NYSTCE CST Physical Education Study Guide

An unofficial study guide to New York's Physical Education CST (192): its five competencies, then 50 questions with sources.

See all 50 with answers
At how many METs does vigorous-intensity activity begin in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans?

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Exam mode: 50 questions, 75 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the New York State Education Department or Pearson. Bank checked October 14, 2026.

The real test: what its own page says

Fee
$122
Format
Computer-based test: 90 selected-response items and 1 constructed-response item.
Time
3 hours 30 minutes in all: 15 minutes for the tutorial and nondisclosure agreement, then 3 hours 15 minutes of testing.
Test dates
All year by appointment, Mondays to Saturdays, some holidays excepted.
Test sites
Across New York State and around the country.
Test features
None listed.

Checked October 14, 2026 against the Physical Education CST (192) page of the NYSTCE site. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

The test's own page

Next step Praxis Physical Education practiceOAE Physical Education practice

All 50 questions with answers

Motor development and physical literacy 10

  • A lesson objective reads: "explains why a wide base of support helps balance". In which of the three domains of learning that New York's standards embed does it sit? Answer: Cognitive. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Guidance for Educators: Key Points. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • A ninth grader says the nearest pool is two bus rides away and the fee is more than she can pay. In the vocabulary of New York's standards, what is she naming? Answer: Barriers. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • A second grader strikes a balloon with a paddle. In the glossary of New York's standards, which kind of fundamental motor skill is striking? Answer: A manipulative skill. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
Show all 50 questions (47 more)

Motor development and physical literacy, continued

  • From grade 6, Standard 1 of New York's standards speaks of "specialized skills". How does the glossary define them? Answer: Fundamental skills adapted to the requirements of a particular sport or game. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • New York's 2020 physical education standards define physical literacy. Besides physical competence, knowledge and understanding, which two qualities does the definition name? Answer: Motivation and confidence. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • New York's standards describe some learners as "emerging". What does the glossary mean by the word? Answer: Learners in the beginning stages of acquiring motor skills and knowledge. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • New York's standards have six anchor standards. What does Standard 6 ask of students? Answer: To recognize career opportunities and manage personal and community resources. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards at a Glance (2020). Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • Two kindergartners roll balls at the same wall, side by side, each absorbed in her own ball and copying the other without playing together. Which of Parten's stages of play is this? Answer: Parallel play. Source: Wikipedia, "Parten's stages of play". Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • Which document was the principal one used to develop New York's 2020 physical education standards? Answer: SHAPE America's national standards and grade-level outcomes. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Understanding the Physical Education Learning Standards. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy
  • Which of these does the glossary of New York's standards class as a non-locomotor skill, a movement performed from a relatively stable base of support? Answer: Twisting. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0001, Motor Development and Physical Literacy

Health-related fitness 10

  • A skeletal muscle spans a joint and is attached to a bone at each end. What typically happens to the two bones when the muscle contracts? Answer: One stays relatively fixed while the other moves. Source: National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Structure of Skeletal Muscle. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • A student's legs and arms are strong, yet her movements are jerky and badly timed. Which part of the brain plays the leading part in the coordination, precision and timing of movement? Answer: The cerebellum. Source: Wikipedia, "Cerebellum". Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • At how many METs does vigorous-intensity activity begin in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans? Answer: 6.0 METs. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (2018), chapter 2. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • The glossary of New York's standards says fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise and what else? Answer: Sufficient rest. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • The glossary of New York's standards spells out the FITT formula with one variable beyond frequency, intensity, time and type. Which one? Answer: Enjoyment. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • How does the glossary of New York's standards tell exercise apart from physical activity in general? Answer: Exercise is planned, structured and repetitive, done to improve or maintain fitness. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • In what form do the liver and the skeletal muscles store glucose for later use as fuel? Answer: Glycogen. Source: Wikipedia, "Glycogen". Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • Which kind of activity do the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans say enhances the ability of a joint to move through the full range of motion? Answer: Flexibility activities. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (2018), chapter 2. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • Which list matches the "basic training principles" in the glossary of New York's standards? Answer: Specificity, overload, recovery, adaptation, progression and reversibility. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness
  • Which of these is a skill-related, not a health-related, component of fitness in the glossary of New York's standards? Answer: Reaction time. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0002, Health-Related Fitness

