Section 3: Overview and Exam Framework
TX PACT: Essential Academic Skills (700)
Exam Overview
| Exam Name | TX PACT: Essential Academic Skills |
|---|---|
| Exam Code | 700 |
| Time | 4 hours and 15 minutes total appointment time for the full exam
|
| Number of Questions |
Subtest I: Reading: 45 selected-response questions Subtest II: Writing: 36 selected-response questions and 1 constructed-response question Subtest III: Mathematics: 45 selected-response questions |
| Format | Computer-administered test (CAT) |
The TX PACT: Essential Academic Skills (700) exam is designed to assess whether a test taker has demonstrated the requisite knowledge and skills for admission to an educator preparation program. The 126 selected-response questions and 1 constructed-response question are based on the Essential Academic Skills exam framework. Your final scaled score will be based only on scored questions.
Competencies
The content covered by this exam is defined by a set of competencies. Each competency is composed of two major parts:
- The competency statement, which broadly defines what an individual should know and be able to do in order to perform effectively in a Texas-approved educator preparation program.
- The descriptive statements, which describe in greater detail the knowledge and skills eligible for testing.
Essential Academic Skills (Subtest I: Reading)
Competency 001—Understand the meaning of words and phrases.
For example:
- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar or uncommon words and phrases in the context of a paragraph or passage.
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases with multiple meanings in the context of a paragraph or passage.
- Determine the meaning of figurative language in the context of a paragraph or passage.
- Identify appropriate synonyms or antonyms for words in the context of a paragraph or passage.
Competency 002—Understand the main idea and supporting details in written material.
For example:
- Identify the stated main idea of a paragraph or passage.
- Identify the implied main idea of a paragraph or passage.
- Recognize ideas that support, illustrate, or elaborate the main idea of a paragraph or passage.
Competency 003—Understand a writer's purpose and audience, point of view, and intended meaning.
For example:
- Recognize a writer's stated or implied purpose for writing.
- Determine the appropriateness of written material for a specific purpose or audience.
- Recognize the likely effects on a reader of a writer's choice of words or phrases.
- Interpret the content, word choice, and phrasing of a passage to determine a writer's opinion or point of view.
Competency 004—Use critical reasoning skills to evaluate written material.
For example:
- Identify cause-and-effect relationships.
- Draw conclusions from information stated or implied in a paragraph or passage.
- Recognize the stated or implied assumptions on which the validity of an argument depends.
- Distinguish between fact and opinion in a paragraph or passage.
- Assess the credibility, objectivity, or bias of the writer or the sources used by the writer.
Competency 005—Understand the organization of information in written and graphic forms.
For example:
- Recognize effective ways of organizing information presented in written material (e.g., outlining, text mapping).
- Identify an effective summary of a paragraph or passage.
- Interpret information presented in charts, tables, diagrams, maps, or other graphic forms.
Essential Academic Skills (Subtest II: Writing)
Competency 001—Understand purpose, audience, organization, and development in writing.
For example:
- Recognize writing that is effective for a given purpose, audience, and occasion.
- Recognize methods of organizing paragraphs and passages.
- Recognize effective thesis statements, topic sentences, and supporting details.
- Select revisions that improve the unity and focus of a piece of writing or that improve cohesion and the effective sequence of ideas.
- Recognize shifts in point of view (e.g., from first to third person).
- Recognize details that distract from the development of the main idea of a paragraph or passage.
- Select appropriate transitional words or phrases to convey text structure and to help readers understand the sequence of a writer's ideas.
Competency 002—Understand problems in sentence formation.
For example:
- Identify sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
- Identify errors in subject-verb agreement.
- Replace imprecise and inappropriate words and phrases.
- Recognize wordiness, redundant expression of ideas, ineffective repetition of words or phrases, and other errors in sentence formation (e.g., incorrect placement of modifiers, lack of parallel structure, double negatives).
Competency 003—Understand conventions of Standard Written English grammar, usage, and mechanics.
For example:
- Identify and edit errors in the standard use of verb forms.
- Identify and edit errors in the standard use of pronouns.
- Identify and edit errors in the standard formation and use of adverbs and adjectives.
- Identify and edit errors in the standard use of comparatives, superlatives, and possessives.
- Identify and edit errors in standard punctuation.
- Identify and edit errors in standard American spelling and capitalization.
Competency 004—In response to an assignment, demonstrate the ability to compose a developed composition in Standard Written English on a given topic.
For example:
- Use language and style appropriate to the specified audience and purpose.
- State and maintain focus on a thesis statement.
- Provide reasoned, relevant, and specific support to develop the thesis statement and to expand on ideas and assertions.
- Employ an organizational structure that enhances meaning and is logically sequenced from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph.
- Use precise word choice and accurate, effective, and varied sentence structure.
- Employ correct grammar, usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
Essential Academic Skills (Subtest III: Mathematics)
Competency 001—Understand number properties and number operations.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of place value and the relative magnitude of numbers.
- Use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers in multidigit computations.
- Identify equivalent ways of representing integers, fractions, decimals, and percents, including the use of exponents and scientific notation.
- Apply operations with positive and negative integers, fractions, decimals, and percents.
- Solve word problems involving integers, fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, and proportions.
Competency 002—Understand fundamental principles of algebra.
For example:
- Evaluate algebraic expressions by substituting numbers for variables.
- Solve linear algebraic equations and inequalities in one variable.
- Identify equivalent algebraic expressions.
- Graph ordered pairs and number relationships presented in tabular or symbolic form.
- Identify the linear equation that best represents data presented in tabular or graphic form.
Competency 003—Understand measurement principles and geometry concepts.
For example:
- Identify a measurement or measurement unit needed to solve a problem.
- Convert units within and between standard and metric measurement systems.
- Solve problems involving lines, line segments, and angles.
- Analyze fundamental properties of triangles, quadrilaterals, and circles.
- Solve problems involving the length, perimeter, and area of basic shapes and the surface area and volume of rectangular solids.
- Solve real-world problems involving basic measurement and geometric concepts, including the Pythagorean theorem.
Competency 004—Understand probability and statistics.
For example:
- Calculate the probability of a given outcome.
- Analyze information presented in tables, line graphs, scatter plots, pictographs, bar graphs, histograms, and pie charts.
- Recognize the appropriate graphic representation of data.
- Compute and interpret the mean, median, and mode of data.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of range, standard deviation, and spread.
- Recognize appropriate and inappropriate uses of basic statistics.
Competency 005—Understand problem solving, reasoning, and mathematical communication.
For example:
- Estimate the solution to a given problem.
- Evaluate the reasonableness of a solution to a given computation or problem.
- Use algorithms (i.e., a set of instructions) to perform a given calculation or solve a given problem.
- Use inductive reasoning to identify missing terms in numerical and graphical patterns.
- Use deductive reasoning to draw conclusions and evaluate arguments.
- Translate between written English and mathematical terminology, concepts, and notation.