AEPA Special Education (NT601) study guide
AEPA Special Education (NT601) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The AEPA Special Education (NT601) is one of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessments, a set of subject-knowledge and professional-knowledge tests used in Arizona's educator certification process. The Special Education test appears in the AEPA Special Education Tests group under test code NT601, alongside separate Arizona-coded tests for early childhood special education, hearing impaired, severely and profoundly disabled, speech and language impaired, and visually impaired. The AEPA Special Education (NT601) study guide has 4 sections and about 1,347 words.
01Understanding Students with Disabilities
You must know the disability categories recognized under IDEA, the defining characteristics of each, and how characteristics translate into classroom needs. Expect questions on the difference between prevalence (how common a condition is) and identification criteria (what qualifies a student for services).
368 words, about 2 min02Assessing Students and Developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Know the assessment-to-IEP pipeline: referral, parental consent, full and individual evaluation, eligibility determination, IEP development, placement, and annual review with triennial reevaluation. Understand norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced measures, standard scores and percentile ranks, and the difference between reliability (consistency) and validity (measuring what it claims).
332 words, about 2 min03Planning and Managing the Learning Environment
This domain covers least restrictive environment (LRE), continuum of placements, classroom management, positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), functional behavioral assessment (FBA), behavior intervention plans (BIP), and safe, accessible physical and social environments. Know the LRE principle: students with disabilities are educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, and removal occurs only when education in general classes with supplementary aids cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
330 words, about 2 min04Providing Instruction and Promoting Student Learning
Expect questions on evidence-based instructional methods, differentiation, universal design for learning (UDL), explicit and systematic instruction, scaffolding, cooperative learning, and progress monitoring. Know high-leverage practices such as modeling, guided practice with feedback, and independent practice; explicit instruction follows an I-do, we-do, you-do sequence.
317 words, about 2 min