MTLE Special Education Core Skills Practice Test

Unofficial practice for both subtests of Minnesota's Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) test, codes 200 and 201.

Subtest

Subtest 1 (200): foundations, characteristics, collaboration and reading instruction. Subtest 2 (201): evaluation, IFSPs and IEPs, behavior supports and instruction.

An IEP team is deciding where a third grader with a learning disability will be taught. What does the least restrictive environment rule require?

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Exam mode: 20 questions, 24 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board or Pearson. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

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Subtest 1: all 20 questions

Professional knowledge, communication and collaboration 14

  • A district plans to move a pupil to a separate program. His parents object and ask for a due process hearing. What does the stay-put rule of 34 CFR 300.518 mean for him? 34 CFR 300.518, Child's status during proceedings. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • A girl's epilepsy leaves her with limited alertness during lessons, and her schoolwork suffers. Which category of 34 CFR 300.8 names conditions such as hers? 34 CFR 300.8, Child with a disability. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • A Minnesota paraprofessional will begin working alone with one student who has a disability. Under Minn. Stat. 125A.08, what must she be given within five days? Minnesota Statutes 125A.08, subdivision 2. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
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Professional knowledge, communication and collaboration, continued

  • A mother asks the school to move her son from a resource room to general education for the whole day, and the school says no. What does 34 CFR 300.503 require of the school? 34 CFR 300.503, Prior notice by the public agency. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • A parent whose native language is Hmong will attend her son's IEP team meeting. What must the district do? 34 CFR 300.322, Parent participation. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • A pupil needs occupational therapy in order to benefit from her special education. What does the IDEA regulation call this kind of support? 34 CFR 300.34, Related services. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • A second grader reads far below grade level because of a disorder in a basic psychological process involved in using language. As Minnesota Rule 3525.1341 defines the terms, which category fits? Minnesota Rules 3525.1341, Specific learning disability. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • A sixth grader with an IEP is to be removed for 15 school days for fighting, which is a change of placement. What must the manifestation determination decide? 34 CFR 300.530, Authority of school personnel. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • A special educator and a classroom teacher split a lesson into parts and set up centers around the room. Each teacher leads one center, a third runs on its own, and groups rotate. Which co-teaching model is this? Wikipedia, Co-teaching. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0003
  • An IEP team is deciding where a third grader with a learning disability will be taught. What does the least restrictive environment rule require? 34 CFR 300.114, LRE requirements. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • Minnesota's category of developmental cognitive disability requires significantly below average intellectual functioning together with what? Minnesota Rules 3525.1333, Developmental cognitive disability. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • Parents enroll their daughter, who has a disability, in a private school. Does the State's child find duty reach her? 34 CFR 300.111, Child find. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0001
  • Records show that a four-year-old's difficulties with communication and social interaction were first noted at 18 months. How does that timing sit with the federal definition of autism? 34 CFR 300.8, Child with a disability. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002
  • Under Minnesota Rule 3525.1329, in how many settings must a pupil's emotional or behavioral responses be consistently shown? Minnesota Rules 3525.1329, Emotional or behavioral disorders. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0002

Scientifically based reading instruction 6

  • A lesson teaches that the letters sh stand for one sound, and then children use that to read ship and write shop. What kind of instruction is this? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004
  • A pupil decodes accurately but reads slowly, word by word. Which approach does Put Reading First describe for building fluency? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004
  • A teacher plans to teach summarizing to pupils with reading disabilities. By the findings in Put Reading First, how should a comprehension strategy be taught? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • Midway through a science passage a reader notices that she has lost the meaning, so she rereads the paragraph and restates it. Which comprehension strategy is she using? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • To unlock the word unpredictable, a teacher shows pupils the prefix un-, the base predict and the suffix -able. Which word-learning strategy named in Put Reading First is this? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0005
  • With no print in sight, a teacher says the sounds /m/, /a/, /p/ and the children blend them to say map. Which skill is being taught? Put Reading First, third edition (National Institute for Literacy). Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 1, objective 0004

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Subtest 1 (test code 200) of the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations field Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) in the test framework on the MTLE website (https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/Content/Worksheets/MN200_FrameworkWorksheet.html; test page https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MN200_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-12): 50 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour, passing score 231; Professional Knowledge, Communication, and Collaboration (objectives 0001 to 0003, 35 questions, 70%) and Scientifically Based Reading Instruction (0004 and 0005, 15 questions, 30%). This set holds 20: 14 and 6. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question: 34 CFR Part 300 in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Minnesota Rules chapter 3525 and Minnesota Statutes chapter 125A on the Revisor of Statutes' website, Put Reading First and the Wikipedia article Co-teaching. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

Subtest 2: all 20 questions

Referral, evaluation, planning and programming 10

  • A Minnesota district receives a parent's written permission to evaluate her son for special education. Within what time must the team conduct the evaluation? Minnesota Rules 3525.2550, Conduct before evaluation. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0006
  • A Minnesota eighth grader has an IEP. In which school year must her IEP take up work, community living and education after high school? Minnesota Rules 3525.2900, subpart 4. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • A Minnesota fourth grader is struggling in the regular classroom. Before a referral for a special education evaluation, what must the district conduct and document? Minnesota Statutes 125A.56. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0006
Show all 20 questions (17 more)

