• 48 questions

NES Physical Education Study Guide

Unofficial guide to the four domains of NES Physical Education, test 506, with free practice questions on every competency.

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A person has a body mass of 80 kilograms and a height of 2.0 meters. What is this person's body mass index?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series. Bank checked October 14, 2026.

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All 48 questions with answers

Growth and motor development 12

  • A kindergartner is learning to button a coat and to hold a pencil. Which kind of skill, the coordination of small muscles with the eyes, hands and fingers, is she developing? Answer: Fine motor skill. Source: Wikipedia, "Fine motor skill". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0001
  • A middle school teacher expects sudden changes in her students' height and weight. When in puberty does physical growth accelerate? Answer: In the first half of puberty. Source: Wikipedia, "Puberty". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0001
  • A student who has learned the overhand throw picks up the tennis serve quickly, because she uses the skills she already has in a new setting. What is this called? Answer: Transfer of learning. Source: Wikipedia, "Transfer of learning". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0003
  • A teacher splits serving practice into four 10-minute sessions over two weeks, not one 40-minute block. Which practice schedule is this, and how does it compare? Answer: Distributed practice, generally the more effective schedule. Source: Wikipedia, "Distributed practice". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0003
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Growth and motor development, continued

  • Before students try a forearm pass, the teacher and a skilled classmate show it several times while the class watches. Which kind of learning does the demonstration rely on? Answer: Observational learning. Source: Wikipedia, "Observational learning". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0003
  • How does anaerobic exercise compare with aerobic exercise? Answer: It is more intense and shorter, and it breaks down glucose without using oxygen. Source: Wikipedia, "Anaerobic exercise". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0002
  • How many stages does Erikson's theory of psychosocial development set out, and over what span of life? Answer: Eight stages, from infancy to late adulthood. Source: Wikipedia, "Erikson's stages of psychosocial development". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0001
  • In the first seconds of an all-out sprint, which compound in skeletal muscle serves as a rapidly mobilized reserve for recycling ATP? Answer: Phosphocreatine. Source: Wikipedia, "Phosphocreatine". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0002
  • The knee and the shoulder are joints enclosed in a capsule and filled with fluid, and they permit free movement of the bones. Which type of joint are they? Answer: Synovial joints. Source: Wikipedia, "Synovial joint". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0002
  • Which list gives Piaget's four stages of cognitive development in order? Answer: Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational. Source: Wikipedia, "Piaget's theory of cognitive development". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0001
  • Which of the three types of muscle tissue is typically attached to bones by tendons and looks striped under a microscope? Answer: Skeletal muscle. Source: Wikipedia, "Skeletal muscle". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0002
  • With her eyes closed, a gymnast on the beam can tell where her arms and legs are and how hard her muscles are working. Which sense supplies this information? Answer: Proprioception. Source: Wikipedia, "Proprioception". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0003

Movement activities 12

  • A basketball leaves a shooter's hand. With air resistance neglected, what path does the ball follow, and what happens to its horizontal velocity? Answer: A parabolic path, with constant horizontal velocity. Source: Wikipedia, "Projectile motion". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0004
  • A ropes course has low elements near the ground and high elements built in trees or on utility poles. What do the high elements require for safety? Answer: A belay. Source: Wikipedia, "Ropes course". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0006
  • A soccer ball kicked with sidespin curves in the air on its way to the goal. Which effect bends its path? Answer: The Magnus effect. Source: Wikipedia, "Magnus effect". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0004
  • A swimmer floats motionless in a pool. By Archimedes' principle, what is the size of the buoyant force holding her up? Answer: The weight of the water she displaces. Source: Wikipedia, "Buoyancy". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0004
  • A swimmer pushes backward against the pool wall, and the wall pushes her forward with a force of the same size. Which of Newton's laws describes this? Answer: The third: forces between two bodies are equal in size and opposite in direction. Source: Wikipedia, "Newton's laws of motion". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0004
  • A teacher sets up a team handball game by the standard rules. How many players does each team put on the court? Answer: Seven: six court players and a goalkeeper. Source: Wikipedia, "Handball". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0005
  • A teacher switches to a song with fewer beats per minute so that beginners can keep up with a new dance step. Which element of the music has she changed? Answer: Tempo. Source: Wikipedia, "Tempo". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0006
  • A teacher wants a dance form in which no student needs a partner and no one is in physical contact with another dancer. Which form fits? Answer: Line dance. Source: Wikipedia, "Line dance". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0006
  • In a basketball game a student catches a pass and takes more steps than the rules allow without dribbling. What is the call, and what follows? Answer: Traveling, and the other team gets the ball. Source: Wikipedia, "Traveling (basketball)". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0005
  • In a soccer game, a forward stands in an offside position while a teammate plays the ball backward, and she takes no part in the play. Has she committed an offence? Answer: No. Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself. Source: Wikipedia, "Offside (association football)". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0005
  • In pickleball, a 7-foot area lies on each side of the net. What may a player standing in that area not do? Answer: Strike the ball before it has bounced. Source: Wikipedia, "Pickleball". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0005
  • Pairs of students use a map and a compass to find a series of checkpoints in a park as quickly as they can. Which adventure activity is this? Answer: Orienteering. Source: Wikipedia, "Orienteering". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0006