Movement concepts, skills and activities 10

  • A 0.4 kg ball is accelerated at 30 m/s² by a kick. By Newton's second law, what net force acts on the ball? Answer: 12 N. Source: Wikipedia, "Newton's laws of motion"; our own figures, worked out again. Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • A soccer team decides before the match to spread wide and open passing lanes. In the glossary of New York's standards, what is this plan called, as distinct from the actions that carry it out? Answer: A strategy. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • The glossary of New York's standards gives a full court press and a zone defense in basketball as examples of what? Answer: Complex tactics. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • In a table tennis game that has not reached 10 points each, how often does the serve pass from one opponent to the other? Answer: After every two points. Source: Wikipedia, "Table tennis". Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • In team handball, how far may a player travel with the ball in hand without dribbling? Answer: Up to three steps, for up to three seconds. Source: Wikipedia, "Handball". Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • In the glossary of New York's standards, which simple movement concept answers "with whom or what does the body move"? Answer: Relationships. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • In the target game of bocce, what do players try to roll their balls closest to? Answer: The pallino, a smaller ball also called the jack. Source: Wikipedia, "Bocce". Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • In which traditional Philippine folk dance do dancers step over and between bamboo poles that others tap and slide on the ground in rhythm? Answer: Tinikling. Source: Wikipedia, "Tinikling". Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • What does the glossary of New York's standards call activities such as kayaking, golf, pickleball and swimming, which a person can take part in across the lifespan? Answer: Lifetime activities. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities
  • Why can a high jumper using the Fosbury flop clear a bar that is higher than the path of the jumper's center of gravity? Answer: The arched body clears the bar part by part while its center of gravity stays under. Source: Wikipedia, "Fosbury flop". Framework section: Competency 0003, Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities

Mental, social and emotional health 10

  • A student keeps working at a climbing-wall route after falling four times. Which glossary term of New York's standards names continued effort despite difficulty, failure or opposition? Answer: Perseverance. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • A town has no sidewalks, no parks and no safe streets for play. Under which of the five domains of social determinants of health in Healthy People 2030 does that fall? Answer: Neighborhood and built environment. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2030, Social Determinants of Health. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • Hans Selye joined the Greek prefix for "good" to the word stress to name beneficial stress, such as the physical challenge of exercise. What is the word? Answer: Eustress. Source: Wikipedia, "Eustress". Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • How do New York's standards say the word "wellness" should be construed? Answer: As more than a healthy body, taking in mental and social-emotional well-being. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Guidance for Educators: Key Points. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • In which anchor standards do New York's physical education standards say the state's social emotional benchmarks and mental health education initiative are nested? Answer: Standards 4 to 6. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Context for Revision. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • New York's standards add a list of Physical Education Lifelong Practices. What part are the practices meant to play? Answer: The context for the standards, extending beyond graduation. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Physical Education Lifelong Practices. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • New York's standards cite the National Wellness Institute's dimensions of wellness: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, physical and occupational. How many dimensions is that? Answer: Six. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Introduction. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • Which anchor standard of New York's physical education standards speaks of enjoyment, challenge and self-expression? Answer: Standard 5, on the value of physical activity. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards at a Glance (2020). Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • Which glossary term of New York's standards means "knowing and reflecting on the perspectives of others"? Answer: Social awareness. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health
  • Which term in the glossary of New York's standards means "demonstrating respect for diversity and including others within a group setting"? Answer: Citizenship. Source: New York State Education Department, The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020), Glossary of Terms. Framework section: Competency 0004, Mental, Social, and Emotional Health

