Elementary Education (Subtests I and II)
What the two subtests measure
Elementary certification is checked in two halves. One subtest emphasizes English language arts and social science; the other emphasizes mathematics, science, and the health, physical education, and arts content embedded in the elementary curriculum. Items mix straight content knowledge ("which word contains a closed syllable?") with pedagogical-content reasoning ("a student writes 3/4 + 1/2 = 4/6 - which misconception is this?").
Core concepts
In literacy, separate phonological/phonemic awareness (oral: blending, segmenting, manipulating sounds) from phonics (print: letter–sound correspondence), and know the five pillars - phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension - plus developmental spelling stages. In social science, expect chronology, primary versus secondary sources, basic civics, geography themes, and elementary economics (scarcity, goods and services, opportunity cost).
In mathematics, know base-ten decomposition and place value, standard algorithms, fraction meaning and equivalence, decimals and percents, patterns and early algebraic thinking, geometry, measurement, and data displays. In science, know the inquiry process, core life/earth/physical concepts, and safety practice.
Traps
Mixing phonemic awareness with phonics; treating "hands-on activity" as a synonym for inquiry; choosing a statement that is true in general but does not answer the specific stem. Watch qualifiers such as most likely, first, and primary.
Rule of thumb
When an item shows student work, diagnose by redoing the problem in the student's order, not by solving it correctly and scanning for a matching choice.