Foundations of language and literacy development 7
A fourth grader reads aloud accurately and at a good rate but cannot retell the passage, and he also misses the point of stories read to him. Which component of reading comprehension most needs attention?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), glossary. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.3 Theoretical and Research Foundations
A parent asks why a child who chats easily at home struggles with the language of textbooks. Which answer is accurate?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), glossary. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.2 Factors Affecting Language and Literacy Development
A sixth grader stops at "unpredictable", spots un-, predict and -able, and then reads the word. Which kind of language knowledge did the student use?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), glossary. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.1 Foundations of Language and Literacy Development
Show all 60 questions (57 more)
Foundations of language and literacy development, continued
According to the National Reading Panel, for whom is phonics instruction designed?National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000), phonics instruction. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.3 Theoretical and Research Foundations
As the Literacy CST framework uses the terms, what must be true of a "research-based" practice that need not be true of an "evidence-based" one?NYSTCE Field 065: Literacy, Test Design and Framework, May 2018: Competency 0001, 1.3 Theoretical and Research Foundations
What did the National Reading Panel conclude about programs that simply encourage students to read more on their own?National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000), fluency. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.3 Theoretical and Research Foundations
Which finding about phonemic awareness teaching did the National Reading Panel report?National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000), phonemic awareness instruction. Framework section: Competency 0001, 1.3 Theoretical and Research Foundations
Literacy instruction and assessment 11
A kindergarten screening in September flags many children who, it turns out, would have done fine without extra help. What does the IES guide call these children?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.2 Foundations of Effective Literacy Assessment
A reading specialist gives the students in a tier 2 group a one-minute oral reading probe every third week and graphs the scores. What is this, and how often does the IES guide say to do it at the least?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.2 Foundations of Effective Literacy Assessment
A screening assessment flags a seventh grader as a struggling reader. According to the IES guide on adolescent literacy, what should come next?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 5. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.3 Assessment of Students' Literacy Development
A student reads a 120-word passage aloud and makes 6 errors. What is the oral reading accuracy?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), glossary. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.3 Assessment of Students' Literacy Development
A teacher names a summarizing strategy, thinks aloud while using it, summarizes a paragraph together with the class, and then has students summarize alone. Which instructional pattern is this?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.1 Foundations of Effective Literacy Instruction
During the regular reading block a third-grade teacher groups all of her students by their current reading levels, found by assessment, and teaches each group accordingly. In the IES guide on response to intervention, which tier is this?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendation 2. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.1 Foundations of Effective Literacy Instruction
In New York's English language arts standards, at which grade does writing standard 5, drawing evidence from texts, begin?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), writing standard 5. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.1 Foundations of Effective Literacy Instruction
New York's response to intervention regulation says what appropriate instruction in reading must include. Which list matches it?Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, 8 NYCRR 100.2(ii), Response to intervention programs (Legal Information Institute copy), paragraph (1)(i)(a). Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.1 Foundations of Effective Literacy Instruction
Under New York's regulation on response to intervention programs, what must parents receive when their child requires an intervention beyond that provided to all students?Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, 8 NYCRR 100.2(ii), Response to intervention programs (Legal Information Institute copy), paragraph (1)(vi). Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.2 Foundations of Effective Literacy Assessment
Which plan follows the IES advice for raising adolescents' motivation and engagement in literacy?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.1 Foundations of Effective Literacy Instruction
Which three qualities does the IES guide on response to intervention ask of a school's reading screening measures?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0002, 2.2 Foundations of Effective Literacy Assessment
Role of the literacy professional 5
A district adopts a response to intervention program. What does New York's regulation require of the district with respect to its staff?Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, 8 NYCRR 100.2(ii), Response to intervention programs (Legal Information Institute copy), paragraph (3). Framework section: Competency 0003, 3.2 Leadership and Professional Development in Literacy
A literacy specialist reviews kindergarten classroom libraries against the description in New York's standards. Which library fits it?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), Kindergarten Introduction. Framework section: Competency 0003, 3.1 Literate Environment
A second grader has made minimal progress after a reasonable time in tier 2 small groups. According to the IES guide on response to intervention, who should design the tier 3 plan?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendations 4 and 5. Framework section: Competency 0003, 3.2 Leadership and Professional Development in Literacy
Under New York's regulation, who selects and defines the structure of a response to intervention program, including the levels of intervention and how often progress is monitored?Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, 8 NYCRR 100.2(ii), Response to intervention programs (Legal Information Institute copy), paragraph (2). Framework section: Competency 0003, 3.2 Leadership and Professional Development in Literacy