Lifelong physical fitness 12

  • A class runs 200 meters hard, jogs slowly for 200 meters, and repeats the pair eight times. Which type of training is this? Answer: Interval training. Source: Wikipedia, "Interval training". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0007
  • A class works through a series of group challenges in which students settle who does what and practice solving problems together. Which term covers activities that improve how a group works and define roles within it? Answer: Team building. Source: Wikipedia, "Team building". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0009
  • A coach has sprinters hold long static stretches just before a race. Which effect of this practice has research reported? Answer: It can temporarily reduce muscular strength and maximal performance. Source: Wikipedia, "Stretching". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0007
  • A person has a body mass of 80 kilograms and a height of 2.0 meters. What is this person's body mass index? Answer: 20. Source: Wikipedia, "Body mass index". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0008
  • A student writes four fitness goals. Which one is specific, measurable and time-bound, as the SMART criteria ask? Answer: Jog 20 minutes without stopping, 3 days a week, by May 1. Source: Wikipedia, "SMART criteria". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0008
  • A teacher chooses ultimate for a unit on honesty and settling disputes. Which feature of the sport fits that aim? Answer: Players call their own fouls, with no referee. Source: Wikipedia, "Ultimate frisbee". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0009
  • A teacher wants to assess body composition directly, not height and weight alone. Which pair of methods is used to determine body fat percentage? Answer: Calipers and bioelectrical impedance analysis. Source: Wikipedia, "Body fat percentage". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0008
  • After finishing a climbing route she thought was beyond her, a student believes she can do what it takes to reach her other goals. Which belief has grown? Answer: Self-efficacy. Source: Wikipedia, "Self-efficacy". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0009
  • In a wall sit the thigh muscles contract hard, yet the angle of the knee does not visibly change. Which kind of exercise is this? Answer: Isometric. Source: Wikipedia, "Isometric exercise". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0007
  • In the PACER test, students run 20 meters back and forth in time with beeps that come faster each minute. What does the test estimate? Answer: Aerobic capacity. Source: Wikipedia, "Multi-stage fitness test". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0008
  • Which component of fitness is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to the skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity? Answer: Cardiorespiratory fitness. Source: Wikipedia, "Cardiorespiratory fitness". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0007
  • Which term names the ethos that an activity should be enjoyed for its own sake, with fairness, respect and a sense of fellowship with competitors? Answer: Sportsmanship. Source: Wikipedia, "Sportsmanship". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0009

