FTCE Physical Education K-12 Practice Test and Prep

Welcome to our FTCE Physical Education practice test and prep page. On this page, we outline the domains and key concepts for the FTCE Physical Education exam. It is a free resource we provide so you can see how prepared you are to take the official exam.

While this free guide outlines the competencies and domains found on the exam, our paid FTCE Physical Education study guide covers EVERY concept you need to know and is set up to ensure your success! Our online FTCE Physical Education study guide provides test-aligned study material using interactive aids, videos, flash cards, quizzes and practice tests.

Will I pass using this free article? Will I pass using your paid study guide?

If you use this guide and research the key concepts on the FTCE Physical Education exam on your own, it’s possible you will pass, but why take that chance? With our paid study guide, we guarantee you will pass.

Not ready to start studying yet? That’s OK. Keep reading, and when you’re ready take our free FTCE PE practice tests.

In this article, we will cover:

• FTCE Physical Education K-12 Test Information
• FTCE Physical Education K-12 Competencies

FTCE Physical Education K-12 Test Information

The FTCE Physical Education K-12 assessment is a requirement to become a PE teacher in the state of Florida. The test assesses a person’s general and content-specific teaching skills.

Format: 

There are approximately 100 multiple-choice questions. You will have two and a half hours of testing time.

Cost:

The fee for this exam is $150.

Scoring:

A scaled score of at least 200 is needed to pass, which on a scaled test is equivalent to answering approximately 73% of questions correctly.

Pass rate:

48% of test takers (2,028) passed in 2020.

Study time:

In order to feel prepared for the test, plan to spend several weeks preparing. It is helpful to create a schedule for yourself ahead of time by breaking down the test topics into different weeks. This way, you will know you have enough time to study each topic covered on the test.

What test takers wish they would’ve known:

• Watch for questions that include the words, “not or except,” which indicates that you need to choose the answer choice that does not apply.
• Keep an eye on the time and make sure you are able to complete the test in the 2.5 hour time frame.
• It is better to guess on a question you don’t know the answer to than to leave it unanswered.

Information obtained from: https://www.fl.nesinc.com/studyguide/FL_SG_obj_063.htm

FTCE Physical Education K-12 Prep

The FTCE Physical Education exam has 13 competencies:

• History and Philosophy of the Profession (3%)
• Standards-Based Curriculum Development (10%)
• Instructional Strategies (13%)
• Human Growth, Development, and Motor Learning (8%)
• Movement Skills and Concepts (12%)
• Lifetime Health, Wellness, and Physical Fitness (12%)
• Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Development (7%)
• Assessment Strategies (10%)
• Strategies for an Effective Learning Environment (7%)
• Laws, Legislation, and Liabilities (4%)
• Safety Considerations, Rules, Strategies, and Terminology (5%)
• Ethics, Advocacy, and Development (4%)
• Technology (5%)

History and Philosophy of the Profession

This competency includes about 4 multiple-choice questions that make upabout 3% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of the history and philosophy of the PE profession.

Let’s talk about a concept that you will more than likely see on the test.

Fair Play

The idea of fair play began in England when middle and upper-class Englishmen began to organize sports (rugby) at boarding schools. The concept has spread across sports today. It has become an ideal for not just playing sports, but also living life. The fair play ideal promotes tolerance, respect for others, and the importance of teamwork in all aspects of life. The ideal is very important in physical education because children have a safe place to learn and practice showing others respect while working together to accomplish a task. This skill is invaluable and will be used throughout their entire lives.

Standards-Based Curriculum Development

This competency includes about 12 multiple-choice questions that make upabout 10% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of standards-based curriculum development, including models, factors, and use of guiding documents.

Let’s talk about some concepts that you will plausibly see on the test.

Peer Teaching Model

The peer teaching model is a research-based instructional strategy that transfers much of the teaching responsibility from the teacher to the students. This strategy is very effective because the highest form of learning is teaching, and if a student teaches another student they are demonstrating mastery. This model is best used for a topic with which students have some background knowledge. It is also great for review.

A peer teaching scenario in a PE class might look like:

• The teacher presents a short whole group lesson on nutrition.
• Students are then paired or put into groups and tasked with reading additional information about the topic.
• Students are then tasked with teaching their partner or group about the topic. The teacher would provide an outline or specific questions for the students to focus on, but the students are instructing other students.
• The teacher is listening carefully for any misconceptions students have as they are teaching and correcting as needed.
• Students will be assessed individually once they have had a sufficient amount of time to learn, teach, and master the content.

