A district argues that an IEP is adequate if it offers a benefit that is merely more than trivial. Which Supreme Court decision of 2017 rejected that standard?Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, 580 U.S. 386 (2017), syllabus, Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator a
A mother wants the parent of another student with a disability to sit on the committee on special education at her son's meeting. What does New York's Part 200 require?8 NYCRR 200.3(a)(1)(viii) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator c
A student is found eligible, but his parents refuse consent for special education to begin. What may the district do?34 CFR 300.300(b)(3), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator c
A timeline in New York's Part 200 says only "days", with no other word. How are the days counted?8 NYCRR 200.1(n) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator b
Show all 60 questions (56 more)
Foundations of special education, continued
In New York's Part 200, which service has a special education teacher consult with a student's regular education teachers to help them adjust the learning environment or modify their methods?8 NYCRR 200.1(m) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator e
Parents file a due process complaint against a proposed change of placement. Where does the student attend while the case is pending, unless the parents and the agency agree otherwise?34 CFR 300.518(a), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator b
Under New York's Part 200, a student with a disability is a student who has not reached which age before September 1st?8 NYCRR 200.1(zz) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0001, performance indicator c
Knowledge of students with disabilities 7
A student has been withdrawn and unhappy for two weeks after a move. Which part of the federal definition of emotional disturbance is not yet met?34 CFR 300.8(c)(4), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator b
A student reads far below grade level. The team finds the cause is mainly a hearing loss. Why does the category of specific learning disability not apply?34 CFR 300.8(c)(10), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator c
A student scores far below average on an intelligence test, yet she manages daily living, communication and social tasks as well as others her age. Why does the IDEA category of intellectual disability not fit?34 CFR 300.8(c)(6), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator b
A student's hearing loss fluctuates, and with hearing aids she follows speech in class. Which IDEA category fits her rather than deafness?34 CFR 300.8(c)(3) and (c)(5), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator b
The federal regulations name a category emotional disturbance. What does New York's Part 200 call the same category?8 NYCRR 200.1(zz)(4) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator b
Which injury fits the IDEA category of traumatic brain injury?34 CFR 300.8(c)(12), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator b
With a number line on her desk and a cue from her teacher, a student can subtract across zero. Without them she cannot. What did Vygotsky call this band of tasks?Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development". Framework section: Competency 0002, performance indicator a
Assessment and individual program planning 16
A math test is written in such dense prose that it mostly measures reading. Which quality does the test lack as a measure of math?Wikipedia, "Test validity". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator b
A New York IEP reports a student's needs in four areas: academic achievement and learning characteristics, social development, physical development and one more. Which?8 NYCRR 200.1(ww)(3)(i) and 200.4(d)(2)(i) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator i
A New York special class is for students whose management needs interfere with instruction so that another adult is needed in the room. What is its maximum size?8 NYCRR 200.6(h)(4) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, continuum of services), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator h
A New York student's IEP recommends a resource room program. What is the least instruction per week the student must receive there?8 NYCRR 200.6(f) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, continuum of services), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator h
A newly enrolled student who speaks mainly Haitian Creole is referred for evaluation. How must the assessments be given unless it is clearly not feasible?34 CFR 300.304(c)(1), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator c
A reading test reports where a student stands compared with a national sample of students in the same grade. What kind of test is it?Wikipedia, "Norm-referenced test". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator a
A report gives a student's percentile rank in math computation as 30. What does that mean?Wikipedia, "Percentile rank". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator d
A student is referred for a suspected reading disability. His teacher has also seen him squint at the board. What must the evaluation cover?34 CFR 300.304(c)(4), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator e
A student takes two forms of the same test a week apart and gets nearly the same score. Which quality of the test does this show?Wikipedia, "Reliability (statistics)". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator a
A teacher gives a one-minute oral reading probe every week, using a new passage of equal difficulty each time, and graphs the words read correctly. Which assessment is this?Wikipedia, "Curriculum-based measurement". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator e
A teacher writes a quiz to see whether each student can add fractions with unlike denominators. No student is compared with another. What kind of test is it?Wikipedia, "Criterion-referenced test". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator b
An achievement report gives scores as stanines. What scale is that?Wikipedia, "Stanine". Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator a
