• 54 questions

OAE School Counselor Practice Test

Unofficial practice for Ohio's OAE School Counselor assessment (040), weighted like its three domains.

A second grader now sees that water poured from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin one is still the same amount. In which of Piaget's stages does this understanding appear?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 54 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 54 questions, 65 minutes.

More options

Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Ohio State Board of Education or Evaluation Systems, Pearson. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

Next step More on development and learningNES School Counselor practice test

All 54 questions

Domain I: Student development and learning 12

  • A factory closing costs a student's mother her job, and the student's home life changes. The mother's workplace, a setting the child never enters, belongs to which system in Bronfenbrenner's ecological model? Wikipedia, "Ecological systems theory". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A fourth grader takes pride in mastering long division and worries when classmates finish faster. Which of Erikson's conflicts belongs to these school years? Wikipedia, "Erikson's stages of psychosocial development". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A kindergartner explores a new classroom freely but looks back to a trusted caregiver now and then before going on. In attachment theory, what is the caregiver providing? Wikipedia, "Attachment theory". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A school uses Response to Intervention. As a struggling reader moves from Tier 1 toward Tier 3, how does the support change? Wikipedia, "Response to intervention". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002
Show all 54 questions (50 more)

Domain I: Student development and learning, continued

  • A second grader now sees that water poured from a short, wide glass into a tall, thin one is still the same amount. In which of Piaget's stages does this understanding appear? Wikipedia, "Piaget's theory of cognitive development". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A senior plans to take over the family business and has never weighed any other path. In James Marcia's identity statuses, where does this student stand? Wikipedia, "Identity formation". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A seventh grader will not copy a friend's homework because "my group would think less of me, and good friends don't do that." Which of Kohlberg's stages fits this reasoning? Wikipedia, "Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0001
  • A student who slept in a car and came to school hungry cannot focus on a group project. Which idea best explains why? Wikipedia, "Maslow's hierarchy of needs". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002
  • A teacher drops the nightly worksheet once the class turns in a full week of homework, and homework completion rises. Which principle is at work? Wikipedia, "Reinforcement". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002
  • A well-prepared student "blanks" on high-stakes exams but does best on quizzes that carry moderate pressure. Which principle describes this link between arousal and performance? Wikipedia, "Yerkes–Dodson law". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002
  • After a year in a U.S. school, an English learner chats easily at lunch yet struggles with textbook language. What does Cummins's distinction between BICS and CALP say about this? Wikipedia, "Cognitive academic language proficiency". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002
  • After watching an older sister succeed in an advanced class, a student comes to think, "I can do that too." What is Bandura's term for a person's belief in their own ability to succeed at a task? Wikipedia, "Self-efficacy". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0002

