Study Guide

Overview of the Tests

The Connecticut Teacher Certification Examinations (CTCE) program includes the Foundations of Reading, Early Childhood, and Reading Specialist tests. Information on testing requirements may be obtained from the Connecticut State Department of Education's website www.sde.ct.gov/sde/.

All tests included in the program are criterion referenced; that is, they are designed to measure a candidate's knowledge in relation to an established standard of competence (criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. Each CTCE test is also objective-based; that is, it is based on content stated in a set of test objectives for the test field. The purpose of the tests is to help identify those candidates who have the appropriate level of knowledge judged to be important for educators in Connecticut public schools.

Description of the Tests

All tests in the CTCE program include 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response items. For additional information, refer to the test's information page on the CTCE program website, www.ct.nesinc.com, or to section 3 of this preparation guide.

Structure of the Tests

While the content covered by each test in the CTCE program is different, the structure that underlies the content of the tests is similar. In general, the structure is as follows:

The chart below illustrates the relationship among subareas, test objectives, descriptive statements, and test items in a test field.

test item sample chart

Passing Requirements

The passing score for the CTCE is set by the Connecticut State Board of Education.

Your total test scaled score is based on your performance on all sections of the test and is derived by combining the scaled scores for the multiple-choice items and the open-response items. The scaled score for the multiple-choice items is obtained from the number of test items answered correctly. The scaled score for the open-response items is obtained from the scores assigned to the written responses. If you do not attempt an open-response item on the test, no points are contributed to your score for that test item.

For information about how responses to open-response items are scored, refer to section 5 of this preparation guide.