General Knowledge
Competencies and Skills and Blueprint
The test design below describes general testing information. The blueprints that follow provide a detailed outline that explains the competencies and skills that this test measures.
Test Design
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
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| Time |
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| Passing Score |
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Competencies, Skills, and Approximate Percentages of Questions
Subtest 1: Essay
Competency and Skills
Competency 1–Knowledge of formal college-level writing
- Select the appropriate mode of writing to use for a specific purpose, task or occasion, and audience.
- Demonstrate a variety of expository or argumentative techniques to convey information, including the use of an organizational structure appropriate to the subject.
- Provide a section that effectively introduces the topic.
- Formulate a relevant thesis or claim.
- Organize ideas and details logically.
- Use logical reasoning by providing relevant supporting evidence to argue a position and rebut counterclaims or to explain and analyze information.
- Use a variety of transitional words and techniques effectively throughout a written text.
- Demonstrate proficient use of college-level, standard written English (e.g., varied word choice, a variety of sentence patterns, language conventions, semantics).
- Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from, or supports, the argument or information presented.
- Maintain consistent point of view.
- Use appropriate voice and tone.
Subtest 2: English Language Skills
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of language structure | 33% |
| 2 | Knowledge of vocabulary application | 33% |
| 3 | Knowledge of standard English conventions | 34% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of language structure
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Determine correct placement of modifiers.
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Apply knowledge of parallelism, including parallel expressions for parallel ideas.
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Apply knowledge of a variety of effective sentence structures.
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Determine patterns of organization in a written passage (i.e., text structures).
Competency 2—Knowledge of vocabulary application
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Determine the meaning, including connotative meanings, of unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words and phrases in context.
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Identify and apply correct word usage.
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Determine appropriate diction and tone for addressing a given audience and purpose.
Competency 3—Knowledge of standard English conventions
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Select standard verb forms.
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Identify and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
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Select agreement between subject and verb.
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Select agreement between pronoun and antecedent.
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Identify and correct inappropriate pronoun shifts.
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Select clear pronoun references.
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Select pronoun case forms (e.g., subjective, objective, possessive).
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Determine the correct use of adjectives and adverbs.
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Select appropriate comparative and superlative degree forms.
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Demonstrate command of standard spelling conventions.
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Demonstrate command of standard punctuation (e.g., recognizing and correcting fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, syntax errors).
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Demonstrate command of standard capitalization.
Subtest 3: Reading
All items are passage based. The passages will be both expository and narrative. Each test form will contain approximately 5 passages.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of key ideas and details based on text selections | 40% |
| 2 | Knowledge of text structure and meaning based on text selections | 25% |
| 3 | Knowledge of the integration of information and ideas based on text selections | 35% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of key ideas and details based on text selections
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Identify textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from text.
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Identify explicit meaning and details within text.
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Determine and distinguish between inferences and conclusions based on textual evidence.
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Determine and analyze the development of central ideas from one or more texts.
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Summarize one or more texts using key supporting ideas and details.
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Analyze how relationships between individuals, events, and ideas develop based on textual evidence.
Competency 2—Knowledge of text structure and meaning based on text selections
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Interpret the meaning of words and phrases as used in text (e.g., figurative language, connotative language, academic vocabulary).
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Analyze how specific word choices contribute to meaning or tone.
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Analyze how authors use text structures and features to convey meaning.
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Analyze how perspective and purpose influence the content and structure of texts.
Competency 3—Knowledge of the integration of information and ideas based on text selections
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Evaluate the relationship of content presented in diverse formats.
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Evaluate specific claims in texts based on relevancy, sufficiency, and validity of reasoning.
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Synthesize information from a range of texts to develop a coherent explanation of a process, phenomenon, or concept.
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Analyze and contrast the perspectives and approaches one or more authors use to explore similar topics or themes.
Subtest 4: Mathematics
An on-screen four-function calculator and an on-screen reference sheet will be provided.
| Competency | Approximate Percentage of Subtest Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowledge of number sense, concepts, and operations | 25% |
| 2 | Knowledge of geometry and measurement | 25% |
| 3 | Knowledge of algebraic thinking and the coordinate plane | 30% |
| 4 | Knowledge of probability, statistics, and data interpretation | 20% |
Competencies and Skills
Competency 1—Knowledge of number sense, concepts, and operations
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Compare real numbers and identify their location on a number line.
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Solve real-world problems, including problems in financial literacy (e.g., calculating percentages or simple interest), involving the four operations with rational numbers.
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Evaluate expressions involving the order of operations.
Competency 2—Knowledge of geometry and measurement
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Identify and classify simple 2D and 3D figures according to their mathematical properties.
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Solve problems involving ratio and proportion (e.g., scaled drawings, models, real-world problems).
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Determine an appropriate measurement unit and form (e.g., scientific notation) for real-world problems involving length, area, volume, or mass.
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Solve real-world measurement problems, including fundamental units (e.g., length, mass, time), derived units (e.g., miles per hour, dollars per gallon), and unit conversions.
Competency 3—Knowledge of algebraic thinking and the coordinate plane
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Determine whether two algebraic expressions are equivalent by applying properties of operations or equality.
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Identify an algebraic expression, equation, or inequality that models a real-world situation.
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Determine and solve equations or inequalities (i.e., linear and quadratic), algebraically or graphically, in mathematical or real-world problems.
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Interpret key features of linear equations or graphs in real-world problems (e.g., explain slope and y-intercept, determine additional solutions).
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Identify relations that satisfy the definition of a function.
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Compare the slopes of two linear functions represented algebraically or graphically.
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Apply linear, quadratic, and exponential functions to model and analyze real-world relationships.
Competency 4—Knowledge of probability, statistics, and data interpretation
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Identify and interpret numerical and categorical data presented in various forms (e.g., histograms, circle graphs, scatterplots, two-way tables) to solve problems.
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Analyze and evaluate how the presentation of data (e.g., scaling, chosen form) or selection of statistics (e.g., mean, median, mode) can lead to different or inappropriate interpretations in real-world contexts.
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Calculate and interpret the meaning of measures of central tendency (i.e., mean, median, and mode) and variability (i.e., range and standard deviation) in real-world or abstract contexts from numerical and categorical data sets.
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Solve and interpret real-world problems involving probability using counting procedures, tables, and tree diagrams.
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