TExES ELAR 7-12 (331) study guide
TExES ELAR 7-12 (331) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The English Language Arts and Reading 7–12 (331) exam is the Texas certification test for candidates seeking a middle school or high school English language arts teaching certificate. It is delivered through the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program, and the redeveloped version has been in use since testing began on September 2, 2024 - so preparation materials older than that date may reflect an outdated blueprint. The TExES ELAR 7-12 (331) study guide has 5 sections and about 1,371 words.
01Foundations of Language and Literacy
Candidates must distinguish the language systems that underpin literacy: phonology (the sound system), phonemic awareness (the oral ability to isolate and manipulate individual phonemes), phonics (letter-sound correspondences in print), morphology (meaningful units), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (word meaning), and pragmatics (social use of language). Know the alphabetic principle, common syllable types, orthographic patterns, and the progression from emergent literacy to fluent reading.
283 words, about 1 min02Reading Comprehension and Literary Analysis
Comprehension is an active, recursive process involving vocabulary, background knowledge, inference, monitoring, and repair. Candidates should know strategies such as predicting, questioning, visualizing, summarizing, and determining importance, and should understand how text structure supports comprehension in narrative and informational texts.
297 words, about 1 min03Writing Process and Composition
Writing is recursive, not strictly linear. Candidates should understand prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, and know that writers move back and forth among these stages.
272 words, about 1 min04Oral Communication, Media, and Research
Oral communication includes listening, speaking, discussion, presentation, and small-group collaboration. Candidates should know how audience, purpose, and occasion shape register, organization, and delivery.
257 words, about 1 min05Literacy Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Practice
Candidates should understand balanced literacy, explicit and systematic instruction, gradual release of responsibility, modeling, guided practice, and independent application. Know how to scaffold, differentiate, and support multilingual learners and students with reading difficulties through MTSS or RTI tiers.
262 words, about 1 min