• 42 questions

NES Early Childhood Education Practice Test

Unofficial questions for NES Early Childhood Education, test 101, from child development to work with families, each with its source.

On a classroom map, which feature shows the directions north, south, east and west?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 42 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 42 questions, 50 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

Next step MTTC Early Childhood practiceNES Professional Knowledge (051)

All 42 questions

Child development and learning 9

  • A parent asks to see the assessment records a public school keeps on her five-year-old. Which federal law gives her that right? Wikipedia, "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0002
  • A report says a kindergartner scored higher than 60 percent of children the same age across the country. What kind of test produces a score like that? Wikipedia, "Norm-referenced test". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0002
  • A teacher lays out two matching rows of six counters, and a four-year-old agrees that they hold the same number. The teacher spreads one row out, and the child now says that row has more. In Piaget's theory, which ability has the child not yet developed? Wikipedia, "Conservation (psychology)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0001
  • A teacher plans her room from what is known about how four-year-olds develop, what she has seen of each child, and what she knows of the families and community. Which approach is she following? Wikipedia, "Developmentally appropriate practice". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0003
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Child development and learning, continued

  • A teacher tells a child, "You put every block back on the shelf. Thank you!" The child tidies up more often afterward. Which principle of behavior guidance explains the change? Wikipedia, "Reinforcement". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0003
  • A three-year-old stands at the edge of the block area and watches two children build a road. She asks them where the cars will go but does not pick up a block. Which of Parten's stages of play is this? Wikipedia, "Parten's stages of play". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0001
  • After a unit on butterflies, a teacher lets each child show what was learned by drawing, by building a model or by telling it to a recorder. Which principle of Universal Design for Learning is this? Wikipedia, "Universal Design for Learning". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0003
  • Alone, Maya finishes 12-piece puzzles and gives up on 24-piece ones. When her teacher suggests sorting the edge pieces first, she completes a 24-piece puzzle. A 100-piece puzzle defeats her even with hints. In Vygotsky's terms, which puzzle is in her zone of proximal development? Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0001
  • During a counting activity a teacher notes which children skip numbers and uses the notes to regroup the children for the next day. What kind of assessment is this? Wikipedia, "Formative assessment". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0002

Language and literacy development 12

  • A child starts to grasp that the letter m stands for the sound at the beginning of "moon." Which understanding is developing? Wikipedia, "Alphabetic principle". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0005
  • A kindergartner writes "I LK MI DG" for "I like my dog." What does this invented spelling show the teacher? Wikipedia, "Whole language". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0007
  • A seven-year-old decodes every word of a story correctly but pauses after each word and reads straight through the punctuation in a monotone. Which area of reading needs the most work? Wikipedia, "Fluency". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0006
  • A teacher and her kindergartners agree on a sentence about their field trip. Children take turns coming to the chart to write the letters and words they know, and the teacher writes the rest. What is this method called? Wikipedia, "Interactive writing". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0007
  • A teacher hands a child a picture book upside down and back to front, then watches whether the child turns it the right way and shows where the words are. What is she assessing? Wikipedia, "Emergent literacies". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0005
  • A teacher says the word "sun" and the children say its sounds one at a time: /s/, /ʌ/, /n/. Which skill are they practicing? Wikipedia, "Phonemic awareness". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0005
  • At 22 months, Mia speaks in two-word sentences such as "Doggie run" and "Mommy sock," leaving out words like "is" and "the." What is this kind of speech called? Wikipedia, "Telegraphic speech". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0004
  • In a phonics lesson on the word "ship," what should the teacher call the letters sh? Wikipedia, "Digraph (orthography)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0006
  • Lina, age five, joined a kindergarten class two months ago speaking only Arabic. She follows the routines, nods and points, but does not yet speak English in class. How is this best understood? Wikipedia, "Silent period". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0004
  • "Look, two gooses! They goed in the water," says a four-year-old. What do these errors show about his language development? Wikipedia, "Regularization (linguistics)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0004
  • Which list gives the stages of the writing process in the order of the traditional model? Wikipedia, "Writing process". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0007
  • Why are very common words taught to young children as sight words? Wikipedia, "Sight word". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0006

