GACE Program Admission Assessment Study Guide - Digital

What does the GACE Program Admission Assessment study guide consist of?

The GACE Program Admission Assessment study guide is fully aligned with the skills and competencies assessed on the exam. The study guide is over 300 pages with practice test questions that cover everything assessed on the GACE test, so you can pass your exam the first time you take it. The GACE study guide includes:

• Detailed content sections for all content categories for all three subtests, so you understand everything covered on the exam.
• Relevant practice test questions similar to what you will see on the test, so you can practice the specific skills for each type of test question.
• Detailed answer explanations for every test question in the study guide, so you know exactly why you answered correctly or incorrectly.
• Test tips and strategies specific to the GACE test, so you can think like a test maker and pass the first time.
• Reading strategies and an at-home practice plan, so you can manage your study time.
• Two grammar practice tests with 80 practice questions, so you can practice your grammar skills in context.
• Sample essay prompts and example essays, so you can practice your writing skills.
• Two math practice tests with 112 practice questions and detailed answer explanations, so you can be a math pro on test day.

The subtests covered in this study guide are:

1. Reading 210 - short passages, long passages, double passages, charts and graphs, and accompanying test questions.
2. Math 211 - numbers and quantity, data interpretation and representation, statistics and probability, algebra, and geometry.
3. Writing 212 - language skills, grammar, usage, punctuation, research skills, and text production (argumentative essay and source-based essay).

While the GACE Program Admission Assessment is referred to as a “basic skills exam,” it’s actually quite difficult. The skills needed to pass this exam are comparable to the skills required of tenth-grade students in the areas of reading, writing, and math. The test is similar to the ACT and SAT.

You might be thinking, I graduated high school, so I certainly have the skills of a tenth grader. Please don’t underestimate this exam. You’re going to have to dust off some skills you haven’t used since middle or high school.

Unfortunately, the first-time pass rates for many teacher certification exams are less than 50%, so it is important that you do not underestimate this test.

There are three sections to the GACE Admission Assessment:

1. Reading 210 - You’ll have 85 minutes to complete 56 selected-response questions.
2. Writing 211 - You’ll have 100 minutes total for this subtest–40 minutes to complete the selected response and two, 30-minute sessions to complete the constructed response (two essays at 30 minutes each).
3. Math 212 - You’ll have 90 minutes to complete 80 selected-response questions.

You can pass all or some sections of the exam. For example, you might pass the reading and writing, but not the math. If this occurs, you will only have to take the math portion of the exam again. That’s why we offer the option to purchase our Praxis Core program by individual subtests.

It is difficult to predict exactly how many questions you must get correct to pass the GACE because a scale score is used rather than a raw score. This means that your raw score–the number of questions you get correct–is put into a formula to calculate a scale score.

To keep things simple, we recommend scoring at least a 75% on the practice tests before you go in to take the exam. Getting 75% correct indicates you are ready to take the actual test.

Remember, each section of the exam is scored separately.

For the essay portion of the exam, scoring gets more complicated. Your essays are rated on a scale of 0 to 6, and the scores are combined to produce the overall score for the essay. The argumentative essay and the source-based essay are each scored separately, and the scores for the two essays are then combined to produce the overall score for the GACE Writing test.

We also recommend examining the ETS study companion for this exam. There you will find the test specifications and blueprint for the exam and specific questions. We provide this information in our study guide as well.

If you would like to learn more about how these exams are scored, check out this blog.

While our study guide is aligned to the test, it is against testing policy to share items on the actual exam. State tests are secure, standardized, and heavily regulated.

There are hundreds of test questions in the item banks for each exam. When you take the exam, your version of the test will be different from other versions and will have questions randomly pulled from the item banks. This ensures test security, validity, and reliability. Trying to memorize what you think will be on your test is an exercise in futility. Instead, you should study the skills and content outlined in the specifications and blueprint of the exam.

Everything in our study guide is aligned to the test specifications and blueprint for the exam. That way, you can review how the test is designed and what skills are assessed. The questions in our study guide are structured similarly to what you will encounter on test day, but they are not the same exact questions on the real exam.

Obviously, we believe our study guide is the very best resource you can purchase to prepare for the GACE Admission Assessment. Our study guide is 100% aligned with the exam. The book is sectioned out by subtest, and within those subtests, we’ve aligned all of the information with the test specifications and blueprint. This ensures you are studying what you will see on test day–nothing more, nothing less.

In each section, there are practice items that align to the skills in that section, so you can practice with specific questions for each skill. In addition, we have detailed answer explanations for every question in our study guide. This ensures you understand why you got something correct or incorrect. Finally, our study guide contains 2-3, full-length practice tests with answer explanations at the end of each subtest. Therefore, you have hundreds of practice questions to work with.

We sort every practice test question by test skill. This helps you identify the skills in which you are low, so you can go back and study those aspects of the study guide. Knowing what skill the questions assess is a huge benefit to your studies.

Yes. Along with practice test questions throughout the study guide, there are two, full-length practice tests for reading 210, two, full-length practice tests for writing 211 (including several writing prompts), and three, full-length practice tests for math 212. All practice test questions are categorized by skill and contain detailed answer explanations.

People have a range of skill levels in reading, writing, and math, so it is difficult for us to give you a specific number of days or hours you should spend on your studies. However, this is a very large exam that covers expansive content for each subtest. To be successful on test day, you will need to dedicate an extended period of time to your studies. We recommend short, incremental practice rather than cramming all of your studying into one or two weekends.

We believe 20-30-minute study sessions over a 1-2 week period for each subtest is ideal. That means it will take you anywhere from 4-6 weeks in total to study for this exam.

In the beginning of each subtest in the study guide, we provide you with a study plan to help you manage your time.

Georgia uses the GACE to certify all their teachers. However, you will also be required to take additional tests to obtain your professional certificate. That’s why it is extremely important you check with the Georgia Department of Education to determine exactly what tests are required.