• 60 questions

OAE Prekindergarten Practice Test

Unofficial practice for Ohio's OAE Prekindergarten subtests (036 and 037), from child development and families to assessment and curriculum.

In a Reggio-inspired room, teachers mount panels that show children's own words, drawings and photographs from a long project. What is this practice of making learning visible called?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Ohio State Board of Education or Evaluation Systems, Pearson. Bank checked October 14, 2026.

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All 60 questions

Subtest I: Professionalism and building relationships 12

  • A county agency serves a 20-month-old with a developmental delay, and her family, at home. Which part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds states to provide early intervention from birth to age 3? Wikipedia, "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0001
  • A director planning a staff workshop applies the readiness principle of adult learning associated with Malcolm Knowles. Which subjects does it say adults are most interested in learning? Wikipedia, "Andragogy". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0004
  • A father tells his daughter that the blocks go back on the shelf before lunch, explains why, and lets her choose where to start. Which of Baumrind's parenting styles, characterized as an ideal balance of control and autonomy, does this show? Wikipedia, "Parenting styles". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0003
  • A preschool teacher and the grandmother who is raising one of her pupils talk each month about what each sees. In ecological systems theory, the link between family and teacher belongs to which system? Wikipedia, "Ecological systems theory". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0003
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Subtest I: Professionalism and building relationships, continued

  • A teacher learns that a child's family sells produce at a market and builds a weighing and counting activity around it. Which model, offered as an alternative to a deficiency model, treats household knowledge as a resource for school? Wikipedia, "Funds of knowledge". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0003
  • An Individualized Family Service Plan states the child's present levels of development, the goals, the support services and the date they begin. Who else must it name? Wikipedia, "Individualized Family Service Plan". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0002
  • An Ohio preschool teacher has reasonable cause to suspect that a child in her class is being neglected. Under Ohio Revised Code 2151.421, to whom does she make the report? Ohio Revised Code, section 2151.421. Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0002
  • At a conference a father says, "At home she mostly points and only says a few words." The teacher answers, "So at home she points more than she talks." Which active listening technique is the teacher using? Wikipedia, "Active listening". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0004
  • Federal rules require every Head Start program to serve children with disabilities. What share of a program's total enrollment must they make up? Wikipedia, "Head Start (program)". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0001
  • In a Reggio-inspired room, teachers mount panels that show children's own words, drawings and photographs from a long project. What is this practice of making learning visible called? Wikipedia, "Reggio Emilia approach". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0001
  • Two months after a teaching team forms, its members argue openly about who plans the week, and personalities clash. Which of Tuckman's stages of group development is the team in? Wikipedia, "Tuckman's stages of group development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0004
  • Under Ohio Revised Code 2151.421, how sure must an employee of a child care center be before the duty to report child abuse applies to her? Ohio Revised Code, section 2151.421. Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0002

Subtest I: Promoting child development and learning 18

  • A caregiver in an infant room lays a four-month-old down for a nap. Which sleep position is the most effective for reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome? Wikipedia, "Sudden infant death syndrome". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0007
  • A caregiver knows that one toddler adapts slowly, so she tells him several minutes ahead of each change of activity. Which term names the match between a child's temperament and the features of the environment? Wikipedia, "Temperament". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0005
  • A caregiver sets out two shirts and waits patiently while a two-year-old chooses one and tries to pull it on herself. Which of Erikson's stages does this routine support? Wikipedia, "Erikson's stages of psychosocial development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0010
  • A child arrives with one eye pink, watery and stuck shut after sleep. Which name is given to this inflammation of the thin clear layer over the white of the eye? Wikipedia, "Conjunctivitis". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0007
  • A child often arrives hungry, wears the same unwashed clothes all week and has tooth pain that goes untreated. A caregiver's failure to provide adequate nutrition, health care and clothing is which form of maltreatment? Wikipedia, "Child neglect". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0007
  • A child's file notes a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. What causes this group of conditions? Wikipedia, "Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0006
  • A director reviews the risk of lead in an old building. Which statement about lead and young children matches what public health agencies say? Wikipedia, "Lead poisoning". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0006
  • A nine-month-old who once smiled at everyone now cries when a substitute caregiver she has never met picks her up. What is this typical part of development, which peaks from six to 12 months, called? Wikipedia, "Stranger anxiety". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0010
  • A room has low open shelves, child-sized tables and materials grouped by subject where children can reach them without help. Which Montessori term names an environment arranged this way? Wikipedia, "Montessori education". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0010
  • A teacher offers one story as a picture book, as a recording and as a felt-board retelling, so that every child has a way to take it in. Which Universal Design for Learning principle is this? Wikipedia, "Universal Design for Learning". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0008
  • A three-year-old trips and says, "The sidewalk was mean. It grabbed my foot." Which feature of thinking in Piaget's preoperational stage does the remark show? Wikipedia, "Piaget's theory of cognitive development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0005
  • A toddler who has learned the word "sheep" uses it for every white, woolly, four-legged animal she sees. What is this pattern in early word learning called? Wikipedia, "Language development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0009
  • An evaluation finds a three-year-old significantly delayed in both motor skills and speech. Which umbrella term is used when a child is significantly delayed in two or more areas of development? Wikipedia, "Global developmental delay". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0008
  • At around two months a baby starts to make soft sounds that are mostly vowels. What is this step in early vocal development called? Wikipedia, "Language development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0009
  • Emmy Werner followed at-risk children for decades and found that about a third grew into well-adjusted adults. To what did she attribute that outcome? Wikipedia, "Psychological resilience". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0006
  • Four-year-olds at the art table chat, trade markers and look at one another's drawings, but each works on her own picture and nobody organizes a shared project. Which of Parten's stages of play is this? Wikipedia, "Parten's stages of play". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0005
  • In a newsletter a teacher writes "a child with Down syndrome" in place of "a Down syndrome child". Which convention, which describes what a person has and not what a person is, does she follow? Wikipedia, "People-first language". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0008
  • Since birth Mateo has heard Spanish from his father and English from his mother, and he is learning both. What is this path to two languages called? Wikipedia, "Simultaneous bilingualism". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest I (036) framework, competency 0009

