PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education (0020) Exam

If you’re a college graduate with a B.A. in early childhood education, you may be required by your licensing state to pass the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education (0020) exam before assuming your place in the classroom. The PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education exam is a two-hour test comprised of 120 multiple choice questions regarding the legal and professional responsibilities of teachers in regard to the growth, learning, and development of the children in their care. Questions on the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education test also concern evaluating, preparing, and using child-centered curricula in the classroom. The majority of questions concern pupils ranging from three to eight years old. Not all questions on the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education exam count toward the test score.

The PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education test has six parts: “Understanding the Nature of Growth, Development, and Learning of Young Children,” “Planning and Implementing Curriculum,” “Evaluating and Reporting Student Progress and Effectiveness of Teaching,”  “Recognizing Factors That Influence Individual Growth and Development,” “Recognizing Applications of Developmental and Curriculum Theory,” and “Understanding Professional and Legal Responsibilities.” The professional and legal responsibilities section contains the least number of questions, seven percent. These questions have to do with the laws and regulations affecting elementary school teachers and their interaction with other adults in the school setting.

The “Recognizing Factors That Influence Individual Growth and Development” and “Recognizing Applications of Developmental and Curriculum Theory” sections of the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education exam each contain 14 percent of the questions. The section on growth and development deals with factors that influence the development and growth of children: family, nutrition/hygiene, culture, and psychology. The theory section of the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education test deals with the major models of and approaches to curriculum, such as Head Start, Montessori, Bank Street, Kamii, and Emergent Literacy. It also contains questions about major learning theories, i.e. behaviorist, psychoanalytic, social-learning, and cognitive.

Fifteen percent of exam questions deal with “Evaluating and Reporting Student Progress and Effectiveness of Teaching.” These questions on the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education test focus on three primary subjects: formal and informal evaluative instruments, student progress reports for parents, and the effective monitoring of student progress.

Most of the questions on the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education test fall into one of two categories: “Understanding the Nature of Growth, Development, and Learning of Young Children” (37 percent) and “Planning and Implementing Curriculum” (35 percent). The first section deals with language development, including speaking, listening, spelling, and writing; cognitive growth, such as logical reasoning, symbol recognition, and causal relationships; physical development, including typical and atypical growth; and social/personal development, such as learning style, gender role, and self-concept. The section of the PRAXIS II Early Childhood Education exam concerning curriculum contains questions about appropriate socialization and learning experiences for students in math, science, language arts, physical education, and the Arts. Additional questions deal with the use of family and community resources in the classroom, behavior management strategies, and the physical organization of the classroom.