropriate?
   • A.Limit conversation during meals so your child can focus on finishing the food
   • B.Talk, read and tell stories with your child every day in the language you know best
   • C.Use only English at home so your child does not become confused by two languages
   • D.Quiz your child nightly on the classroom word list using the flash cards provided
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Talk, read and tell stories with your child every day in the language you know best

   Rich conversation, reading and storytelling in the family's strongest language build vocabulary and concepts that transfer to English. Telling families to use only English reduces the quality of language input, nightly flash card drills are less effective than meaningful talk, and mealtime conversation is a valuable vocabulary opportunity.

3. Question 3 · Educating All Learners

   The IEP of a third grader with a specific learning disability in written expression states that she will be held to grade-level writing standards. Her teacher is preparing for an opinion-writing unit in which students write a paragraph stating an opinion and giving three supporting reasons.

   Which of the following supports would be an accommodation rather than a modification?
   • A.Grading her opinion paragraph with a rubric written for first-grade writing standards
   • B.Replacing the opinion paragraph with a fill-in-the-blank worksheet on the same topic
   • C.Requiring her to give one supporting reason instead of the three required of her peers
   • D.Allowing her to dictate her draft into speech-to-text software before she revises it
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Allowing her to dictate her draft into speech-to-text software before she revises it

   An accommodation changes how a child produces work while keeping the same expectation, so dictating a draft with speech-to-text keeps her accountable for a grade-level opinion paragraph. Using a first-grade rubric, reducing three reasons to one and substituting a worksheet all change what she is expected to learn, which makes them modifications that her IEP does not call for.

4. Question 4 · Data-Driven Practice and Formal/Informal Assessment

   A district gifted and talented committee reviews several measures for a second grader, Mei. One of them is a norm-referenced reasoning test that reports standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Mei's standard score is 115. A committee member writes in the notes, "Mei scored 115, so she is in the top 15 percent of second graders on this test."

   Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of Mei's standard score?
   • A.Her score is fifteen points above the mean, which places her in stanine 9 and confirms that she qualifies for the gifted program.
   • B.Her score is one standard deviation above the mean, at about the 98th percentile, so only about 2 percent of the norm group scored higher.
   • C.Her score is 15 percent higher than the average score, so she answered about 15 percent more of the items correctly than a typical second grader.
   • D.Her score is one standard deviation above the mean, at about the 84th percentile, so roughly 16 percent of the norm group scored higher.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. Her score is one standard deviation above the mean, at about the 84th percentile, so roughly 16 percent of the norm group scored higher.

   On a scale with mean 100 and standard deviation 15, a score of 115 is one standard deviation above the mean, which corresponds to about the 84th percentile, so about 16 percent of the norm group scored higher, not 15 percent. The 98th percentile corresponds to a score of 130. A standard score is not a percent of items, and no single score confirms eligibility.

5. Question 5 · Learning Across the Curriculum

   Which of the following best explains the student's error and the most effective response?
   • A.The student subtracts the smaller digit from the larger in each column; model trading a ten for ten ones with base-ten blocks.
   • B.The student added the ones digits instead of subtracting them; review the meaning of the minus sign with number sentences.
   • C.The student lined up the digits in the wrong columns; provide grid paper so that tens and ones stay in separate columns.
   • D.The student has not memorized subtraction facts within 20; assign daily timed fact practice until accuracy improves.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. The student subtracts the smaller digit from the larger in each column; model trading a ten for ten ones with base-ten blocks.

   In the ones column the student computed 8 - 3 = 5 instead of regrouping, and in the tens column 6 - 2 = 4, giving 45; regrouping 63 as 5 tens and 13 ones gives 13 - 8 = 5 ones and 5 - 2 = 3 tens, so the correct difference is 35. The facts themselves are correct, so timed drill does not address the misconception, and the digits are aligned properly. A concrete model of trading a ten connects the regrouping to the written steps.

6. Question 6 · Child Development

   During center time, a prekindergarten teacher sits at the art table and says, "Oh, I spilled some water. I'll get a towel and wipe it up." Later that week, several children who watched her get towels on their own when they spill paint.

   The children's behavior is best explained by which of the following?
   • A.Operant conditioning, in which the children were reinforced each time they cleaned
   • B.Observational learning, in which children imitate a behavior they saw modeled
   • C.Maturation, in which a biologically timed skill emerged without outside influence
   • D.Accommodation, in which the children changed a schema about how paint behaves
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Observational learning, in which children imitate a behavior they saw modeled

   Bandura's social learning theory explains how children learn by watching and imitating models, which is what the children did after seeing the teacher clean up. No reinforcement was given, so operant conditioning does not fit, and accommodation and maturation do not account for imitating a modeled action.