The physical education program 12

  • A child with a disability is not in a separate facility, and her IEP does not prescribe specially designed physical education. Which physical education program must she have the opportunity to join? Answer: The regular program available to nondisabled children. Source: 34 CFR 300.108(b), the IDEA regulations (eCFR). Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0011
  • A district buys new uniforms and equipment for its boys' teams every year and none for its girls' teams. Which federal law, enacted in 1972, prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funds? Answer: Title IX. Source: Wikipedia, "Title IX". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0012
  • A lesson objective reads: "The student will demonstrate a mature overhand throw." To which domain of Bloom's taxonomy does it belong? Answer: Psychomotor, the action-based domain. Source: Wikipedia, "Bloom's taxonomy". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0010
  • A student can do a cartwheel only when a teacher or a more skilled classmate supports her. In which range does this skill lie for her? Answer: The zone of proximal development. Source: Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0010
  • A student is hurt in class, and the family brings a negligence claim. Which list gives the elements such a claim includes? Answer: Duty, breach of that duty, cause of harm, and damages. Source: Wikipedia, "Negligence". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0012
  • At the end of a badminton unit, a teacher scores each student's serve and clear against the unit's standard. Which kind of assessment is this? Answer: Summative. Source: Wikipedia, "Summative assessment". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0011
  • During a dribbling lesson a teacher watches the class, notes who loses the ball on turns, and changes the next drill to fit what she saw. Which kind of assessment is this? Answer: Formative. Source: Wikipedia, "Formative assessment". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0011
  • For a striking lesson a teacher sets up three stations with balls of different sizes and targets at different distances, so that every student can learn the skill. Which approach is this? Answer: Differentiated instruction. Source: Wikipedia, "Differentiated instruction". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0010
  • One student has injured the ligaments of an ankle joint. Another has torn fibers of a thigh muscle. Which names match the two injuries? Answer: The first is a sprain, and the second is a strain. Source: Wikipedia, "Sprain" and Wikipedia, "Strain (injury)". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0012
  • Students design their own fitness circuits, set their own pace and judge their own progress, and the teacher acts as a guide. Which kind of teaching is this? Answer: Student-centered learning. Source: Wikipedia, "Student-centered learning". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0010
  • Under the federal special education regulations, to whom must physical education services, specially designed if necessary, be made available? Answer: Every child with a disability receiving a free appropriate public education. Source: 34 CFR 300.108(a), the IDEA regulations (eCFR). Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0011
  • Which doctrine, whose Latin name means "in the place of a parent", gives schools discretion to act in the best interests of their students? Answer: In loco parentis. Source: Wikipedia, "In loco parentis". Outline: NES Physical Education (506) framework, competency 0012

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test framework for NES Physical Education, test 506, read 2026-10-14 on the National Evaluation Series site (https://www.nestest.com/static/docs/NES_Framework_506.pdf; test page https://www.nestest.com/test/506): Growth and Motor Development (competencies 0001 to 0003, 25%), Movement Activities (0004 to 0006, 25%), Lifelong Physical Fitness (0007 to 0009, 25%) and The Physical Education Program (0010 to 0012, 25%). The bank holds 4 questions for each of the 12 competencies. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the source the question names: the opening section of a named Wikipedia article (46 questions) and the federal special education regulation on physical education, 34 CFR 300.108, on the eCFR (2). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

Use this free NES Physical Education study guide to see what test 506 asks and to try 48 practice questions of our own. It is unofficial and not affiliated with Pearson, which owns the National Evaluation Series.

Read the full guide

What test 506 covers

The framework, read October 14, 2026, splits NES Physical Education (506) into four equal domains of three competencies each: Growth and Motor Development, Movement Activities, Lifelong Physical Fitness, and The Physical Education Program.

The practice test

Twelve questions stand on each domain, four on each competency. A timed run draws 45 of them in 54 minutes, the pace of the real test.

Where the answers come from

A named Wikipedia article stands behind each answer, and the explanation says which one. The two questions on physical education for students with disabilities go to the federal rule itself, 34 CFR 300.108.

  • The four domains weigh the same, so a weak one costs as much as any other: motor development, movement and sport, fitness, and teaching.
  • The Physical Education Program domain is teaching and law: how students learn, lesson planning, assessment, Title IX, negligence and safety.

Questions and answers

Is this free NES Physical Education 506 practice test the real exam?

It is not. All 48 questions are our own, made from the public 506 framework one competency and one named source at a time; no real test item, official sample question or paid practice test was opened.

How many questions are on the NES Physical Education test?

150, all multiple choice, with 3 hours to answer them. A 15-minute tutorial and nondisclosure agreement come first, so plan on 3 hours and 15 minutes at a test center or with an online proctor.

What is the passing score for NES Physical Education?

The test page prints a National Benchmark score of 220 and links no state's passing score, so your state's licensing agency is the place to ask. A count of right answers here cannot be turned into that scaled score.

Is NES Physical Education 516 the same test as 506?

No. The NES site marks 516 as a redeveloped test, first given April 14, 2025: 100 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours. It says the older version remains available, and this bank follows that older one, 506. Your state's credentialing agency decides which you take.

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