Instruction and assessment 10

  • A girl asks to try out for football, and the school fields no separate girls' team in the sport. Under section 135.4, who decides her fitness to take part in mixed competition? Answer: A panel of the school physician, a physical education teacher and, if the parents ask, their physician. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(7)(ii)(c)(2), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • A physician's note says a student cannot run for six weeks. What must an individual medical certificate of limitations indicate under section 135.4? Answer: The area of the program in which the pupil may participate. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(3)(i), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • A pupil is thought to have sustained a concussion in class. Under 8 NYCRR 136.5, what must be true before the pupil resumes athletic activity? Answer: Symptom free for at least 24 hours, with a licensed physician's signed authorization. Source: 8 NYCRR 136.5, Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • How often must a physical education teacher who works with pupils in school-sponsored athletic activities complete the course on mild traumatic brain injuries under 8 NYCRR 136.5? Answer: Every two years. Source: 8 NYCRR 136.5(b)(1), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • How often must pupils in grades K-3 take part in the physical education program under section 135.4 of the Commissioner's Regulations? Answer: Daily. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(2)(i), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • Under the Title IX regulations, on what basis may a school group students within a physical education class? Answer: Ability, assessed by objective standards applied without regard to sex. Source: 34 CFR 106.34(a)(2), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • What does Education Law 917 require school districts to provide and maintain on site in each instructional school facility? Answer: Automated external defibrillator equipment. Source: New York Education Law 917, public copy at newyork.public.law. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • What is the least physical education that section 135.4 allows for secondary pupils in grades 7 through 12? Answer: Three times a week in one semester and two in the other. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(2)(ii), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • What is the minimum time for physical education in grades K-6 under section 135.4, not counting dressing and showering? Answer: 120 minutes in each calendar week. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(2)(i), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment
  • Who must teach a district's adaptive physical education programs under section 135.4? Answer: A certified physical education teacher. Source: 8 NYCRR 135.4(c)(1)(iv), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, Physical Education Instruction and Assessment

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the five selected-response competencies of the NYSTCE Field 192: Physical Education Test Design and Framework, July 2022 (https://www.nystce.nesinc.com/content/docs/NY192_OBJ_FINAL.pdf, read 2026-10-14): Motor Development and Physical Literacy; Health-Related Fitness; Movement Concepts, Skills, and Activities; Mental, Social, and Emotional Health; and Physical Education Instruction and Assessment, each 18 of the 90 selected-response items. The bank holds 10 for each, 50 in all. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the public page the question names: The New York State Physical Education Learning Standards (2020) and their At a Glance sheet, sections 135.4 and 136.5 of the Commissioner's Regulations and 34 CFR 106.34 in the Legal Information Institute's copies, Education Law 917 in the public copy at newyork.public.law, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2nd edition), Healthy People 2030, the National Cancer Institute's SEER training modules, and Wikipedia articles that carried no warning banner that day. One question uses figures of our own, and the answer was worked out again. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This NYSTCE CST Physical Education study guide outlines what the test covers and adds 50 practice questions of our own. 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 test covers

The framework of July 2022 gives 18 of the 90 selected-response items to each of five competencies: motor development and physical literacy; health-related fitness; movement concepts, skills and activities; mental, social and emotional health; instruction and assessment. A sixth, pedagogical content knowledge, is one written response worth 20%.

What to study from

Two documents answer over half of this bank: New York's Physical Education Learning Standards of 2020, with their glossary, and section 135.4 of the Commissioner's Regulations, which sets how often each grade has physical education. Both are free to read.

Timing

The framework plans up to 135 minutes for the 90 items. Timed, the 50 questions here take 75 minutes, the same pace.

  • New York's sixth anchor standard, on careers and community resources, is easy to overlook.
  • Questions on the body and on fitness are practice for an exam, not medical advice.

Questions and answers

Is there a NYSTCE Physical Education study guide?

Yes. The NYSTCE site publishes a study guide for Physical Education CST (192) with the framework and sample questions, and sells a full-length practice test. This page is separate and unofficial: an outline, the documents to study from and practice questions.

What score passes the Physical Education CST?

520, the test's own page says. It is a scaled score, so the number of questions you get right here does not convert to it.

Are these questions from the real Physical Education CST?

No. All 50 are our own, written to the framework's five selected-response competencies. None is copied or reworded from the real test, its sample questions or its paid practice test.

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