Guiding Candidate Test Preparation

The following information can help faculty members who are assisting candidates in preparing to take a NES test:

An academic advisor might suggest to a candidate that he or she take the following steps in preparing to take a NES test:

1. Begin by completing the Test Preparation Worksheet, where candidates record their academic background, reason for testing, certification requirements, and testing history, and complete a checklist of preparation steps for testing.
2. Complete the mapping the test framework to courses taken activity for the test the candidate will be taking. This activity involves reviewing the test framework and the candidate's coursework to date, and recording on a worksheet whether the candidate's studies have covered the knowledge and skills described by each test competency.
3. Meet with his or her academic advisor to review the completed worksheets and test preparation steps taken to date, and to obtain assistance in evaluating his or her readiness to test.

When meeting with a candidate to review the completed materials listed above, an academic advisor may wish to take the following steps:

1. Review page 1 of the completed Test Preparation Worksheet to learn the candidate's academic background, reason for testing, certification requirements, and testing history.
2. Review the completed worksheet for mapping the test framework to the courses the candidate has taken to determine if he or she has completed sufficient coursework to take the assessment. For NES tests with subtests, the advisor may find that the candidate is prepared to take one subtest, but not all. In this case, if there are competencies for which the candidate has not studied the knowledge and skills being assessed, the advisor may wish to recommend that the candidate take additional courses before testing.
3. Review page 2 of the completed Test Preparation Worksheet to guide the candidate in gathering and using NES test preparation materials and, if needed, learning or reviewing test content and test-taking strategies.

Preparation Materials for Candidates

In addition to the processes described above, advisors may wish to review with candidates the official NES preparation materials that are provided on this website. These materials include general test-taking strategies and sample test questions for every NES test. Full-length practice tests and expanded study guides are also available.

For some test fields, full-length practice tests are also available. Candidates may purchase practice tests for themselves directly on this website. Additionally, institutions may purchase practice test vouchers for their candidates by submitting a Practice Test Voucher Order Form .