Subtest II: Teaching and learning 15

  • A child who calls every four-legged animal "doggy" meets a cat, is corrected, and forms a new idea, "cat". In Piaget's theory, which process alters an existing schema to fit new information? Wikipedia, "Piaget's theory of cognitive development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0011
  • A four-year-old's IEP team meets to set his measurable annual goals. What standing do his parents have on that team? Wikipedia, "Individualized Education Program". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0012
  • A teacher first guides a child's hand on a zipper, later only starts the zipper for him, and at last just watches him do it. What does instructional scaffolding call for as the learner gains skill? Wikipedia, "Instructional scaffolding". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0013
  • A teacher stops answering a child's whining for attention. For a few days the whining grows louder and more frequent, and then it fades. What is this short-term rise called? Wikipedia, "Extinction (psychology)". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0014
  • A teacher writes a short illustrated story that describes clean-up time step by step and how classmates feel about it, to prepare a child with autism for the routine. Which tool, devised by Carol Gray in 1991, is this? Wikipedia, "Social Stories". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0014
  • After the children spend days watching a robin build a nest outside the window, their teacher plans a week of activities about birds. Which way of planning focuses on being responsive to children's interests? Wikipedia, "Emergent curriculum". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0012
  • An Ohio preschool teacher plans learning goals from the state's Early Learning and Development Standards. Which span of development do those standards describe? Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, "Early Learning and Development Standards". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0012
  • Before planning support for a child who bites, a team records what happens just before and just after each bite, to learn what the biting gains him. What is this process called? Wikipedia, "Functional behavior assessment". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0014
  • Children who love to paint are promised a sticker for every picture. Soon they paint less whenever no sticker is offered. Which effect describes an expected reward weakening intrinsic motivation? Wikipedia, "Overjustification effect". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0011
  • Ohio's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Revised assesses four areas of early learning: mathematics, language and literacy, physical well-being and motor development, and which other? Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, "Ohio's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0015
  • On Ohio's Step Up To Quality page, what may follow once a provider completes a developmental screening of a child? Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, "Step Up To Quality (SUTQ)". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0015
  • To teach the job of feeding the class fish, a teacher lists each step, from opening the jar to closing the lid, and teaches the steps in order. What is breaking a complex sequence of behavior into steps called? Wikipedia, "Task analysis". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0013
  • Two teachers watch the same child, fill in the same checklist separately, and then compare how closely their ratings agree. Which property of the assessment are they checking? Wikipedia, "Reliability (statistics)". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0015
  • Which question that a teacher might ask at the water table is open-ended? Wikipedia, "Open-ended question". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0013
  • While stacking rings, a four-year-old says aloud to himself, "Big one on the bottom. Now the little one." What is this self-guiding talk, which peaks in preschool or kindergarten, called? Wikipedia, "Private speech". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0011

