First, you might be asking, what’s an exam competency? Well, simply put, it’s a section of the exam. The TExES Core Subjects ELA & Reading exam included a total of 10 competencies. Then, within those competencies are individual statements. You can think of these like educational standards, and simply put, they are the specific bits of educational knowledge that you’ll have to know to pass your exam, as well as be an effective beginning teacher.

Below, you will find the list of the 10 core competencies you’ll need to know all about for your test:

Competency 001—(Oral Language): The teacher understands the importance of oral language, knows the developmental processes of oral language, and provides students with varied opportunities to develop listening and speaking skills.

Competency 002—(Word Analysis and Identification Skills): The teacher understands the importance of word analysis and identification skills for reading comprehension and provides many opportunities for students to practice and improve these skills.

Competency 003—(Reading Fluency): The teacher understands the importance of fluency for reading comprehension and provides many opportunities for students to improve their reading fluency.

Competency 004—(Reading Comprehension and Applications): The teacher understands the importance of reading for understanding, knows the components and processes of reading comprehension, and teaches students strategies for improving their comprehension, including using a variety of texts and contexts.

Competency 005—(Vocabulary Development): The teacher knows the importance of vocabulary development and applies that knowledge to teach reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

Competency 006—(Reading, Inquiry, and Research): The teacher understands the importance of inquiry and research skills to students’ academic success and provides instruction that promotes students’ acquisition and effective use of these skills in the content areas.

Competency 007—(Writing Conventions): The teacher understands the conventions of writing in English and provides instruction that helps students develop proficiency in applying writing conventions.

Competency 008—(Written Communication): The teacher understands that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provides instruction that promotes students’ competence in written communication.

Competency 009—(Viewing and Representing): The teacher understands skills for interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, and producing visual images and messages in various types of media, including electronic media, and provides students with opportunities to develop skills in this area.