For which students does New York's Part 200 bar a district from using the severe discrepancy criteria to find a learning disability in reading?8 NYCRR 200.4(j)(4) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator g
In New York, within how long after receiving consent to evaluate must the board of education arrange for the recommended special education programs and services to be provided?8 NYCRR 200.4(e)(1) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator g
Under New York's section 200.22, when must a committee consider developing a behavioral intervention plan?8 NYCRR 200.22(b)(1) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator i
Which component does New York's section 200.4 require in an initial individual evaluation?8 NYCRR 200.4(b)(1) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0003, performance indicator g
Learning environment and behavioral interventions 7
A student's calling out used to win the teacher's attention. The teacher now withholds attention for calling out, and it rises sharply for a few days before it falls. What is the brief rise called?Wikipedia, "Extinction (psychology)". Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator e
A teacher tells a student, "First finish the five problems, then you may draw." Which principle is she using?Wikipedia, "Premack's principle". Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator e
How does New York's Part 200 define a functional behavioral assessment?8 NYCRR 200.1(r) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator e
One third grader's outbursts keep stopping lessons. Which step does the Institute of Education Sciences guide on reducing behavior problems in the elementary school classroom recommend?Institute of Education Sciences, Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom (NCEE 2008-012), Recommendations 1 and 2. Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator a
Students earn a stamp for each completed task and trade ten stamps for computer time on Friday. What is this system called?Wikipedia, "Token economy". Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator e
Under New York's Part 200, what must a behavioral intervention plan be based on?8 NYCRR 200.1(mmm) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator e
Under section 19.5 of the Rules of the Board of Regents, when may school staff use physical restraint?8 NYCRR 19.5 (Rules of the Board of Regents), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0004, performance indicator f
Instruction in the general curriculum 16
A fourth grade teacher sets aside an hour every school day for students to write. Which recommendation of the Institute of Education Sciences writing guide does the routine carry out?Institute of Education Sciences, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), Recommendation 1. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator f
A specialist evaluates a student's needs in his own classroom and trains him and his teachers to use a speech-to-text program. What does IDEA call this help?34 CFR 300.6, Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator d
A student can say the three separate sounds in the spoken word "cat" and blend them back together. Which skill is he showing?Wikipedia, "Phonemic awareness". Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator e
A teacher has a student model regrouping with base-ten blocks and then with drawings before using numerals alone. Which recommendation of the Institute of Education Sciences guide on mathematics intervention is she following?Institute of Education Sciences, Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades (WWC 2021006), Recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator g
According to the Institute of Education Sciences guide on foundational reading skills, how often should each student read connected text?Institute of Education Sciences, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator e
All students in a class work toward the same standard on fractions, but the teacher varies the materials, the ways students make sense of the ideas and the ways they are assessed. What is this approach called?Wikipedia, "Differentiated instruction". Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator c
Before a unit on the water cycle, a teacher gives students a diagram of boxes and arrows to fill in as they read. What is this tool called?Wikipedia, "Graphic organizer". Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator h
During a co-taught lesson, one teacher leads most of the class while the other works with a small group that needs a skill retaught. Which approach is this?Wikipedia, "Co-teaching". Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator b
For which students must the IEP team consider whether assistive technology devices and services are needed?34 CFR 300.324(a)(2)(v), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator d
The Institute of Education Sciences guide on foundational reading skills recommends developing awareness of the segments of sounds in speech. What does it say to connect them to?Institute of Education Sciences, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (NCEE 2016-4008), Recommendation 2. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator e
The Institute of Education Sciences guide on teaching elementary school writing recommends making students fluent in several basic skills. Which list matches it?Institute of Education Sciences, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), Recommendation 3. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator f
New York's Part 200 defines specially designed instruction as adapting content, methodology or delivery of instruction. To what end?8 NYCRR 200.1(vv) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator a
What does the Institute of Education Sciences guide on mathematics intervention recommend about word problems?Institute of Education Sciences, Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades (WWC 2021006), Recommendation 5. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator g