Cross-Curricular Links

Connecting learning across all subjects during physical education helps students make connections in and out of the physical education classroom. Examples of cross-curricular links in PE:

• ELA- asking students to write and reflect on their activities, completing sports reports, communicating with group members
• Math- taking measurements, keeping scores, problem-solving
• Science- making connections between physics and sports (force and motion), as well as how the human body works to perform different tasks

Instructional Strategies

This competency includes about 16 multiple-choice questions which make up about 13% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of physical education instructional strategies, including those that address diverse needs and enhance student learning.

Let’s talk about some concepts that you will likely see on the test.

Attribution Motivational Theory

The attribution theory is a concept in sports psychology that helps coaches (and PE teachers) understand what athletes attribute their failures and successes to. The mindset of the athlete has a direct impact on growth and motivation. For example, a professional athlete might attribute his win in a big game to his determination, work ethic, and perseverance. However, an amateur player who is very out of shape might consider any success they had as luck. When PE teachers understand where student-athletes attribute their success or failure, it is much easier to guide them to success. Student-athletes will believe that their success or failure is due to either internal factors that are within their control or external factors that are outside of their control.

It is important that teachers and coaches continually motivate and encourage students with expressions such as, “You worked really hard in PE class today” or, “You are doing a great job working through your frustrations.” Those types of statements help students understand they reached their goals not because of luck, but because they are working hard. The two main things to remember as a PE teacher are to:

• Make students feel successful
• Help students take ownership of their successes

Station Teaching

Station teaching is a great way to teach and use multiple exercises or activities while all students are engaged in learning. Station teaching is used as an alternative to whole-group instruction. Most teachers create a minimum of three stations in the gym with a different activity at each station and then divide students equally among the stations. Each group is given an equal amount of time at each station. Once their time is up, the groups rotate to the next station.  Station teaching can enhance student learning by:

• Keeping students actively engaged
• Targeting multiple muscle groups
• Continually offering various activities
• Creating smaller and more manageable groups

Human Growth, Development, and Motor Learning

This competency includes about 10 multiple-choice questions which make up about 8% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of human growth, development, and motor learning.

Let’s look at some concepts that are likely to pop up on the test.

Affective Development

Affective development refers to how children develop their emotions, as well as their outward expression of those emotions. This development begins in infancy and continues through adolescence. There are specific skills of emotional competence that teachers should work to support:

• The awareness of personal emotions
• The ability to understand others’ emotions
• The ability to use words to describe emotions
• Being able to show empathy and sympathy to others
• The ability to cope with adverse emotions

Adults can create a learning environment that supports affective development by:

• Providing positive guidance whenever possible
• Modeling appropriate responses
• Being sensitive to the needs of each student
• Creating a safe space for children to take risks while knowing they are supported.
• Explain and correct undesired behaviors so the child considers the viewpoints of others

Fine Motor Development

Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscles that are controlled by the nervous system. They usually involve the coordination between the hands and fingers with the eyes. These skills begin developing at birth and continue as children grow. Major milestones in fine motor development begin with a baby tracking movement with his or her eyes, and advance by three years old to cutting paper with scissors, building towers with blocks, and writing the alphabet and numbers.  Refer to this chart

to see a detailed list of which skills should be acquired by which age in children.

There are ways to encourage the development of fine motor skills:

• Encourage stacking
• Allow small children to dump and fill containers
• Teach and find ways to utilize the pincer grasp
• Encourage creativity
• Be patient while the child learns to work with different tools and utensils
• Build on basic skills once they’ve been mastered

Movement Skills and Concepts

This competency includes about 14 multiple-choice questions which make up about 12% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of movement skills and concepts, including fundamental movement patterns and sequentially progressive activities.

Here are some concepts that are likely to be part of the test.

Skill-Related Fitness

There are six skill-related fitness components:

• Agility is the ability to control and change the direction of the body while keeping a constant and rapid motion. Example- changing directions to avoid being tagged
• Balance is the ability to control the body when standing still or moving.  Example- walking on a balance beam
• Coordination is the ability to use multiple senses together with parts of the body while moving. Example- running while dribbling a soccer ball
• Speed is the ability to move the body quickly. Example- a baseball player using his speed to make it to home plate before the center fielder has a chance to throw the ball to the catcher
• Power is the ability to move the body quickly while using the maximum force of the muscles. Example- a football player who pushes their way through other players and makes a breakaway for a touchdown
• Reaction time is the ability to react quickly to what is seen, heard, or felt.  Example- a track runner who starts running as soon as the starter gun goes off

Non-locomotor Skills

Non-locomotor movements do not require the body to move through space.  Non-locomotor movements and skills can be performed while standing, lying, sitting, or kneeling. Many weight lifting exercises and stretches are non-locomotor skills. Non-locomotor skills are foundational for more advanced movements in dance, sports, and games.