7. Question 7 · Child Development

   A first-grade teacher needs to tell a family that their daughter's math progress-monitoring scores have been below the goal line for several weeks.

   Which of the following approaches best reflects family-centered communication?
   • A.Begin with her strengths, show specific work samples, ask what the family sees, plan together
   • B.Explain that the child is behind and that the family needs to do more math practice at home
   • C.Wait until the end-of-year report card so the family receives all of the information at once
   • D.Email the progress graph and a link explaining that the child may need special education
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: A. Begin with her strengths, show specific work samples, ask what the family sees, plan together

   Starting with strengths, using concrete examples, inviting the family's perspective and planning next steps together create a reciprocal, respectful conversation. An email that suggests special education is impersonal and premature, placing responsibility only on the family is one-sided, and waiting until the end of the year denies the family timely information.

8. Question 8 · Educating All Learners

   A first grader was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He needs blood glucose checks during the day, access to snacks and water, and occasional rest when his levels are low. He reads and does math at grade level, and his teacher has no concerns about his learning.

   Which of the following is most likely the appropriate plan to support this child at school?
   • A.No formal plan, since his diabetes is managed with insulin and he is achieving at grade level
   • B.An IEP under other health impairment that provides daily specially designed math instruction
   • C.A Tier 3 intervention plan with weekly progress monitoring in reading and mathematics
   • D.A Section 504 plan with health-related accommodations, coordinated with the school nurse
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: D. A Section 504 plan with health-related accommodations, coordinated with the school nurse

   Diabetes substantially limits a major bodily function, and under Section 504 the effects of mitigating measures such as insulin are not considered when determining eligibility, so he qualifies for accommodations. An IEP requires a need for specially designed instruction, which he does not show. Tier 3 intervention targets academic gaps he does not have.

9. Question 9 · Data-Driven Practice and Formal/Informal Assessment

   A school's kindergarten registration packet states that all incoming kindergartners will take a readiness assessment during the first two weeks of school. A parent at a prekindergarten family night hears a rumor that children who score low on the readiness assessment will be asked to wait a year before starting kindergarten. She asks the prekindergarten teacher about it.

   Which of the following is the teacher's most accurate and ethical response?
   • A.Readiness assessments are confidential, so the teacher cannot explain to families how the results will be used or what they mean for children.
   • B.Readiness assessments are meant to help teachers plan instruction and support for each child, not to keep eligible children from starting school.
   • C.Readiness assessments are used to identify children who are not yet ready for school, so a low score would most likely delay kindergarten entry.
   • D.Readiness assessments are used to place children into high, middle and low kindergarten classes so that teachers can teach groups of similar children.
   Show answer and explanation

   Answer: B. Readiness assessments are meant to help teachers plan instruction and support for each child, not to keep eligible children from starting school.

   Kindergarten readiness instruments are designed to inform instruction and supports, and using a single score to delay school entry for an age-eligible child is an inappropriate, high-stakes use of results. Families have a right to understand the purpose of assessments their children take. Tracking young children into ability-based classes from one readiness score is also a misuse of the results.

10. Question 10 · Learning Across the Curriculum

    A kindergarten teacher holds up a ten-frame card with 8 dots (one full row of 5 and 3 dots in the second row) for about two seconds, then hides it. Children call out "8!" without counting.

    Which follow-up question would best extend the mathematical thinking in this activity?
    • A."What numeral matches 8?" so children practice writing the numeral 8 on a whiteboard
    • B."How did you see it so fast?" so children describe parts such as 5 and 3 or 2 less than 10
    • C."Who can count the dots one at a time?" so children check the total by counting each dot slowly
    • D."What number comes after 8?" so children practice saying the number sequence forward
    Show answer and explanation

    Answer: B. "How did you see it so fast?" so children describe parts such as 5 and 3 or 2 less than 10

    Seeing 8 at a glance on a ten-frame is conceptual subitizing, and asking how children saw the quantity brings out part-whole relationships such as 5 and 3 or 2 less than 10, which support later addition and subtraction strategies. Asking children to count each dot undoes the purpose of the quick flash, and numeral writing or the counting sequence are worthwhile but do not extend the composing and decomposing in this task.

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