What purpose does the Institute of Education Sciences guide on mathematics intervention give for regularly including timed activities?Institute of Education Sciences, Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades (WWC 2021006), Recommendation 6. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator g
Which New York assessment measures the State's learning standards in English language arts, mathematics and science for students who have the most severe cognitive disabilities?New York State Education Department, Office of State Assessment, "New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA)". Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator a
Which tool does the Institute of Education Sciences guide on mathematics intervention recommend for building understanding of grade-level material and preparing students for advanced mathematics?Institute of Education Sciences, Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades (WWC 2021006), Recommendation 4. Framework section: Competency 0005, performance indicator g
Communication, social and functional living skills 7
A 15-year-old chooses not to attend the meeting at which her transition services will be planned. What must the district still do?34 CFR 300.321(b)(2), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator h
A student is leaving special education for full-time regular education. Which New York service helps the student and the student's teachers with that move?8 NYCRR 200.1(ooo) and (ddd) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator g
A student who does not speak uses manual signs and gestures to communicate. Which kind of augmentative and alternative communication is this?Wikipedia, "Augmentative and alternative communication". Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator b
A teacher takes a student with a significant cognitive disability on the city bus each week and teaches her to move safely from home to her work site. What does New York's Part 200 call this service?8 NYCRR 200.1(ggg) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator f
Federal rules start transition planning with the IEP in effect when a child turns 16. When does New York's Part 200 start it?8 NYCRR 200.4(d)(2)(ix) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator h
How does New York's Part 200 define transition services?8 NYCRR 200.1(fff) (Commissioner's Regulations Part 200, definitions), Legal Information Institute copy. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator h
What does New York's Blueprint for Improved Results for Students with Disabilities say about students' part in their own education?New York State Education Department, Blueprint for Improved Results for Students with Disabilities. Framework section: Competency 0006, performance indicator e
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the six selected-response competencies of the NYSTCE Field 060: Students with Disabilities Test Design and Framework, May 2018, authorized for distribution by the New York State Education Department (https://www.nystce.nesinc.com/content/docs/NY_fld60_objs.pdf, read 2026-10-10): Foundations of Special Education about 11 selected-response items, Knowledge of Students with Disabilities 11, Assessment and Individual Program Planning 23, Strategies for Planning and Managing the Learning Environment and for Providing Behavioral Interventions 11, Instructional Planning and Delivery to Promote Students' Success in the General Curriculum 23, Strategies for Teaching Communication Skills, Social Skills, and Functional Living Skills 11. The bank holds 60 in those proportions: 7, 7, 16, 7, 16 and 7. Every fact was read on 2026-10-10 in the public document the question names: Parts 19 and 200 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and the regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (34 CFR Part 300), in the Legal Information Institute's copies at law.cornell.edu; an opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court; four practice guides of the Institute of Education Sciences; two pages of the New York State Education Department; and Wikipedia articles for terms of measurement, behavior and teaching. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This Students with Disabilities CST practice test has 60 questions of our own on New York's six selected-response competencies. 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: about 23 each on assessment and program planning and on instruction, and 11 for each of four other competencies. They carry 80% of the score. One written analysis of a student's profile 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.
New York's rules beside federal law
Twenty questions rest on New York's own regulations: how days are counted, resource room hours, special class sizes, transition planning at age 15 and the State's name for each service. Most others cite IDEA's regulations, federal practice guides and named articles.
New York's Part 200 says committee on special education for the IEP team and emotional disability where the federal rules say emotional disturbance.
Questions and answers
What is on the CST Students with Disabilities practice test?
Seven questions each on foundations, knowledge of students with disabilities, the learning environment and behavior, and communication and life skills. Sixteen each on assessment and program planning and on instruction in the general curriculum.
Is the Students with Disabilities CST practice test free?
Yes. All 60 questions are free with no sign-up, and your answers stay in your browser.
What score do you need to pass the Students with Disabilities CST?
The test's own page gives a passing score of 520. That is a scaled score and not a count of right answers, so this page shows your number right and no pass verdict.
Are these real NYSTCE Students with Disabilities 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 Students with Disabilities CST the same as the EAS?
No. Educating All Students (201) is a separate, shorter test on diverse learners, English Language Learners, disabilities, teacher duties and family contact. The Students with Disabilities CST (060) is a content specialty test on special education alone.