Foundations of Reading 090 is an exam required for all in-state and out-of-state elementary education teacher candidates in North Carolina. The following article is all about the structure of the North Carolina Foundations of Reading exam. We will cover how many questions are on the exam, the different kinds of questions, and the best resources to help you study for an upcoming test.
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How many questions are on the Foundations of Reading?
The exam for Foundations of Reading has 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response assignments. This test has four subareas:
- Subarea I: Foundations of Reading Development — 35% of score
- Subarea II: Development of Reading Comprehension — 27% of score
- Subarea III: Reading Assessment and Instruction — 18% of score
- Subarea IV: Integration of Knowledge and Understanding — 20% of score
What kinds of questions are on the Foundations of Reading?
The subareas of Foundations of Reading Development, Development of Reading Comprehension, and Reading Assessment and Instruction contain a total of 100 multiple-choice questions. Multiple-choice questions will ask you to choose the best answer in response to a question prompt. Questions may include diagrams and short passages in addition to questions. The test is graded on how many questions you answer correctly and wrong answers won’t be counted against you, so try to answer as many questions as you can.
The subarea of Integration of Knowledge and Understanding contains two open-response questions. Questions in this section will ask you to analyze a topic in reading education and prepare a written response.
Are there any essay questions on the Foundations of Reading?
The Foundations of Reading exam includes two open-response questions. These are similar to essay questions in that they require a prepared written response with appropriate grammar, structural organization, and logical arguments. Responses in this section are graded based on purpose, subject knowledge, support, and rationale.
Open-response questions can seem daunting, but if you are prepared for them you won’t have any trouble. Using an outline before you begin writing can help organize your thoughts. An outline will also help you stay on topic. Check out this article for some more great tips on answering open-response (or constructed-response) questions.
What are the best resources for studying for the Foundations of Reading?
The best study resources for the NC Foundations of Reading are test information, study guides, and practice problems. Learning about registration, test structure, and score reporting is an important first step to prepare for an upcoming exam. This article has some great tips.
Study guides review the content for each subarea and will make up the bulk of your study material. The study guides from 240 Tutoring are aligned with each test’s standards, so you can feel confident that you are studying the correct content.
Finally, working practice problems will help you get familiar with the language of the test and work to improve your score. Don’t forget to practice answering both multiple-choice and open-response questions. 240 Tutoring collects all these resources into a comprehensive and easy-to-use test guide. Additional test details and a selection of practice problems are also available at the Foundations of Reading exam website.
