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Exam Overview
The Social Studies 4–8 (118) exam is part of the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) program, administered for the Texas Education Agency (TEA) by its testing contractor, Pearson, through the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program. Passing it is required for the Texas Social Studies: Grades 4–8 teaching certificate.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Test code and name | 118 · Social Studies 4–8 |
| Format | Computer-administered test (CAT) |
| Questions | 100 selected-response questions; some may be unscored questions being tried out for future tests |
| Appointment time | 5 hours total: about 15 minutes for the tutorial and compliance agreement and 4 hours 45 minutes of testing time |
| Answer choices | Four per question (A–D), with one best answer |
| Score scale | 100–300; 240 is passing |
| Test fee | $116 |
| Test dates and sites | By appointment, year-round, at test centers in Texas and nationwide |
Domains and Competencies
The framework has two domains. Domain I covers content knowledge; Domain II covers the skills of the social sciences and how to teach and assess them. The framework assigns weights to the domains, not to individual competencies.
| Competency | Domain | The teacher understands and applies knowledge of |
|---|---|---|
| 001 History | I | Significant historical events and developments, multiple historical interpretations and ideas, and relationships between the past, the present, and the future |
| 002 Geography | I | Geographic relationships involving people, places, and environments in Texas, the United States, and the world |
| 003 Economics | I | Economic systems and how people organize them to produce, distribute, and consume goods and services |
| 004 Government and Citizenship | I | Government, democracy, and citizenship, including how individuals and groups achieve their goals through political systems |
| 005 Culture; Science, Technology and Society | I | Cultural development, adaptation, and diversity, and interactions among science, technology, and society |
| 006 Social Studies Foundations and Skills | II | The foundations of social studies education and the skills used in the social sciences |
| 007 Social Studies Instruction and Assessment | II | Planning and implementing effective instruction and assessment in social studies |
How the Questions Are Written
- Single questions ask directly about content or present a short classroom situation.
- Stimulus questions are built on a primary-source excerpt, map, table, chart, or image; two or more questions may share one stimulus.
- Texas content is prominent. The exam follows the Texas standards for grades 4 through 8, which devote Grade 4 and Grade 7 to Texas history.
- Teaching questions ask for the best strategy, resource, or assessment for a stated objective and grade.
Scoring and Score Reports
Your raw score is the number of scored questions you answer correctly; there is no penalty for a wrong answer. It is converted to a scaled score from 100 to 300, and 240 is passing. The scaled score is not a percentage, and the number of correct answers needed can vary slightly from one test form to another. Scores are posted to your testing account on the score report date for your test date, generally within about a week of testing, and the report shows your performance by domain and competency.
Registration and Retakes
Managing the Time
With 4 hours 45 minutes for 100 questions, you have a little under three minutes per question, which is generous for this exam. A steady pace of about two minutes per question leaves more than an hour to return to marked questions and to reread the stimulus questions carefully.
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