Domain II: Comprehensive school counseling program 24

  • A counselor asks, "Suppose that tonight, while you sleep, a miracle happens and this problem is gone. What would be different tomorrow?" Which approach does this question come from? Wikipedia, "Solution-focused brief therapy". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • A counselor is told to cover classes whenever a teacher is out. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards ask the counselor to do about assignments of this kind? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section B.2. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006
  • A counselor writing objectives for classroom lessons wants the standards that say what students should learn. Which ASCA document holds the student standards? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA National Model Executive Summary" (4th edition). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • A lesson objective reads, "Students will compare two study methods and judge which one suits them." Which level of the revised Bloom's taxonomy does "judge" reach? Wikipedia, "Bloom's taxonomy". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • A principal asks the counselor to hand out detentions for dress-code violations. By ASCA's lists, what is the counselor's appropriate role with students who have disciplinary problems? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA National Model Executive Summary" (4th edition). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006
  • A principal suggests saving every career lesson for high school. According to the ASCA Ethical Standards, for which students does career awareness belong in the program? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.4. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • A school counseling program is meant to serve every student's development in three domains. Which three does ASCA name? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA National Model Executive Summary" (4th edition). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • A senior wants to be considered for federal grants, work-study and student loans. Which form must the family file? Wikipedia, "FAFSA". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • A six-year-old cannot put a loss into words, so the counselor offers puppets, a sand tray and drawing materials. Which counseling approach is this? Wikipedia, "Play therapy". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • A student asks what a dental hygienist earns, what training the job takes and whether openings are expected to grow. Which federal publication answers all three? Wikipedia, "Occupational Outlook Handbook". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • A student mentions that a back door of the gym has a broken lock and strangers have been walking in. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards direct the counselor to do with this information? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section B.2. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006
  • A student says, "I failed one quiz, so I'll fail the whole year." The counselor helps her test that thought against the evidence. Which approach centers on changing such thoughts? Wikipedia, "Cognitive behavioral therapy". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • A student sets the goal "do better in school." Judged by the SMART criteria, what is the goal's main weakness? Wikipedia, "SMART criteria". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • A student turns out to need long-term clinical therapy. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards direct the school counselor to do? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.1. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • The advisory council, the annual administrative conference and the weekly calendar belong to which component of the ASCA National Model? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA National Model Executive Summary" (4th edition). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006
  • After a bias incident, a teacher asks the counselor to decide how long the offending student should be suspended. What part do the ASCA Ethical Standards give the counselor? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.11. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006
  • Before a fifth grader joins a small counseling group on study habits, which step do the ASCA Ethical Standards call for? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.7. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • Before planning the year's classroom lessons, a counselor surveys students, families and teachers to find the gap between where students are and where they should be. What is this step called? Wikipedia, "Needs assessment". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • Donald Super's life-span theory of career development proposes a series of stages. Which stage comes right after growth, when a young person tries out interests and possible occupations? Wikipedia, "Career counseling". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • Holland's theory sorts people and work settings into six types. Which type fits a student who most enjoys helping, teaching and caring for others? Wikipedia, "Holland Codes". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • In a career lesson, a counselor poses a question, gives students a minute to think alone, has them talk with a partner, and then asks pairs to report. What is this strategy called? Wikipedia, "Think-pair-share". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0003
  • In the third meeting of a friendship group, members argue about the rules and push back against the leader. Which stage of Tuckman's model is this? Wikipedia, "Tuckman's stages of group development". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0005
  • Midway through a chapter, a student notices she cannot sum up what she has just read, so she rereads the section. What is this awareness of one's own thinking called? Wikipedia, "Metacognition". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0004
  • Which of these duties does the ASCA National Model list as inappropriate for a school counselor? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA National Model Executive Summary" (4th edition). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0006

Domain III: Professional knowledge and practice 18

  • A career interest inventory gives a student nearly the same results when taken twice, two weeks apart. Which quality of the inventory does this show? Wikipedia, "Reliability (statistics)". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • A counselor believes a colleague's conduct may be unethical, though it is not unlawful or dangerous. After consulting in confidence, what step do the ASCA Ethical Standards give next? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section E. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009
  • A counselor has to pass highly sensitive information about a student to a parent. According to the ASCA Ethical Standards, how should it be conveyed? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.2. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009
  • A counselor reviewing a new career interest inventory asks whether its items sample the whole range of interests it claims to measure. Which quality of the inventory is in question? Wikipedia, "Content validity". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • A counselor wants to talk with a student's outside therapist about how the student is doing in school. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards say to obtain first? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.6. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A counselor's close friend asks the counselor to counsel the friend's daughter, a student at the school. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards advise? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.5. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009
  • A family loses its housing and moves into a shelter in the next town. Under the McKinney–Vento Act, whom must every school district designate to help such students enroll and stay in school? Wikipedia, "McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A father who does not have custody asks for a conference about his daughter's grades, and no court order limits his contact. How do the ASCA Ethical Standards regard him? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section B.1. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A parent asks to see her son's education records. He turned 18 last month and is still in high school. Under FERPA, who now holds the rights over those records? U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office, "FERPA" (text of 34 CFR Part 99, sections 99.3 and 99.5). Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009
  • A parent wants the family's reading tutor to sit in on the IEP meeting. Do the IDEA regulations let such a person join the team? Code of Federal Regulations, 34 CFR 300.321, "IEP Team" (IDEA regulations), read in the Legal Information Institute copy, Cornell Law School. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A school counselor also runs a private counseling practice on weekends. A parent asks to enroll her son, who attends the counselor's school, as a private client. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards say? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.6. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A student's account leads a counselor to suspect abuse at home, though she is not certain. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards require? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.12. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009
  • A student's guardians are most at ease speaking Somali. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards say about communicating with them? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.10. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0008
  • A student's score on a norm-referenced reading test is at the 70th percentile. What does that tell the family? Wikipedia, "Percentile rank". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • An aptitude test was standardized on native English speakers only. A counselor must interpret the score of a student who began learning English last year. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards advise? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.14. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • Five students were absent 2, 3, 3, 4 and 28 days last year. Which measure best describes a typical student in this group, and what is its value? Wikipedia, "Median". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • On a test with a mean of 70 and a standard deviation of 12, a student earns a raw score of 88. What is the student's z-score? Wikipedia, "Standard score". Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0007
  • While purging old private notes, a counselor finds a set about a report of child abuse. What do the ASCA Ethical Standards say about destroying it? American School Counselor Association, "ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors", section A.13. Written to OAE School Counselor (040) framework, competency 0009