Non-locomotor skills are important because they increase:

• Flexibility
• Spatial awareness
• Coordination

Non-locomotor skills include:

• Stretching
• Bending
• Pushing
• Pulling
• Twisting
• Swaying
• Balancing
• Logrolling

Lifetime Health, Wellness, and Physical Fitness

This competency includes about 14 multiple-choice questions which make up about 12% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of lifetime health, wellness, and physical fitness, including identification of health risks and benefits of exercise.

Let’s talk about some concepts that are likely to be on the test.

Development of Strength in the Arms

There are many exercises that target the development of arm strength, but three that are commonly used are:

• Front curls–  This exercise targets the bicep muscle and can be done with a barbell or individual dumbbell weights. Begin the exercise by standing upright, holding the weight or weights shoulder-width apart with palms facing the body. While keeping the upper part of the arms stationary against the body, curl the weight forward using the bicep muscles. Stop once the weight is at shoulder level, then slowly bring the bar back to starting position.
• Overhead press– Also known as a bench press, this exercise targets not only the arms, but also the shoulders, back, and chest. Begin the exercise by lying flat on a bench. Then reach up to grasp the bar while making sure hands are shoulder-width apart. Lift the bar from the rack and begin slowly lowering it towards the chest. Once the bar touches the chest, begin to push the bar back up until the arms are straight. Then repeat.
• Tricep extensions– This exercise targets the tricep muscle. Begin the exercise while standing with feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing the opposite way of the body. Bend the knees and lean forward so that the chest is almost parallel to the floor. Bend the elbows 90 degrees and extend the arms backward.

Health-Related Fitness

There are five components to health-related fitness:

• Cardiovascular endurance is the ability to exercise the whole body for long periods of time. This requires healthy lungs, a strong heart, and clear blood vessels to supply oxygen to the body.
• Muscular strength is the amount of force that muscles can produce.  Most often this is measured by how much weight can be lifted.
• Muscular endurance is the ability to use muscles many times without getting tired.
• Flexibility is the ability to fully use joints. The more flexible a person is, the more free the joints are to allow movement.
• Body composition is the percentage of body weight that is fat compared to other tissue, such as bone and muscle. The goal is to have a higher percentage of muscle and bone to fat. Usually, body composition is calculated using the body mass index (BMI) which uses height and weight.

Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Development

This competency includes about 8 multiple-choice questions which make up about 7% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of cognitive, social, and emotional development, including identifying the role that physical activity plays in responsible behavior and psychological benefits.

Let’s talk about a concept that is likely to be on the test.

Psychological Benefits of Physical Activities

There are many psychological benefits for students participating in physical activities.  Benefits include:

• Pride in accomplishing something physical
• Reduced stress
• Ability to cope with stress
• Improved mood
• Greater self-esteem
• Higher energy level and focus
• Improved body image
• Greater self-satisfaction

The benefits of physical activity translate directly into the academic classroom and create a well-rounded student.

Assessment Strategies

This competency includes about 12 multiple-choice questions which make up about 10% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of selecting and implementing appropriate assessment strategies in physical education.

Check out these concepts.

Skinfold Calipers

Skinfold calipers are essentially tongs that are used to measure the thickness of skin on the body to estimate the amount of body fat a person has. It is important to measure body fat because excess fat on the body can lead to long term health problems. Excess fat is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

Establishing Individual Fitness Goals

Setting fitness goals for students is an important part of physical education. Before setting fitness goals, it is important for students to understand where they want to be and where they are currently. Students should understand the components of fitness, including cardiovascular endurance, muscle endurance, muscle strength, flexibility, and body composition. To do this:

1. Assess the student’s current fitness levels. Make sure students are aware that their fitness levels do not determine their grade.
2. Set SMART goals for each student. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

For example:

• Specific– The goal should be clear and easy to understand. “I will lose weight.”
• Measurable– Add a number to the goal so that it is measurable and trackable. “I will lose ten pounds.”
• Attainable– Help students be realistic when setting goals.
• Relevant– The goal should be important to the student at that time in their life.
• Time-bound– Include a deadline to reach the goal which helps students to be motivated to begin.

3.  Come up with a plan and specific steps that the student will take to reach the goal.

Strategies for an Effective Learning Environment

This competency includes about 8 multiple-choice questions which make up about 7% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of strategies for an effective learning environment, including facilities, organizational strategies, behavior management, and injury prevention and care.

Let’s talk about a concept that is likely to be on the test.

Head Injuries

A concussion is a type of brain injury that can result from an impact to the head or body. Advances in brain research and studies on the serious long-term effects of concussions have led to an increase in media attention and public health campaigns that call for more guidelines to keep students safe.

The most common guideline in concussion legislation and regulation is “when in doubt, sit them out.” If a PE professional suspects that a student has sustained a head injury, the first action should be to immediately make the student sit out.  Florida law requires that a student who has a suspected head injury sit out for 24 hours and must be cleared by any medical provider who has been trained in concussion management. It is also important to note that in Florida, concussion legislation only applies to public middle and high schools, not private or elementary schools.