Which plan matches tier 2 intervention as the IES guide on response to intervention describes it?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades (NCEE 2009-4045), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0003, 3.2 Leadership and Professional Development in Literacy
Reading and writing: foundational skills 10
A kindergarten team plans phonemic awareness lessons that rotate through six kinds of phoneme tasks each week. Which National Reading Panel finding bears on the plan?National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000), phonemic awareness instruction. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.1 Emergent Literacy Development
A second grader reads "The bus stepped at the corner" and keeps going. Which practice from the IES foundational skills guide addresses this?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.3 Fluency
A struggling first grader blends "sun" and "man" but stalls on "bat" and "tap". Which feature of the second pair explains the difficulty?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), glossary. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.1 Emergent Literacy Development
A teacher shows a picture of a ship, says the word, stresses /sh/, then names and writes the letters s and h. Which spelling skill from the IES writing guide is she teaching?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), table 6. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.4 Spelling and Writing Conventions
A third grader is stuck on "unhappiness". In the word-analysis strategy of the IES foundational skills guide, what is the first step?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), example 3.6. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.2 Phonics and Word Recognition
At which grade do New York's foundational skills standards move on from two-syllable words to "multi-syllabic words"?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standards 2RF3c and 3RF3b. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.2 Phonics and Word Recognition
How does the IES guide advise teaching a regular high-frequency word such as "did", as opposed to an irregular one such as "was"?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.2 Phonics and Word Recognition
Right after a lesson on the spelling oi, which practice does the IES foundational skills guide call for?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.2 Phonics and Word Recognition
Students join "The cat is gray. The cat is asleep." into "The gray cat is asleep." Which part of recommendation 3 of the IES guide on elementary writing does the exercise practice?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.4 Spelling and Writing Conventions
What did the National Reading Panel find when it analyzed guided oral reading procedures?National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000), fluency. Framework section: Competency 0004, 4.3 Fluency
Text complexity and text comprehension 11
A reader notices that a paragraph stopped making sense, rereads it and looks up one word. Which kind of comprehension strategy from the IES guide is this?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.1 Development of Text Comprehension
A second-grade teacher lists clue words for the sequence structure of informational text. Which set fits?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), table 6. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.1 Development of Text Comprehension
A specialist coaches a teacher who is about to introduce a new comprehension strategy to ninth graders. Which advice comes from the IES guide on adolescent literacy?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 2. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.1 Development of Text Comprehension
A specialist reports a readability score for each book in a sixth-grade text set. Which of the three factors of text complexity does the score address?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Standard 10: Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading, Measuring Text Complexity: Three Factors. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.3 Measurement of Text Complexity
In a seventh-grade science unit, which word is Tier Three vocabulary as the Literacy CST framework uses the term?NYSTCE Field 065: Literacy, Test Design and Framework, May 2018: Competency 0005, 5.1 Development of Text Comprehension
In the IES comprehension guide for kindergarten through grade 3, which practice belongs to guiding high-quality discussion of text?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.2 Role of Oral Language and Writing in Text Comprehension
Two classes read the same article. One class scans it for a date. The other must evaluate the author's argument. Which part of text complexity differs between the classes?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Standard 10: Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading, Measuring Text Complexity: Three Factors. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.3 Measurement of Text Complexity
Which guideline for choosing texts comes from the IES guide on reading comprehension in kindergarten through grade 3?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2010-4038), recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.4 Text Selection
Which list gives the qualitative factors of text complexity as the Common Core State Standards name them?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Standard 10: Range, Quality, and Complexity of Student Reading, Measuring Text Complexity: Three Factors. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.3 Measurement of Text Complexity
Which statement is one of the "Lifelong Practices of Readers" in New York's standards?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), Lifelong Practices of Readers and Writers. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.1 Development of Text Comprehension
Which step does the IES guide on adolescent literacy recommend for extended discussion of text?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0005, 5.2 Role of Oral Language and Writing in Text Comprehension
Reading and writing: different types of text 7
A science teacher tells the literacy specialist, "Reading is the English department's job." Which point from New York's grades 6–12 literacy standards answers him?New York State Education Department, Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects, Grades 6-12 (2017), Introduction. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.3 Development of Disciplinary Literacy
A social studies teacher wants a task for New York's grades 6–8 literacy standard RH7. Which task fits?New York State Education Department, Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects, Grades 6-12 (2017), standard RH7, grades 6-8. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.1 Reading Literature and Informational Text
A specialist hears a teacher tell students that planning must be finished before drafting and may never be reopened. Which IES recommendation answers this?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), recommendation 2a. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.2 Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences