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the assessment framework for Ohio Assessments for Educators field 040, School Counselor, read 2026-10-12 on the program's site (https://www.oh.nesinc.com/CONTENT/STUDYGUIDE/OH_SG_OBJ_040.htm; test page https://www.oh.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/OH040_TestPage.html): 150 multiple-choice questions in 180 minutes, passing score 220; Student Development and Learning (competencies 0001 to 0002, 22%), Comprehensive School Counseling Program (0003 to 0006, 45%) and Professional Knowledge and Practice (0007 to 0009, 33%). The bank holds 6 questions for each of the 9 competencies. Every fact was read on 2026-10-12 in the public page the question names: the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors and the ASCA National Model Executive Summary (American School Counselor Association, schoolcounselor.org), the text of the FERPA regulations on the U.S. Department of Education's student privacy site, 34 CFR 300.321 in the Legal Information Institute copy, or the named Wikipedia article. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free OAE School Counselor practice test asks 54 questions of our own, six on each of the nine competencies of assessment 040. It is unofficial and not affiliated with the Ohio State Board of Education or Evaluation Systems, Pearson.

Read the full guide

OAE School Counselor study guide: the three domains

The framework at oh.nesinc.com, read October 12, 2026, weighs Student Development and Learning 22%, Comprehensive School Counseling Program 45%, and Professional Knowledge and Practice 33%. The 54 questions split the same way: 12, 24 and 18.

Timing

Assessment 040 allows 3 hours of testing after a 15-minute tutorial. The timed exam here allows 65 minutes for 54 questions, the same 1.2 minutes each.

What the questions rest on

The framework names the ASCA National Model and the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. So 21 questions cite those two documents, the ethics questions by section letter, and the rest cite the public page under each.

  • Nearly half the score, 45%, sits in Domain II: guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services and leadership. Start your review there.

Questions and answers

Is this OAE School Counselor practice test free?

Yes, with no sign-up. Each of the 54 questions was written for this site from the published framework, and each explanation names a public source. None is taken or reworded from the real assessment or its sample questions.

How many questions are on the OAE School Counselor test?

150 multiple-choice questions, by the test page. It adds that some may be questions under evaluation for future use, which do not count toward a score.

What is the passing score for OAE School Counselor?

220. The State Board of Education sets it, and scores are reported from 100 to 300 from the multiple-choice questions answered correctly. A number right on this page cannot be converted to it.

Can I take the OAE School Counselor test at home?

Yes. The test page offers an online proctor in one-week windows each month, with no breaks allowed. Test centers take appointments year round, and no reference materials are provided for this assessment.

Who needs the OAE School Counselor test?

The program's table of license types lists School Counselor (040) for the School Counselor license, under Professional Pupil Services. It marks an Assessment of Professional Knowledge as not required for that license.

More tests

Show 8 more

Browse Civics and Law