Learning across the curriculum 15

  • A child asks why it gets dark at night. With a globe and a lamp, which fact should the teacher model? Wikipedia, "Earth's rotation". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0012
  • A child counting five toy bears touches one bear twice and announces "six." Which counting idea does the child still need to develop? Wikipedia, "Counting". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0010
  • A class raises tadpoles in a tank. Which change should the children expect to record as the tadpoles turn into frogs? Wikipedia, "Tadpole". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0012
  • A teacher asks, "Who is third in line today?" What kind of number is "third"? Wikipedia, "Ordinal numeral". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0010
  • A teacher holds up domino halves showing two, three or four dots for a moment, and the children say how many there are without counting. Which skill are they using? Wikipedia, "Subitizing". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0010
  • A teacher sets up one station for tossing beanbags into a hoop and another for kicking a ball at a cone. Which group of gross motor skills do the two stations practice? Wikipedia, "Gross motor skill". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0009
  • At the easel a child mixes red paint with yellow paint. Which color appears, and what kind of color is it in the red, yellow and blue model used in art classes? Wikipedia, "RYB color model". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0008
  • Children act out waking up, brushing their teeth and eating breakfast, using only their bodies and faces and no words. What is this drama activity called? Wikipedia, "Mime artist". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0008
  • Children sing a lullaby very softly and then a marching song loudly. Which element of music are they exploring? Wikipedia, "Dynamics (music)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0008
  • Children test classroom objects with a magnet. Which object will the magnet pull toward it? Wikipedia, "Magnet". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0012
  • In a lesson on national symbols, a child asks what the 13 stripes on the United States flag stand for. What should the teacher say? Wikipedia, "Flag of the United States". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0011
  • In a nutrition lesson, children sort picture cards of foods onto the MyPlate graphic. Which food groups does that graphic show? Wikipedia, "MyPlate". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0009
  • In a unit on community workers, children sort what workers provide into goods and services. Which of these is a service? Wikipedia, "Service (economics)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0011
  • In what order do babies usually gain control of their large muscles? Wikipedia, "Gross motor skill". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0009
  • On a classroom map, which feature shows the directions north, south, east and west? Wikipedia, "Compass rose". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0011

Professional relationships and responsibilities 6

  • A preschool teacher sees signs that make her suspect a child is being neglected at home. As a mandated reporter, what is she required to do? Wikipedia, "Mandated reporter". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0014
  • A teacher and a parent talk each week and agree on the same story-time routine at home and at school. In Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, which system holds this link between family and school? Wikipedia, "Ecological systems theory". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0013
  • A teacher learns from home visits that several families keep gardens and repair engines, and she builds lessons on that know-how. Which idea is she putting into practice? Wikipedia, "Funds of knowledge". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0013
  • A two-year-old with a developmental delay qualifies for early intervention services. Which document is written to plan those services? Wikipedia, "Individualized Family Service Plan". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0014
  • Which educator invented the kindergarten and gave it its name? Wikipedia, "Friedrich Fröbel". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0014
  • Which federal program, begun in 1965, provides early childhood education together with health, nutrition and parent involvement services for children and families with low incomes? Wikipedia, "Head Start (program)". Outline: NES Early Childhood Education (101) framework, competency 0013

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test framework for NES Early Childhood Education, test 101, read 2026-10-12 on the National Evaluation Series site (https://www.nestest.com/static/docs/NES_Framework_101.pdf; test page https://www.nestest.com/test/101): Child Development and Learning (competencies 0001 to 0003, 21%), Language and Literacy Development (0004 to 0007, 29%), Learning Across the Curriculum (0008 to 0012, 36%) and Professional Relationships and Responsibilities (0013 to 0014, 14%). The bank holds 3 questions for each of the 14 competencies. Every definition and fact was read on 2026-10-12 in the Wikipedia article the question names. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free NES Early Childhood Education practice test has 42 questions of our own, three for each of the 14 competencies of test 101. It is unofficial and not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series.

Read the full guide

Study guide: the four domains

On the framework read October 12, 2026, test 101 weights Child Development and Learning 21%, Language and Literacy Development 29%, Learning Across the Curriculum 36%, and Professional Relationships and Responsibilities 14%. The bank holds 9, 12, 15 and 6 questions.

What the questions are like

Most set a scene with children from birth through age 8 and ask for the term or principle behind it: onlooker play, print awareness, subitizing, the mesosystem. Each explanation names the article where the definition can be read.

Timing

Exam mode keeps the real test's pace of 72 seconds a question: all 42 in 50 minutes.

  • The test page lists no reference materials for test 101, so nothing is supplied on screen.
  • Learning Across the Curriculum is over a third of the score: arts, health and movement, mathematics, social studies and science.

Questions and answers

Is this NES Early Childhood Education practice test free?

Yes, with no sign-up. The 42 questions are our own, written to the competencies of the 101 framework. Nothing is taken or reworded from the real test, the study guide's sample questions or the paid practice test.

How many questions are on the NES Early Childhood Education test?

There are 150, all multiple choice. Testing time is 3 hours, and a 15-minute tutorial and nondisclosure agreement bring the whole appointment to 3 hours and 15 minutes.

What is the passing score for NES Early Childhood Education?

Oregon and Washington have passing scores linked from the test page, which names 220 as the national benchmark on the scaled score. A state may set its own. This page reports a number right only.

What ages does NES Early Childhood Education cover?

Birth through age 8. Ten of the 14 competencies of the 101 framework name that span in their own wording, from oral language to science. The NES list also holds separate Early Childhood Education Subtests I (108) and II (109).

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