How much daily writing time does the IES panel recommend for students, beginning in grade 1?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.2 Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences
In the IES guide on teaching elementary writers, which purpose of writing covers summaries, instructions and science reports?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), table 4. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.2 Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences
New York's reading standard 1 asks fifth graders to find the relevant details and evidence and point to them. How does the grade 8 wording raise the demand?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standards 5R1 and 8R1. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.1 Reading Literature and Informational Text
Which task matches the reading standards New York sets for grades 6–8 literacy in history and social studies?New York State Education Department, Next Generation Learning Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects, Grades 6-12 (2017), standard RH8, grades 6-8. Framework section: Competency 0006, 6.3 Development of Disciplinary Literacy
Language and vocabulary development 9
A fifth-grade group is discussing a chapter. Which behavior does New York's standard 5SL1 describe?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standard 5SL1. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.1 Oral Communication Skills and Command of English Grammar and Usage
A fourth grader writes, "Because the rain stopped." Which conventions skill from New York's standards applies?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), Appendix A, core conventions skills. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.1 Oral Communication Skills and Command of English Grammar and Usage
A middle school team teaches each new word once, on Monday, with a definition. Which change follows the IES guide on adolescent literacy?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
A specialist helps sixth graders rehearse oral presentations. Which delivery features does New York's grade 6 presentation standard name?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standard 6SL4. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.1 Oral Communication Skills and Command of English Grammar and Usage
A student is puzzled by the phrase "a piece of cake" used for an easy task in a grade 4 text. Which New York grade 4 standard covers this kind of language?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standard 4L5b. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
According to the IES guide on adolescent literacy, where does explicit vocabulary instruction belong?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Fourth graders study what "photograph", "telegraph" and "autograph" share. Which New York grade 4 standard is the lesson built on?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standard 4L4b. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Which practice from the IES guide on adolescent literacy prepares students for unknown words they meet when no teacher is present?IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Which task matches New York's grade 5 language standard on varieties of English?New York State Education Department, English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017), standard 5L3b. Framework section: Competency 0007, 7.1 Oral Communication Skills and Command of English Grammar and Usage
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the seven selected-response competencies of the NYSTCE Field 065: Literacy Test Design and Framework, May 2018, authorized for distribution by the New York State Education Department (https://www.nystce.nesinc.com/content/docs/NY_fld65_objs.pdf, read 2026-10-10): Foundations of Language and Literacy Development 10 selected-response items, Foundations of Literacy Instruction and Assessment 17, Role of the Literacy Professional 8, Reading & Writing: Foundational Skills 15, Text Complexity and Text Comprehension 16, Reading & Writing: Different Types of Text 11, Language and Vocabulary Development 13. The bank holds two thirds of each: 7, 11, 5, 10, 11, 7 and 9. Every fact was read on 2026-10-10 in the public document the question names: the New York State English Language Arts Learning Standards and the Grades 6-12 literacy standards (nysed.gov), the response to intervention regulation 8 NYCRR 100.2(ii) in the Legal Information Institute's copy (law.cornell.edu), five Institute of Education Sciences practice guides (ies.ed.gov), the National Reading Panel's reports of the subgroups (nichd.nih.gov), the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (corestandards.org) and the framework itself. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This CST Literacy practice test has 60 questions of our own on the seven selected-response competencies of New York's Literacy (065) framework. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the New York State Education Department or Pearson.
Read the full guide
What the real test asks
The framework of May 2018 plans 90 selected-response items over seven competencies, from 8 on the role of the literacy professional to 17 on instruction and assessment, designed for up to 135 minutes. They carry 80% of the score. One written analysis of professional literature carries 20%, and this page does not mark writing.
Timing here
Exam mode asks all 60 questions in 90 minutes, the pace of 90 in 135.
A literacy CST practice test with sources
Each answer names what it was checked against: New York's learning standards and its response to intervention regulation, five federal practice guides on reading and writing, and the National Reading Panel's report.
The test is for literacy specialists, so many questions ask what you would advise a teacher or how you would read screening data.
Questions and answers
What is on the Literacy CST practice test?
Seven groups of questions: foundations of language and literacy, instruction and assessment, the literacy professional's role, foundational skills, text complexity and comprehension, types of text, and language and vocabulary. Topics run from false positives in screening to Tier Three words.
What score do you need to pass the Literacy CST?
520, by the test's own page. It is a scaled score and not a count of right answers, so this page shows how many you got right and gives no pass verdict.
Are these real NYSTCE Literacy questions?
No. Every question is our own, written to New York's Test Design and Framework of May 2018. None is copied or reworded from the real test or from the sample questions in its preparation materials.
Is the Literacy CST the same as the literacy part of the Multi-Subject test?
No. Literacy (065) is a separate content specialty test for the literacy specialist, with a written response on professional literature. Part One of each Multi-Subject test covers literacy teaching for classroom teachers.