Laws, Legislation, and Liabilities

This competency includes about 5 multiple-choice questions which make up about 4% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of physical education laws, legislation, and liabilities.

You need to know this concept.

Every Student Succeeds Act

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was passed by Congress in 2015 and is a replacement piece of legislation to No Child Left Behind. Under the No Child Left Behind policy, PE and health classes suffered due to the emphasis put on reading, writing, and math education. The goal of ESSA is to shift that focus to a more well-rounded education for every student, which includes physical education. ESSA allows for government funding in schools to be spent differently, with a greater emphasis and allowance for PE spending along with other subjects.

Safety Considerations, Rules, Strategies, and Terminology

This competency includes about 6 multiple-choice questions that make upabout 5% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of safety considerations, rules, strategies, and terminology pertaining to physical activities.

Let’s talk about a concept that is likely to be on the test.

Soccer Terminology

Many students play soccer either recreationally or for a team because all that is needed to play is a ball and open space. Soccer is also a sport that requires many different skills and uses various physical fitness components.

Basic Soccer Terminology:

• Goalkeeper– Defends the goal and is the only player allowed to touch the ball with their hands
• Goal lines– Lines that run from corner flag to corner flag and mark the end of the playing field
• Goal kick– A free kick taken within the goalkeeper’s box when an attacking team kicks the ball out on the goal line
• Corner kick– A free kick taken by the attacking team if a defender is the last player to touch a ball that goes out over the goal line
• Direct free kick– Given to a player who was kicked, tripped, held, or pushed. The kick is taken from the spot of the personal foul and may be kicked directly at the goal without having to touch another player.
• Indirect free kick– Given to a player when a more minor infraction happens, and for a goal to be scored, the ball must touch at least one other player
• Goal– When points are scored in soccer it is called a goal. For a goal to count, the ball must cross the goal line completely and go into the net. Each goal counts as one point.
• Goals– There is a goal in the center of the goal line on each side of the field. Regulation goals have corner posts 24 feet apart and a crossbar 8 feet high.
• Handball– A penalty called when any player other than the goalie touches the ball with any part of their arm or hand. Play stops and the opposing team is given a direct free-kick from the spot of the infraction.
• Referee– The only on-field official who controls the game and enforces the rules
• Linesman– Assists the referee by running up and down the sidelines watching for penalties (such as offsides) and awards possession for throw-ins
• Offside– This is a penalty that is called when an attacking player passes the ball to a teammate without a defender between the teammate and the goal.
• Penalty kick– Given to any team for personal fouls within the penalty area (goal box).  A penalty shot is taken from a specific spot which is 12 yards directly in front of the center of the goal. The only defender allowed to attempt to stop the shot is the goalkeeper.
• Throw in– A method to return the ball to play if it goes out of bounds on either sideline. A throw-in must start with the ball completely behind the player’s head and both of the player’s feet must be on the ground when the ball is released.
• Yellow card– Given to a player who commits a serious or dangerous personal foul. If a player is given two yellow cards in one game, that player is ejected from the game and can not be replaced on the field.
• Red card– The most serious infraction that can occur during a game and is given when the play is intentionally dangerous. Any player who receives a red card is immediately ejected from the game and can not be replaced on the field.

Ethics, Advocacy, and Development

This competency includes about 5 multiple-choice questions that make upabout 4% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of ethics, advocacy, and professional development in physical education.

This concept is super likely to be on the test.

Florida Society of Health and Physical Educators

The Florida Society of Health and Physical Educators, also known as SHAPE Florida, is a professional organization that college students pursuing PE certification, current PE teachers, and retired PE teachers can join for a minimal fee. SHAPE is an excellent resource for professional physical educators because the organization provides:

• Professional development opportunities
• Detailed information on state and national PE standards
• Advocacy and media for physical education
• Resources
• $1,000,000 of liability insurance for professional members

Technology

This competency includes about 6 multiple-choice questions that make upabout 5% of the entire exam.

This section tests your knowledge of using technology to enhance physical education.

Check out this concept.

Using Technology to Assess Students

Educators in any classroom are encouraged to incorporate technology into lessons and assessments whenever possible because many times students are much more engaged and motivated when technology is involved. A PE classroom might have fewer options for technology, but there are still a few, especially when it comes to assessment. A PE teacher could assess students using technology by:

• Having students film themselves performing a specific exercise, game, etc. and then upload and share it with the teacher
• Having students use specific apps like MyFitnessPal or other fitness trackers to see if students are meeting their fitness goals
• Asking students to create a report on a unit of study using various forms of media and presenting it

And that’s some basic info about the FTCE Physical Education K-12 test.