The New York teaching assistant test,
NES 519, built to its published framework.
To work as a teaching assistant in a New York public school you pass the NYSTCE Teaching Assistant Skills test, NES 519. It checks reading, writing, math and how you support students in a classroom. This practice exam is built to the test’s published framework: the same four domains, the same length and the same time.
What NES 519 actually settles, and what it leaves open.
From the NES 519 test page and framework on the official NYSTCE site.
| What is published | |
|---|---|
| Questions | 80 selected-response questions |
| Time | 2 hours of testing, plus a separate 15-minute tutorial outside that time |
| Domains | Four, of approximately equal weight, covering twelve competencies |
| Passing score | 220, on a scaled score |
| Unscored questions | Some questions may not be scored; the number is not disclosed |
| Reference materials | None allowed |
The 220 is a scaled score, and the way raw answers are turned into it is not published. So no practice exam can honestly tell you your score out of 220. Ours reports how many you got right out of 80 and how you did in each domain, and it does not predict a scaled score.
Four domains, twenty questions each.
The framework says the four domains carry roughly equal weight. We give each twenty questions; that exact split is ours.
Literacy
Reading for meaning, word meaning and word structure, and working out what a passage is for.
Language Arts
Spelling and punctuation, grammar and agreement, and how a piece of writing is organized.
Numeracy
Everyday arithmetic, fractions, percentages and ratios, and reading information from tables and graphs.
Instructional Support
Helping students read, write and work through math misconceptions, and the professional boundaries of the role: what to report, and to whom.
What people ask before they book.
What score do I need to pass NES 519?
220 on a scaled score. The conversion from correct answers to that scale is not published, so nobody can give you an exact number of questions to get right, and we do not pretend to.
How many questions are on NES 519, and how long is it?
80 selected-response questions in 2 hours of testing time. A 15-minute tutorial comes before it and does not count against that time.
Does every question count?
On the real test some questions may be unscored, and the number is not disclosed. On ours all 80 count, and the report says so.
Has a certified teacher reviewed these questions?
No. The questions were written from the published framework and have not been reviewed by a certified New York educator. We say so plainly rather than imply otherwise.
On sale now.
One full-length practice exam, 80 questions, 5 credits. It has been sat end to end to check that a correct paper scores full marks.