Subtest II: Building a meaningful curriculum 15

  • A caregiver places an awake three-month-old on his stomach on a mat and stays beside him for a few minutes. What is this practice mainly meant to develop? Wikipedia, "Tummy time". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0016
  • A child sets the snack table by putting exactly one napkin at each chair. Which early mathematics idea is he practicing? Wikipedia, "One-to-one correspondence". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0019
  • A teacher coaches a child to tell a classmate, "I feel sad when my blocks get knocked down," in place of "You're mean." Which form of communication is she teaching? Wikipedia, "I-message". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0017
  • A teacher props an oversized copy of a picture book on an easel so the whole group can see the words as she reads and points. Which instructional approach usually begins this way? Wikipedia, "Shared reading". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0018
  • A teacher sets out ramps and balls and asks, "How could we make the ball roll farther?" before explaining anything. Which form of active learning starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios? Wikipedia, "Inquiry-based learning". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0019
  • A ten-month-old picks up a cereal ring by squeezing it between the thumb and the pointer finger. Which grasp is this? Wikipedia, "Grasp". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0016
  • A two-year-old empties a toy bin and puts every dinosaur in one pile and every car in another. Which cognitive skill is she showing? Wikipedia, "Child development stages". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0019
  • A two-year-old who spills paint hangs his head and looks away, and later beams when thanked for helping to wipe it up. Shame, embarrassment, guilt and pride belong to which group of emotions? Wikipedia, "Social emotional development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0017
  • A vacuum cleaner roars to life in the hall. A ten-month-old stops playing, looks at her caregiver, sees a calm face and goes back to her blocks. What is this use of an adult's reaction to guide her own called? Wikipedia, "Social emotional development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0017
  • An 11-month-old says no words yet but looks toward the door when asked, "Where's Daddy?" Which statement about early language does this fit? Wikipedia, "Language development". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0018
  • At music time children chant a rhyme, move to it and play simple patterns on small xylophones with removable bars. Which approach to music education, built to resemble a child's world of play, is this? Wikipedia, "Orff Schulwerk". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0020
  • Children clap once for each beat in their names: Ma-ri-a, three claps. Which level of sound structure does this phonological awareness activity work on? Wikipedia, "Phonological awareness". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0018
  • In the earliest stage of drawing, what do a very young child's first scribbles usually consist of? Wikipedia, "Child art". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0020
  • Ohio publishes a Preschool Resource Guide for each domain of its Early Learning and Development Standards. Which of these is one of those domains? Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, "Early Learning and Development Standards". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0020
  • Which playground activity chiefly builds gross motor skills, the movements that come from large muscle groups and the whole body? Wikipedia, "Gross motor skill". Written to OAE Prekindergarten Subtest II (037) framework, competency 0016

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the assessment frameworks for Ohio Assessments for Educators fields 036 and 037, Prekindergarten Subtests I and II, read 2026-10-14 on the program's site (https://www.oh.nesinc.com/CONTENT/STUDYGUIDE/OH_SG_OBJ_036.htm; test page https://www.oh.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/OH036_TestPage.html): each subtest has 60 multiple-choice questions (80% of the subtest score) and 2 constructed-response assignments (10% each) in 120 minutes, passing score 220. Subtest I: Professionalism and Building Relationships (competencies 0001 to 0004, 42%) and Promoting Child Development and Learning (0005 to 0010, 58%). Subtest II: Teaching and Learning (0011 to 0015, 50%) and Building a Meaningful Curriculum (0016 to 0020, 50%). The bank holds 3 questions for each of the 20 competencies, 30 on each subtest, and no constructed-response assignment. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the page the question names: section 2151.421 of the Ohio Revised Code, three pages of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (Early Learning and Development Standards, Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, Step Up To Quality) or the named Wikipedia article. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free OAE Prekindergarten practice test has 60 questions of our own, 30 on Subtest I (036) and 30 on Subtest II (037). It is unofficial and not affiliated with the Ohio State Board of Education or Evaluation Systems, Pearson.

Read the full guide

What the two subtests cover

By the frameworks at oh.nesinc.com, read October 14, 2026, Subtest I weighs Professionalism and Building Relationships 42% and Promoting Child Development and Learning 58%. Subtest II splits evenly between Teaching and Learning and Building a Meaningful Curriculum. The bank holds three questions for each of the 20 competencies.

Ohio in the answers

Six questions rest on Ohio's own pages: the child abuse reporting statute (ORC 2151.421), the Early Learning and Development Standards, the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Revised and Step Up To Quality.

The written assignments

Each real subtest also sets two written assignments, and no time is published for its multiple-choice part alone. The exam here practices the questions only and runs without a clock.

  • The test page says to select OH703 in the seat search tool to see test sites and times for this assessment.

Questions and answers

Is this OAE Prekindergarten practice test free?

Yes, with no sign-up. Every question was written for this site from the two published frameworks, and each explanation names its public source. Nothing is taken or reworded from the real subtests, their sample questions or the paid practice assessment.

How many questions are on the OAE Prekindergarten test?

Each subtest has 60 multiple-choice questions, worth 80% of its score, and 2 constructed-response assignments worth 10% each. The test page adds that some questions may be under evaluation and do not affect a score.

What is the passing score for OAE 036 and 037?

220 on each subtest, on a scale of 100 to 300. The multiple-choice score is combined with the constructed-response score, and the test page says candidates must take and pass both subtests.

Which Ohio license needs the Prekindergarten assessment?

The program's table lists Prekindergarten (036/037) for the Prekindergarten (ages 3–5) endorsement and for the Associate license in Prekindergarten. For both it marks the pedagogical knowledge assessment as not required.

How long is the OAE Prekindergarten test?

Each subtest allows 2 hours of testing time, and one or both may be taken at one appointment. The test page lists 15 to 30 minutes more for the tutorial and nondisclosure agreement, by appointment during testing windows.

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