GACE: Early Childhood Special Education General Curriculum

The Early Childhood Special Education General Curriculum assessment, offered as part of the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, is divided into two tests.

The first test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response assignments (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the first test are reading, English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, health, physical education, and the arts. The topics covered by the reading and English language arts subarea are: print, phonological awareness, and word identification strategies; the development of vocabulary knowledge and skills throughout the curriculum; reading fluency and strategies for comprehension of literary and informational texts; the skills involved in writing for diverse purposes; conventions of standard English grammar, usage, and mechanics; and skills and strategies involved in speaking, listening, and viewing throughout the curriculum. The topics covered by the mathematics subarea are: problem-solving techniques and approaches to mathematics, especially as related to numbers, mathematical operations, and processes; and principles of measurement, geometry, algebra, and data analysis. The topics covered by the science, social studies, health, physical education, and the arts subarea are: the characteristics and processes of science; basic concepts and principles of life science, physical science, and Earth science; events, concepts, and methods of inquiry related to Georgia, United States, and world history; basic principles of geography, US governments and civics, and economics; basic principles and practices of health, safety, and physical education; and the basic elements and techniques associated with the various arts.

The second test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response questions (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the second test are: understanding and assessing students with disabilities; developing programs and promoting learning for students with disabilities; and working in a professional environment. The topics covered by the understanding and assessing disabled students subarea are: human development; the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities; the factors that influence learning and development among disabled students; the various types and characteristics of assessments; the procedures for assessing disabled students; and the techniques of interpreting and communicating assessment results. The topics covered by the developing programs and promoting learning for disabled students subarea are: the procedures for developing, implementing, and amending individualized education programs; the strategies for promoting the development of communication, social, and life skills of disabled students; the uses of instructional technology to support communication and learning; strategies for managing the learning environment; strategies for developing and implementing effective behavior management and behavior intervention policies with disabled students; and the principles and techniques of planning in delivering instruction for disabled students. The topics covered by the professional conduct subarea are: communicating and collaborating with disabled students, their families, colleagues, administrators, service providers, and community agencies to help accomplish learning outcomes; the historical, social, and legal foundations of special education; and the professional, ethical, and legal roles and responsibilities of the special educator.

The examination must be completed within four hours. The total test score is placed on a scale of 100 to 300, with 220 as the lowest passing score. Scores are based on the number of selected-response questions answered correctly and the scores assigned by judges to the constructed responses. Test-takers will also receive performance indices indicating their success in each subarea of the examination. Scores will be available approximately a month after the date of the examination; unofficial results are posted on the internet, and an official score report is mailed to the test-taker, the Professional Standards Commission, and the institution specified by the test-taker during registration.

Practice Questions

1. Which of the following terms is used to describe educational interventions that require child participation and imitate everyday behaviors?

A: non-aggressive
B: naturalistic
C: artificial
D: mechanistic

2. In the following sentence, identify the underlined section that contains a grammatical error: "As long as you're going to leave", he said, "you may as well take the wheelbarrow."

A: "As
B: you're
C: leave",
D: wheelbarrow."

3. Which of the following sentences contains a spelling error that would be detected by a typical word-processing program?

A: You're going to have a problem learning this knew material.
B: After the reign, John went back outside.
C: That is'nt such a bad idea.
D: Look out for the grizzly bare!

4. Which of the following is an example of purely formative assessment?

A: class discussion
B: final exam
C: written report
D: parent-teacher conference

5. What is the mode of the data set {4, 5, 5, 5, 7, 7, 9}?

A: 4
B: 5
C: 6
D: 7

Answer Key

1. B. Naturalistic interventions are commonly used to gauge the ability levels of small children.
2. C. The comma should be inside the end quotation mark.
3. C. The other sentences contain improper usages that would not be detected by a spell-check program.
4. A. An assessment is considered formative when it is used to determine the current knowledge and skills of students and to indicate appropriate instruction for the future.
5. B. The mode in a set of data is the value that appears most often.