Help studying for TEXES EC-4

Hi
I have a few questions about the Texes EC-4 generalist test 101

1.) Does anyone recommend the cliff notes book over the book Preparing for the Texas Pre K - 4 Teacher Certification by Janice L Nath and Jonn Ramsey?
2.) I found the cliff notes book practice question to be harder then any other practice tests i have taken. Is there reason to be alarmed?
3.) Has anyone heard of the Ultimate Guide to EC-4 "The Big Yellow Book" What are your feelings on this?

Thanks

 

A Texan, I'm not, but it's the case that pretty much any test prep book available will work for somebody but no book will work equally well for everybody. If you get a chance, spend some time looking through the available books before you commit on one.

 

ok my alternative certification program begins on july 18th and i am trying to study for my ec-4 exam. i have been out of college for 4 years at home as a stay at home wife/mother. I am a pretty good test taker but i really need some advice. first, i would like your advice on whats the best study guide to use, does the study guide go over syntax, phonemes, morphemes, decoding etc, or does it go over domains and compentancies and you left to found out the details of the rest on your own. I really need to familiarize myself with the jargon used on the test, the domains and competancies and change my way of thinking about "our perfect world", lol. I would really like for someone to give the best advice on what material to use, how long should i give myself to study before taking the exam and any other advice you find helpful. I study mostly at night when i put my little girl to bed so i must take in as much useful info as possible and disregard the rest. i had a teacher give me a bunch of info to study found out a week later that she took the English 4-8 exam and thought i was also. so needless to say i have been studying a bunch of stuff i didnt need to. So please help me i need to get as much USEFUL info in my head as possible, lol. thanks in advance for your help and have a blessed day!

 

Hi meedymayes
I am taking my test tomorrow and i have mostly used Guide to EC-4 "The Big Yellow Book by joy bauer and I have also used Preparing for the Texas Pre K - 4 Teacher Certification by Janice L Nath and Jonn Ramsey. Like I said I am taking the Test tomorrow and I will let you know what I think. Right now i would recommend the Big Yellow Book. What ACP are you going through?

 

There's no such thing as the one best way for everyone to study.

 

I am going through Texas Teachers alternative certification program. what about you? how long do you think i should give myself to study before taking the test?

 

I am also going through the Texas Teachers progarm in Houston. I have not started taking any of their classes yet.
I believe I passed my unofficial score was 85.
I studied almost everday for about 2 weeks, about 3-6 hours per day. I would recommend "the big yellow book" I used it the most and it is very easy to read and understand everything is explained in detail. I don't think the book by Nash (Preparing for the Texas pk-4....) is a must. The test was not as bad as I thought it would be however it did take me almost the full 5 hours and I did not expect that.

 

What is the Big Yellow Book and where do you find it?

Lisa

 

Never mind - I found it! Thanks -

 

With any test, the resource that works really well for one person may not work so well for another.

 

I used the Ultimate Guide and the Cliff's Notes. I found out about the book from Henry and Nath about 2 days before my EC-4 exam and was too brain-tired to go buy it. One of my friends, of course, gave it to me the day I received my scores. Oops! She didn't realize that she had it. I liked the Ultimate Guide a little better, but if you can afford both and have the time, why not?

I'm studying for the SPED 161 exam for Saturday. One of the sources that I recommend is the Becoming an EC-4 Teacher in Texas PPR prep book by Nath and Cohen. This book is great! I used it in writing essays for ISD's, prepared me for my interview on Monday, and some of the topics covered by the SPED exam are in here.

I'm also in the Texas Teachers ACP in Fort Worth. I just went through the training in July. This book is helpful to those who are career changers. I also like the Princeton Review for the PPR. My exam for that won't be until December, but these are so helpful now.

Good Luck!

 

Took the test Sunday and got 84 out of 100 on the EC-4 Generalist - I mostly used the Janice Nath book - was very indepth.

Lisa

 

Sounds promising, lisamoe13.

 

That's a great score! Based on other scores from the past, no problem! Awesome! Considering you just took the SPED exam last week, too! Congrats!

Sheri

 

Thanks - I think it helped to take them so close together - had a lot of that stuff in my head already (all that lang arts!)

 

I know, two of my questions were the same!:up:

 

Got scores for the EC-4 test this morning on the sbec site - 84 /100 translates to a 274!

 

Oooo, lisamoe13! Well done! Make sure you celebrate YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT - nobody passes these things solely on dumb luck. And the more you own your success, the better able you will be at helping your future students own theirs.

 

Great job! I knew you passed! :2up: I just went and found mine for the SPED test. 279!

I haven't received that email telling me that my score was available. I'm glad you posted this! Now, I have a copy to take to my interview today!

 

Well done, fratbrats! Please be sure you celebrate, too!

 

Congrats to you!! I never got an e-mail for the special ed either - but did get one for the EC-4. Good luck on the interview!!!! Still waiting to get called -