TFA & Praxis 0014 - Update 6 and 2/3

This is another installment in my TFA series. As I mentioned in a previous post, when I searched for info regarding TFA, the interview day, and subsequent entry into the program, blogs were a prime source of information for positive and negative insight. I weighed the risk of keeping this blog alive when I'm waiting to interview, and I determined that my missives aren't caustic, defamatory, or radical. In the new year, TFA starts in earnest with the first hurdle of passing the Place and Praxis exams, which are remarkably different tests with more on the latter below. The hiring process commenced at the beginning of February and continues until one secures a position before the beginning of the school year. TFA matches corps members with a hiring consultant--a member of TFA--to smooth the process. It is our obligation to find and apply for jobs once they are listed on district HR pages, which was reinforced during a roughly hour and a half conference call last week. The Denver coordinator also sends e-mails with job openings, and I've applied for one position thanks to her efforts. My concerns don't stem from finding a job at this moment, rather the Praxis occupies my time and anxious center.

To teach Early Childhood Education in Colorado, I am required to sit for the Praxis II Elementary Education Content Knowledge, test 0014. ETS divides the exam into four subjects: language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. Educators are required to know the four areas even though they might not cover more than one in their classes. Or, in my case, I must pass despite not teaching the Mayflower Compact, factor trees, plate tectonics, or homonyms/phones/grams. There are 120 questions split evenly between the four disciplines on the paper-based exam. Unlike the Place's abundance of time, the Praxis limits text takers to two hours and poses markedly harder questions. In other words, it's a demanding exam and requires the usual standardized test skills remain sharp. Mine are, admittedly, dull. The last time they were deployed was five and a half years ago for the GRE.

I purchased study guides from Research & Education Association, CliffsNotes, as well as ETS's e-book. Each one features a practice exams, and I will purchase a retired exam from ETS. The REA and CN consist of details and diagrams, whereas the ETS offering is vague at points. For instance, ETS suggests learning sonnets, and the CN book describes the quatrain and rhyming sequences of Petrarchan and Shakespearean. I might return the REA test prep as I am uncertain it is too broad without ample focus on the questions I will face.

I feel comfortable with the language arts and social studies sections, and the remaining two represent my bigger challenge. For instance, when was the last time one memorized the breakdown of a cell and what conducts DNA? If you want to quiz me on the origins of the Cold War or Civil Rights, I'm game. Twenty-eight days remain before the Praxis, so I have ample time to study and devise patterns or jar mnemonics loose from the recesses of my brain. I must complete language arts and social studies this week, thus allowing me to devote a week to science and math with a final week for review and practice tests. After that, hiring and prep for institute.