Referral, evaluation, planning and programming, continued

  • A pupil was last evaluated for special education three years ago. Unless the parent and the district agree that it is unnecessary, what does the federal rule require? 34 CFR 300.303, Reevaluations. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0006
  • A reading test reports that a pupil scored higher than 30 percent of same-age pupils in a national sample. What type of test yields a score of this kind? Wikipedia, Norm-referenced test. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0006
  • A school psychologist has one result for a pupil, an IQ score of 68, and proposes to end the testing there. Why does 34 CFR 300.304 not allow eligibility to be settled now? 34 CFR 300.304, Evaluation procedures. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0006
  • A service coordinator is scheduling the periodic review of a family's IFSP. What is the longest gap 34 CFR 303.342 allows between reviews? 34 CFR 303.342, IFSP review. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • An IFSP is to deliver services in a natural environment. As 34 CFR 303.26 defines the term, which setting qualifies? 34 CFR 303.26, Natural environments. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • How often, at the least, must an IEP team review a child's IEP to decide whether the annual goals are being achieved? 34 CFR 300.324, Development, review, and revision of IEP. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007
  • Which person does 34 CFR 300.321 place first among the required members of a child's IEP team? 34 CFR 300.321, IEP Team. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0007

Instructional design, teaching and ongoing evaluation 10

  • A teacher observes a pupil in his own classroom to work out which communication device would suit him, then helps the family obtain it. How does 34 CFR 300.6 class this work? 34 CFR 300.6, Assistive technology service. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • A team records what happens just before and just after a pupil's outbursts, to find what in the setting controls them. What is this process called? Wikipedia, Functional behavior assessment. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • At an IEP meeting the team notes that a boy's frequent outbursts interrupt lessons for him and for his classmates. What does 34 CFR 300.324 bind the team to weigh? 34 CFR 300.324, Development, review, and revision of IEP. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • At the end of a unit, pupils may show what they know by a written report, a talk to the class or a recorded video. Which principle of Universal Design for Learning is at work? Wikipedia, Universal Design for Learning. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • Each week a teacher gives a brief reading probe and charts the scores over time to judge whether an intervention is working. Which approach, begun in the 1970s at the University of Minnesota, is this? Wikipedia, Curriculum-based measurement. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • For a pupil with an IEP, a teacher shortens the passages, teaches with a multisensory method and gives the lessons in a small group. Which term of 34 CFR 300.39 covers adapting content, methodology and delivery? 34 CFR 300.39, Special education. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • In a resource room, each pupil gets a plastic chip for starting work within a minute, and chips buy computer time on Friday. The chips are worth nothing in themselves. What makes this a token economy? Wikipedia, Token economy. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • To teach shoe tying, a teacher completes every step for the pupil except the final pull, which the pupil does. Next she leaves the last two steps to him. Which procedure is this? Wikipedia, Chaining, Backward chaining. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0009
  • Under Minn. Stat. 125A.0942, when may a school use physical holding or seclusion with a child who has a disability? Minnesota Statutes 125A.0942, subdivision 3. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008
  • When a pupil finishes ten problems without prompting, his teacher takes away the five he dislikes most, and his independent work increases. Taking the problems away is an example of what? Wikipedia, Reinforcement. Written to the MTLE Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) framework, Subtest 2, objective 0008

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Subtest 2 (test code 201) of the Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examinations field Special Education Core Skills (Birth to Age 21) in the test framework on the MTLE website (https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/Content/Worksheets/MN200_FrameworkWorksheet.html; test page https://www.mtle.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MN200_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-12): 50 multiple-choice questions in 1 hour, passing score 230; Referral, Evaluation, Planning, and Programming (objectives 0006 and 0007, 25 questions, 50%) and Instructional Design, Teaching, and Ongoing Evaluation (0008 and 0009, 25 questions, 50%). This set holds 20: 10 and 10. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question: 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303 in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Minnesota Rules chapter 3525 and Minnesota Statutes chapter 125A on the Revisor of Statutes' website and the named Wikipedia articles. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

These free MTLE special education practice tests give each subtest of Special Education Core Skills its own 20-question set. They are unofficial, and neither the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board nor Pearson has any part in them.

Read the full guide

MTLE special ed practice test: what each subtest weighs

Subtest 1 weighs Professional Knowledge, Communication, and Collaboration at 70% and Scientifically Based Reading Instruction at 30%; Subtest 2 gives Referral, Evaluation, Planning, and Programming and Instructional Design, Teaching, and Ongoing Evaluation 50% each. That is the framework on the MTLE site as it read on October 12, 2026. Both sets keep the weights exactly, and a timed exam of 20 questions lasts 24 minutes, the real pace.

Minnesota's rules beside the federal ones

Eighteen questions rest on the federal IDEA regulations and eight on Minnesota law: evaluation within 30 school days, transition planning in grade 9, two interventions before a referral, the state's definitions of three disability categories, the briefing owed to a paraprofessional, and physical holding only in an emergency.

  • Minnesota lets a candidate sit the two subtests at one test appointment or one at a time.

Questions and answers

Is the MTLE Special Education Core Skills practice test on this page free?

It is, with nothing to sign up for. The 40 questions are ours alone, built from the framework's nine objectives and the regulation, rule or public page each explanation cites. None repeats an item of the real test or the official practice tests.

How many questions does MTLE Special Education Core Skills have?

Subtest 1 and Subtest 2 each have 50 multiple-choice questions and 1 hour of testing time, with a 15-minute tutorial first. By the test page, no reference materials are provided.

What do you need to pass MTLE Special Education Core Skills?

A score of 231 on Subtest 1 and 230 on Subtest 2, as the test page stood on October 12, 2026; passing one does not cover the other. How many right answers that takes is not published, so none is implied here.

What does Subtest 1 of MTLE Special Education Core Skills test?

Five objectives. Three are professional knowledge: the historical and legal foundations of special education, the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities, and communication and collaboration. Two are reading: oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling and fluency, then vocabulary, academic language and comprehension.

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